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This Week in Misinformation: Paid Whistleblowers, Musk v. Bellingcat and Reason Itself, Twitter Assists Erdogan (Links Only)
18 May 2023
With many apologies, I will not be able to write a summary of top stories this evening. I took a little extra care sorting and formatting the links below, and I hope you’ll check those out because there really is a lot happening.
-- Kevin
JANUARY 6TH
Judge bans questions about ‘Pink Beret’ after target of Jan. 6 conspiracy theory is charged (NBC News)
January 6 rioter shot in face by police sentenced to nearly two years in prison (The Guardian)
Marine is first active-duty military member convicted in Jan. 6 riot (Washington Post)
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‘Don’t freak out’: Notes from defense table during the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial (CNN)
‘Tool’ of the Proud Boys convicted of Jan. 6 police assault, rioting (Washington Post)
Proud Boys See Growth After Jan. 6 Attack, Despite Criminal Convictions (Wall Street Journal)
Proud Boys and Oath Keepers: what is their future with top leaders jailed? (The Guardian)
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F.B.I. Revokes Security Clearances of 3 Agents Over Jan. 6 Issues (New York Times)
FBI: Agents set to testify on alleged abuses had clearances revoked over security concerns (Washington Post)
On eve of hearing, FBI says it revoked security clearances of 3 agents over Jan. 6 attack (ABC News)
Jim Jordan's FBI whistleblowers to testify publicly before Congress as questions about their legitimacy remain (CNN)
Conspiracy theorists to address US House subcommittee, watchdog warns (The Guardian)
GOP witnesses undermined Jan. 6 cases with conspiracy theories, FBI says (NBC News)
Kash Patel gave money to Jordan’s FBI ‘whistleblowers’ (@atrupar via Twitter)
ELECTIONS
AI presents political peril for 2024 with threat to mislead voters (Associated Press)
AI, ChatGPT pose big risks for 2024 presidential election (Insider)
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Trump’s team revels in town hall victory as CNN staff rages at ‘spectacle of lies’ (The Guardian)
Kari Lake headed to trial on last remaining claim in suit over loss in Arizona governor’s race (Associated Press)
False claims of a stolen election thrive unchecked on Twitter even as Musk promises otherwise (PBS)
QANON & COMPANY
Lori Vallow: US doomsday cult mum guilty of murdering children, rival (BBC)
Without Tucker Carlson, Far Right Loses a Foothold in the Mainstream (New York Times)
Steven Crowder openly flouts YouTube, lets Alex Jones host his show and promote Infowars (Media Matters)
The Right Has Raised $2 Million For the Guy Who Choked a Homeless Man To Death (@daithaigilbert via VICE)
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Alleged leaker fixated on guns and envisioned ‘race war’ (Washington Post)
Leak suspect shared classified secrets with foreigners, prosecutors say (Washington Post)
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Trump says Mike Flynn will be back in next administration (@RonFilipkowski via Twitter)
Trump’s Call-In to Far-Right Roadshow Is Red Meat for Christian Nationalists (Daily Beast)
Latino faith leaders to gather for summit on Christian nationalism (Washington Post)
Eric Trump Speaks at Extreme-Right Conference Alongside Pizzagaters and an American Idol Castoff Who Claims Celebs Drink Children’s Blood (Mediaite)
Thread: The ReAwaken Conference at Doral (@dburghart via Twitter)
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Hard-Right Republican's Staffer Reportedly a White Nationalist Groyper (VICE)
A Paul Gosar aide is reportedly a white nationalist. Gosar has long associated with racists. (AZ Mirror)
Paul Gosar faces calls for investigations after allegedly hiring Nick Fuentes-linked congressional staff (The Independent)
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Bat-wielding attacker injures Virginia congressman's district office staff (NBC News)
Democratic congressman's staff attacked by man with baseball bat (CNN)
Rep. Gerry Connolly's district office staff attacked on Monday (NPR)
Person looking for Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly attacks staffers with baseball bat (ABC News)
Man Who Attacked Dem Rep’s Office Has History of Wacky Claims: Report (Daily Beast)
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Elon Musk claims George Soros 'hates humanity.' The ADL says Musk's attacks 'will embolden extremists' (CNN)
QAnon account praises Musk for Soros tweet (@Info_Rosalie via Twitter)
Antisemite extremists like Proud Boys and neo-Nazis are fans of the new Elon (@globalextremism via Twitter)
Elon plagiarized his non-apology hilarious joke comparing Soros to Magneto from Babylon Bee (@steinkobbe via Twitter)
Musk says he made the joke to ‘entertain humanity’ out of his love for it (via Twitter)
Elon hits Soros again in dodging blame for increased antisemitism on Twitter since he took over (via Twitter)
