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Misinformation

Misinformation

Politics

Bryan Caplan on "Misinformation About Misinformation"

One of the world's leading experts on public knowledge and ignorance explains why consumers of misinformation are often as much to blame as producers.

Ilya Somin |The Volokh Conspiracy | 5.18.2022 4:21 PM

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Misinformation

Was Censorship the Greatest COVID Threat to Freedom?

It wasn't just autocrats who were frequently tempted to address "fake news" about the pandemic through state pressure and coercion.

Jacob Sullum | 5.5.2022 6:00 AM

Alejandro-Mayorkas-4-27-22-Newscom

Misinformation

The Biden Administration Sees Free Speech As a Public Menace

The alarm aroused by the Disinformation Governance Board is understandable given the administration’s broader assault on messages it considers dangerous.

Jacob Sullum | 5.4.2022 12:01 AM

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Misinformation

Homeland Security Chief Admits New Disinformation Board Already Did a Bad Job of Informing Public

Alejandro Mayorkas fails to inspire much confidence in the new group run by Nina Jankowicz.

Robby Soave | 5.2.2022 11:37 AM

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F.A. Hayek

Jimmy Wales: What Wikipedia Got Right About Social Media

The co-founder of "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" talks about the power of decentralization and the rise in subscription models for journalism.

Nick Gillespie and Katherine Mangu-Ward | 4.29.2022 4:00 PM

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Misinformation

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."

Joe Lancaster | 4.29.2022 3:45 PM

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Social Media

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales Has Already Solved the Internet's Problems

The online encyclopedia's decentralized, Hayekian approach provides a model for Elon Musk as he assumes control of Twitter.

Katherine Mangu-Ward | 4.28.2022 11:41 AM

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Public Health

How 'Cranks' Advance Science

A major lesson of the pandemic is that science is "not a priesthood," says Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer, a general surgeon and senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

Natalie Dowzicky, Jeffrey A. Singer, and Regan Taylor | 4.27.2022 11:00 AM

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Elon Musk

No, Elon Musk Didn't Pay a 3.27 Percent Tax Rate

Plus: How misinformation spreads, ignoring inflation, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 4.26.2022 9:35 AM

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Reason Roundup

The Hunter Biden Laptop Story Makes Another Case Against 'Misinformation' Bans

Plus: Fiona Apple fights for transparent courts, Missouri bill takes aim at out-of-state abortions, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 3.18.2022 9:33 AM

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Ukraine

No, DOJ Shouldn't Investigate Tulsi Gabbard for 'False Russian Propaganda'

"Ukraine biolabs" is a textbook example of why the mainstream media's push to outlaw so-called disinformation is irresponsible.

Robby Soave | 3.14.2022 5:07 PM

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Free Speech

Free Speech Supporters Shouldn't Cheer These Libel Suits Over Election Claims

Plus: Russia attacks near the Polish border, Texas must pause trans kid investigations, how environmental regulations hobble progress, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 3.14.2022 9:30 AM

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Ukraine

Dispatch From Ukraine: Living as a Russian in Ukraine

A Russian-Ukrainian woman describes how Russians are being fed misinformation.

Nancy Rommelmann | 3.10.2022 10:40 AM

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Free Speech

Vivek Murthy's Demand for Data on COVID 'Misinformation' Is Part of a Creepy Crusade to Suppress Dissent

The surgeon general's definition of misinformation includes statements that are arguably or verifiably true.

Jacob Sullum | 3.3.2022 2:35 PM

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Reason Roundup

Misinformation or Political Dysfunction—Which Comes First?

Plus: Trafficking visas, a new no-fly list?, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 2.16.2022 9:31 AM

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Public Health

'Public Health' Has Become a Catchall Excuse for Bad Ideas

From to-go cocktail bans to Neil Young to teachers unions, the pandemic has provided a convenient pretext for selfish advancement.

