Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, made securing the 2020 U.S. election a top priority. He met regularly with an election team, which included more than 300 people from across his […]
Rumors and Misinformation
Trending topics and news from the Rumors and Misinformation category
Back to news homeHow a Crisis Actor Conspiracy Theory Rises in Times of Tragedy
“I think this gives them a form of power,” he said of the people posting his photo, often under accounts intended to look as if they belong to news organizations. […]
Racist and Violent Ideas Jump From Web’s Fringes to Mainstream Sites
“The fact that this act of barbarism, this execution of innocent human beings, could be livestreamed on social media platforms and not taken down within a second says to me […]
Do You Know Someone Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories? We Want to Hear About It.
Conspiracy theories have become an increasingly common problem in the United States. From the QAnon movement to misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, many Americans have accepted ideas that are not backed […]
How Some States Are Combating Election Misinformation Ahead of Midterms
Ahead of the 2020 elections, Connecticut confronted a bevy of falsehoods about voting that swirled around online. One, widely viewed on Facebook, wrongly said absentee ballots had been sent to […]
In the Philippines, a Flourishing Ecosystem for Political Lies
CAVITE, Philippines — Arnel Agravante, a YouTuber in the Philippines, told his followers last October that he knew how Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the presidential front-runner and his candidate of choice, […]
Musk’s Ties to China Could Create Headaches for Twitter
SAN FRANCISCO — When Elon Musk opened a Tesla factory in Shanghai in 2019, the Chinese government welcomed him with billions of dollars’ worth of cheap land, loans, tax breaks […]
Elon Musk Agrees to Buy Twitter
Twitter, which went public in 2013, has also had a tumultuous corporate history. It has repeatedly dealt with board dysfunction and drama with its founders, and was courted by other […]
How War in Ukraine Roiled Facebook and Instagram
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, took an unusual step last week: It suspended some of the quality controls that ensure that posts from users in Russia, Ukraine and other […]
Pro-Russia Tweets in India Spark Suspicions of an Influence Campaign
In the days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Twitter accounts shared messages of support for Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president.They tried to deflect criticism of the war […]