We live in an age of widespread public deception, where aggressive forms of narrative manipulation spread despair and undermine trust in the commons. Disinformation entrepreneurs harass and intimidate scientists in an attempt to silence them. They create noise and stir up misdirected public outrage.
The Tyee
As Romania heads into another round of presidential elections, TikTok has unveiled a set of initiatives aimed at bolstering election integrity on its platform. These include the launch of a dedicated Election Center, a media literacy campaign in partnership with Romanian media outlets, and an expansion of its moderation and fact-checking efforts.
TikTok
Concerned that the nation’s health leadership is casting unfounded doubt on the safety of well-studied vaccines and may take action to curb their use, a group of public health experts is working to put pieces in place to respond.
CNN
This month, a network of pro-Russian websites began a campaign aimed at undermining confidence in the U.S. defense industry, according to disinformation analysts. The F-35 fighter jet was one target.
The New York Times
Mark Carney was just days away from announcing his bid to lead Canada’s Liberal Party in January when his face popped up on a viral right-wing Facebook page. Two photographs showed Mr. Carney, who became prime minister last month, at a garden party beside Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker and former confidante of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The New York Times
As of late April, the U.S. has confirmed 800 measles cases in 2025 across more than 20 states – already more than double the amount of cases reported in 2024. KFF’s latest Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds that most adults (56%) and about half of parents of children under 18 (48%) are aware that the number of measles cases in the U.S. is higher this year than in recent years.
KFF Health News
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the State Department is closing an office designed to counter foreign disinformation, stating that the effort had ‘spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans.’
The Washington Post
If you saw the recent HHS Press Briefing by RFK Jr., you’re likely as horrified as I am. RFK Jr. proclaimed that ‘it’s gotta be environmental toxins’ causing the supposed autism epidemic. As always, he manipulated data to claim autism is ‘skyrocketing.’
ImmunoLogic.org
Late on Friday afternoon, hundreds of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation got emails with bad news: their grants or fellowships had been cancelled.
Nieman Lab
As TikTok continues to wait for a deal that will secure its future in the United States, the company is embracing a crowd-sourced approach to fact-checking. The service is adding “Footnotes,” a Community Notes-like feature that will allow contributors to add “more context” to videos on the platform.
Engadget
A Delaware judge, once again, has found that a conservative news outlet broadcast false and defamatory claims about the role a voting technology company played in the 2020 presidential election. This time, that network is Newsmax, Fox News' upstart rival, which is fresh off a successful initial public offering.
National Public Radio
The First Amendment is first for a reason, and James Madison, chief author of the Bill of Rights, was a staunch supporter of the values enshrined therein: Speech, Religious Liberty, Freedom of the Press, Free Assembly, and the Freedom to Petition for Redress of Grievances.
The Integrity Project
Make no mistake, the recent appearance of Dr. Suzanne Humphries on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast—which reaches an astronomical 11 million listeners per episode—represents a public health emergency that demands an urgent, forceful and unified response.
Deplatform Disease
It is Feb. 26, and ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ is filming in Indianapolis the week of the NFL Scouting Combine. McAfee sits behind a desk. Before him is an arc of chairs, occupied by a few of what he describes as his ‘stooges’ and a featured guest: Adam Schefter, ESPN’s NFL insider.
The Athletic
Apolitical nonprofit and trusted mis- and disinformation research organization – The Integrity Project – is pleased to announce that veteran news broadcaster Mark Curtis and distinguished elections expert Stephen Richer have joined its volunteer Board of Directors.
The Integrity Project
Fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid driving the nation's high drug overdose rates, is also caught up in another serious problem: misinformation. False and misleading narratives on social media, in news reports and even in popular television dramas suggesting people can overdose from touching fentanyl — rather than ingesting it — are now informing public policy and spending decisions.
National Public Radio
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault says people tend to overestimate how good they are at spotting fake and misleading election content. He says he's contacted major social media companies about the issue to ensure a 'secure election.'
CBC News Canada
France has, in recent years, witnessed more disinformation campaigns coming "from abroad," including Russia, than any other European country apart from Ukraine, Prime Minister François Bayrou said last week.
Le Monde
Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. Parents in Gaines County, Texas, the center of a raging measles outbreak, have increasingly turned to supplements and unproven treatments to protect their children, many of whom are unvaccinated, against the virus.
The New York Times
One of President Donald Trump’s first actions as he returned to the Oval Office in January was signing an executive order aimed at “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship” of US citizens. The order bans federal officials from any conduct that “would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.”
CNN
