This Week in Misinformation: Wrong Shooter, J6 Evidence, Florida Law Gutted, Flynn Fail
26 May 2022
This Prism newsletter strives to be the paper of record for all that’s happening in misinformation. For any citizen whose life is impacted by misinformation, it helps you see how storylines evolve from multiple, sourced angles on important stories in one place. For amateur and professional misinformation watchers, it is your go-to resource for updates on peers, platforms, propagandists, and politicians. Learn more about Prism and our other products on our Substack page, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook!
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Reliability scores for media outlets cited in the summary are in parentheses for each, courtesy of the terrific folks at Ad Fontes Media.
We did a fun thing this week, hosting expert fact-checkers in an audio chat on Twitter to talk about a range of issues in the business of debunking! Check it out.
Now, on to our top stories.
My heart’s almost too heavy to write tonight. Please forgive if it shows up in this coverage of the murder of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The usual suspects say the shooting is a false flag on Telegram (@billmccarthy via Twitter). It wasn't (PolitiFact, 45.22).
The usual fake and misidentified social media profiles of “the shooter” circulated (@Shayan86 via Twitter). But, with a twist: conspiracy theory Telegram (@PokerPolitics via Twitter), Republicans like Paul Gosar (Insider, 43.21), and conservative media personalities like Candace Owens (@PokerPolitics via Twitter) latched onto the wrong person (Daily Dot, 37.32), a transgender person who was supposedly an illegal immigrant, as the perp (Newsweek, 38.31). She wasn’t (Reuters, 47.98). This garbage notion came from 4chan and made its way to Reddit (@oneunderscore__ via Twitter). None of this is helped by the confused public messaging that authorities have put out about the shooter (Washington Post, 41.03).
Even with this modest innovation (NPR, 44.44), the misinformation tropes (The Guardian, )--and the entire experience, really (New York Times, 43.99)--are depressingly familiar to all involved.
Let’s get into a few January 6th developments.
The House January 6th Committee showed more of its hand with respect to photographic and other evidence of how the fateful day played out at Trump’s White House (Politico, 42.75). It was reported, for example, to have confirmation that Trump didn’t hate when his supporters chanted “hang Mike Pence” (New York Times, 43.99). Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan, meanwhile, attempted to burn (Politico, 42.75) and withhold evidence in exchange for a preview of what the Committee has on him (The Guardian, 43.84), respectively.
Rudy Giuliani showed up to testify (NBC News, 45.80) but was generally uncooperative with the Committee (Bloomberg, 45.56). Department of Justice investigators, however, are closing in on Rudy and other Trump lawyers for the scheme they hatched to replace certified state electors with “alternate” (read: illegitimate) Trump slates (New York Times, 43.99). Notably on this, too, were messages revealed this week that Ginni Thomas wrote to Arizona state lawmakers encouraging them to illegally flip the state for Trump (Insider, 43.21).
It turned out that Representative Loudermilk did give a tour of the Capitol on January 5th (Daily Dot, 37.32), contrary to his previous denials. Not to worry, Loudermilk got his Trump endorsement (Insider, 43.21). Remaining to be seen: whether the tourees included Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, or others (CNN, 42.39) who planned and executed premeditated elements of the attack.
Of note for readers of this newsletter, conspiracy-driven grassroots efforts look likely to make the 2022 midterms harder to tally (Las Vegas Review-Journal, -), easier for Trump to influence at all levels (NBC News, 45.80), and all but certain to see attempts by state legislatures to overturn when Republicans don’t win (New York Times, 43.99).
Florida’s social media law, aimed at tech censorship, was basically gutted by an appellate court.
Tech platforms are allowed to ban politicians from using their services, per a new ruling by the 11th Circuit (New York Post, 32.71). The judges explained that the First Amendment guarantees these companies have a free speech right to decide how others use their private property to communicate with others.
Other parts of the law, for example that companies must retain users’ data and make it available to them for the 60 days after they are banned, were upheld (Washington Post, 41.03). The Supreme Court is weighing whether to hear the case.
For your comfort and amusement, the grab bag awaits: the many ways Russia, Ukraine, and climate disinformation are related; DC’s attorney general sues Mark Zuckerberg for all that Cambridge Analytica stuff; Elon Musk forays into labeling things "disinformation"; QAnon now permeates our politics; Mike Flynn tries, unsuccessfully to get back on Twitter; homemade baby formula recipes can be misinformation, too; where does the anti-vaccine movement go from here; COVID vaccines don’t cause monkeypox, but Alex Jones says they do; obligatory Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial misinformation link; Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway finally admits he lost to Biden; and probably a lot of people warned Trump that his obsession with the 2020 election was going to be a long term loser, and indeed it was this week in Georgia.
That, and a lot more, below. This is This Week in Misinformation.
-- Kevin