This Week in Misinformation: Ivermectin-Humans, Trump-Vaccine, J6 Committee-Q World, Cyber Ninjas-COVID, Antifa Bus-Police
26 August 2021
[CORRECTION: Edited summary to reflect correct numbers in bullet about Kevin McCarthy.]
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IVERMECTIN was the word of the week, but it still can’t cure COVID. The question of the virus’s origins was the subject of a presidential briefing, and mask mandate controversies burned brightly.
Misinformation has led a lot of people to take the animal dewormer version of a supposed COVID miracle drug that they’ve seen on TV—but that doctors won’t prescribe.
It got so bad that the FDA issued a statement telling people to stop taking Ivermectin because it isn’t approved for treating COVID (and definitely don’t take the one formulated for horses!).
The U.S. intelligence community finished its report on the origins of COVID and briefed President Biden (seems it might be inconclusive, though).
China pushed bogus narratives about the involvement of U.S. laboratories in the release of the virus, probably timed to counter the impact of the U.S. intelligence report.
Media on both sides reported on a Florida doctors ‘walkout’ that never was (it was a press conference), because we all sometimes run with dubious information that fits our narrative.
Mask mandate wars raged in Texas, where a judge struck down a ban on mandates in schools, and in Florida, where the governor’s threats against rogue school districts only escalated.
President Biden and his Secretary of Education publicly sided with the school districts that want the mandates, at which Republican governors bristled.
The debate over vaccines could be turning more dangerous, and even Donald Trump’s strong endorsement and full FDA approval seem not to have made a dent in vaccine hesitancy.
Online anti-vaccine community are getting more quality time with militant groups like the Proud Boys, which could result in armed confrontations and vaccine-related violence.
Trump suggested the vaccine was a good thing at his Alabama rally, but the crowd (and QAnon, and Alex Jones) just hated that he said that.
The Food and Drug Administration bestowed full approval on the Pfizer shot, which persuaded few doubters but did prompt new mandates affecting large numbers of people.
False claims circulated that the FDA didn’t actually approve Pfizer and instead only extended its emergency use authorization.
Moms on Facebook have had some success persuading the vaccine-hesitant with “thoughtful moderation” of their vaccine debate group.
The consequences of misinformation-fueled vaccine resistance roll on: heartbreak for nurses and billions of dollars treating preventable cases.
The times are such that misinformation is becoming an issue for developments in Afghanistan. Important takeaway: when events are big and moving quickly, wait before believing any of it.
President Biden made false claims about the American withdrawal and was fact-checked for it.
Former officials of the Trump made false claims about how they handled Afghanistan and were fact-checked for it.
The Taliban made false claims about… Osama Bin Laden and yes, you guessed right, they were fact-checked for it.
Taliban used Twitter as part of the propaganda operation that accompanied its lightning military offensive.
Fake stuff about Afghanistan cropped up all over the place, from reports of alleged Taliban atrocities to images of Afghans trying to leave the country.
Facebook removed loads of misinformation content, but it was criticized for misinformation topping its “popular posts” list. YouTube philosophized about content moderation. TikTok was kind of forced to do something about misinformation-purveying accounts.
Facebook has removed 20 million COVID misinformation posts and some QAnon show pages.
On another positive (?) note, Facebook pages that lie outright haven’t performed as well as those that (only) mislead.
Facebook denied it is responsible for enabling bad information about vaccines to spread and is preparing to stand up a commission to make independent determinations on election-related content.
Controversy intensified over Facebook’s new “popular posts” report, which showed that vaccine misinformation was exceptionally popular on the platform in the first quarter of 2021.
YouTube put out a “perspective” on its approach to misinformation that focused on promoting “good” information and limiting the reach of “bad” information (their words) over outright removing false content.
Donald Trump is still suing YouTube to get his content creator privileges restored.
TikTok shut down a network of five accounts posting InfoWars misinformation after Olivia Little found them out.
Some of the most visible characters in Q world are being scrutinized in uncomfortable ways.
