This Week in Misinformation: Afghanistan Rumors, COVID Deaths Data, Ivermectin (Again), J6 Evidence, Election Truthers and "Bloodshed," Q Losses
2 September 2021
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Let’s start with Afghanistan, which dominated headlines and stirred up a lot of controversy—and misinformation.
President Biden said al Qaeda has been ‘decimated’ in Al Qaeda, but that isn’t true.
Two notable things critics got wrong about Biden and the return of soldiers killed in an attack near the Kabul airport: that he didn’t receive their caskets at Dover (he did), and that he checked his watch 13 times during the ceremony (he checked it once, as it was ending).
Some other criticism of the withdrawal was also not based in reality: Donald Trump, Jr. Senator Ted Cruz, and other conservatives disinterpreted a video of a person hanging from a helicopter (the person was alive and moving), while others made hay about the supposed abandonment of military dogs (no) and a whopping $80b in military equipment (it was much less than that).
COVID-19 vaccines are being mandated in more places, which has fueled the passions of those opposed to being vaccinated. And made phony vaccine cards increasingly, you know, a thing.
With FDA approval, many universities are now mandating the vaccine for teachers and students alike.
Believers in vaccine misinformation caused harm to others, for example by targeting LA City Council members’ homes and by bizarrely accusing a teen hospitalized with COVID of being a Nazi.
Believers in vaccine misinformation caused harm to themselves, too: in several places across the country, for example, conservative radio hosts who had railed against vaccines fell victim to the disease.
A Swiss study found that places that watch Fox News have lower vaccination rates than other places, which might help explain how the United States has wasted at least 15 million doses since March. But at least Mitch McConnell is doing his part, in his own way, to encourage conservatives to take the vaccine.
In another study, “prebunking” was shown to help stop health misinformation tropes, but there is also evidence from randomized controlled trials that messaging does not move the needle (see what I did there?) on attitudes toward vaccination.
New York City prosecutors are charging Instagram influence “AntivaxMomma” with selling fake vaccine cards. Hawaii busted seven would-be tourists for presenting phone cards, including a woman whose card spelled the manufacturer “Maderna.” (In Florida, on the other hand, fines of up to $5,000 could reportedly be imposed on businesses that ask patrons for proof of vaccination!)
Some experts see the current moment as the one for which the anti-vaccine movement has been waiting for years—while others see cause for hope in the decline of vaccine skepticism.
Misinformation cropped up in the form of reported (and not) COVID data, and the misinformation-fueled trends in fights over mask mandates and the consumption of untested remedies both intensified.
Some states have not been reporting all their COVID-related deaths, leaving CDC’s aggregate figures incomplete. Officials in Florida changed the way they report, creating the perception of a decline in mortality that wasn’t so. NPR looked at the impact of the statistics and reporting around COVID deaths on people in the real world.
Republican governors have locked themselves in to opposing mask mandates, leading to many confrontations at school board meetings between the pro- and anti-mask factions. In Florida, the governor continued to joust with school districts and judges over whether he could punish schools that made people wear masks. South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled against a mandate in a public school system.
We did this last week, but it’s time to talk ivermectin again! Time Magazine looked into the role of “America’s Front Line Doctors”—frequently cited by non-expert proponents of using the drug for COVID—in selling access to it. (Calls for doctors to be disciplined for spreading misinformation about COVID have been on the rise.)
A rash of ivermectin consumption overdoses and adverse side effects hit hospitals and poison control centers across the country. Courts were on both sides of the issue: in Ohio, a judge forced a hospital to administer it; in Illinois, a judge supported a hospital refusing to treat with it.
Senator Rand Paul said research into ivermectin was being blocked because people don’t like Trump, and other conservative politicians and media personalities weren’t much more coherent than Paul in their advocacy for it. Unvaccinated Joe Rogan, for example, got COVID and told his millions of fans he had started taking ivermectin.
Nope, not done with ivermectin yet. We need to talk about how TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook are handling it (and other things).
TikTok and Reddit are struggling with misinformation related to the drug. On Reddit, pro-vaccine users took matters into their own hands and “brigaded” the ivermectin subreddit with memes.
Zooming out on Reddit a bit more, dozens of subreddit moderators (not admins) wrote to demand that the company take action against COVID misinformation. Reddit at first refused, but later ended up banning a major anti-vaccine subreddit.
