Holiday Spending Spree
Plus: More funding for the "disinformation" censors, more fines for cashless businesses, the link between pandemic shutdowns and murder rates, and more...
Disinformation
CNN Presented a Syrian Jailer as a Torture Survivor
The fiasco around the “Syrian prisoner” filmed by CNN demonstrates that sometimes institutions aren’t the best judges of misinformation.
Kash Patel's Threats Against Journalists Make Him an Alarming Choice To Run the FBI
"We're gonna come after the people in the media," the Trump stalwart warns. "Whether it's criminally or civilly, we'll figure that out."
CNN Panelist Claims That Donald Trump Caused Charlottesville Attack
The punch line: It was a panel on the dangers of misinformation.
What the Past Can Teach Us About Our AI Fears
Regulating AI could threaten free speech, just as earlier proposed regulations of other media once did.
The Panic Over an Imaginary Militia 'Hunting FEMA' Did More Damage Than the Actual Threat
Someone did allegedly threaten first responders, but the panic may have done more damage.
Minnesota 'Acting as a Ministry of Truth' With Anti-Deep Fake Law, Says Lawsuit
The broad ban on AI-generated political content is clearly an affront to the First Amendment.
These Democrats Want the FEC To Crack Down on Elon Musk's Grok
Seven congressional Democrats called on the FEC to stop deepfakes. But is there really much to worry about?
Why Is the U.S. Military Buying Tinder Ads in Lebanon?
Uncle Sam is resorting to some unusual methods to support the Israeli war effort.
Actually, Interviewing Presidential Candidates Is a Good Thing
Plus: RFK Jr. thrown off the N.Y. ballot, Ukraine advances into Russia, and more...
Judge Tosses Former 'Disinformation' Chief's Defamation Suit, Says She Really Was a Censor
Nina Jankowicz finds out the truth may hurt, but it isn’t lawsuit bait.
A Real-Life Psyop: How the U.S. Military Spread Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theories
Washington keeps getting caught pushing the kind of disinformation it claims to oppose.
Americans Favor Freedom of the Press, Sort Of
Half the country says suppressing “false information” is more important than press freedom.
Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Czar, Is Back in Action
The American Sunlight Project contends that researchers are being silenced by their critics.
Combat Disinformation With Better Norms, Not More Laws
Fight back through better information and discourse, not by empowering the government.
Misinformation Watchdogs Keep Failing Upward
And they're still trying to censor speech on social media.
The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
Progressives Are Ditching Free Speech To Fight 'Disinformation'
From limits on liability protections for websites to attempts to regulate the internet like a public utility, these proposals will erode Americans' right to express themselves.
Yes, Biden Absolutely Told Coal Miners To Learn To Code
Where are the misinformation czars and the mainstream media fact-checkers now?
Help Fight Disinformation About Disinformation: Donate to Reason
Your support makes some of the "riskiest" journalism on the internet possible.
In French Thriller Anatomy of a Fall, the Law Is No One's Friend
A tricky, excellent legal drama shows just how hard it can be to pin down the truth.
How To Yell 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater
Aside from narrowly defined exceptions, false speech is protected by the First Amendment.
On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian
The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.
A Former Twitter Executive's Highly Selective Concern About 'Coercive Influences' on Social Media
Yoel Roth worries about government meddling in content moderation, except when Democrats target "misinformation."
The 5th Circuit Agrees That Federal Officials Unconstitutionally 'Coerced' or 'Encouraged' Online Censorship
The appeals court narrowed a preliminary injunction against such meddling but confirmed the threat that it poses to freedom of speech.
The Washington Post Says Democracy Demands Less Freedom of Speech
The paper worries that "social media companies are receding from their role as watchdogs against political misinformation."
Can We Trust A.I. To Tell the Truth?
Humanity has always adjusted to the reliability of new information sources.
Alex Winter: Is The YouTube Effect Good or Bad on Balance?
A new documentary film argues that the second-largest website on the planet is flooded with misinformation. Is that right?
Some Critics of the Ruling Against Biden's Censorship by Proxy Have a Beef With the 1st Amendment Itself
"Disinformation" researchers alarmed by the injunction against government meddling with social media content admire legal regimes that allow broad speech restrictions.
Lab Leak Theory: 1, Misinformation Cops: 0
Confirmation of Wuhan scientists as "patients zero" makes the lab leak theory look likely—and the misinformation police look like fools.
YouTube Abandons Election Misinformation Policy That Censored Political Speech
"We find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech."
Jacob Siegel: 'Disinformation' Is the Hoax of the Century
From Russiagate to COVID discourse, elites in government and the media are trying to control and centralize free speech and open inquiry.
How 'Disinformation' Became Public Enemy No. 1
Join Reason on YouTube Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a discussion of Jacob Siegel's broadside against the "counter-disinformation complex" in Tablet magazine.
U.S. Intelligence Leak Suspect Identified as 21-Year-Old Jack Teixeira
Plus: More secrecy from the Global Disinformation Index, the public awaits another big Supreme Court abortion decision, and more...
The Media and Politicians Keep Trying To Censor Things That Turn Out To Be True
The COVID-19 lab leak theory was labeled "misinformation." Now it's the most plausible explanation.
The Crusade Against 'Malinformation' Explicitly Targets Inconvenient Truths
The legal challenge to censorship by proxy highlights covert government manipulation of online speech.
How the Media Got the Vinyl Chloride Risk All Wrong
The Ohio train accident was frightening enough. Spreading inaccurate information won’t help the citizens of East Palestine.
Global Disinformation Index, Inform Thyself
Time and time again, so-called disinformation watchdogs fail their own tests—the lab leak is just the latest example.
U.S. Energy Department Endorses Lab Leak Theory of COVID-19's Origins
The push to label the lab leak thesis a racist conspiracy theory now looks even more foolish.
During Surprise Trip to Kyiv, Biden Promises Endless Support for Ukraine War
Plus: The National Endowment for Democracy ends funding of conservative media blacklist, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear major internet free speech case, and more...
The Perils of Trying To Curtail Hazily Defined 'Disinformation'
A government-supported organization's controversial ratings of online news sources illustrate the challenge of deciding what qualifies as disinformation.
U.S. State Department Funds a Disinformation Index That Warns Advertisers To Avoid Reason
Reason is listed among the "ten riskiest online news outlets" by a government-funded disinfo tracker.
Russian Propaganda Has Succeeded in Persuading Credulous Americans That It Poses a Grave Threat to Democracy
Alarmists are unfazed by the lack of evidence that "foreign influence campaigns" have affected public opinion or voting behavior.
That Time We Tried To Make Sense of a Statistic in a New York Times Story on Deepfakes
Deepfakes aren't nearly as dangerous as the tried-and-true technique of saying something misleading with the imprimatur of authority.
House Republicans To Probe White House Pressure on Social Media Companies
Plus: House votes to rescind IRS funding, the FDA is putting unnecessary strings on pharmacies filling abortion pill prescriptions, and more...
Twitter Files Reveal Politicians, Officials Evading the Constitution's Restrictions
People in power lean on private businesses to impose authoritarian policies forbidden to the government.