Peter Suderman | 2.1.2022 12:54 PM

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Human Trafficking

Kamala Harris Spreads Misinformation on Human Trafficking

Plus: Texas attacks TikTok, Neil Young's anti-science past, IRS reconsidering face scans, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 1.31.2022 9:30 AM

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Reason Roundup

Instagram Bans Healthy Eating Ads for Promoting 'Negative Self-Perception'

Plus: The ERA returns (again), Rep. Nancy Mace's marijuana mission, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 1.28.2022 9:38 AM

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Social Media

Government Regulation of Social Media Won't Protect Free Speech

Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants to put HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the former California attorney general with a reputation for being a partisan hack, in charge of "health disinformation" online.

Steven Greenhut | 11.12.2021 8:00 AM

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Social Media

Report: Facebook, Twitter Still Not Responsible for Radicalizing People

Political polarization drives social media use, rather than the other way around.

Joe Lancaster | 9.29.2021 10:45 AM

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Coronavirus

Elizabeth Warren Demands That Amazon Crack Down on COVID Misinformation

Amazon's customers are apparently unable to judge the veracity of COVID-related information for themselves.

Liz Wolfe | 9.14.2021 10:55 AM

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Social Media

Reddit's Messy Fight Over COVID Misinformation

Denizens of the popular online forum protested the spread of COVID misinformation, but the company rightly wouldn't cave to their demands. It still cracked down on 55 subreddits in the end.

Liz Wolfe | 9.3.2021 11:55 AM

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Social Media

48% of Americans Want the Government To Restrict Misinformation on Social Media

The Pew Research Center found that support for censorship is increasing.

Robby Soave | 8.20.2021 11:29 AM

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Reason Roundup

CDC Took Mistaken Data on Delta Variant Transmissibility From a New York Times Infographic

Plus: Dominion defamation suit against Trump lawyers can proceed, prices rose 0.5 percent in June, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.12.2021 9:30 AM

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Politics

Deluded Republicans and Smug Democrats Offer Little Hope for People Who Want To Be Left Alone

Live-and-let-live political types are stuck between cultists and totalitarians.

J.D. Tuccille | 7.21.2021 7:00 AM

coronavirus_lab_leak_misinformation

Coronavirus

The Media's Lab Leak Debacle Shows Why Banning 'Misinformation' Is a Terrible Idea

How a debate about COVID-19's origins exposed a dangerous hubris

Robby Soave | 6.4.2021 7:30 AM

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Free Speech

Americans Abandoning Free Speech Better Brace for the Consequences

Government will happily suppress misinformation in favor of misinformation of its own.

J.D. Tuccille | 1.29.2021 11:20 AM

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Drugs

The Feds Are Spreading Fake Facts About Fentanyl 

While fentanyl is a dangerous drug, it is very difficult to overdose on it through accidental exposure.

Matthew Petti | 11.23.2020 6:00 AM

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Coronavirus

Health Care Workers Need Masks (and the Rest of Us Need Them, Too)

DIY manufacturers scramble to reduce shortages, as public health officials send mixed messages about the efficacy of broader use.

Zach Weissmueller | 3.31.2020 1:31 PM

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Coronavirus

COVID-19 Reminds Us: Social Media Is Good, Actually

Will coronavirus help rehabilitate tech's rep?

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 3.16.2020 12:30 PM

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Cognitive Science

People Are Less Gullible Than You Think

By default we veer on the side of being resistant to new ideas.

Hugo Mercier | 2.9.2020 6:00 AM

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Science

The Vaping Panic Is a Major Setback for Public Health

"There's no question public health would benefit dramatically if everybody switched completely to e-cigarettes."

Jacob Sullum | 12.26.2019 6:00 AM

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Homelessness

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Spreads Fake News About Austin Homelessness

The video Abbott shared was not of a homeless person—it was a mentally ill person having a serious episode. Whoops.

Liz Wolfe | 11.1.2019 1:35 PM

Fake News

Fake News

What If Widespread Disinformation Is the Solution to Fake News?

It may be time to hire a libel service.

Mike Godwin | 6.25.2019 2:45 PM

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Drugs

Don't Blame Pain Pills for the Opioid Crisis

Jacob Sullum | 2.1.2018 12:00 PM

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Epidemiology

An Epidemic of Bad Epidemiology

A new book offers a potent antidote to toxic misinformation.

Ronald Bailey | 4.23.2017 6:00 AM

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