Musk Fans Conspiracies About George Soros After Billionaire’s Fund Dumps All Tesla Holdings (Forbes)
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Musk gives interview to CNBC, posted as a Twitter Space (@elonmusk via Twitter)
Elon Musk: 'I'll say what I want, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it' (CNBC)
Elon says Allen mall shooter was into ‘white supremacy’ is BS, repeatedly attacks Bellingcat (@MikaelThalen via Twiter)
Elon Musk keeps insisting the Texas shooter with a swastika tattoo is not a white supremacist (The Verge)
Elon Musk Claims There’s ‘No Proof’ Swastika-Tatted Texas Shooter Was White Supremacist (Rolling Stone)
Machismo, misogyny, misinformation: Why some Hispanic people become white supremacists (Dallas Morning News)
Bellingcat Founder On Elon Musk Defending Mass Shooting ‘Psyop’ Conspiracy Theory: ‘An Idiot Who Consumes Garbage Media’ (Mediaite)
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Twitter appeared to limit the reach of investigative news site Bellingcat days after Elon Musk suggested its Texas mall shooter investigation was a 'psyop' (Insider)
Twitter marks Bellingcat as sensitive content (@EliotHiggins via Twitter)
The reason Twitter gives for deboosting Bellingcat is not real (@arawnsley via Twitter)
Twitter Staff Fact Checked by Community Notes Over Bellingcat 'Shadow Ban' (Newsweek)
The reasons Elon thinks Bellingcat is NATO are fake, Russian (@EliotHiggins via Twitter)
Bellingcat founder posts link to site detailing Bellingcat funding (@EliotHiggins via Twitter)
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Elon’s big week of tweeting about racially charged things (@Wilson__Valdez via Twitter)
Elon appears to believe a conspiracy theorist’s claim that nothing is known about the Las Vegas shooter (@Shayan86 via Twitter)
Elon appears to believe a conspiracy theorist’s made-up thing about Taylor Lorenz and the Internet Archive (@Schwartzesque via Twitter)
COVID & HEALTH
WHO warns against bias, misinformation in using AI in healthcare (Reuters)
Opinion: Twitter, public health, and misinformation (The Lancet Digital Health Editorial Board)
Naomi Klein investigates ‘conspiracy theory culture’ that has shaken her life (The Guardian)
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RFK Jr.’s Long Legacy of Supporting Censorship (Daily Beast)
RFK Jr. not participating in far-right event after being listed as a speaker, aide says (NBC News)
Meet the Wall Street executive funding Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine group (CNBC)
PLATFORMS
As AI-generated fakes proliferate, Google plans to fight back (Ars Technica)
US Supreme Court leaves protections for internet companies unscathed (Reuters)
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Climate crisis deniers target scientists for vicious abuse on Musk’s Twitter (The Guardian)
Elon fans struggle with new Twitter CEO’s globalist elite background (@hannahgais via Twitter)
Large anti-vaccine account rails on the choice of Linda Yaccarino (@rothschildmd via Twitter)
This big blue check account thinks Yaccarino has a bad track record on fake news (@simonateba via Twitter)
Twitter under fire for restricting content before Turkish presidential election (CBS News)
Twitter helped Erdogan censor speech in Turkey on election eve and hasn’t said why (@KlasfeldReports via Twitter)
Elon promises to post what Turkey asked Twitter to do (via Twitter)
Twitter’s Elon Musk Defends Decision To Limit Tweets in Turkey During Tight Presidential Election (Vanity Fair)
Elon says everyone does this (via Twitter)
The problem with compromising in the face of a government threat to ‘have Twitter throttled in its entirely’ is the precedent it sets (@RMac18 via Twitter)
The problem with the logic of limiting speech according to the limits imposed by a people-chosen government is that dictators don’t let people choose, and censoring is part of their playbook (@Eve6 via Twitter)
In 2014 Twitter challenged Turkish government requests and won in court (@MattBinder via Twitter)
Twitter wrong to block tweets during Turkey election - Wikipedia founder (BBC)
Wikipedia founder blasts Elon Musk for caving to Turkey’s censorship demands (Fortune)
Yes, the Jimmy Wales tweet bothered Elon (via Twitter)
The Twitter Files limps on (@MattBinder via Twitter)
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Crowdfunding platform Buy Me a Coffee removes far-right influencers and QAnon accounts (Mashable)
Crowdfunding Platform Suspends QAnon Accounts (Newsweek)
Buy Me a Coffee: The crowdfunding platform that QAnon figures have used to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars (Media Matters)
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
Disinformation dangers lurk in the EU's media freedom act (Financial Times)
US to Counter Russian Disinformation on Ukraine With AI Tool (The Defense Post)
What happened to Nina Jankowicz when Fox News came for her (WBUR)
Ads For Nonprofits And Government Organizations Found On Misinformation Sites (Forbes)
INTERNATIONAL
Viral images of Putin falling are AI-generated fakes (@conspirator0 via Twitter)
