Misinformation

Researchers Accused Google And “60 Minutes” Of Spreading AI “Disinformation”
AI is not “some mysterious, magical, autonomous being,” one critic said.

Don’t Be Fooled By AI-Generated Donald Trump Fakes
“It has become increasingly challenging for the average human eye to distinguish between AI-generated and real photos."

A New WhatsApp “Communities” Feature Makes Organizing Groups A Snap. Critics Say It Will Make Spreading Misinformation Easier.
A researcher doubts WhatsApp's claim that Communities will "meaningfully reduce the spread of potentially harmful misinformation."

The YouTube Channel Streaming Alex Jones’s Trial Disabled The Chat Because Of Threats To Sandy Hook Victims' Families
Viewers of the livestream were no longer subjected to conspiracy theorists’ threats and lies.

Google Will Start Letting You Know When You Can't Just Google It
A series of updates to the way search results are returned and prioritized aims to fight misinformation with content advisories.

How Russia’s Top Propagandist Foretold Putin's Justification For The Ukraine Invasion Through This Dramatic Film
“Putin’s chef” Yevgeny Prigozhin’s network of state media sites used commissioned Cameo videos from Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani to publicize another film that reimagines Russia’s role in the 2016 election.

Google Maps Blocked Edits After People Falsely Claimed It Was Used to Coordinate Russian Air Strikes
Ukrainian-language accounts claimed edits targeted gas stations, schools, and hospitals in cities like Kyiv.

Meta Wouldn’t Tell Us How It Enforces Its Rules In VR, So We Ran A Test To Find Out
Facebook’s parent company declined to answer our questions about how it moderates content in VR, so we created a test Horizon World filled with content banned from Facebook and Instagram. Content moderators said the world was fine — until we told Meta’s PR team about it.

Joni Mitchell Is Joining Neil Young In Taking A Stand Against Spotify Over Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation
"Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives.”

Spotify Has Agreed To Remove Neil Young's Music Catalog After He Took A Stand On Joe Rogan's Vaccine Misinformation
"Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” Young wrote in a public letter.

It’s Time To Retire Culture War Journalism
The media allowed misinformation to frame “debates” about trans identity and race in education. That has to change.

Biden Is Calling Out Anti-Vaxxers And Vaccine Misinformation As Omicron Sweeps The US
“Your choice is not just about you. Your choice affects other people. You're putting other people at risk."

“Corrosive Communities”: How A Facebook Fight Over Wind Power Predicts the Future of Local Politics in America
In small towns around the country, wind turbines are doing something to the locals.

How Celebrity Gossip Site Crazy Days And Nights Went QAnon
“I don’t care about made up satanism or pedo rings… The very first post I read here was about Gary Busey trying to use gold doubloons as legitimate currency and tbh I would just like more of that please.”

Amazon Sellers Are Price Gouging Horse Dewormer Because People Want To Eat It
A $7 horse deworming treatment is commanding prices as high as $45 on Amazon thanks to unfounded claims that it is a cure for COVID.

The Co-Founder Of Snopes Wrote Dozens Of Plagiarized Articles For The Fact-Checking Site
“You can always take an existing article and rewrite it just enough to avoid copyright infringement."

Telegram And Amazon Are Hosting Fake Vaccine Card Merchants
Fake vaccine card merchants are rampant on Telegram. Meanwhile, fake vaccine card listings continue to fall between the cracks on Amazon, despite a ban on them.

Why Do A Bunch Of Nigerian Twitter Influencers Want This Alleged Money Launderer To Go Free? They’re Being Paid.
Alex Saab may be extradited to the United States — but he has some unlikely allies.

Amazon Is Pushing Readers Down A "Rabbit Hole" Of Conspiracy Theories About The Coronavirus
Amazon is promoting COVID conspiracy books around the world.

Violent Protests Erupted In India. Then Calls For Police To Shoot The Protesters Went Viral On Twitter.
Twitter did not take “Shoot” off its trending topics for at least a couple of hours — after there was public outcry and after BuzzFeed News emailed asking for comment.

WhatsApp Fueled A Global Misinformation Crisis. Now, It’s Stuck In One.
A new privacy policy will be delayed three months after people were confused about what it would mean.

This Pro-Trump YouTube Network Sprang Up Just After He Lost
A group of channels connected to the Epoch Times is pumping out hoaxes and lies without identifying their connections to the right-wing newspaper.

QAnon Believers Were Part Of Mob That Stormed The Capitol
The collective delusion finally reached the level of violence it always threatened.

President Trump Just Used Social Media To Attempt A Coup
While violent supporters stormed the Capitol, Donald Trump cheered them on using the last tool he has: the internet.

As Election Misinformation Spreads On Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg Told Employees That Biden Won
Facebook’s CEO also said Steve Bannon’s comments about beheading government officials did not warrant his complete removal from the platform.

European Officials Are Criticizing Trump For Prematurely Claiming Victory And Spreading Misinformation
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer called the US election “a very explosive situation” and warned of the possibility of a “constitutional crisis.”

Trump's Final Campaign Strategy Is To Spread A Bunch Of Misinformation About Joe Biden, His Son, And Ukraine
You’d have to really be paying deep attention to just understand Trump’s insinuations during the final presidential debate. Here’s what we know to actually be true.

Donald Trump Jr.'s Twitter Was Temporarily Frozen After He Posted A Viral Coronavirus Misinformation Video
The president's son had posted a video pushing false claims about COVID-19, which had spread rapidly on Facebook.

Trump's Attack On Vote-By-Mail Plans In Key 2020 States Is "Misinformation," A Top State Official Says
“There is so much misinformation in those tweets that I don't know how to weigh any of it other than to simply just cut through and speak the truth,” Michigan’s secretary of state said.

WhatsApp Is Imposing Stricter Limits On Forwarding Messages To Slow Down Coronavirus Misinformation
Once a message has been forwarded more than five times in total, it can now only be forwarded to one chat at a time.