Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), circulates an internal memo to FDA staff asserting that COVID-19 vaccines caused “at least 10 deaths in children” and calling for sweeping changes to vaccine regulation—despite providing no …
Dr. Vinay PrasadFDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)Robert F. Kennedy Jr.FDA Commissioner Martin MakaryFDA Scientistsfdavaccinespublic-healthvaccine-safetydisinformation+5 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 …
Kirstjen NielsenJeff SessionsStephen MillerDonald TrumpDepartment of Homeland Securityfamily-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationdisinformation
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
President Trump signed an executive order creating the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as vice chair and day-to-day administrator. The commission was established after Trump made unsubstantiated …
Donald TrumpKris KobachMike PenceMatthew Dunlapvoter suppressiondisinformationtrump administrationrepublican party
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
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
Conservative activist James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles released heavily edited hidden camera videos purporting to show ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) employees advising them on tax evasion, human smuggling, and child prostitution. O’Keefe selectively edited …
James O'KeefeHannah GilesACORNvoter suppressiondisinformationrepublican partymedia manipulation
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 …
On May 5, 2000, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Natural Resources Task Force adopted the ‘Environmental Literacy Improvement Act’ at ALEC’s Spring Task Force Summit, with full approval by ALEC’s Board of Directors in June 2000. The model bill was …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Sandy Liddy BourneHeartland InstituteKoch IndustriesExxonMobil+4 morealecclimate-denialeducationdisinformationmodel-legislation+3 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
Donald Henry Segretti, hired by his friend Dwight L. Chapin (Nixon’s appointments secretary), ran an extensive campaign of political sabotage against Democratic candidates throughout 1972, with his work paid for by Nixon’s lawyer Herbert Kalmbach from presidential campaign funds. …
Donald SegrettiDwight L. ChapinKen W. ClawsonHerbert KalmbachEdmund Muskie+1 morewatergateelectoral-manipulationdisinformationinstitutional-corruptionabuse-of-power
On February 9, 1950, junior senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin delivered a Lincoln’s birthday address to the Women’s Republican Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, claiming he possessed a list of communists working in the State Department. McCarthy declared: “While I cannot take …
Joseph McCarthyHarry S. Trumanred-scarepolitical-persecutiondisinformationinstitutional-corruptionauthoritarian-tactics