Jim Watkins, father of Probably-Q Ron, has been contacted by the Congressional committee investigating January 6th for records relating to activity on the 8kun message board he owns.
Tina Peters, the Colorado county clerk who leaked data systems information to Ron Watkins, flew herself to the Lindell cyber symposium in South Dakota last month on the taxpayer’s dime.
The QAnon influencer with the largest Telegram following—to whom he dispenses a diet of anti-semitic views and misinformation—was revealed by LogicallyAI to be Robert Smart of Florida.
Doug Jensen, the ‘Q’ shirt man inside the Capitol on January 6th, is probably headed back to jail; he streamed the Lindell cyber symposium from his wife’s phone against the judge’s orders.
The Library of Congress truck guy livestreamed a falsehood-riddled rant against Joe Biden before threatening the Capitol with a “weapon of mass destruction.”
The Congressional effort to investigate January 6th moved to obtain Trump administration records, a celebrity misinformationist is arrested for crimes committed at the Capitol that day, and police officers who repelled the attack were in the public eye.
The January 6th Select Committee of the House of Representative cast a wide net, covering many Q-affiliated individuals, in its first records request.
Donald Trump called the investigation a sham, while anonymous FBI officials told Reuters there didn’t seem to be much evidence of an all-encompassing conspiracy before the attack.
But, no, there is actually a lot to suggest the attack was planned in detail, in advance, by many—including men who definitely know Roger Stone (don’t sue me, bro!).
InfoWars host Owen Shroyer was charged with January 6th crimes, which he announced on his show before turning himself in.
Law enforcement in DC is gearing up for possible election fraud-inspired violence on September 18th, while Trump at his Alabama rally experimented with an even more aggressive tone.
The officer who shot Ashli Babbitt was cleared of wrongdoing and sat for a television interview to tell his story.
Seven Capitol Police officers sued Trump and organizers of the “Stop the Steal” movement over the attack that put them in between a violent mob and a Joint Session of Congress.
A judge dealt a punitive blow to the attorneys who filed high-profile election fraud lawsuits. But Trump, Mike Lindell, and the MAGA faithful showed they are not ready to abandon the fantasy just yet.
The federal judge over the “Kraken” case granted the defendants’ request that plaintiff’s lawyers, including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, be sanctioned up to possible disbarment.
Mike Lindell, undeterred by the collapse of his symposium hype and failure to help Donald Trump be reinstated in August, says at a Trump rally in Alabama that it will happen sometime in 2021.
Trump, for his part, made sure to shout out Lindell from the podium and repeated the familiar, thoroughly debunked election fraud claims he has made many times.
Introducing Trump at the rally, Representative Mo Brooks tried to tell the crowd to move past 2020 and focus on midterms—and was summarily booed.
It is my duty to inform you, with apologies, that there is news about the Arizona “audit” again this week. Bottom line: externally enforced transparency soon, but no Cyber Ninjas report yet because COVID-19.
Legal battles over whether the Arizona Senate would have to turn records of the audit over to a public interest group have shifted decidedly against the Cyber Ninjas’ preference.
Congress reminded Cyber Ninjas that it also wants to see the documentation.
Elected officials of both parties have voiced concern that the audit report could give oxygen to the impossible theory that Arizona and other states could change their electors to Trump and are trying to preempt the inevitable conspiratorial interpretation of what is reported.
As for the report, it was supposed to go to the Arizona Senate this week, but COVID-19 had other plans for two of the five Cyber Ninjas and the delivery was postponed.
The “watch the audit” crowd on Telegram was very disappointed about the report’s delay.
Minor happenings in government and public policy this week.
The Surgeon General finds social media companies’ approaches to misinformation lacking.
A California city is hiring micro influencers to combat COVID vaccine misinformation.
Public television is funding TV stations’ efforts to counter COVID misinformation.
In our grab bag section, there is a delightful assortment of other misinformation news. Enjoy!
In California last year, police chased around an “antifa bus” that never existed.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy demonstrated a penchant for falsehoods in a television interview, scoring five in seven minutes’ time.