On Facebook, ivermectin misinformation is thriving in groups around the world. In other news, Facebook has said it will be decreasing the amount of political content in the News Feed.
Twitter took permanent action against vaccine skeptic and misinformationist Alex Berenson. Separately, the company will soon introduce new privacy tools that may pose a challenge for misinformation researchers.
The Congressional January 6th Select Committee is on the move, and the events of that day are coming into clearer focus each week—for anyone willing to look at them directly.
The Committee requested social media data from platforms big and small, but Politico reported that thousands of posts related to the riot have already gone missing from Facebook’s transparency tool. The Committee requested that phone records be preserved, but Republicans (including some who traded phone calls with Trump and/or the rioters) threatened the telecom companies to not comply. Liz Cheney, one of two Republicans on the Committee, was elevated to be its vice chair.
As for the riot’s organizers and how they funded their activities, Open Secrets discovered that Trump’s political operation directly supported them to the tune of at least $4.3 million.
Republican holdouts attempted to paint the riot as nonviolent and totally legal, but that characterization is at odds with everything we already know about the mob’s subversive intentions and, this week, video evidence that the crowd perpetrated more than 1,000 assaults on police officers and at least one member of the news media.
“Stop the steal” energy is inspiring talk of revolution in some quarters, while others are working to get 2020 election truthers peacefully installed in positions throughout the country before the next vote. Wisconsin is launching into its own audit, maybe because the Arizona one has been so successful (/sarcasm).
Representative from North Carolina Madison Cawthorn said there could be “bloodshed” if elections in this country aren’t stopped from being rigged (they’re not). Two of his Republican colleagues and a North Carolina newspaper rebuked the gentleman for his inflammatory rhetoric.
Security officials are getting ready for election denialism to take to the streets again, with a demonstration in Washington, DC being planned for 18 September.
A ProPublica investigation of potentially major import dropped, showing that Q followers and others who believe the 2020 election was somehow stolen have been taking over the Republican Party at the grassroots levels. There may be many more Tina Peterses to deal with in 2022 wherever Republicans lose in 2022 and beyond.
Move over, Arizona (not really, love you Arizona!): Wisconsin is the new hotness in election conspiracy theory land. An “audit” is getting underway there, backed by the likes of Senator Ron Johnson, his friend Sidney Powell, and the State House Speaker. It will be expensive for taxpayers, though, and Wisconsin Man Paul Ryan (sort of) came out against it.
Mike Lindell sold his plane. That’s it, that’s the bullet.
The big news on the Arizona ballot review, for its part, was that the public got its hands on a trove of documents, though not as many as some would have liked.
A watchdog group’s lawsuit has yielded the release of many gigabytes of Arizona Senate data related to the audit. New from the texts and emails, for example, are revelations about how Trump allies supported and were involved and how some officials were worried about stock photo BLM buses and fire-throwing clowns (you read that right).
What wasn’t released, and which the Senate is fighting to keep under wraps: at least 2,900 documents produced directly by the audit operation, by the famed Cyber Ninjas.
Oh, Q world. Nothing but “L”s and heartbreak.
The “Patriots Double Down” Las Vegas event, planned for October with tickets already sold, was thrown into peril when Caesar’s Entertainment canceled the venue on organizer QAnon John.
Doug Jensen, January 6th’s Q sweatshirt man, was in court again. He was found to have violated the terms of his previous release and has been returned to jail.
“Q Shaman” Jake Chansley, who has also been in jail since the week after January 6th, entered a plea deal. After telling so many people over the years that Q sent him, he has also asked that people no longer associate him with QAnon.
CBS ran a special with a panel of people who have broken from loved ones who fell into the QAnon rabbit hole.
One interesting story on the government side of things: San Diego County declared COVID-19 misinformation a “public health crisis”—the only such instance of this that we know of.
Grab bag: more money is being devoted to help solve misinformation problems, partisan divides in media trust are widening, poker players are prone to conspiracy theories, and a climate denialist newspaper is flourishing on Facebook.
That, and a lot more, below. This is This Week in Misinformation.
