Misinformation

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by the 36th District Court in Michigan, Jacob Wohl, left, and Jack Burkman appear during their arraignment via video, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020 in Detroit. Burkman and Wohl, two conservative political operatives who orchestrated a robocall campaign to dissuade Black people from voting in the 2020 election, have agreed to pay up to $1.25 million under a settlement with New York state, Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (36th District Court via AP, File)

Conservative hoaxers to pay up to $1.25M under agreement with New York over 2020 robocall scheme

Two conservative political operatives who orchestrated a robocall campaign to dissuade Black people from voting in the 2020 election have agreed to pay up to $1.25 million under a settlement with New York state.

As Michael Ruiz, left, looks on, radio guest Carolina Rodriguez-Greer, with Mi Familia Vota, speaks, at the Phoenix studio of La Campesina, a Spanish-language radio network, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. A surge of misinformation is targeting Spanish-speaking voters with a high-stakes presidential election looming in the fall and candidates vying for support from the rapidly growing number of Latino voters. In one of the most important swing states, Arizona, La Campesina is countering that with a dedicated effort to provide Latino voters the facts about voting and how elections are run. (AP Photo/Serkan Gurbuz)

Latino voters are coveted by both major parties. They also are a target for election misinformation

FILE - Adrian Fontes speaks at a news conference in Phoenix, Nov. 14, 2022. Arizona's top election officials are taking an aggressive approach to combating disinformation and responding to threats against election workers in a state that has been an epicenter of both. Fontes, the Arizona Secretary of State, says election meddlers have attempted to hack the state's electronic systems. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its top officials are going on offense

Election misinformation is a problem in any language. But some gets more attention than others

People are reflected in a window of a hotel at the Davos Promenade in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

AI-created election disinformation is deceiving voters globally

Arizona radio station fights elections misinformation in Spanish

La Campesina, a Spanish-language radio network in Arizona, California and Nevada, gears up on the fight against misinformation and disinformation targeting Spanish speakers about elections. (AP Video/Serkan Gurbuz)

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False narratives undermine voter confidence in Arizona

AI supercharges threat of disinformation in a big year for elections globally

Teachers push for misinformation education

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FILE - Phill Cady holds a sign during a "Take Our Border Back" rally on Feb. 3, 2024, in Quemado, Texas. Online actors tied to the Kremlin have begun pushing misleading and incendiary claims about U.S. immigration in an apparent bid to target American voters ahead of the 2024 election. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Russian disinformation is about immigration. The real aim is to undercut Ukraine aid

Russian state media and online accounts tied to the Kremlin have begun pushing misleading and incendiary claims about U.S. immigration.

FILE - Chester County, Pa. election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester on Nov. 4, 2020. Law enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators have begun meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate how they will identify and fight election threats with the presidential contest just eight months away in the battleground state, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Pennsylvania sets up election security task force ahead of 2024 presidential contest

Law enforcement agencies, civil defense officials and election administrators are meeting in Pennsylvania to coordinate against election threats with the presidential contest eight months away.

FILE - Polling officers count votes in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Jan. 13, 2024. Voters in Taiwan recently repelled a wave of disinformation seeking to undermine their democracy ahead of this month's recent election. Experts say Taiwan was able to rebuff China's efforts to meddle with their democracy by taking the challenge of disinformation seriously. In doing so, the island can offer lessons to the U.S. and other nations holding their own elections amid the threat of foreign disinformation. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

How Taiwan beat back disinformation and preserved the integrity of its election

Voters in Taiwan recently repelled a wave of disinformation seeking to undermine their democracy ahead of the election earlier this month.

Oren Etzioni poses for photos at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence where he serves as advisor & board member, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Seattle. Experts are warning that the spread of misinformation could get worse in the coming presidential election contest. The safeguards that attempted to counter the bogus claims the last time are eroding, while the tools and systems that create and spread them are only getting stronger. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

As social media guardrails fade and AI deepfakes go mainstream, experts warn of impact on elections

Experts are warning that the spread of misinformation could get worse in the coming presidential election contest.

A Palestinian man collects his belongings southeast of the Gaza City on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. on the fifth day of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Fake babies, real horror: Deepfakes from the Gaza war increase fears about AI’s power to mislead

The war in Gaza is highlighting the latest advances in artificial intelligence as a way to spread fake images and disinformation.

