Disinformation
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.
Presidents Bush and Obama Mistakenly Think We Need Their Warnings About Disinformation
Thanks, but we lived through the lies of their administrations that they used to sell us war and intrusive government meddling in health care.
U.S. Voters Are 'Vulnerable' to 'Foreign Manipulation,' No Matter How Inept, The New York Times Warns
Journalists who sound the alarm about Russian propaganda are unfazed by the lack of evidence that it has a meaningful impact.
Livestream: Homeland Security's Backdoor Social Media Speech Regulation
Livestream with Nick Gillespie, Robby Soave, and Zach Weissmueller
Department of Homeland Security
DHS' Crusade Against Misinformation Is Another Example of Anti-Terror Mission Creep
While the Department of Homeland Security pressured tech companies to censor their users' posts, it also branded election deniers as potential terrorists.
DHS Still Policing Disinformation Despite Dissolving Disinformation Governance Board
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI regularly report misinformation and disinformation to tech companies for potential removal.
Elon Musk Buying Twitter Is Not the End of the World
Regular people are not so terminally online.
President Biden Lies About Guns. Again.
Amidst official hysteria over “misinformation,” the president continues to willfully misrepresent the facts on firearms.
How Government Officials Bully Social Media Companies Into Censorship
A new Cato report sheds light on "jawboning," or attempts by state actors "to sway the decisions of private platforms and limit the publication of disfavored speech."
Biden Celebrates $90 Billion Bailout of Private Union Pension Plans
Plus: Don't cry for the failure of Homeland Security's disinformation board, states discover supply-side solutions to labor shortages, and more...
You're Wrong About Disinformation
People believe and say things that aren't true all of the time, of course. But efforts by public officials to combat them may well make things worse, not better.
Nina Jankowicz's Faulty Record, Not Her Critics, Doomed the Disinformation Board
And The Washington Post's wildly one-sided account of Jankowicz's fall was an exercise in government PR.
Don't Trust Biden's Dystopian 'Disinformation Board'
A "disinformation" board sounds like something from a dystopian novel.
Alito, Abortion, and Autonomy
Plus: ruminations on public health, misinformation, and media literacy
The Disinformation Panic
This “unprecedented crisis for democracy” is neither unprecedented nor a crisis for democracy.
The DHS Will Be Disinformation Dolts
Plus: perpetual "scope creep" of the welfare state
New DHS Board Seeks To Counter What It Thinks Is Disinformation
The board's head says she is dedicated to "protecting free speech," but she has also expressed direct opposition to "free speech absolutists."
Experts Warn Accurate News Articles Are Misinformation if They Support Conservative Views
The existence of politically biased websites is not a crisis.
Americans Abandoning Free Speech Better Brace for the Consequences
Government will happily suppress misinformation in favor of misinformation of its own.
Are These Vulgarity-Spouting Birds a Threat to Democracy?
Aaron Reynolds is just trying to make people laugh, but his content may have been flagged on Instagram for interfering with the election.
Are These Effin' Birds From Canada Fucking With American Democracy?
Aaron Reynolds, the creator of "Swear Trek" and "Effin' Birds," talks about living and dying by Instagram's algorithms.
With Biden Up in Pennsylvania, Are We Headed Toward Gridlock?
Plus: Republicans denounce Trump fraud allegations, Trump campaign mounts multiple legal challenges, and more...
You Can't Always Trust What You Hear Online, and Congress Has Some Ideas About Fixing That
The House Intelligence Committee is mulling ways to stop an "infodemic." Is this really a task we want the government to tackle?
'Assault Weapons,' Explained
How a scary name for an arbitrary group of firearms distorts the gun control debate
Fake News: Finally Somebody Is Doing Something About It!
Vladimir Putin's Foreign Ministry
Glyphosate Found in Some Cereals: Alarmists Generate Useless Panic
Another bogus scaremongering study by anti-technology activists
How Trump's Big Lie Technique Works - "Belief Echoes" from Disinformation
Politicians have an enormous incentive to "strategically spread false information" otherwise known as "lie."