-- Kevin
AFGHANISTAN
Biden says falsely that Al Qaeda is ‘decimated’ in Afghanistan (@billroggio via Twitter)
Fact check: Conservative tweeters falsely claim Biden didn't show up at Dover to honor troops' remains (@ddale8 via CNN)
Did Biden Check Watch 13 Times During Transfer of Fallen Soldiers? (Snopes)
No, the Taliban Did Not Just Hang an Interpreter From a US Helicopter (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
The helicopter hanging video is flagged on Facebook, posts deleted by some (@Shayan86 via Twitter)
Senator Ted Cruz deletes his tweet about the video, but his post explaining the deletion also has the video (@tedcruz via Twitter)
Fact check: Prominent Republicans spread false claim about Taliban executing a man from a helicopter (@ddale8 via CNN)
Donald Trump, Jr. changes his Twitter profile picture to a graphic of Biden’s name and a person dangling from a Blackhawk helicopter (@daithaigilbert via Twitter)
What we know about today’s Taliban (PolitiFact)
Crated dogs in Kabul airport photo didn’t belong to US military. What’s going on? (Snopes)
FACT FOCUS: Trump, others wrong on US gear left with Taliban (@AliSwenson via Associated Press)
Analysis: GOP douses Afghanistan withdrawal with misinformation (@AaronBlake via Washington Post)
COVID — VACCINES
Full FDA Approval Triggers More Universities To Require The COVID-19 Vaccine (NPR)
COVID vaccine mandates are here: The details we know today (C|NET)
Vaccination foes target homes of L.A. City Council members (Los Angeles Times)
Teen Hospitalized With COVID Accused Of Being a Nazi By Anti-Vaxxers (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
QAnon Anti-Vaxxer Called COVID a Hoax Even as His ‘Lungs Stopped Functioning’ (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
Four conservative radio talk-show hosts bashed coronavirus vaccines. Then they got sick. (Washington Post)
Swiss study finds connection between watching Fox News and vaccination rates going down (Media Matters)
America has wasted at least 15 million Covid vaccine doses since March, new data shows (NBC News)
McConnell Tapes 2nd PSA to Encourage COVID Vaccinations (Newsmax)
Prebunking’ Health Misinformation Tropes Can Stop Their Spread (Wired)
Evaluating the effects of vaccine messaging on immunization intentions and behavior: Evidence from two randomized controlled trials in Vermont (Katherine Clayton, Christine Finley, D.J. Flynn, Meredith Graves, and @BrendanNyhan via Vaccine)
Instagram User @AntiVaxMomma Charged With Selling Fake Vaccine Cards (New York Times)
"AntiVaxMomma" And 14 Others Arrested In Vaccine Card Forgery Scam (Gothamist)
Woman arrested with fake 'Maderna' vaccine card at Honolulu airport, officials say (The Hill)
Misspelling of Moderna leads to tourist's arrest in Hawaii (ABC News)
7 Hawaii Travelers Have Been Charged in a Month for Fake Vaccination Cards (Newsweek)
Feds warn of alarming rise in reports of fake vaccine cards sold and used (ABC News)
Ask for COVID vaccine proof, face a $5,000 fine in Florida (News 4 Jacksonville)
This Is the Moment the Anti-Vaccine Movement Has Been Waiting For (@tarahaelle via New York Times)
Analysis: The slow and steady decline of the vaccine skeptics (Washington Post)
Fact check: Comparing Pfizer vaccine approval to cigarettes, alcohol is wrong (USA Today)
COVID — NOT VACCINES
Florida changed its COVID-19 data, creating an ‘artificial decline’ in recent deaths (@Blaskey_S, @AnaChacinc and @devoun_cetoute via Miami Herald)
Millions Of People Are Missing From CDC COVID Data As States Fail To Report Cases (NPR)
When COVID Deaths Are Dismissed Or Stigmatized, Grief Is Mixed With Shame And Anger (@BrettSholtis via NPR)
Massive randomized study is proof that surgical masks limit coronavirus spread, authors say (Washington Post)
G.O.P. Governors Fight Mandates as the Party’s Covid Politics Harden (New York Times)
Video: Fights break out at school board meeting in Florida after mask mandate is announced (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
Florida judge rules against DeSantis in school mask fight (Politico)
Fla. judge rules DeSantis administration cannot restrict school districts’ mask mandates (Washington Post)
Judge blocks Florida governor’s order banning mask mandates (Associated Press)
Video: DeSantis says he will appeal mandate ban decision (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
Florida defies judge and punishes 2 school districts over masks (@alatterbury via Politico)
