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This Week in Misinformation: Hispanic Nazi Shooter, Drones Over Moscow, Biden Bombshell Dud

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This Week in Misinformation: Hispanic Nazi Shooter, Drones Over Moscow, Biden Bombshell Dud

11 May 2023

Prism Metanews
May 12, 2023
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This Week in Misinformation: Hispanic Nazi Shooter, Drones Over Moscow, Biden Bombshell Dud

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We’re doing a double this morning, folks! I know you missed it soooo much last week.

Is this the week you’ll forward this to a friend? Would be ever so grateful.

Reliability scores for media outlets cited in the summary are in parentheses for each, courtesy of the terrific folks at Ad Fontes Media.

Now, on to our top stories.

The extreme ideology of the Texas mall mass shooter was so clear to see that it sparked a backlash.

  • The carnage in Allen, Texas took the lives of at least nine people, including gunman Mauricio Garcia (New York Times, 42.00). Before his name was known or the victims even counted, rumors quickly proliferated about the tragedy, for example that he was a Black man or was a member of Central American gang MS-13. His motive was, of course, a central question.

  • It turned out that this shooter was in the thrall of hateful far-right ideas, including literally branding himself as a Nazi before his killing spree (CBS News, 44.09), wearing a “right wing death squad” patch (PBS, 47.01), and leaving pages upon pages of his writings praising Hitler posted to a no-follower account he created on a Russian social media site known as OK. He hated Jews and women and racial minorities (NBC News, 45.07) and embraced white supremacy (ADL). We know this because an enterprising Bellingcat researcher found the OK profile and reported its contents.

  • Then a few things happened. First, conservative culture warriors, including ones Garcia said influenced him, got mad. Second, right-wing accounts started churning out all kinds of conspiracy theories saying the OK site information was fake, in part because of their (incorrect) certainty that a person named Garcia could never identify as a white supremacist. Third, Elon Musk himself endorsed the allegation that Bellingcat had pulled a “psyop” with its quick, straightforward findings. (Musk has been much more open of late about his agreement with racist sentiments and conspiracy theories generally, and even subscribed to pay a major QAnon influencer for his content, so maybe this isn’t too surprising!)

A small flying thing exploded above the Kremlin in Moscow.

  • That’s all we know for sure about this incident (BBC, 46.15)! The rest--like who did it and why--are not at all clear.

  • Russia has variously claimed that either Ukraine or the United States (Reuters, 47.27) was responsible for the attack, maybe for the purpose of assassinating Vladimir Putin (NPR, 43.29). (Both Kyiv and Washington have denied it.) Important to note that there are reasons to believe Ukraine couldn’t have done the deed, including that some experts think a drone of that size would probably have had to be launched from inside Russia to reach the center of Moscow (Reuters). A successful assassination was not remotely within reach, either.

  • Whatever the truth behind the Kremlin attack, Russia took the opportunity to barrage Ukrainian territory with its sizable drone arsenal (BBC). If this turns out to be the first of a series of escalations, I will probably interpret the Kremlin event as being a false flag to serve as pretext for what would otherwise be clear provocations.

House GOP leaders put forward a bold, so far unsubstantiated, set of corruption allegations against the “Biden family.”

  • As The Wall Street Journal (43.65) implies in its headline, Rep. James Comer is using the supposed discovery of bank records showing payments to nine members of President Biden’s family receiving payments from foreign countries, including while he was VPOTUS under Obama, to jumpstart his flagging investigation into Hunter and others.

  • While we can’t say now if the entire thing is a nothingburger, one thing Comer pointedly has not claimed to have is evidence Joe Biden himself did wrong or was even involved (New York Times). Without this, it’s a stretch to paint this as bribery or influence peddling, even though I think it’s unseemly for officials’ relations to profit from their positions of public trust.

  • One aspect working against Comer’s credibility is that in the press conference he deployed a number of logically weak, conspiracy-theorist rhetorical devices, for example turning the question back on anyone who requests he prove his claims. Don’t do this kind of thing, people; critical thinkers can see right through it.

