Portugal election interference investigation by Cyabra found 58% of social media accounts supporting far-right parties were fake profiles. Discovery demonstrates global scale of social media manipulation in democratic elections, with coordinated bot networks amplifying extremist political messages. …
Cyabra (investigator)Far-right Portuguese partiesFake account networksRussian disinformation operationssocial-media-manipulationfake-accountselection-interferencefar-rightdisinformation+2 more
VP nominee J.D. Vance amplified a baseless conspiracy theory claiming Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were ‘abducting and eating’ pets. Despite being informed by city manager Bryan Heck that the claims were unfounded, Vance continued to spread misinformation, leading to community …
Twitter and Facebook suppressed the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story after months of FBI warnings about potential Russian ‘hack-and-leak’ operations. The FBI had possessed the laptop since December 2019 and confirmed its authenticity, but when social media companies asked …
Facebook removed network of 54 accounts, 50 pages, and 4 Instagram accounts linked to Roger Stone in July 2020. Network spent over $308,000 on advertising since 2015, used fake accounts to pose as Florida residents and evade enforcement. Connected to Proud Boys and active during 2016 election when …
Roger StoneFacebookdisinformationsocial-mediastone-networkinformation-warfare
During a White House coronavirus briefing on April 23, 2020, President Trump publicly speculated about treating COVID-19 by injecting disinfectant into the human body or inserting ultraviolet light internally, asking “is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a …
Donald TrumpWilliam BryanCOVID-19Public HealthDisinformationAccountability Crisis
President Trump visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on March 6, 2020, wearing his red “Keep America Great” campaign hat and delivering a chaotic, politically charged performance that included false claims about testing availability, attacks on …
Donald TrumpRobert RedfieldAlex AzarMike PenceJay InsleeCOVID-19Public HealthHatch ActDisinformationAccountability Crisis
At a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina on February 28, 2020, President Trump dismissed Democratic criticism of his administration’s coronavirus response by declaring “this is their new hoax,” comparing it to impeachment and other perceived attacks against him. The …
Donald TrumpCOVID-19Public HealthDisinformationAccountability Crisis
Former National Security Council Russia expert Dr. Fiona Hill delivered searing testimony on November 21, 2019, exposing how Rudy Giuliani ran a shadow Ukraine policy for Trump’s “domestic political errand” that undermined U.S. national security and advanced Russian interests. …
Fiona HillRudy GiulianiJohn BoltonGordon SondlandDonald TrumpFirst ImpeachmentUkraineShadow DiplomacyRussiaNSC+1 more
Mark Zuckerberg delivers major policy speech at Georgetown University announcing that Facebook will not fact-check political advertisements, effectively licensing the Trump campaign and other political actors to spread unlimited disinformation through paid advertising on the platform. The policy …
Mark ZuckerbergFacebookDonald TrumpJoe BidenTrump Campaignfacebookpolitical-adsmisinformationfree-speech-abusetrump-campaign+3 more
Attorney General William Barr released a four-page letter to Congress purporting to summarize the 448-page Mueller Report’s “principal conclusions” just 48 hours after receiving it. Barr’s summary fundamentally mischaracterized the report’s findings on obstruction of …
William BarrRobert MuellerDonald TrumpRod RosensteinMueller InvestigationObstruction of JusticeAttorney General CorruptionDisinformationAccountability Crisis+1 more
After weeks of international condemnation and bipartisan criticism, President Trump signed an executive order on June 20, 2018 ostensibly ending the family separation policy his administration had deliberately implemented. The order came after intense public pressure, including from many …
Donald TrumpKirstjen NielsenJeff SessionsStephen Millerfamily-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationdisinformation
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen explicitly acknowledged in a May 10, 2018 NPR interview that the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy would necessarily separate families, defending the practice as equivalent to standard law enforcement. Yet within weeks, Nielsen would …
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation filed its first charges against Russian government entities, indicting 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for conducting a sophisticated social media disinformation campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The …
Robert MuellerInternet Research AgencyYevgeny PrigozhinRussian GovernmentMueller InvestigationRussia InterferenceForeign InterferenceDisinformationSocial Media Manipulation+1 more
On March 4, 2017, President Trump tweeted a series of explosive and completely false accusations that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower “just before the victory.” Trump claimed he had “just found out” about the wiretapping but provided …
Donald TrumpBarack ObamaJames ClapperJames Comeydisinformationobama-attacksauthoritarianismfalse-accusationsabuse-of-power
Donald Trump Jr. accepted meeting at Trump Tower after being promised “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary” as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Meeting included Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, Rinat …
Donald Trump Jr.Jared KushnerPaul ManafortNatalia VeselnitskayaRinat Akhmetshin+2 moreforeign-interferencecampaign-finance-violationrussian-collusionobstructiondisinformation+1 more
While specific claims about Russian intelligence surveillance in 2013 could not be verified, Roger Stone’s interactions with Russian-linked entities became more prominently documented during the 2016 presidential campaign. Stone had communications with Guccifer 2.0, a hacker persona believed …
Roger StoneGuccifer 2.0intelligence-networkrussia-connectioncampaign-interferencedisinformation
On May 4, 2012, the Heartland Institute erected a digital billboard on the Eisenhower Expressway near Chicago featuring Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) with text reading “I still believe in global warming. Do you?” The billboard remained live for 24 hours before widespread …
On November 17, 2009, just weeks before the crucial Copenhagen Climate Summit, hackers breached servers at the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, stealing thousands of emails and computer files spanning 13 years of climate research. The stolen materials were strategically …
Climate Research UnitUniversity of East AngliaPhil JonesMichael MannClimate denial blogosphereclimate-denialdisinformationcybercrimemedia-manipulationinformation-warfare
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) launched a national television advertising campaign on May 18, 2006, featuring two 60-second spots promoting carbon dioxide as beneficial and dismissing climate change concerns. The ads aired in 14 U.S. cities from May 18-28, 2006, strategically timed to …
ExxonMobil significantly expanded its climate denial funding operation in 2003, channeling millions of dollars to a network of think tanks and front groups designed to manufacture doubt about climate science. The oil giant gave £3.5 million ($4.8 million) to climate skeptic organizations in the …
ExxonMobilAmerican Enterprise InstituteCato InstituteMarshall InstituteInternational Policy Network+1 moreclimate-denialdark-moneythink-tank-fundingfossil-fuelsdisinformation+1 more
The American Petroleum Institute (API) organized and funded a Global Climate Science Communications Plan, revealed in the leaked “Victory” memo outlining a multiyear, multimillion-dollar scheme to create uncertainty about established climate science. Created months after the Kyoto …
American Petroleum InstituteRandy RandolExxonMobilChevronSouthern Companyclimate-denialdisinformationfossil-fuelspublic-manipulationmedia-influence
The American Petroleum Institute (API) organized and funded a sophisticated Global Climate Science Communications Plan designed to systematically create doubt about established climate science. Leaked in April 1998, this strategy memo outlined a multimillion-dollar campaign to undermine public …
American Petroleum InstituteRandy RandolExxonMobilChevronSouthern Company+2 moreclimate-denialdisinformationfossil-fuelspublic-manipulationmedia-influence+1 more