Another Florida county approves mask mandate in defiance of DeSantis (The Hill)
South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down city's public school mask mandate (NBC News)
Calls Grow to Discipline Doctors Spreading Virus Misinformation (@daveyalba and @sheeraf via New York Times)
Doctors dismayed by patients who fear coronavirus vaccines, but clamor for unproven ivermectin (Washington Post)
Patients overdosing on ivermectin backing up rural Oklahoma hospitals, ambulances (KFOR 4 Oklahoma City)
Ivermectin poison control calls increase in Minnesota amid COVID-19 misinformation (KMSP Fox 9 Minnesota)
The Utah Poison Control Center has seen a bump in calls about ivermectin — which is not recommended for treating COVID-19 (Salt Lake Tribune)
Calls to poison control and ER visits increase as Kansans self-treat COVID with Ivermectin (WIBW 13 Topeka)
Demand skyrockets for ivermectin in Florida; poison control spikes (WINK Southwest Florida)
Kentucky Poison Control sees sharp jump in calls about people taking ivermectin for COVID (Louisville Courier)
American Medical Association calls for 'immediate end' to use of ivermectin for COVID-19 (The Hill)
Judge orders Cinci hospital to treat COVID-19 patient with Ivermectin, despite CDC warnings (Ohio Capital Journal)
Judge orders Ohio hospital to treat Covid patient with ivermectin (NBC News)
Judge orders hospital to treat Ohio Covid patient with ivermectin (The Guardian)
Judge sides with Illinois hospital refusing to treat man with ivermectin (The Hill)
Rand Paul: 'Hatred for Trump' blocking research into ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment (The Hill)
Opinion: How right-wing media and social isolation lead people to eat horse paste (@paulwaldman1 via Washington Post)
The End is Neigh (9/1/21) ft/ Vera Bergengruen (@jaredlholt via Substack)
Opinion: Why Does This Keep Happening? (The Bulwark)
Joe Rogan Says He Has COVID, Is Taking Ivermectin (@timmarchman via VICE)
Video: Joe Rogan has COVID, promotes untested remedies (@zachzachzach via Twitter)
Joe Rogan treats COVID-19 with ivermectin – but FDA, CDC warn against its use for coronavirus (Fox News)
Joe Rogan Says He Has COVID-19 And Is Taking The Unproven Drug Ivermectin (NPR)
Joe Rogan tests positive for COVID, says he's taking unapproved deworming drug ivermectin (USA Today)
Video: Colorado COVID testing center owner denies Candace Owens service because of her work to spread misinformation throughout the pandemic (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
PLATFORMS
TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook are struggling with ivermectin misinformation (The Verge)
Thread: Pro-vaccine Reddit users brigade ivermectin group with memes (@oneunderscore__ via Twitter)
Reddit Moderators Demand The Platform Take Action Against Covid Disinformation (Forbes)
Reddit Responds to Calls From Moderators to Fight Disinformation (@mjgault via VICE)
Reddit CEO Refuses To Remove COVID Misinfo (@whoisernie via LogicallyAI)
Thread: Reddit takes down an misinformation group r/NoNewNormal for violating policy (@oneunderscore__ via Twitter)
Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after site-wide protest (The Verge)
Reddit bans Covid misinformation forum after ‘go dark’ protest (The Guardian)
Reddit bans r/NoNewNormal and quarantines 54 “COVID-denial subreddits” (ars technica)
Interactions with Potential Mis/Disinformation URLs Among U.S. Users on Facebook, 2017-2019 (Aydan Bailey, Theo Gregersen, and @franziroesner via University of Washington)
Scoop: Facebook's new moves to lower News Feed's political volume (Axios)
Facebook to de-emphasise political posts on news feed in move that could diminish right-wing media influence (The Independent)
Report: Facebook to Reduce Visibility of Political Posts (Breitbart)
Facebook plans to show users even less political news (Columbia Journalism Review)
Facebook Quietly Makes a Big Admission (Wired)
Facebook “transparency report” turns out to be anything but (@mathewi via Columbia Journalism Review)
Opinion: Misinformation Is Bigger Than Facebook, But Let’s Start There (@dzuidijk via Bloomberg)
Twitter permanently suspends vaccine misinformationist Alex Berenson (@kylegriffin1 via Twitter)
COVID Troll Alex Berenson Implies He'll Sue to Get Twitter Access Restored (@annamerlan via VICE)
Twitter Plans New Privacy Tools to Get More People Tweeting (Bloomberg)