Not your parents’ grab bag: Meghan Markle 'doesn't go to coronation in disguise, hilarity ensues; Taylor Swift doesn't publish her memoir under a different name, someone else’s book becomes bestseller; Alex Jones doesn't realize he is talking to not Tucker Carlson, warns of the dangers of misinformation; a Republican official subjected to threats for 2020 election role now has PTSD; Tucker Carlson doesn't keep contract with Fox, says he will set up new show on Twitter; migrants from Latin America don't have correct information about U.S. immigration policy and enforcement; verified Twitter accounts share entirely baseless rumors about supposed Russian nuclear strikes; Congressional Republicans are taking another pass at bombshell-ifying the October 2020 former intelligence officials letter about Hunter Biden story; and one of the groups pushing back on Trump’s town hall false claims might surprise you.

All that, and a lot more, below. This is This Week in Misinformation.

-- Kevin


JANUARY 6TH

Jury convicts Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys on seditious conspiracy charge (NPR)
Four Proud Boys Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy (Wall Street Journal)
Four Proud Boys members found guilty of seditious conspiracy (CNN)
Four Proud Boys Convicted of Sedition in Key Jan. 6 Case (New York Times)
Proud Boys Members Convicted of Jan. 6 Seditious Conspiracy (Bloomberg)
Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio found guilty in seditious conspiracy trial verdict
 (CBS News)
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers a Statement Following the Jury Verdict in the Proud Boys Trial (Department of Justice)
Proud Boys juror says group’s deleted messages weighed on jury (Politico)
Donald Trump embraces Jan. 6 defendant who wants Mike Pence executed (NBC News)
Trump hugged and reassured a QAnon supporter convicted of defying police orders at the Capitol riot during NH campaign stop (Insider)
Asked If He Has Jan. 6 Regrets, Trump Boasts About Crowd Size (Rolling Stone)
Prosecutors in Jan. 6 Case Step up Inquiry Into Trump Fund-Raising (New York Times)
Pence appears before Jan. 6 grand jury (Politico)
Pence testifies before federal grand jury investigating Trump's role in Jan. 6 (NBC News)
Mike Pence navigates anger from all sides as he inches toward a presidential run (NBC News)
FBI says former agent arrested over Jan. 6 called officers Nazis and encouraged mob to ‘kill ‘em’ (NBC News)
Former FBI supervisor arrested on January 6-related charges allegedly encouraged mob to ‘kill’ police (CNN)
Ex-FBI agent feds say urged Jan. 6 rioters to kill police worked terrorism task force (NBC News)
Former F.B.I. Agent Charged in Jan. 6 Riot (New York Times)
'The Donald' forum user convicted of assaulting officers on Jan. 6 (NBC News)
Tennessee Man Found Guilty of Eight Felony Charges, Including Assault, Related to Capitol Breach (Department of Justice)
Jan. 6 Rioter Gets 14 Years for Police Attacks, Longest Sentence Yet in Inquiry (New York Times)
DOJ secures longest sentence yet for convicted Jan. 6 defendant (ABC News)
‘QAnon shaman’ says former lawyer failed him over Jan. 6 videos (Politico)
Jan. 6 rioter in pink beret identified after ex spotted her in a viral FBI tweet (NBC News)
DOJ charges 'Pink Beret' Jan. 6 rioter IDed after an ex spotted her in a viral FBI tweet (NBC News)

