misinformation

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

YouTube Promises Republicans It Will Restore Banned Accounts

Move follows GOP probe of tech, Biden, and alleged speech policing

(Newser) - YouTube says it has a plan to restore accounts that were banned for violating platform rules on misinformation regarding COVID-19 and the 2020 election, the New York Times reports. The company outlined the new approach in a letter Tuesday to the House Judiciary Committee, signaling a shift as YouTube...

False Shooter Report Sparks Chaos at Naval Academy
Man Charged With
Naval Academy Threat
UPDATED
Sep 16, 2025 4:32 PM CDT

Man Charged With Naval Academy Threat

Midshipman was shot during lockdown chaos

(Newser) - An Indiana man has been charged with sending an online threat that caused chaos at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland last week. In a news release , the US Attorney's office in Maryland said Jackson Fleming, 23, was arrested Friday on suspicion of sending the threat and made...

Biggest Spreader of UFO Myths May Be the Pentagon
Who's Spreading UFO Myths?
The Pentagon, for One
longform
Jun 10, 2025 12:48 PM CDT

Who's Spreading UFO Myths? The Pentagon, for One

Wall Street Journal reports the practice appears to go back decades

(Newser) - Last year, a Pentagon report concluded that no credible evidence exists that we've been visited by little green men from outer space or that the US has covered up UFO activity. Now, the Wall Street Journal follows up with an investigation that provides a remarkable twist to the narrative:...

YouTube Eases Moderation Rules
YouTube Eases
Moderation Rules
Jun 9, 2025 1:30 PM CDT

YouTube Eases Moderation Rules

Policy shift means more borderline videos stay up if deemed newsworthy

(Newser) - YouTube is quietly rewriting its rules, allowing more videos that break its policies to remain online if they're deemed "in the public interest"—marking a major shift in how the platform polices political and controversial speech, reports the New York Times . This shift, introduced in mid-December...

FDA's Top Vaccine Scientist Is Out, Citing RFK Jr.'s 'Lies'

Dr. Peter Marks says HHS secretary 'doesn't care about the truth'

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Adminstration's top vaccine regulator has stepped down from his role, and it's reportedly because he was forced out by the Trump administration via Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reports the Washington Post . Sources tell the paper that Marks was offered...

Russia Made Fake Video of Man Destroying Trump Ballots: US

Intelligence agencies warn of more misinformation efforts before election

(Newser) - A viral video appearing to show mail-in ballots being destroyed in a Pennsylvania suburb is a Russian hoax, US intelligence officials say. The deception is part of Russia's campaign to help Donald Trump's presidential campaign, a senior official told USA Today . The video shows a stack of sealed...

Armed Militia Reportedly 'Out Hunting FEMA' After Hurricane
Arrest Made in Threats
Against FEMA Workers
updated
Oct 14, 2024 6:05 PM CDT

Arrest Made in Threats Against FEMA Workers

North Carolina officials say there was no armed militia patrolling the area

(Newser) - Law enforcement officials reported Monday that an armed suspect was arrested in western North Carolina on charges of making threats against federal emergency response workers helping with the hurricane recovery. The 44-year-old man was taken into custody at a supermarket where a FEMA bus was parked on Saturday, they said,...

WH on False Helene Rumors: Stop 'Spreading This Poison'

Conspiracy theories about disaster relief abound in the wake of deadly hurricane

(Newser) - As local, state, and federal authorities scramble to help those hit hardest by Hurricane Helene , which killed more than 220 , they've got another problem to deal with: conspiracy theories about relief efforts, per Reuters and CNN . "Disinformation of this kind can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when...

Musk's Feud With Brazil Enters Threat Territory

Nation's high court gives him 24 hours to appoint a legal rep to avoid seeing X suspended there

(Newser) - The clock is ticking for Elon Musk, at least as it pertains to keeping his X social media platform functioning in Brazil. That's because the South American nation's Supreme Court has given the billionaire 24 hours to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil, or risk seeing...

Zuckerberg: We Stifled COVID Info at White House's Request

Meta CEO alleges White House turned up heat on his teams to take down certain items on COVID

(Newser) - During the height of the pandemic, Meta scrubbed tens of millions of items on Facebook and Instagram that it said pushed misinformation on COVID-19, vaccinations, and the like, with warnings placed on nearly 200 million more pieces of content. Now, the company's CEO is saying that the Biden administration...