Twitter might let users archive tweets and remove followers, report says (c|net)
Gab’s CEO is trying to use his platform to sabotage coronavirus vaccination efforts (@AlKapDC via Media Matters)
For misinformation peddlers on social media, it's three strikes and you're out. Or five. Maybe more. (CNN)
Demand five precepts to aid social-media watchdogs (@EthanZ via Nature)
Here’s How Anti-Vaxxers Are Spreading Misinformation Despite Your Best Moderation Efforts (Community Signal Podcast)
JANUARY 6TH
January 6 committee seeks answers on misinformation from social media companies (CNN)
Jan. 6 commission demands records from Facebook, Twitter, other tech firms (NBC News)
Thousands of posts around January 6 riots go missing from Facebook transparency tool (@markscott82 via Politico)
Jan. 6 committee to ask phone companies for Republican lawmakers' records (NBC News)
Jan. 6 probe takes first step to obtaining phone records — possibly those of lawmakers (Politico)
The Democratic Norm Breakers (Wall Street Journal Editorial Board)
McCarthy says GOP 'will not forget' if firms hand records to Jan. 6 panel (The Hill)
Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene Threaten Telecoms Not To Give Data to 1/6 Committee (Newsweek)
Rep. Jim Banks tells telecom companies to not comply with Select Committee’s ‘authoritarian’ request for phone records (@hugolowell via Twitter)
‘He’s scared’: Schiff on McCarthy reaction to Jan. 6 panel’s records request (MSNBC)
Freedom Caucus chair asks McCarthy to boot Cheney, Kinzinger from GOP conference (The Hill)
Kevin McCarthy among GOP lawmakers whose phone records January 6 select committee asks to be preserved (@ryanobles, @AnnieGrayerCNN, @ZcohenCNN, and @WhitneyWReports via CNN)
Analysis: What subpoenaing legislator phone records about Jan. 6 might reveal (@pbump via Washington Post)
Cheney Elevated To Vice Chair Of Jan. 6 Select Committee (Forbes)
Republican Cheney to be vice chair of U.S. House panel on Jan. 6 attack (Reuters)
Trump’s political operation paid more than $4.3 million to Jan. 6 organizers but questions remain about the full extent of its involvement (@annalecta via Open Secrets)
Trump Funding Network Paid $4.3 Million To People, Firms Who Set Up Jan. 6 Rally: Report (Huffington Post)
Texas Republican Denies There Was Any Insurrection on January 6 (Newsweek)
Cawthorn Calls Most Capitol Rioters ‘Normal People’ Who Were ‘Just Kind Of Wandering In’ (Forbes)
Court filing by U.S. Attorney’s office says body-worn-camera footage of January 6th shows “approximately 1,000 events that may be characterized as assaults on federal officers” (United States District Court, District of Columbia via Politico)
FBI Washington Field Office Releases Video of Assault on Member of the Media at U.S. Capitol, Seeks Public’s Help to Identify Suspects (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Court Doc: Lawyer For 17 Capitol Attack Defendants Hospitalized With COVID (Newsmax)
Go-to Lawyer for Capitol Riot Defendants Disappears (New York Times)
THE 2020 ELECTION
Rep. Cawthorn talks of 'bloodshed' over future elections as he pushes voting lies (@ddale8 and @CNNPaul via CNN)
Video: Liz Cheney says McCarthy should condemn Cawthorn’s ‘bloodshed’ comments (@cbszak via Twitter)
Rep. Cawthorn’s ‘Bloodshed’ Comments Elicit Backlash From Fellow House Republicans: ‘This Is Insane’ (Forbes)
'He's Gone From Awful to Alarming': N.C. Newspaper Demands GOP Censure Madison Cawthorn (Newsweek)
Renewed fears of political violence grip Capitol Hill ahead of right-wing rally (CNN)
AP sources: Intel shows extremists to attend Capitol rally (Associated Press)
Capitol Police "closely monitoring" Sept. 18 pro-Capitol riot rally (Axios)
Heeding Steve Bannon’s Call, Election Deniers Organize to Seize Control of the GOP — and Reshape America’s Elections (@iarnsdorf, @DougBockClark, @AlexandraBerzon, and @AnjeanetteDamon via ProPublica)
From two weeks ago: QAnon influencers want their followers to infiltrate Republican precinct committees -- and the plan shows signs it’s working (@AlKapDC via Media Matters)
Ron Johnson Supports Audit of 2020 Election in Wisconsin, Says He's Talked to Sidney Powell (Newsweek)
Sidney Powell To Face Texas State Bar Investigation—Potentially Leading To Her Disbarment (Forbes)
Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos Calls for Cyber Forensic Audit (The Tennessee Star)
Wisconsin election probe includes $325,000 for data analysis (ABC News)