ELECTIONS

‘Get cancer’: how election lies morphed into a plague of hate in Arizona (The Guardian)
Arizona official targeted by election deniers now struggles with PTSD (Washington Post)
GOP official threatened over 2020 election says he now has PTSD (Newsweek)
Trump Ally Sidney Powell Defeats One Ethics Probe, Now Faces a New One (Bloomberg)
Trump ally Sidney Powell, others face misconduct case in Michigan (Reuters)
Dominion CEO describes deliberation around $787.5 mln settlement with Fox (Reuters)
New Defamation Suit Against Fox Signals Continued Legal Threat (New York Times)
Smartmatic subpoenas Trump's ex-campaign in Fox News, Newsmax lawsuits (Insider)
Trump digs in on election lies during CNN town hall event (Associated Press)
Trump repeatedly lied at his CNN town hall. His biggest claims, factchecked (The Guardian)
Town hall highlights media's struggle covering Trump's lies (PBS)
Fact-checking Trump's CNN town hall in New Hampshire (CNN)
Trump pushes false election claims, mocks E. Jean Carroll to applause during CNN town hall (CNBC)
GOP senators push back on Trump's claims during CNN town hall (CNN)

QANON & COMPANY

Alex Jones Is Now Concerned About Misinformation After Falling For A Prank Call (Forbes)
8 killed and 7 wounded in Texas mall shooting. The gunman is also dead (CNN)
At Least 9 Dead, Including Gunman, in Shooting at Texas Mall (New York Times)
At least 8 killed, 7 wounded in shooting at Allen Premium Outlets in Texas; gunman dead, police say (CBS News)
False rumors that the Allen, Texas shooter was a Black man killing white people (@stevanzetti via Twitter)
False claims spread online about suspects in the recent mass killings in Texas (PolitiFact)
Social Media Swamped With Photo Blaming Wrong Guy For Mass Shooting At Texas Outlet Mall (Forbes)
Newsmax uses a fake photo for its Allen shooting report (@MattBinder via Twitter)
Tracking misinformation about the Allen mass shooting and response (Dallas Morning News)
After Texas Mall Shooting, Searching for Motive and Grieving for Children (New York Times)
Authorities Search for Texas Mall Shooter’s Motive as Allen Grieves for Victims (New York Times)
Allen, Texas, shooting suspect had Nazi tattoos and researched when mall was busiest (CBS News)
Marjorie Taylor Greene misidentifies tattoo as ‘gang’ symbol (@petestrzok via Twitter)
Other blue checks botch the tattoo clues (@dancow via Twitter)
The tattoos are too new and so the shooting must be an op, QAnon community posits (@dappergander via Twitter)
Texas mall shooter’s ‘RWDS’ patch linked to far-right extremists (PBS)
RWDS patch: Meaning of acronym worn by Allen, Texas shooter (Insider)
‘Right wing death squad’: What to know about the Allen shooter's neo-Nazi views (Texas Tribune)
Texas AG Ken Paxton plays down early reports that shooter was neo-Nazi (@glennbeck via Twitter)
Source: Investigators examine ideology of Texas gunman (Associated Press)
Tracing the Odnoklassniki Profile of the Texas Mall Shooter (Bellingcat)
Texas mall shooter shared extremist beliefs against Jews, women and racial minorities on apparent social media page (NBC News)
Shooter in Allen, Texas, Embraced Antisemitism, Misogyny and White Supremacy (ADL)
Allen Gunman’s Writings Reveal a Disturbed, Hateful Man—But No Clear Motive (ADL)
Texas mall shooting: What to know about Allen massacre, suspect Mauricio Garcia (Axios)