Turkish high court upholds disputed disinformation law. The opposition wanted it annuled

Turkey’s highest court has upheld a controversial media law that mandates prison terms for people deemed to be spreading “disinformation.”

FILE - Marchers move down Front Street during the Ohio March for Life after a rally at the Ohio State House in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Misinformation is flowing ahead of Ohio abortion vote. Some is coming from a legislative website

Misinformation targeting a reproductive rights measure on Ohio’s fall ballot is appearing in an unusual place: the official website of the Republican-controlled state Senate.

File - Supporters wave the Palestinian flag at a march in Toronto, on Oct. 9, 2023. Before it transformed into X, Twitter was the place to turn to for live and reliable information about big news events, from wars to natural disasters. But as the Israel-Hamas war has underscored, that is no longer the case. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Social media is awash in misinformation about Israel-Gaza war, but Musk’s X is the most egregious

While Twitter has always struggled with combating misinformation about major news events, it was still the go-to place to find out what’s happening in the world.

FILE - Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, Friday, July 28, 2023. A top European Union official said Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, that the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, is the biggest source of fake news and urged owner Elon Musk to comply with the bloc's laws aimed at combating disinformation. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Musk’s X is the biggest purveyor of disinformation, EU official says

A top European Union official says the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, is the biggest source of fake news and urged owner Elon Musk to comply with the bloc’s laws aimed at combating disinformation.

Journalists seek regulations to govern fast-moving artificial intelligence technology

News organizations are seeking regulations to govern the fast-moving artificial intelligence technology that threatens upheavals for their businesses.

FILE - Police officers inspect area after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. A related issue afflicts those who are far from the fighting but avid to learn developments in the vast war. Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed and stay quiet about defeats.AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

Russia’s war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. A related issue afflicts those who are far from the fighting but avid to learn developments in the vast war.

FILE - Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay, at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says “tweet” to publish it. To repost it, you still tap “retweet.” (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

X marks the lawsuit: Elon Musk’s social media company sues nonprofit highlighting site’s hate speech

A nonprofit organization that researches links between social media, hate and extremism has been sued by X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

In this image provided by Sarah Shah, the advocacy group Indian American Impact, which runs the fact-checking site Desifacts.org, passes out Parle-G cookies with voting plan stickers at a Diwali even in Doylestown, Pa., on Oct. 23, 2022. Community organizations are gearing up for what they expect will be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting voters of color as the 2024 election approaches. (Sarah Shah via AP)

Election disinformation campaigns targeted voters of color in 2020. Experts expect 2024 to be worse

Community organizations are gearing up for what they expect will be a worsening onslaught of disinformation targeting voters of color as the 2024 election approaches.

FILE - This photo shows the mobile phone app logos for, from left, Facebook and Instagram in New York, Oct. 5, 2021. A team of some of the world's leading social media researchers has published four studies looking at the relationship between the algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram and America's widening political divide. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

Deep dive into Meta’s algorithms shows that America’s political polarization has no easy fix

A team of some of the world’s leading social media researchers has published four studies looking at the relationship between the algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram and America’s widening political divide.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testifies before a House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

RFK Jr. denies making antisemitic comments as congressional Republicans give him a platform

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is denying that he traffics in racist and hateful online conspiracy theories, testifying at a House hearing on government censorship despite requests from outside groups to disinvite him.

FILE - Republican U.S. Sen.-elect and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt delivers a victory speech, Nov. 8, 2022, in Maryland Heights, Mo. On Tuesday, July 4, 2023, a judge prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about “protected speech.” Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.” (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Judge’s order limits government contact with social media operators, raises disinformation questions

An order by a Louisiana federal judge sets up a high-stakes legal battle over how the Biden administration can interact with social media platforms.

Former President Donald Trump gestures after speaking during the North Carolina Republican Party Convention in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, June 10, 2023. Now seeking a second term even as he fights federal charges, Trump continues to shatter the norms of American politics. While the country has endured liars in the White House before, no president has ever scorned the truth as regularly as Trump, who continues to lie about his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Analysis: Donald Trump’s war on truth confronts another test with voters

Among America’s presidents, no one has seemed to be at war with the truth as regularly as Donald Trump.

Microsoft’s media literacy program aims to empower internet users and combat online misinformation

A new effort to promote internet and media literacy by Microsoft has shown promising results in the fight against online misinformation.

