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Let’s start at the intersection of misinformation and officialdom. President Biden made a few false claims in a town hall and criticized Donald Trump for his lies about the election. Biden told a reporter Facebook was “killing people” with its mishandling of COVID misinformation--and his press secretary said the administration was concerned about specific purveyors of misinformation online and that those who spread misinformation on one platform should be banned from all platforms. In the face of a sharp response from Facebook and bipartisan criticism of the comments, Biden walked back his statement. On Capitol Hill, Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci loudly told Senator Rand Paul he didn’t know what he was talking about, while new bills related to misinformation were put forward in both Senate and House.
On the public health front, Trump was out with a new statement unhelpfully linking skepticism of the election results with skepticism of the COVID vaccine. The Republican governor of Utah called out anti-vaccine “propaganda.” About one-fifth of Americans believe in the microchip vaccine conspiracy theory. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted vaccine-related misinformation on Twitter, earning herself a 12-hour suspension from the platform, and she later claimed to have a nonexistent HIPAA right to not be asked questions about her vaccination status.
The Republican camp, both official and in conservative media, appears to have moved marginally toward promoting vaccines, with notable holdouts including Senator Ron Johnson and Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. The sheriff of Los Angeles County announced he would not be expending law enforcement resources on a new mask mandate, prompting the Surgeon General to come out in support of the measure. The World Health Organization said it has a plan to study the origins of COVID-19; China is “shocked” by and says it will not support the plan.
Facebook’s efforts to confront the problem of misinformation continued to flounder in the face of a determined vaccine resistance movement. In addition to the White House criticism above, Facebook also saw a new book released this week, containing unflattering--but well researched--tales of the company’s failures regarding the spread of false information. Over at YouTube, the recommender algorithm is helping people interested in the Arizona election audit find and watch anti-vaccine material, and the Google-owned platform is adding misinformation labels to some health videos. The Wall Street Journal published a deep dive on TikTok’s sophisticated algorithms.
A loyal Trump defender has determined the balance of evidence weighs against the assessment that Biden stole the election from Trump. In a visit to the White House, Tom Brady joked with Biden about having in common that people didn’t believe they actually won. While Trump made his displeasure with Georgia’s governor and secretary of state known, attorneys who advanced his claims of fraud in court continued to suffer the ire of federal judges for the way they did it.
Much was said about the election tally in Arizona as the contractors running the audit appeared in a hearing before their State Senate patrons. Some elected officials used the falsehood-riddled performance to attack political rivals. Others said Arizona should “decertify” the vote (this is not a thing) and recall its Electoral College electors (this is completely impossible as well), but the State Senate president made known that she did not see a way for any of that to happen. The audit continues to incur significant costs, for example by contributing to a perception among a majority of Republicans in the state that Trump will be shown as the real winner of Arizona, and by forcing Maricopa County to scrap the voting machines that it turned over under subpoena to be audited, to be replaced using millions of taxpayer dollars.
Before the audits, the broader “stop the steal” movement led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol to subvert the Electoral College certification on January 6th, an event which will be under Congressional examination soon as the House of Representatives moved closer to seating members of a select committee for that purpose. Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy named five members to serve on the committee, the number he was granted to nominate in the new process after the GOP rejected a previous proposal for an equally bipartisan commission. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said two of the five would not be allowed to help investigate because they supported the attackers on January 6th and could be interested in something other than uncovering the truth. McCarthy countered by withdrawing all five nominations, saying Republicans would boycott the proceedings and might do their own investigation unless Pelosi ratifies his picks.
Finally, society is paying more attention to the misinformation crisis, with research and reports aplenty and even new money being announced to combat the effects of misinformation on health outcomes and in communities of color. Somebody made a recording of a fabricated Anthony Bourdain voice speaking the departed TV star’s words, to the consternation of many. Misinformation is all around the cancer problem, too, and could soon be affecting more businesses.
That, and a lot more, below. This is This Week in Misinformation.