What we know about the North Texas outlet mall gunman and his online posts (CNN)
What to know about Mauricio Garcia, the Texas mall massacre suspect killed by police (NBC News)
False information and conspiracy theories with alternative explanations begin to appear immediately after reporting on his far-right affinities (@EliotHiggins via Twitter)
Why some people are spreading false rumours about the Texas gunman (BBC)
Mentioned by the shooter in social posts, Tim Pool reacts and other blue checks defend him and LibsOfTikTok who was ‘inspiration’ (@hannahgais via Twitter)
More Tim Pool and right-wing blue check flailing (@stevanzetti via Twitter)
Community Notes contributors asked to decide whether to label Aric Toler’s thread about the shooter’s OK profile being fabricated (@blu3r4d0n via Twitter)
Musk Fuels Unfounded Texas Shooter Conspiracy Theories—Doubting Shooter’s Far-Right Connections (Forbes)
Musk: Bellingcat ‘specializes in psychological operations,’ implies Toler’s reporting cannot be relied upon (@AricToler via Twitter)
Earlier Musk endorsement of ‘psyop’ allegation (@Shayan86 via Twitter)
Elon Musk posted misleading tweets about the Texas mall gunman’s long history of neo-Nazi views being a potential ‘psyop’ (Fortune)
How Allen shooting aftermath was botched on Elon Musk's Twitter (Dallas Morning News)
Musk amplifies false election-related conspiracy theories of ‘Islamophobe’ Laura Loomer (@RMac18 via Twitter)
Elon Musk is now paying to get updates from a QAnon-linked influencer (Daily Dot)
Breaking down the racist meme Elon boosted (@marcowenjones via Twitter)
Ted Cruz hasn’t posted identical tweets after 12 mass shootings (Associated Press)
War, Weapons and Conspiracy Theories: Inside Airman Teixeira’s Online World (New York Times)
Trump statement on Soros ‘globalist cabal’ attempting to buy a media company to help Biden (@Gaber205 via Twitter)
‘Ron DeSoros’? Conspiracy Theorists Target Trump’s Rival. (New York Times)
Robert Kennedy Jr. says father’s ‘first instinct’ was CIA killed JFK (The Hill)
Gateway Pundit reports RFK Jr assertion about CIA and his uncle's murder, QAnon likes (@PokerPolitics via Twitter)
Robert Kennedy Jr. to make campaign debut at bitcoin conference (NBC News)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr says ABC cutting parts his interview is illegal (via Twitter)
ABC News and CNN Manage to Demonstrate Exactly What Not To Do with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (VICE)
Why Steve Bannon and Alex Jones love Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (NBC News)
In his first year of actively posting on Truth Social, Trump amplified QAnon-promoting accounts nearly 500 times (Media Matters)
‘QAnon sheriff’ Mark Lamb goes deep into far-right fringe in Arizona Senate race (Salon)
QAnon Momfluencer Convicted Of Falsely Claiming Craft Enthusiasts Tried To Kidnap Her Kids (Wonkette)
QAnon Conspiracist Mike Flynn Is Suing Another Conspiracist Who Claims He Invented QAnon (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
Russell Brand's show on Rumble uncritically platforms right-wing figures and conspiracy theories (Media Matters)
Chasing Conspiracy Theories at the Denver Airport (New York Times)
The Sun Used to Be Yellow, According to This Cosmic Conspiracy Theory (Rolling Stone)