There was fake news about snakes and chocolate.
There was fake porn and more on the fake Anthony Bourdain voiceovers.
That, and a lot more, below. This is This Week in Misinformation.
-- Kevin
COVID - NOT VACCINES
Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
FAQ: COVID-19 and Ivermectin Intended for Animals (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Why the FDA is warning Americans against taking horse drugs for COVID-19 (@MattGertz via Media Matters)
Person Hospitalized After Taking Livestock Ivermectin From Feed Store To Treat COVID-19 (@ashtonpittman via Mississippi Free Press)
Mississippi officials warn against using livestock ivermectin to prevent COVID-19 after rise in poison control calls (@MeredithDeliso via ABC News)
CDC says calls to poison control centers about consuming Ivermectin were up five-fold in July, severe illness reported (@passantino via Twitter)
In Ivermectin groups on Facebook, some members are saying they take far too much, others are contemplating injecting one labeled for cattle (@oneunderscore__ via Twitter)
Right-wing media pushed a deworming drug to treat Covid-19 that the FDA says is unsafe for humans (via CNN Business)
Ron Johnson pushes unproven Covid treatments: 'I don't care what drug will work — try a bunch of them' (Raw Story)
Analysis: How the right’s ivermectin conspiracy theories led to people buying horse dewormer (@AaronBlake via Washington Post)
Clamoring for ivermectin, some turn to a pro-Trump telemedicine website (@oneunderscore__ and @BrandyZadrozny via NBC News)
Facebook Is Allowing Ivermectin Ads at a Time When It Really Shouldn’t (@annamerlan and @timmarchman via VICE)
We Talked to a Dealer Selling Ivermectin Through Shady Facebook Ads (@timmarchman via VICE)
President Biden receives and is briefed on intelligence community’s 90-day report on the origins of COVID-19(C-SPAN via Twitter)
China Says World Health Organization Should 'Go to U.S. Labs' to Investigate COVID Origins (Newsweek)
Wuhan lab leak theory: How Fort Detrick became a centre for Chinese conspiracies (BBC)
China Pushes Own 'Lab Leak' Conspiracy As Biden's COVID Report Draws Near (Newsweek)
Thread: Partisan outlets turn Florida doctors’ press conference into a ‘walkout’ (@jeffbercovici via Twitter)
FACT FOCUS: Florida doctors did not walk off the job (Agence France Presse)
Texas governor issues order banning local vaccine mandates (Associated Press)
Texas Supreme Court rejects Gov. Abbott's request to stay Travis County mask mandate orders (KVUE Austin)
State Board of Education Orders School Boards of Alachua and Broward Counties to Follow the Law (Florida Department of Education)
Florida to Withhold Funds from Two School Districts for Violating Mask-Mandate Ban (@carolinedowney via National Review)
Florida gives school districts 48 hours to reverse mask mandates or lose funding (ABC News)
Secretary Cardona Tells Alachua and Broward County School Districts: "We stand with you" (U.S. Department of Education)
The Biden administration will use a federal civil rights office to deter states from banning universal masking in classrooms (New York Times)
With cases in Florida surging, DeSantis and Biden square off over coronavirus response (CNN)
GOP governors, school districts battle over mask mandates (Associated Press)
Biden backs school districts in fight against GOP mask mandate bans (Vox)
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds fires back at Biden's threat to make states allow school mask mandates: 'I'm doing my job' (Des Moines Register)
WHO says Covid misinformation is a major factor driving pandemic around the world (CNBC)
COVID - VACCINES
Unvaccinated terror: Proud Boys push the anti-vaccination movement into a violent threat (Amanda Marcotte via Salon)
Video: At Alabama rally, Trump says he took the vaccine, says people in crowd should take it, says ‘you have your freedoms’ when audience disapproves (@aaronblake via Twitter)
Donald Trump Booed at Alabama Rally After Encouraging Crowd to Get COVID-19 Vaccine (@christinaxzhao via Newsweek)
