Joe Rogan claimed on his podcast in July 2023 that January 6 was a false flag operation orchestrated by federal intelligence agencies, stating “That’s a fact” regarding intelligence agency involvement in provoking people into the Capitol Building. Rogan repeatedly promoted the …
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A Connecticut jury awarded $965 million in damages to families of Sandy Hook victims, representing the largest defamation verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The landmark decision stemmed from Jones’ repeated false claims that the 2012 school shooting was a ‘hoax’, …
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Following the 2020 presidential election, J.D. Vance shifts from a Trump critic to an election denier, promoting false claims about Biden’s victory being illegitimate. During multiple interviews and public appearances, Vance repeatedly refused to acknowledge Trump’s loss, stating he …
On October 15, 2020, YouTube announced it would ban content promoting QAnon and related conspiracy theories that “target individuals”—but the policy came approximately three years after YouTube’s recommendation algorithm began systematically amplifying QAnon from an obscure 4chan …
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By 2018, comprehensive academic research from UC Berkeley, Harvard, and other institutions documented that YouTube’s recommendation algorithm systematically amplified conspiracy theories and misinformation over factual content—with some studies showing conspiracy videos received dramatically …
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