Wisconsin GOP wants taxpayers to finance unneeded election 'audit' (MSNBC)
Paul Ryan says former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election (WISN 12 Milwaukee)
Colorado Secretary of State files lawsuit to replace Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters over alleged data leak (@mattshuham via Twitter)
Mike Lindell's meltdown begins: He recently sold a MyPillow plane to fund Dominion lawsuit (@ZTPetrizzo and @jonsskolnik via Salon)
Mike Lindell Sells Personal Plane Amid $1.3 Billion Voting Machine Lawsuit (Newsweek)
Their work secured the election. It also paved the way for pro-Trump conspiracies. (@kevincollier via NBC News)
Fact check: Georgia candidate Herschel Walker is a serial promoter of false 2020 conspiracy theories (@ddale8 via CNN)
Analysis: The use of unfounded fraud claims to limit voting access is more obvious than ever (@pbump via Washington Post)
ARIZONA AUDIT
Arizona Senate releases texts, emails offering glimpse of audit, but thousands of documents remain withheld (AZ Central)
Trump helped bankroll Senate audit, texts suggest (Arizona Capitol Times)
Thread: Arizona Senate releases 4GB of data about the audit (@bradheath via Twitter)
Thread: Newly released text messages from the audit team discuss security, fire-throwing clowns, phantom BLM buses (@get_innocuous via Twitter)
Trump’s Plot to Steal Arizona Was Even Wilder Than We Thought (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
Arizona Senate wants to keep nearly 2,900 audit-related documents from public view (AZ Central)
QANON & COMPANY
Caesar’s Palace says it will not host the QAnon Patriot Double Down event after all (@davidcharns via Twitter)
Caesars drops controversial QAnon-linked convention (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Conference organizer QAnon John travels to Las Vegas to arrange new venue after Caesar’s canceled October event (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
QAnon’s Biggest Conference Is in Complete Shambles Right Now (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
Jan. 6 Rioter Goes Back To Jail Over ‘Addiction’ To Online Conspiracy Theories (Huffington Post)
Doug Jensen back in custody, to next appear in court 24 September (@JordanOnRecord via Twitter)
Alleged Capitol rioter sent back to jail after watching conspiracy theory event (Axios)
'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley agrees to plea deal in Capitol riot (WUSA 9 Washington)
'QAnon Shaman' Reaches Plea Deal, Now 'Repudiates' Association With 'Q,' Lawyer Says (Huffington Post)
QAnon Believers Think Hurricane Ida Is a "Man Made" Storm Created by the "Deep State" (Paste Magazine)
ABC News accidentally broadcasted a satanic ritual. Now it's going viral on conspiracy theory TikTok (ABC News)
GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC POLICY
San Diego County calls medical misinformation a health crisis after 15-hour debate (San Diego Union-Tribune)
COVID-19 live updates: San Diego County declares medical misinformation a 'public health crisis' (ABC News)
Open Letter to EU Policy-Makers: How the Digital Services Act (DSA) can Tackle Disinformation (EU DisinfoLab)
GENERAL/OTHER
$2.25 million in National Science Foundation funding will support Center for an Informed Public’s rapid-response research of mis- and disinformation (University of Washington)
IMLS awards $250,000 grant to test a misinformation-focused escape room game, co-design camps in libraries (University of Washington)
Partisan divides in media trust widen, driven by a decline among Republicans (Pew Research Center)
Journalists who question objectivity still value truth-telling, study finds (Poynter)
Climate denial newspaper flourishes on Facebook (Climate Wire)
Amid Ida devastation, America's Newsroom mentioned climate change only once — to complain that mentioning it's political (Media Matters)
National corporate TV news largely failed to cover Hurricane Ida as a climate justice story (@citizenfisher via Media Matters)
How Poker Players Become COVID Conspiracists (@tomvictor via LogicallyAI)
Opinion: Show Me the Data! (@zeynep via New York Times)
Fact Check-Clips cut Biden’s response during Israeli PM meeting (Reuters)
A Russian disinformation site outed by State Department last year is still on multiple social media platforms (@NovelSci via Media Matters)
Truth Seekers Summit: ‘Weapons of Mass Disinformation’ (Rolling Stone)