Q influencers struggle with Trump’s endorsement of COVID-19 vaccines at Alabama rally (@_MAArgentino via Twitter)
Video: InfoWars host Alex Jones calls Trump ‘dumbass’ for saying vaccines are working (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
US regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (Associated Press)
F.D.A.’s Vaccine Approval Leads Pentagon and Others to Add Requirements (New York Times)
New York City Mandates Covid-19 Vaccines for All Teachers, Staff (Wall Street Journal)
Video: School workers protest vaccination requirement in New York City (Newsweek via Twitter)
After FDA announces full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, QAnon promoters claim it's part of a bigger conspiracy (@rothschildmd via Twitter)
Online Q community expresses fear that FDA approval will lead to vaccine mandates (@Q__talk via Twitter)
Anti-vaxxers, Q followers, and other right-wing conspiracy theorists make clear they are not swayed by the FDA announcement (@coolfacejane via Twitter)
False claims spread that the FDA did not grant the Pfizer vaccine full approval (@cytkeenan via First Draft)
Video: With Pfizer approved by FDA, President Biden urges all who had been waiting for this moment to be vaccinated ‘today’ (ABC News via Twitter)
What the Pfizer-approval story says about our media ecosystem (@Jon_Allsop via Columbia Journalism Review)
A group of moms on Facebook built an island of good-faith vaccine debate in a sea of misinformation (Washington Post)
Thread: What the Facebook moms’ group for vaccine debate demonstrates about ‘thoughtful moderation’ (@ira_hyman via Twitter)
A TikTok debunking a viral video about vaccine side effects reaches more than one million, elicits comments that suggest countering anti-vaccine content can help the hesitant (@abbieasr via Twitter)
Nurse Heartbroken After Unvaccinated Mother Dies of COVID at Hospital Where She Works (Newsweek)
Philadelphia Archdiocese says it will not support religious exemptions from Covid vaccination (@DSlotnik via New York Times)
Vaccine testing falsely equated with thalidomide development decades ago (Associated Press from December 2020)
Data deficits around Covid-19 booster shots are fueling misinformation (First Draft)
There's a psychological reason anti-vaccine misinformation is so hard to fight (@drdoreendm via Salon)
Thread: Anti-vaxxers online are very different from real people who have not yet been vaccinated (@ASlavitt via Twitter)
Opinion: Dying in the Name of Vaccine Freedom (New York Times)
AFGHANISTAN
Fact-checking Biden's ABC interview on Afghanistan (@ddale8 via CNN)
Biden incorrectly says al Qaeda ‘gone’ from Afghanistan (@ddale8 via Twitter)
Fact check: Biden claims al Qaeda is 'gone' from Afghanistan. Then the Pentagon confirms it's still there (@ddale8 via CNN)
Fact check: Trump administration officials try to rewrite their own Afghanistan history (CNN)
Taliban spokesman says ‘no proof’ bin Laden was responsible for 9/11 attacks (Washington Post)
As the Taliban offensive gained momentum, so did its Twitter propaganda campaign (Digital Forensic Research Lab via Medium)
No evidence Taliban sentenced 229 Christian missionaries to death (@dpfunke via USA Today)
Viral video allegedly of Afghans rushing airport actually showed Dallas Cowboys fans at AT&T Stadium (Dallas Morning News)
PLATFORMS
Facebook Has Deleted More Than 20 Million Posts for COVID-19 Misinformation (HYPEBEAST)
Facebook removed 20 million posts for Covid-19 misinformation. Is it enough? (First Draft)
Update: Facebook takes down Facebook pages for three of the QAnon shows mentioned in 11 August Media Matters report for violating content policy (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
The Technology 202: Study finds sites that mislead, not flat-out lie, attract record share of Facebook engagements (Washington Post)
Facebook Said to Consider Forming an Election Commission (Ryan Mac, Mike Isaac and Sheera Frenkel vis New York Times)
Zuckerberg deflects questions about vaccine disinformation on Facebook (@samideque via The Guardian)