FILE - European Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova addresses the plenary at the European Parliament in Brussels, Thursday, March 25, 2021. The European Union is pushing online platforms like Google and Meta to step up the fight against false information by adding labels to text, photos and other content generated by artificial intelligence, EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said Monday. (Yves Herman, Pool via AP, File)

Is it real or made by AI? Europe wants a label for that as it fights disinformation

The European Union is pushing online platforms like Google and Meta to step up efforts to fight false information by adding labels to text, photos and other content generated by artificial intelligence.

FILE - The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad on March 20, 2018, in Baltimore. YouTube will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 election or other past U.S. presidential elections were marred by “widespread fraud, errors or glitches," the platform announced Friday, June 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

YouTube changes policy to allow false claims about past US presidential elections

YouTube says it will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 election and other past U.S. presidential elections were marred by widespread fraud, errors or glitches.

FILE - A sign at Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Election falsehoods are thriving on Twitter after former President Donald Trump dug in on these claims at a CNN town hall, despite Twitter owner Elon Musk's insistence that false stolen-election claims on the platform “will be corrected.” An analysis shows the 10 most widely shared tweets promoting a “rigged election” narrative in the five days after the town hall have not been labeled or removed. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

False claims of a stolen election thrive unchecked on Twitter even as Musk promises otherwise

Election falsehoods are thriving on Twitter after former President Donald Trump dug in on those claims during a recent CNN town hall.

Brazil orders Google to halt campaign against speech bill

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Justice Ministry on Tuesday ordered Google to stop conducting what it called a propaganda campaign against Brazilian legislation aimed at curbing misinformation, or face about $200,000 per hour in fines.

People march around the Nebraska state Capitol during a Transgender Day of Visibility rally, Friday, March 31, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. (Larry Robinson/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)

Trans people face rhetoric, disinformation after shooting

The days after the shooting at a Nashville Christian school that killed six people have been marked by anti-transgender rhetoric and disinformation.

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, delivers her speech during a conference on guidelines for regulating digital platforms, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 in Paris. UNESCO is leading consultations on ways to regulate digital platforms and making the internet a safer space. The two-day conference aims to formulate guidelines and principles that would help regulators, governments, lawmakers and business manage content that undermines democracy and human rights while supporting freedom of expression and promoting the availability of accurate and reliable information. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

UNESCO chief urges tougher regulation of social media

The United Nations’ educational, scientific and cultural agency chief is urging a global conversation on the regulation of social media and its role in the spread of misinformation in order to make the internet a safer place.

FILE - Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf testifies via video during a House Commerce Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hybrid hearing on the nationwide baby formula shortage on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Washington. Califf has spent much of his last year on the job warning that growing “distortions and half-truths” surrounding vaccines and other medical products are a major driver of sickness and death in America. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

FDA’s own reputation could be restraining its misinfo fight

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking aim at a new health hazard: online misinformation. Under FDA Commissioner Dr.

Google to expand misinformation ‘prebunking’ in Europe

Google is expanding an initiative that shows promise in fighting online misinformation. The tech company announced Monday that it will roll out a new “prebunking” campaign in Germany.

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about Ukraine from the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington on Jan. 25, 2023. An altered video that shows Biden making comments that attack transgender people was created with a new generation of artificial intelligence tools. While Hollywood studios have long been able to distort reality in this way, experts say the technology has been democratized without considering how it can fall into the wrong hands and be used to spread disinformation. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

New AI voice-cloning tools ‘add fuel’ to misinformation fire

NEW YORK (AP) — In a video from a Jan. 25 news report, President Joe Biden talks about tanks. But a doctored version of the video has amassed hundred of thousands of views this week on social media, making it appear he gave a speech that attacks transgender people.

FILE - Bruce McDougal watches embers fly over his property as the Bond Fire burns through the Silverado community in Orange County, Calif., on Dec. 3, 2020. New research shows climate misinformation has been flourishing on Twitter since Elon Musk purchased the platform in 2022. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Climate misinformation ‘rocket boosters’ on Musk’s Twitter

New research shows climate misinformation has been flourishing on Twitter since Elon Musk bought the platform last year.

People set up the stage at the eve of the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 until Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

As elites arrive in Davos, conspiracy theories thrive online

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting — which will draw some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential figures to the Swiss mountain town of Davos this week — has increasingly become a target for bizarre claims from a growing chorus of commentators who believe the forum involves a group of

As Musk is learning, content moderation is a messy job

As Elon Musk is finding out, running a global social media platform requires more than a few good algorithms.