COVID & HEALTH

How Ron DeSantis transformed into an anti-public health crusader (Vox)
GB News censured after Naomi Wolf compared Covid jab to mass murder (The Guardian)
News Organization Punished for Promoting Vaccine 'Conspiracy' Theory (Newsweek)
Video repeats false claims about COVID vaccines (Associated Press)
Ghouling: The trolls targeting bereaved people (BBC)
Is this anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist the next Alex Jones? (BBC)
The antivax filmmaker who sparked harassment of bereaved families (BBC Newsnight)
Covid global health emergency is over, WHO says (BBC)
W.H.O. Ends Covid World Health Emergency Designation (New York Times)
WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it's no longer emergency (ABC News)
U.S. Covid public health emergency ends, leaving behind a battered health system (CNBC)
Influencers Are Claiming a $4,000 Hunk of Plastic Can Treat Infertility, Skinned Knees, and Autism (Rolling Stone)
AI poses existential threat and risk to health of millions, experts warn (The Guardian)

PLATFORMS

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey says Musk wasn’t an ideal leader after all (Washington Post)
Elon Musk threatens to reassign @NPR on Twitter to 'another company' (NPR)
Elon Musk Reportedly Warns NPR Its Twitter Handle Will Get Reassigned Unless They Start Tweeting Again (Forbes)
Elon Musk threatens to reassign NPR’s Twitter account ‘to another company’ (PBS)
Musk threatens to reassign NPR Twitter account, NPR says (Reuters)
Tucker announces his Twitter video show in a Twitter video (via Twitter)
Tucker Carlson announces plans to relaunch his show on Twitter (CNN)
Tucker Carlson says he'll take his show to Twitter (NPR)
Tucker Carlson Will Launch Show On Twitter (Forbes)
Tucker Carlson to bring his show to Twitter (Insider)
Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News. Here’s a brief look at his hatred and conspiracy theories. (Media Matters)
After Tucker Carlson Exits Fox News, Advertisers Start to Return to 8 p.m. Slot (Variety)
Tucker Carlson accuses Fox of fraud, contract breach (Axios)
Tucker Carlson is relaunching his show on Elon Musk’s Twitter—and reportedly without $25 million in severance (Fortune)
Meta shuts down network of fake accounts that 'signal a shift' in China-based influence efforts (CNN)
TikTok's head of U.S. trust and safety will leave the company (Reuters)
Opinion: My Descent Into TikTok News Hell (Politico)
Google Promised to Defund Climate Lies, but the Ads Keep Coming (New York Times)
‘The Godfather of A.I.’ Leaves Google and Warns of Danger Ahead (New York Times)
‘Godfather of AI’ quits Google with regrets and fears about his life’s work (The Verge)
The AI takeover of Google Search starts now (The Verge)
Google to label AI-generated images after viral Pope Francis, Trump deepfakes (New York Post)
Google introduces new features to help identify AI images in Search and elsewhere (TechCrunch)
The Thorny Art of Deepfake Labeling (Wired)
2023 World Press Freedom Index – journalism threatened by fake content industry (Reporters Without Borders)
Tech industry allowing 'deluge' of misinformation: RSF (Agence France Presse)
How AI will transform the 2024 elections (Brookings Institution)
DeSantis Deepfake Shows Him Saying Leadership is ‘About Fooling the Voters’ (Snopes)
Democracy isn't ready for its AI test (Axios)
2024: The 'Trust-Nothing' Election (CNN)
The trust-nothing election (Axios)
People are arguing in court that real images are deepfakes (NPR)
Lawyers brace for AI's potential to upend court cases with phony evidence (Fox News)
Apple co-founder says AI may make scams harder to spot (BBC)

GOVERNMENT & POLICY

The government created a new disinformation office to Oversee all the other ones (The Intercept) 
How Congress is tackling disinformation from US adversaries (The Hill)
Addressing Misinformation on Offshore Wind Farms and Recent Whale Mortalities (Department of Energy)
Addressing Misinformation on DOE Appliance Standards (Department of Energy)
UN chief urges all nations to stop targeting media and truth (Associated Press)
Brazil pushes back on big tech firms' campaign against 'fake news law' (Reuters)
Brazil receives pushback from tech companies on ‘fake news’ bill (The Guardian)