Facebook’s content report fails to deliver on the transparency it promises (@brianboland via Medium)
Facebook, Fearing Public Outcry, Shelved Earlier Report on Popular Posts (@daveyalba and @RMac18 via New York Times)
Thread: Facebook spokesperson defends website’s shelving of popular posts report, says definition of ‘misinformation’ not specified (@andymstone via Twitter)
Facebook retroactively releases popular posts report from first quarter after New York Times reported it had been shelved (@daveyalba via Twitter)
Thread: One of the NYT reporters answers accusations of hypocrisy for calling out Facebook on unflattering material in the originally shelved report (@RMac18 via Twitter)
Facebook's Most Viewed Article In Early 2021 Raised Doubt About COVID Vaccine (@shannonpareil via NPR)
Six of the top 20 sharers of the link in question came from public Facebook groups that have consistently shared anti-vaxx information (@daveyalba via Twitter)
Facebook sent a ton of traffic to a Chicago Tribune story. So why is everyone mad at them? (@jbenton via Nieman Lab)
Twitter flagged Donald Trump’s tweets with election misinformation: They continued to spread both on and off the platform (@zns202, @m_dot_brown, @j_a_tucker, @Jonathan_Nagler, and @RichBonneauNYU viaHKS Misinformation Review)
Gov. DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw suspended on Twitter after violating rules on 'abusive behavior' (WTSP 10 Tampa)
Perspective: Tackling Misinformation on YouTube (YouTube official blog)
YouTube Pulling Some Public Meeting Videos Amid Citizens Presenting COVID Misinformation (Newsweek)
Trump Asks Judge for Preliminary Injunction in His Case Against YouTube (Newsmax)
YouTube removes Milo Yiannopoulos’s channel (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
A network of five TikTok accounts is reposting InfoWars misinformation (@OliviaLittle via Twitter)
TikTok bans the five accounts reposting InfoWars misinformation (@OliviaLittle via Twitter)
Cross-platform Information Operations: Mobilizing Narratives and Building Resilience Through Both ‘Big’ and ‘Alt’ Tech (@katestarbird and Tom Wilson via University of Washington)
QANON & COMPANY
8kun owner Jim Watkins posts his letter from a Congressional staffer about January 6th on Telegram (@_MAArgentino via Twitter)
More on Jim Watkins corresponding with Congress, says 8kun might be shut down (@_MAArgentino via Twitter)
Congress requests documents from Jim Watkins (@_MAArgentino via Twitter)
Peters used tax dollars to pay for South Dakota flight (@OldNewsman via Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)
Supporters converge in Mesa County to backup clerk Tina Peters, who is in hiding after voting system breach (Colorado Sun)
Tina Peters supporters rally in Grand Junction (Colorado Newsline)
Logically Identifies GhostEzra, Florida Man Behind World’s ‘Largest Antisemitic Internet Forum’ (@nickbackovic, @JordanWildon, and @TheOndrakGuy via LogicallyAI)
Prosecutors: Doug Jensen violated terms of release when he watched election conspiracy event online (@SarahBeckman3 and @mariovrossi via We Are Iowa)
Thread: How Doug Jensen, the QAnoner who chased Officer Goodman up the stairs of the Capitol, violated his court-ordered break from outside information (@emptywheel via Twitter)
Mike Flynn puts out four-part video series titled ‘Storm That is Coming’ (@2021_Karma via Twitter)
A Man Who Had Ranted Against Joe Biden Surrendered To Police After Threatening To Blow Up His Truck In DC (BuzzFeed News)
Capitol bomb threat suspect Floyd Roseberry prescribed wrong medications, psychologist says (WUSA 9)
Thread: Live tweeting the first court hearing for Floyd Ray Roseberry (@ellievhall via Twitter)
Caesars Entertainment Is Welcoming A QAnon Conference To Las Vegas (Forbes)
Nesara: The financial fantasy ruining lives (@Shayan86 via BBC)
A QAnon governor? Three California recall candidates have supported the conspiracy movement (@andrewsheeler via Sacramento Bee)
JANUARY 6TH
Select Committee Issues Sweeping Demand for Executive Branch Records (House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol)
