With elections in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Taiwan, the European parliament and more than a dozen other European, Asian and African democracies all taking place in 2024, a huge percentage of the global population will be casting ballots next year.
The Hill
A viral TikTok claimed Disney World sought to lower the drinking age to 18. President Biden made outsized claims about job creation. A Twitter user impersonated a pharmaceutical giant announcing insulin is free. Russian agents leaked hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Wisconsin Watch
Before making the arduous journey from their home countries toward the U.S. in search of a better life, migrants usually resort to the internet, social media and applications like WhatsApp to inform themselves on how to reach their final destination.
Poynter
The proliferation of fake news stories and conspiracy theories on social media, as well as rising concerns that these platforms are hurting kids’ mental health, have put digital literacy and citizenship in the spotlight.
EducationWeek
Efforts to deceive the public about voting and elections remain a top concern for state election officials as they dig into preparations for the 2024 election.
PBS News Hour/The Associated Press
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI, the artificial intelligence start-up that makes ChatGPT, over whether the chatbot has harmed consumers through its collection of data and its publication of false information on individuals.
The New York Times
How much misinformation is on Facebook? Several studies have found that the amount of misinformation on Facebook is low or that the problem has declined over time. This previous work, though, missed most of the story.
The Conversation
Countries must address the “grave global harm” caused by the proliferation of hate and lies online, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on [June 12], launching a key report designed to shore up information integrity on digital platforms.
UN News
A federal judge in Louisiana ruled last week that a wide range of Biden administration officials could not communicate with social media companies about content moderation issues, and in a lengthy opinion described the White House’s outreach to platforms as “almost dystopian” and reminiscent of “an Orwellian ministry of truth”.
The Guardian
Many Americans believe that they are regularly being exposed to misinformation online, and most are confident in their ability to distinguish real news from fake news. However, Americans' confidence in their ability to spot fake news isn't always grounded in reality.
YouGov
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked key Biden administration agencies and officials from meeting and communicating with social media companies about “protected speech,” in an extraordinary preliminary injunction in an ongoing case that could have profound effects on the First Amendment.
The Washington Post
In a campaign ad for Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, former President Trump can be seen hugging and kissing Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the nation's COVID-19 pandemic health response. Problem: It never happened. Weeks before Trump appeared in a New York courtroom in April on 34 felony charges in a hush-money case, there were fake images showing police officers tackling him and hauling him away. That never happened, either.
USA Today
While much of the world’s news media has struggled to find solid footing in the digital age, the number of fact-checking outlets reliably rocketed upward for years — from a mere 11 sites in 2008 to 424 in 2022.
Duke Reporters’ Lab
People are hungry for accurate and reliable information online and may just need help to find it, according to a new media literacy project launched by Microsoft.
The Associated Press
Meta Platforms said on Friday [June 16] a policy that was put in place to curb the spread of misinformation related to COVID-19 on Facebook and Instagram would no longer be in effect globally. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter came under immense pressure to tackle misinformation related to the pandemic, including false claims about vaccines, prompting them to take stringent measures.
Reuters
On Capitol Hill and in the courts, Republican lawmakers and activists are mounting a sweeping legal campaign against universities, think tanks and private companies that study the spread of disinformation, accusing them of colluding with the government to suppress conservative speech online.
New York Times
Tales of people reading on social media about suspect, off-label uses of ivermectin to ward off COVID-19, ingesting the livestock dewormer and then suffering gastrointestinal distress might seem like the pinnacle of the 2021 zeitgeist.
PHYS.org/Colorado State University
Healthcare providers are already aware of the risk of medical misinformation on social media sites, but a new study from researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine showed just how common that unverified information is on the popular app TikTok.
PatientEngagementHIT
“Fake news” is probably a term you’ve heard before. In part due to its overwhelming use by former U.S. President Donald Trump during his first year in office, the phrase was even named “word of the year” by Collins Dictionary in 2017. Inspired by Trump, authoritarian political figures globally have used “fake news” to discredit critical reporting.
International Journalists’ Network
A roundup of four of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts.
The Associated Press