Ukraine’s counteroffensive is shrouded in confusion. That may be the plan (CNN)
There is a Canadian separatist movement, according only to an obscure Twitter account boosted by Fox News (@oneunderscore__ via Twitter)
GENERAL/OTHER
Can giant surveys of scientists fight misinformation on COVID, climate change and more? (Nature)
President of encrypted messaging app Signal corrects rumor that it has been hacked (@mer__edith via Twitter)
BBC News puts transparency at its heart with BBC Verify (BBC)
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified (CNN)
GOP committee chairs demand documents from CIA related to public statement from ex-intel officials questioning Hunter Biden laptop story (CNN)
Catturd goes in for the new fake news site peddling Schiff expulsion and prosecution fantasy (@PokerPolitics via Twitter)
Fox runs chyron about an NBC News story on Twitter's animal torture search recommendations (@oneunderscore__ via Twitter)
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'We can't track down the informant': James Comer says he lost top witness in Biden investigation (RawStory)
GOP investigation into Biden missing informant – and evidence (USA Today)
Analysis: Rep. James Comer is looking for anti-Biden evidence. Also, his informant. (@pbump via Washington Post)
Comer Clarifies Claim Over Lost Biden Informant (Time)
Comer speaks on Fox News about the missing informant (@EdKrassen via Twitter)
James Comer mocked for claiming key informants in Biden probe have gone missing (The Independent)
Bipartisan group calls for investigation into Comer’s remarks about missing whistleblower (The Hill)
Here Comes the ‘Biden Kill List’ (The Bulwark)
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Trump-Era Special Counsel Blasts FBI Conduct in Russia Probe (Bloomberg)
Trump-era special counsel's final report criticizes FBI's Russia probe (NPR)
Durham report criticized elements of FBI's investigation into Donald Trump's 2016 campaign (PolitiFact)
Crossfire Hurricane refresher (@AshaRangappa_ via Twitter)
Rep. Goldman: Why Durham retread and disagreed with OIG and Mueller (@danielsgoldman via Twitter)
Thread: Barb McQuade on the Durham report (via Twitter)
Eight things not mentioned in the Durham report (Emptywheel)
Thread: Emptywheel details the problems in the Durham report (via Twitter)
Durham Finds Fault With F.B.I. Over Russia Inquiry (New York Times)
After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver (New York Times)
The Durham Report Offered Few Conclusions. The Right Drew Its Own. (New York Times)
Republicans launch into making hay of Durham report, only to be reminded that the promised indictments never materialized (@Acyn via Twitter)
Marjorie Taylor Greene moves to impeach FBI director, US attorney for DC (The Hill)
Durham report fuels further House GOP skepticism over FBI surveillance (Politico)
Senator Mike Lee endorses post that Durham confirms ‘what many conservatives already knew’ about systemic corruption at FBI, threatens ‘overhaul’ (via Twitter)
Hannity claims everything he has said on this topic has been vindicated (@Acyn via Twitter)
Fox runs with ‘Durham FALLOUT’ (@RadioFreeTom via Twitter)
Conservative podcaster lists fictional examples of ‘election interference,’ says Durham’s report says it is ‘proven beyond a doubt’ (@kylenabecker via Twitter)
Jack Posobiec suggests Durham waited until after midterms to ‘drop his report exonerating Trump’ (via Twitter)
Kash Patel switches from loving Durham’s report one day to saying he ‘failed’ to get to the bottom of matters with several key players the next (@PokerPolitics via Twitter)
Roger Stone faults Durham for letting the statute of limitations expire on supposed crimes he uncovered (via Twitter)
Roger Stone things that maybe Durham exonerated him of lying to Congress, too (@renato_mariotti via Twitter)
QAnon people think Durham is still going to bring bad guys to justice, though he hasn’t put any away yet (@PokerPolitics via Twitter)
Q community user posts call for public hanging of treasonous politicians now that Durham has ‘100% exonerated’ President Trump (@Q__talk via Twitter)
Some cynicism about what Durham didn’t do is creeping into Q world (@PokerPolitics via Twitter)
Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe (CNN)
Right-wing media are praising CNN’s misleading coverage of the Durham report (Media Matters)
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A viral video actually shows migrants being turned away from the border, not crossing into the U.S. (@billdmccarthy via Twitter)
Homeland Security says Title 42 expiration did not lead to an increase in border crossings (@keithboykin via Twitter)
Video: Yuma crossing very quiet (@CapitolWatchdo2 via Twitter)
Biden admin ‘encouraged’ by lower post-Title 42 migrant numbers, but urges caution for weeks ahead (Fox News)
Anti-migrant posts attempt to pass off old images as recent (@Shayan86 via Twitter)
Rep. Lauren Boebert misreads statistics on crossings (@GeorgeTakei via Twitter)
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