INTERNATIONAL

Pastor Paul Mackenzie: What did the starvation cult leader preach? (BBC)
Kenya starvation cult: 'My wife and six children followed Pastor Mackenzie' (BBC)
Disinformation plagues migrants' quest to reach US (France 24)
Asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border fueled by misinformation (CBS 8)
60,000 migrants are waiting near U.S.-Mexico border as Title 42 ends, border chief says (CBS News)
Italy Now Has Conspiracy Theory as National Policy (Foreign Policy)
What do we know about drone attacks in Russia? (BBC)
Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attacks on Kremlin (PBS)
Kremlin drone: Zelensky denies Ukraine attacked Putin or Moscow (BBC)
Russia claims U.S. behind Ukraine drone attack on the Kremlin (NBC News)
Russia says U.S. was behind Kremlin drone attack, drawing quick denial (Reuters)
Russia claims U.S. planned alleged drone attack on Kremlin as Ukraine's civilians suffer the retaliation (CBS News)
Kremlin 'lying' about U.S. involvement in Moscow drone strikes, officials say (Politico)
U.S. had no warning of a drone attack on the Kremlin, officials say (Politico)
Drones over Kremlin likely launched from inside Russia, experts say (Reuters)
Reasons to believe Kremlin drone attack was not ordered by Ukraine (@sumlenny via Twitter)
Russia alleges Ukraine drone attack on Kremlin to assassinate Putin (NPR)
Not an attempt on Putin's life (@EdKrassen via Twitter)
False flag or genuine attack? What we know about the Kremlin drone incident (The Guardian)
How the Kremlin drone attack hands Russia an opportunity (CNN)
Real or not, reported Kremlin drone attack unsettles Russia (Associated Press)
Russia Launches Drone Attack on Ukraine Ahead of Victory Day (Foreign Policy)
Ukraine war: Russia launches 'biggest' kamikaze drone attack (BBC)
Russia launches huge drone attacks on Ukraine ahead of Victory Day holiday (The Independent)
Russia destroys Red Cross warehouse during 'massive drone attack on Ukraine' (The Telegraph)
Baseless rumors about imminent nuclear strikes (@Shayan86 via Twitter)
Verified Twitter Accounts Spread Misinfo About Imminent Nuclear Strike (VICE)

GENERAL/OTHER

Nearly three-quarters of Americans blame media for dividing nation, poll says (Associated Press)
How Taylor Swift fans turned a mysterious book into a bestseller (Washington Post)
Taylor Swift speculation turns book into bestseller (CNN)
Rumors of a Taylor Swift memoir put a mystery book on top of pre-sale charts. But new reports say the book isn’t hers. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Taylor Swift Fans Preorder Memoir Speculating It's Hers (Time)
Republicans say Biden campaign exploited former intel officials to discredit Hunter Biden laptop allegations (CBS News)
House Republicans say CIA staffer helped seek support for statement from former intel officials questioning Hunter Biden laptop story (CNN)
Ex-CIA chief wrote Hunter Biden laptop ‘disinfo’ letter for Joe Biden to use as ‘talking point’ during debate (New York Post)
CIA 'may have assisted in obtaining signatories' for letter discrediting Hunter Biden laptop: House GOP report (Fox News)
Unpacking the Claim that Blinken 'Lied' to Congress (FactCheck.org)
Binance claims to be target of ChatGPT-based smear campaign in Washington, D.C. (Fortune)
Analysis: Here’s how right-wing media shields Trump from his scandals (@pbump via Washington Post)
House Republicans ramp up claims Biden family received money from foreign contacts (NPR)
Republicans Seek New Momentum for Biden Family Investigations (Wall Street Journal)
House Republicans release probe into Biden family finances (BBC)
House Republican Report Finds No Evidence of Wrongdoing by President Biden (New York Times)
House Republicans allege Biden family members received millions in payments from foreign entities in new bank records report (CNN)
Comer releases Biden family probe update without showing link to president (Politico)
House GOP panel says members of Biden family got $10 million from foreign entities as Democrats note no sign of Joe Biden's involvement (CBS News)
James Comer using conspiracy theorist tactics (@dappergander via Twitter)
 Comer Investigation of Biden Relatives Swings and Misses on Allegations of Influence Peddling (Time)
‘You Don’t Actually Have Any Facts’: Even Fox Isn’t Buying GOP’s Claims About Biden’s Foreign Business Dealings (Rolling Stone)
'I wasn't Meghan Markle in disguise at Coronation' (BBC)
Karl Jenkins Sets the Record Straight: He Is Not Meghan Markle (New York Times)
Sir Karl Jenkins Claims He Isn't Meghan Markle in Disguise (New York Magazine)
MLK’s famous criticism of Malcolm X was a ‘fraud,’ author finds (Washington Post)
What Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s New Biographer Reveals (New Yorker)
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This Week in Misinformation: Hispanic Nazi Shooter, Drones Over Moscow, Biden Bombshell Dud

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