Disinformation

Jamal Khashoggi.

Is the Media Covering Up ‘the Real Story’ About Jamal Khashoggi?

Disinformation, Fact Checks / By /

A hideous story unspooled before the international media in October 2018, when Saudi Arabian journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi — who had been living in Washington, D.C. after fleeing his home country a year before due to persistent death threats in response to his criticism of its government — abruptly vanished. On Monday, sources told CNN …

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Old-model cellular phones lined up on a table.

Do Mobile Phones and Other 4G Devices Contain an ‘E911 Chip’?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Viral Content / By /

Testing for a new cellular phone alert system (the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, also known as IPAWS) began on October 3rd, 2018, with a tone and a message sent across mobile networks. The grumbling began almost immediately, as startled or irritated Americans reacted to the unsolicited (but anticipated) test, but the griping turned …

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President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama dance during the Commander in Chief's Ball in downtown Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2009. More than 5,000 men and women in uniform are providing military ceremonial support to the presidential inauguration, a tradition dating back to George Washington's 1789 inauguration. (DoD photo by Senior Airman Kathrine McDowell, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Were the Obamas Forced to Surrender Their Law Licenses?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics / By /

In early October 2018, many people in the United States and abroad were closely watching the twists and turns around a Supreme Court nomination as multiple women accused the nominee of committing or abetting sexual assault. Almost immediately, bots, trolls, and useful idiots picked up on the controversy, muddying the waters with rumors, gossip, and …

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Conspiracy meme about Amy Schumer and Christine Blasey Ford being the same person

The ‘Amy Schumer Is Actually Christine Blasey Ford’ Conspiracy Theory

Disinformation, Entertainment, Fact Checks, Politics / By /

The days following a September 27th, 2018 hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, in which Palo Alto University professor and Stanford research psychologist Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh violently assaulted her during a party more than three decades before, swirled with increasingly bizarre stories about a grand conspiracy. …

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Mobile phone on a table next to a mug full of coffee.

Did the WSJ Report That a Sex Crimes Prosecutor Was Pulled from a Hearing for Asking Too Many Questions?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics / By /

As the United States debated putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court despite multiple assault allegations, rumors began to fly about a hearing the previous day, including a bombshell that purportedly appeared in the Wall Street Journal: WSJ: Mitchell advised Republicans that to continue questioning Kavanaugh she was required by her oath in Arizona to …

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Supreme Court building from outside underneath a blue sky.

Did Two Men Confess to Assaulting a Woman Accusing a Supreme Court Nominee?

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics / By /

On the eve of a scheduled hearing for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the California professor who has credibly accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party in 1982, what looked like a potential bombshell story appeared on social media: Senate Judiciary Rs release a Kavanaugh investigative summary that includes: -an …

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Justin Trudeau’s Surprise Conversion

Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics, Viral Content / By /

In order to boost circulation and rake in more advertising money, hoax and satire sites will sometimes re-run some of their older work hoping to catch clicks while the topics of their stories are once again relevant. This is a common practice with many media sites, but satirical or fake stories can wind up getting …

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