A fortnightly newsletter covering the latest news about disinformation, including case studies, research and reporting from the BBC, international media and leading experts in the field. IN THE NEWS
US PROTESTS George Floyd protests: Misinformation spreads online BBC disinformation experts have been keeping track of misleading footage and images about the anti-racism protests in the US. A fake White House image, an old video reshared without context and rumours that the protests were staged or set up – these are some of the examples of misleading content covered in the latest roundup.
The team has also investigated conspiracy theories that have been circulating about the protests in the US. Facebook removes ‘inauthentic’ George Floyd groups
Facebook has removed a number of Justice for George Floyd groups for exhibiting “inauthentic behaviour” after BBC News highlighted some suspicious groups had switched their focus to call for justice for the black man killed in police custody. Some, run by accounts seemingly based in Vietnam and Bangladesh, had posted misleading images, while others had previously focused on coronavirus, 5G conspiracies and support for US President Donald Trump. Twitter bans over #DCblackout hoax
Twitter has suspended hundreds of accounts for spreading claims about a Washington DC “blackout” that never happened. Thousands of tweets with the #DCBlackout hashtag claimed last Monday that communications had been blocked in the city to cripple protests, despite there being no evidence of a blackout. False rumours about antifa spread on local social media
False rumours about members of the anti-fascist movement, or antifa, planning to bus protesters to white neighbourhoods to loot homes have spread widely on hyperlocal online platforms and in group texts across the US, an NBC News investigation has found. Some of the posts featured a screenshot from a suspended fake antifa account that Twitter said was linked to a white nationalist group. Facebook takes down white nationalist and fake antifa accounts
Facebook has suspended accounts associated with white nationalist groups after some advocated bringing weapons to the ongoing anti-racism protests in the US. The company also said they removed fake accounts that were posing as antifa in order to discredit the anti-fascist movement. CORONAVIRUS The human cost of misinformation A BBC team tracking coronavirus misinformation has found links to assaults, arsons and deaths. Experts say the potential for indirect harm caused by rumours, conspiracy theories and bad health advice could be much bigger. Misinformation circulating in Africa about Covid-19
As coronavirus cases spread through African countries, misleading information continues to be circulated online. BBC Reality Check has investigated some of the widely shared claims. Social media firms fail to act on coronavirus fake news
Hundreds of posts containing misleading information about Covid-19 are being left online, according to a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Some 649 posts featuring misleading health advice and conspiracy theories about 5G were reported to Facebook and Twitter, but 90% remained visible online afterwards without any warnings attached, the report suggests. Inside the pro-China network targeting the US, Hong Kong and an exiled tycoon
Hundreds of fake or hijacked social media accounts have been pushing pro-Chinese government messages about the coronavirus pandemic on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, a BBC investigation has found. The majority of the accounts, pages and channels were removed after the findings were reported to all three platforms. Bill Gates ‘microchip’ conspiracy theory and other vaccine claims fact-checked Speculation about a future coronavirus vaccine is ramping up and social media posts from anti-vaccination campaigners are gaining more traction online. Disinformation experts from BBC Trending, Reality Check and Monitoring have debunked a few recent claims.
Meanwhile, Jane Wakefield of BBC Technology has traced how Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, has become a “voodoo doll” of coronavirus conspiracy theories. Facebook bans coronavirus misinformation publisher for using ‘troll farms’
Facebook has banned Natural News, a website that has promoted coronavirus misinformation on the platform, for using content farms from North Macedonia and the Philippines to artificially boost its popularity. To bypass the ban, the website resorted to publishing identical stories on a pro-Trump site, according to the fact-checking website Politifact. OTHER NEWS Twitter accuses Trump of making ‘false claims’
Twitter has accused US President Donald Trump of making false claims in one of the app’s own articles covering news. The move – which effectively accuses the leader of lying – refers to a tweet about Mr Trump’s first defence secretary and follows another confrontation which saw Twitter fact-check two of the president’s tweets and label another as glorifying violence. TECHNOLOGY
Facebook starts labelling state-run media
Facebook has started to label pages of media organisations that are “wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government” on its platform. The social media company will also label adverts from outlets such as Russia’s RT and Chinese Xinhua News and plans to start blocking all their ads in the United States ahead of this year’s presidential election. To sign-up to our monthly newsletter and weekly jihadist media insight, email us here.
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