Imagine, if you will: A presidential election in which even the most basic facts are riddled with confusing disinformation, a far-right candidate appealing to authoritarians and repulsing many women with misogynistic comments, and connections to political aspirants such as Marine Le Pen and Steve Bannon. This is Brazil in 2018, and the person who was …
Brazil Holds Election Amid Disinformation, Propaganda Crisis Read More »
The “Star Wars” franchise was not immune from the sort of controversy that has seeped into every tiny nook and cranny of the American public discourse, thanks to the ubiquity of social media and those who wish to exploit conflicts in order to create chaos. In that vein, the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi was …
Bots, Trolls Propelled Faux ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Controversy Read More »
October 2018 opened with confusion among the American political set over an investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after multiple women publicly accused him of sexual assault. One woman, California psychology professor and Stanford University researcher Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, appeared during a day-long hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in late September to …
Did a Veteran Sex Crimes Prosecutor Say Christine Blasey Ford ‘Has No Case’? Read More »
Fake news can vary widely in quality and believably from source to source, but quite often identifying it is as easy as taking a moment to learn who is behind a that particular website or social media account. Frequently the creators of fake news put quantity ahead of quality, and they are counting on the …
Identifying Fake News Series: ‘Contact Us’ Pages Read More »
On March 4, 2018, the quiet and picturesque British town of Salisbury was rocked by the discovery of former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia Skripal foaming at their mouths on a bench outside an Italian restaurant. The culprit: Novichok, a nerve agent known to have been developed and used by …
Investigative Journalists: Russian Agents Were Responsible for Britain Poisonings Read More »
For the last several years, we have been hearing about foreign governments subverting United States elections using sophisticated teams that create fake stories and circulate them on social media. While foreign governments and large teams are most certainly a major source of disinformation, there are also tools available online that make it easy for anyone …
Identifying Fake News Series: Fake News Generators Read More »
As the political fervor roiled around sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018, a number of explanations and excuses for his purported behavior appeared even before the details of the reports were widely known. Some of these excuses bordered on the mystical; others ignored the border and just went straight …
“Sandworm” was previously behind a cyberattack that infected 500,000 devices in 2018.
An ugly moment in a 2020 presidential debate followed online attacks.
How Alex Jones and his ilk helped turn anti-fascists into a convenient far-right boogeyman.