A New Hunger Games Book (and Movie) Is Coming

Suzanne Collins' 5th book based in fictional Panem will be out next March

(Newser) - Inspired by an 18th-century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, postapocalyptic land of Panem for a new Hunger Games novel. Scholastic announced Thursday that Sunrise on the Reaping, the fifth volume of Collins' blockbuster dystopian series, will be published March 18,...

Top Judge in Brazil: Elon Musk Is Inciting Crime on X

Supreme Court justice launches investigation of X owner, who vowed to reinstate blocked accounts

(Newser) - A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice included Elon Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation late Sunday into the executive for alleged obstruction, per the AP . In his decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes noted Musk on Saturday began...

New Report Holds a 'Predominantly Negative Outlook for the World'

World Economic Forum annual risk survey warns of misinformation, aided by AI

(Newser) - Two-thirds of risk specialists see an "elevated chance of global catastrophes" in the next decade. Nearly a third predict the same within the next couple of years. That's according to the World Economic Forum's annual risk survey, which is being widely painted as "gloomy" and "...

Judges Find Administration Probably Violated Free Speech
Administration Can Fight
Online Posts for Now
updated
Oct 20, 2023 4:35 PM CDT

Administration Can Fight Online Posts for Now

Supreme Court says it will consider lawsuit over efforts to take down COVID, election posts

(Newser) - The Supreme Court said Friday it will take up a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of unconstitutionally trying to silence political views it disagrees with on social media, the AP reports. In the meantime, the court said it's blocking a lower court order curbing those efforts to have posts...

2 Lawmakers to Meta, X: Crack Down on Fake AI Political Ads

As plethora of deepfakes spread, Klobuchar, NY rep ask execs to address 'serious concerns'

(Newser) - Deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence are having their moment this year, at least when it comes to making it look, or sound, like celebrities doing something uncanny. Tom Hanks hawking a dental plan. Pope Francis wearing a stylish puffer jacket. Sen. Rand Paul sitting on the Capitol steps in a...

As Elections Approach, Musk's X Makes a 'Concerning' Move

Social media platform decides to nix feature that allows users to report political misinformation

(Newser) - Ahead of a big vote in Australia, not to mention the 2024 election in the US, the X social media site formerly known as Twitter is making a move that has some scratching their heads. Reuters reports the platform has disabled a feature that allows users to report election misinformation,...

Rogan, Musk, RFK Jr. Zero In on One Vaccine Scientist
Rogan, Musk, RFK Jr. Zero In
on One Vaccine Scientist
the rundown
Jun 19, 2023 11:11 AM CDT

Rogan, Musk, RFK Jr. Zero In on One Vaccine Scientist

Dr. Peter Hotez of Houston says he's being 'stalked'

(Newser) - Anthony Fauci has long been public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of vaccine opponents. With Fauci retired, it appears that a vaccine scientist in Houston might be assuming the unwanted role. The scientist is Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of...

No, the Pentagon Didn't Blow Up Monday

But eerily realistic fake explosion pic, perhaps created by AI, circulated online, shook up stocks

(Newser) - Most of the tweets on the OSINTdefender Twitter account , which bills itself as an "open source intelligence monitor," have focused lately on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A post on Monday morning, however, set off alarms closer to home, after a phony image circulated on social media depicting...

New Tool in Battling Misinformation: 'Pre-Bunking'

Based on inoculation theory, it could act as a psychological barrier against propaganda

(Newser) - Soon after the Russian invasion, the hoaxes began. Ukrainian refugees were supposedly taking jobs, committing crimes, and abusing handouts. The misinformation spread rapidly online throughout Eastern Europe, sometimes pushed by Moscow in an effort to destabilize its neighbors. It's the kind of swift spread of falsehood that has been...

Misinformation Is Hurting Life Expectancy: FDA Chief

Robert Califf says Americans are being misled on more than COVID

(Newser) - Life expectancy is the US has been declining , including in relation to comparable high-income countries, and one federal official says part of the reason is the recent explosion of misinformation. "Why aren’t we using medical products as effectively and efficiently as our peer countries?" Robert Califf, commissioner of...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser