With coronavirus cases on the rise and communities returning to lockdown across the country, a marketing push is underway to persuade skeptical Americans to immunize themselves once vaccines are ready. […]
Rumors and Misinformation
Trending topics and news from the Rumors and Misinformation category
Back to news homeHow Steve Bannon and a Chinese Billionaire Created a Right-Wing Coronavirus Media Sensation
Dr. Li-Meng Yan wanted to remain anonymous. It was mid-January, and Dr. Yan, a researcher in Hong Kong, had been hearing rumors about a dangerous new virus in mainland China […]
How Twitter Policed Trump During the 2020 US Election
President Trump’s Tweets Since Election Day 25 tweets Labeling increased after Mr. Trump began making claims about voting fraud. 20 Labeled misleading or disputed 15 12:21 p.m. “STOP THE FRAUD!” […]
How Claims of Dead Michigan Voters Spread Faster Than the Facts
The tweets began to arrive Wednesday night, carrying explosive claims that people in Michigan were voting under the names of dead people. Austen Fletcher, a former Ivy League football player […]
‘Stop the Steal’ Facebook Group Is Taken Down
OAKLAND, Calif. — The first post in the new Facebook group that was started on Wednesday was innocuous enough. “Welcome” to Stop the Steal, it said. But an hour later, […]
Facebook, Alarmed by Discord Over Vote Count, Is Said to Be Taking Action
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is planning to enact new measures to make it more difficult for election misinformation to spread virally across its platform, two people with knowledge of the […]
On Election Day, Facebook and Twitter Did Better by Making Their Products Worse
That gust of wind you felt coming from Silicon Valley on Wednesday morning was the social media industry’s tentative sigh of relief. For the last four years, executives at Facebook, […]
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube Survived Election Day. More Tests Loom.
OAKLAND, Calif. — For months, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube prepared to clamp down on misinformation on Election Day. On Tuesday, most of their plans went off without a hitch. The […]
Networks Pledge Caution for an Election Night Like No Other
Batches of ballots that will be counted at different times, depending on the swing state. Twitter gadflies and foreign agents intent on sowing confusion. A president who has telegraphed for […]