House panel probing 1/6 riot seeks host of Trump-era records (Associated Press)
U.S. House Jan. 6 committee demands Trump White House records (Reuters)
Jan. 6 Select Committee Probe Expands To Trump And Top Officials In A Wave Of Demands (NPR)
House Panel Demands Records of Trump’s Movements on Jan. 6 (New York Times)
House Select Committee’s records request list contains many individuals associated with QAnon (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
House probe focuses on Trump's mental health and martial law (The Hill)
Donald Trump Calls 1/6 Committee 'Sham,' Says 'Executive Privilege Will Be Defended' (Newsweek)
FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was coordinated-sources (Mark Hosenball and @SarahNLynch via Reuters)
Thread: At least some of the January 6th attackers were conspiring to invade the Capitol in advance and were in contact with Roger Stone (@beyerstein via Twitter)
Thread: Iceberg theory of extremist activity suggests the most organized violent offenders lead the masses to disaster (@selectedwisdom via Twitter)
Video: Jan. 6 sentencing derailed after new video surfaces of alleged police assault (MSNBC)
Prosecutors And Judges Really Don’t Want You To Call Capitol Rioters "Tourists" (@ZoeTillman via BuzzFeed News)
Roger Stone says he is suing ABC News for $25 million over defamation related to January 6th (@ZTPetrizzo via Twitter)
Infowars host Owen Shroyer has been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol (@zoetillman via Twitter)
Infowars host Owen Shroyer charged for breaching Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 (@ZTPetrizzo via Salon)
Infowars host Owen Shroyer blames FBI, Capitol Police, and Nancy Pelosi for manufacturing January 6 hours after he's charged (Media Matters)
Owen Shroyer surrenders himself to authorities after being charged with January 6th crimes (@ZTPetrizzo via Salon)
A New Mexico county commissioner under January 6th charges appears on a QAnon show to fundraise and claim the insurrection was a ‘set up’ (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
MPD fully activates department ahead of planned 'Justice for J6' protest on Sept. 18 (@MikevWUSA via WUSA 9 Washington, DC)
Thread: Trump rally appearance in Alabama signals more militant tone (@laurajedeed via Twitter)
Timeline: Rep. Jim Jordan, a Systematic Disinformation Campaign, and January 6 (Just Security)
Internal probe clears Capitol Police officer in shooting of Ashli Babbitt (Washington Post)
Internal probe clears officer in Capitol riot shooting (Associated Press)
Capitol Police Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt Will Not Be Disciplined, Department Says (National Review)
Officer who shot Ashli Babbitt during Capitol riot breaks silence: 'I saved countless lives' (NBC News)
THE 2020 ELECTION
Federal judge in Michigan orders pro-Trump lawyers disciplined over lawsuit seeking to overturn 2020 election (Washington Post)
Federal judge imposes sanctions on Sidney Powell, Lin Wood and other pro-Trump lawyers (Politico)
Judge sanctions pro-Trump lawyers who brought 'frivolous' election fraud lawsuits (CNN)
Federal judge sanctions Trump attorneys for spreading false election fraud claims (NBC News)
Judge Sanctions Sidney Powell, Lin Wood over 2020 Election Challenge (National Review)
‘This lawsuit should never have been filed’: Judge’s full opinion and order granting sanctions against Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and other ‘Kraken’ lawyers (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division)
Dominion: Ex-Trump lawyer raiding nonprofit for personal use (ABC News)
Judge grills lawyers for Fox News, Powell, Giuliani about election fraud claims in $2.7 billion Smartmatic defamation suit (@KevinWilliamB via CNBC)
The Big Reveal That Wasn’t (@KhayaHimmelman via The Dispatch)
Thread: The data Mike Lindell data gave to experts at his symposium (@ErrataRob via Twitter)
Video: Lindell appears at Donal Trump’s Alabama rally, says election was fraudulent in every state and down-ballot, says Trump will be reinstated in 2021 ‘100 percent’ (@RonFilipkowsk via Twitter)
