It felt like every week of 2018 turned up another major news story that directly related to our work at the intersection of media, politics, and public policy. In the midst of it all, the team at the Shorenstein Center put out some incredible research on information disorder, platform accountability, business models for news, and […]
A Year in Review at the Shorenstein Center Read More »
It would be ludicrous if it wasn’t so malicious: Fringe websites and social media users dismissed the migrant families who got caught up in skirmishes at the U.S.-Mexican border as “paid crisis actors” taking part in a staged hoax. That phrase is a dog-whistle reference to the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where
Digital Border Battles Read More »
Disinformation narratives emerged across multiple platforms and websites as the Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire made their respective ways across part of California this week. While the mainstream media covered how to help victims, the celebrities who had lost homes, the size of the fires and the causes of the fires, the disinformation themes that spread
Wildfires trigger conspiracy theories Read More »
Much of the election-related online disinformation we’ve monitored since the midterms has attacked specific candidates or election officials and promoted groundless claims of fraud in ways that may further weaken public trust in the electoral process itself. Tactics identified by the Information Disorder Lab include unfounded accusations of vote-stealing, machine tampering, finding votes, unspecified fraud
Midterm redux: a post-election scan from the Information Disorder Lab Read More »
The 2018 Midterm Elections were historic in the number of women and people of color elected to congress. They were also notable for the changes in how people voted, who voted, and what that says about the future of U.S. politics and the sate of the media in this country. Below is a roundup of
2018 Midterms: Reactions Roundup Read More »
The Information Disorder Update: November 5, 2018 Amid warnings of a looming civil war and an immigrant “invasion” from Central America, the 2018 midterm campaign has thrived on hyperbole and misinformation that have become weapons in an online battlefield. In this digital warfare, the angriest, most extreme voices have dominated the political arena. Finally, on
Midterms 2018: Trends in Information Disorder Read More »
The Information Disorder Update: November 1, 2018 With an unprecedented number of Muslim candidates running in the midterm elections, a virulent Islamophobic backlash has erupted in some districts — often laced with online mis- and disinformation. More than 90 American Muslims sought statewide or national office this year, and about 50 made it through the primaries, up
Muslim candidates face online hatred, disinformation Read More »
Information Disorder Update: October 30, 2018 Social media users have raised a chorus of complaints and allegations during the midterm campaign about the purging of millions of names from registration rolls to suppress voter turnout. Several state governments have responded that their critics are mischaracterizing routine and legally mandated maintenance of the rolls to keep them current
Social Media Becomes Battleground for Voting Integrity Misinformation Read More »
Information Disorder Update: October 26, 2018 Supporters of a private militia are spreading misinformation on social media about the Central American migrant caravan. One baseless claim asserts that “42,000 immigrants” intend to join the caravan. This warning appears to have reached tens of thousands of users on social media. Related posts on Twitter gained thousands of retweets;
False information about caravan animating militia activity at the border Read More »
Information Disorder Update: October 23, 2018 This newsletter issue from the Information Disorder Lab explores how mis- and disinformation can spread even after being denied mainstream social media access. A prominent advocate of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience publishes a series of online articles warning that leftists are fomenting civil war in the United States. A network of
Assessing a Case of Information Disorder: The Next Civil War Read More »
To get the weekly Information Disorder newsletter direct to your inbox, subscribe here. Warren DNA Confusion U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s ancestry video was designed to extinguish the lingering allegations against her, but instead appears to have fanned the flames of mis- and disinformation. When the Massachusetts Democrat released her DNA results on Monday, the backlash on social media reflected
The Information Disorder Update: October 16, 2018 Read More »
A Weekly Scan of Information Disorder Welcome to the inaugural issue of a weekly newsletter on emerging issues and trends in the field of online information disorder, with a near-term focus on mis- and disinformation affecting the 2018 midterm elections. The newsletter is intended for journalists, academics, policymakers, information technologists and other stakeholders. Subscribe here.
A Weekly Scan of Information Disorder: October 5, 2018 Read More »
The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center dedicated to exploring and illuminating the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice. The Center strives to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public.
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