-- Kevin
GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC POLICY
Biden makes false claims about Covid-19, auto prices and other subjects at CNN town hall (CNN)
Biden decries Trump's 'Big Lie,' but offers no new path on voting rights (Reuters)
Biden’s vaccine misinformation road not taken (Politico)
Biden on Facebook’s handling of vaccine-related misinformation: “They’re killing people” (C-SPAN)
Facebook responds to President Biden: “Facebook is helping save lives. Period.” (@PeterAlexander via Twitter)
Analysis of the Facebook statement (@CT_Bergstrom via Twitter)
Sen. Jon Ossoff: "I think that politicians should be cautious about demanding that certain forms of speech and expression be removed from public platforms." (@thehill via Twitter)
Biden Seeks to Clarify Comments on Facebook, Vaccine Misinformation (Wall Street Journal)
Biden backs away from his claim that Facebook is 'killing people' by allowing Covid misinformation (CNN)
Thread: Analysis of the White House/Facebook spat and larger debate over vaccine misinformation (@BrendanNyhan via Twitter)
White House Press Secretary says providers of misinformation “shouldn’t be banned from one platform and not others” (whitehouse.gov)
White House uses CCDH research on the twelve people producing 65 percent of vaccine misinformation on social media platforms (@CCDHate via Twitter)
White House has reached out to Fox, other networks on vaccines (The Hill)
Sen. Cruz: Flagging COVID Misinformation by Biden Admin For FB Removal Is 'Collusion' (Newsmax)
Argument against White House involvement in social media platform moderation decisions (@DavidAFrench via Twitter)
Glenn Greenwald says the Biden administration flagging misinformation on Facebook is fascism (@atrupar via Twitter)
Opinion: The White House And Jen Psaki Didn't Actually Call For Censorship Of Social Media (Forbes)
NPR Defines Down ‘Misinformation’ as the White House Cracks Down On It (National Review)
Bill Would Strip Social Media of Protections for Health Misinformation (Wall Street Journal)
Rep. Castor Introduces 21st Century FTC Act (U.S. House of Representatives Office of Kathy Castor)
VACCINES, ETC.
Trump statement pairs distrust of the COVID-19 vaccine with distrust of the election results (@RVAwonk via Twitter)
Utah governor says anti-vaccine ‘propaganda’ from right-wing media is ‘killing people’ (Salt Lake Tribune)
YouGov poll: One in five Americans believes the US government is using the COVID-19 vaccine to microchip the population (@crampell via Twitter)
Twitter Suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene for Posting Coronavirus Misinformation (New York Times)
Twitter Suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene After She Said COVID Not Dangerous for People Under 65 (Newsweek)
Rep. Greene said being asked whether she had been vaccinated was a "violation" of her HIPAA rights (Newsweek)
Four Pinocchios for Ron Johnson’s campaign of vaccine misinformation (Washington Post)
Senator Marco Rubio: "Everyone should be vaccinated. There's no reason not to be vaccinated" (CBS News)
Senator Tommy Tuberville: “Getting the COVID vaccine only takes a few minutes. It's effective, safe, and doesn't cost you a dime.” (@SenTuberville via Twitter)
CNN fact-checker: Tuberville has urged people to be vaccinated for months (@ddale8)
Infertility, erectile dysfunction, and altered DNA — Army experts debunk COVID vaccine myths one by one (Task & Purpose)
'Pandemic profiteers' are using deceptive tactics to peddle products and subscriptions, according to a memo submitted to the FTC (Washington Post)
Conservative media offers mixed messages on COVID-19 vaccine (Associated Press)
Tucker Carlson guest tells Fox viewers that COVID vaccines are “declining in effectiveness very quickly” (Media Matters)
Tucker Carlson lies about vaccinated people having the same COVID risks as the unvaccinated (Media Matters)
Video: Fox host Laura Ingraham suggests COVID vaccine is not effective among adults (@aliciasadowski6 via Twitter)
Fox has undermined vaccination efforts in nearly 60% of all vaccination segments in a 2-week period (Media Matters)
Fox News hosts urge viewers to get vaccinated following criticisms of network (The Hill)
Video: Sean Hannity urges viewers to "take COVID seriously… I believe in the science of vaccination" (@sahilkapur via Twitter)
Video: Fox host Doocy defends mask mandates (@LisPower1 via Twitter)
More pro-vaccine messaging on Fox: Dr. Marc Siegel says "the Delta variant needs to be a wake-up call to get vaccinated," and anchor John Roberts directs viewers to the government vaccine website (@justinbaragona via Twitter)
Fox News airs PSA telling viewers 'get the vaccine' (The Hill)
Video: Biden says a certain news network has suddenly started to promote vaccinations (@atrupar via Twitter)
Rudy Giuliani: “Adults should look at facts and consider taking a Covid Vaccine” (@RudyGiuliani via Twitter)
Charlie Kirk speculates that between 123,000 and 1.2 million people could've died after getting the COVID-19 vaccine (@JasonSCampbell via Twitter)
Charlie Kirk says people on right promoting vaccines are "virtue signaling" (Newsweek)
State Rep. Rob Chase’s anti-vaccine comments removed from Facebook (Spokane Spokesman-Review)
'Not backed by science:' LA County sheriff will not enforce new mask mandate (Reuters)
Surgeon general calls Los Angeles County mask mandate 'reasonable' amid delta surge (Washington Examiner)
Airbnb Hosts Are Still Demanding That Guests Be Unvaccinated (VICE)
Covid-19 vaccines: A leap of faith and the power of trust among Black and Hispanic communities (First Draft)
Scientists vs Science: Interviews with Mike Yeadon and Robert Malone (Logically AI)
The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie (NPR)
Thread: On the evolution of the anti-vaccine movement online (@noUpside via Twitter)
Opinion: De-platform The Disinformation Dozen (Forbes)
Anti-vaxxer Sherri Tenpenny makes third appearance for QAnon audiences (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
Convincing the Skeptics (National Review)
The Republican anti-vax delusion (The Economist)
China says ‘shocked’ by WHO plan for COVID origins study (Associated Press)
China rejects WHO plan for study of COVID-19 origin (Reuters)
PLATFORMS
Despite Facebook's COVID-19 promises, anti-vaccine groups are thriving (Media Matters)
Facebook and YouTube spent a year fighting covid misinformation. It's still spreading. (Washington Post)
Nearly 30 groups urge Facebook, Instagram, Twitter to take down vaccine disinformation (Washington Post)
Opinion: Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies need to be treated like Big Tobacco (@bostonjoan via NBC News)
Book Review: The ‘Ugly Truth’ About Facebook (New York Times)
Analysis: Facebook and YouTube’s vaccine misinformation problem is simpler than it seems (Washington Post)
CNN fact-checker: YouTube started recommending anti-vaccine content to me after watching videos about the Arizona audit (@ddale8 via Twitter)
YouTube to add labels to some health videos amid misinformation backlash (CNBC)
Investigation: How TikTok's Algorithm Figures Out Your Deepest Desires (Wall Street Journal)
The argument over content moderation is ‘missing context’ (Poynter)
AI & Prompts: Can They Help Tackle Misinformation on Social Media? (the quint)
The Sunday Show: Social media, the FBI & January 6th (Tech Policy Press Podcast)
THE 2020 ELECTION
Alan Dershowitz Says Evidence Suggests 2020 Election 'Wasn't Stolen' from Trump (Newsweek)
Tom Brady Jokes About Election Results as Buccaneers Visit White House (New York Times)
Trump slams Georgia lawmaker for not fighting voting results (Associated Press)
‘A propaganda tool’ for Trump: A second federal judge castigates attorneys who filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 results (Washington Post)
Judge Orders Lin Wood to Explain Why He Shouldn’t Be Disciplined for Posting Video of His Sanctions Hearing Online (Law & Crime)
Few AZ voter fraud cases, discrediting Trump’s claims (Associated Press)
Voting Restrictions After The 'Big Lie' (NPR)
In Twitter thread, reporter from The Intercept makes ludicrous claims that he destroyed Trump ballots (@schwarz via Twitter)
Mike Lindell and MyPillow are now financially supporting Alex Jones and Infowars (Media Matters)
ARIZONA AUDIT
Senate Hearing on election audit in Maricopa County (Arizona Senate Republicans)
Arizona election auditors say they don't have enough information to finish report (CBS News)
Official Maricopa County Twitter handle fact-checks State Senate hearing on the Arizona audit (@maricopacounty via Twitter)
‘That didn't happen': Daniel Dale fact-checks Arizona audit claims (CNN)
Ariz. AG Brnovich: Democrat Secy. Of State. Hobbs Must Turn Over Evidence Of Election Fraud (OAN)
Arizona State Senator Sonny Borrelli: If ‘fraud’ is shown, Arizona will ‘reclaim’ its 11 electoral votes (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
Arizona Senate powerless to recall electors, chamber president says (Washington Examiner)
Former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne says that the Maricopa audit hearing shows that election fraud is now a fact (@patriottakes via Twitter)
Most Arizona Republicans say election audit will show Trump won: poll (The Hill)
Maricopa County will spend millions to replace voting machines turned over to the Arizona Senate for audit (AZ Central)
"Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander said in an online chat that he'll re-emerge in public once there are three "audits" underway (@AlKapDC via Twitter)
JANUARY 6TH CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
GOP Leader McCarthy Taps 5 Republicans To Serve On Jan. 6 Select Committee (NPR)
Video: Representative Jim Jordan says Jan. 6th Select Committee is “impeachment Round 3” (@newsmax via Twitter)
Pelosi bars Trump allies from Jan. 6 probe; GOP vows boycott (Associated Press)
Video: Kevin McCarthy says that Republicans will do their own investigation into the January 6th attack (@atrupar via Twitter)
Trump claims crowd at January 6 rally before Capitol assault was "loving" (CBS News)
QANON & COMPANY
Video: Biden takes aim at QAnon beliefs, saying “we’ve got to get beyond this” (@atrupar via Twitter)
Influencers on TikTok are promoting #FreeBritney conspiracy theories (@OliviaLittle)
Ron Watkins claimed he was deplatformed from Telegram, but his Telegram still appeared to be up (@rothschildmd via Twitter)
Pastor Greg Locke: "The military does not listen to Joe Biden. They take zero orders from Joe Biden.” (@RightWingWatch via Twitter)
Redditor: I’m a Parkland Survivor But My QAnon Dad Thinks It Was a Hoax (VICE)
GENERAL/OTHER
Misinformation and competing views of reality abounded throughout 2020 (Pew Research Center)
The Rockefeller Foundation Commits $13.5 Million in Funding to Strengthen Public Health Response Efforts (Rockefeller Foundation)
Combatting Disinformation in Communities of Color (Knight Foundation)
Opinion: Institutional Authority Has Vanished. Wikipedia Points to the Answer (@noUpside via The Atlantic)
Antagonising fact-checkers: the misappropriation of fact-checking to polarise the Spanish informational landscape (EU Disinfo Lab)
ISU Experts: Media Literacy Has To Dig Deeper To Stop Disinformation (WGLT Illinois State University)
What Happens When Robots Make Fake News? (Forbes)
Why the Anthony Bourdain Voice Cloning Creeps People Out (Bloomberg)
Gamifying Disinformation Mitigation (The Cipher Brief)
Opinion: Loneliness Is Breaking America (Michelle Goldberg via New York Times)
Study shows cancer misinformation common on social media sites (Huntsman Cancer Institute)
Disinformation is coming for your business (Axios)
Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House (The Guardian)
Textual analysis of the Russian-language documents reported by The Guardian suggests they were not actually authored by a speaker of Russian (@IvanTkachev1 via Twitter)
Congressman Matt Gaetz lies about the reason his rally was poorly attended (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
Outrage As A Business Model: How Ben Shapiro Is Using Facebook To Build An Empire (NPR)
Shapiro response to NPR story about his business model (@benshapiro via Twitter)