Mike Lindell, still in Trump's good graces, has new prediction: reinstatement by New Year's (@ZTPetrizzo via Salon)
Video: At Alabama rally, Trump praises Mike Lindell and his cyber symposium (@ZTPetrizzo via Twitter)
Thread: Live tweeting Trump’s speech, including debunked claims of election fraud, at Alabama rally (@atrupar via Twitter)
Video: Mo Brooks tries to tell Trump rally crowd to move on from 2020 and is booed (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
Trump Rally-Goers Lose Their Minds When Rep. Mo Brooks Tells Them to Move Past 2020 Election (@brooklynmutt via Rolling Stone)
The Cybersecurity 202: In this Colorado county, election conspiracies led to a real-world leak (@Joseph_Marks_ via Washington Post)
CREW files criminal complaint against former Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark for post-election actions (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)
A conservative ‘vote-monitoring’ group is mining cellular location data to conduct pseudo-audits in states Trump lost (@get_innocuous via Twitter)
ARIZONA AUDIT
Appeals court orders Arizona Senate audit records released (@APChristie via Associated Press)
Appeals court orders release of Arizona Senate audit records (CBS News)
Arizona Senate makes last-ditch effort to keep records of audit company secret (tucson.com)
Arizona judge orders Cyber Ninjas to preserve all records in 2020 election audit (The Hill)
House panel probing Arizona ballot review gives Cyber Ninjas a Friday deadline to cooperate (AZ Central)
Leaders of House Oversight Committee warn Cyber Ninjas CEO of ‘obstruction’ and demand he provide documents requested in July (U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee)
AZ Sec. of State: GOP leaders suggesting AZ audit can install Trump ‘fueling dangerous behavior' (MSNBC)
Arizona legislator Wendy Rogers advances bogus legal theory about the possibility of decertifying a state’s slate of Electors (@steve_vladeck via Twitter)
Arizona ‘bracing for impact’ of Trump-driven election report (@ZachMontellaro via Politico)
Office of the Arizona Secretary of State: Report on the Partisan Review of the 2020 General Election in Maricopa County (Office of the Arizona Secretary of State)
Arizona Audit Has 'Too Many Flaws' to Trust Results, Says Former Republican Official (Newsweek)
Arizona's sham 'audit' report due to GOP-led state Senate on Monday (CNN)
Arizona Senate GOP’s 2020 election report delayed again (Associated Press)
Arizona election review delayed again after 3 team members contract COVID-19 (CBS News)
Telegram users in an Arizona Audit channel are upset by announcement of the report’s delay (@Garrett_Archer via Twitter)
Ron Watkins puts out call for volunteers to help Arizona Republican Liz Harris conduct door-to-door canvassing (az_rww via Twitter)
GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC POLICY
Video: Surgeon General says social media companies doing ‘not nearly enough’ about misinformation (The Hill via Twitter)
Facebook and others doing ‘not nearly enough’ to stop COVID misinformation, surgeon general says (Market Watch)
Vietnamese and Latino micro-influencers fight against vaccine disinformation in San Jose (Coda Story)
CPB Funds Station Efforts to Combat COVID-19 Misinformation (Next TV)
GENERAL/OTHER
Revealed: how California police chased a nonexistent ‘antifa bus’ (The Guardian)
Fact check: Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy makes at least 5 false claims in 7-minute Fox News interview (@ddale8 via CNN)
Letter From London: Snake news is fake news (@BWazir1 via Coda Story)
Cadbury World ‘promotion’ is fake (Full Fact)
Former BBC Young Composer of the Year turned friend into fake porn (The Times)
Are These the Hidden Deepfakes in the Anthony Bourdain Movie? (Wired)
A Famous Honesty Researcher Is Retracting A Study Over Fake Data (BuzzFeed News)
How the pandemic (sort of) changed the way we consume news (Nieman Lab)
Lessons learned from a year covering fact-checking (@HarrisonMantas via Poynter)