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Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
@BrandyZadrozny
Aug 19, 2021 • 5 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
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One more thing about Facebook's Reach Report yesterday. It really drove home the point that the posts with the most reach aren't political or news but stupid memes, animal videos, recipes, etc. about.fb.com/news/2021/08/w…
The limited data actually shows how this content is weaponized to spread misinfo (and evade FB's enforcement). Among the top 10 links on Facebook is a subscription link to the Epoch Times — the wildly successful right-wing (cultish) misinformation outlet. nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news…
How did the Epoch Times—an outlet barred from Facebook advertising for repeatedly violating its policies—get its subscription link to all those people? A search in CrowdTangle shows us that it's through viral posts about "cute toddlers," dogs, and homeless people getting cash.
The top post with that link was liked, shared, and commented on 3.5 million times. It wasn't about far-right news or covid misinformation, but puppies being freed from some rubble. Crying emoji.
I can't tell how many times the post was *seen* because Facebook doesn't share that data in CrowdTangle and only offers the top 20 posts in a grading-their-own-homework report. I asked for more data, but was told, "No." From a Facebook spokesperson:

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More from @BrandyZadrozny

Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
Mar 13
New from me: Enid, Oklahoma elected a white nationalist to its City Council, igniting a fight for the soul of the city, one that united a coalition of its most progressive residents and divided its most conservative. Now voters will decide: Should he stay? nbcnews.com/news/us-news/o…
Before he won a seat on the City Council, Judd Blevins was a leader in the now-defunct white power group, Identity Evropa. In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville at a rally where a civil rights activist was murdered. He’s never answered for it. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/o…
Over the last year, grandmothers and a priest in Enid have been branded antifa radicals and local organizers accused of attempted murder, while a national white power movement staked its claim on the city. What happens next, is up to voters. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/o…
Read 4 tweets
Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
Feb 5
Measles is surging in Europe and spreading in the US, so the anti-vaccine industry is brushing off its playbook to bring us the “this highly contagious disease is no big deal” play: measles edition. nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Here’s the president of Robert F. Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense (a lawyer not a doctor) last week:
According to actual doctors, measles is a miserable disease. Globally it killed 136,000 in 2022. At best for U.S. kids, it’s fever, flu symptoms and an itchy rash. At worst for every 1,000 cases, 200 are hospitalized, 50 get pneumonia, and 1-3 die. Image
Read 7 tweets
Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
Jan 2
New: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hires Del Bigtree, popular anti-vaccine activist, as his presidential campaign’s communications director. The latest evidence that RFK's presidential run is a dressed-up national anti-vaccine campaign. A few exclusive details: nbcnews.com/politics/2024-…
I got the newest 990s from Bigtree's nonprofit. 2022 was a banner year. The group brought in $13.4 mil and Bigtree got a big raise, bringing his salary to $284,000. It's unclear how this new post will affect the nonprofit, which is prohibited from engaging in political activity. Image
If you don't know Bigtree — he's quite the character. Image
Read 6 tweets
Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
Oct 13, 2023
NEW from me on The Epoch Times: A persecuted religious group's PR newsletter is now one of the most influential U.S. conservative media orgs.

How they’ve ridden the moment of political polarization & conspirituality to make millions and go mainstream. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/e…
I wanted to check in after our 2019 investigation revealed how The Epoch Times ran content farms & poured money to support Trump’s reelection. Here are the wildest things I learned reporting the story on its meteoric rise.

1. The paper struggled for decades. It's rich now. Image
2. It's attracted both ends of the political horseshoe. On a hike last year, Robert Kennedy Jr. called it a "daily read." And a Republican Rep took to the house floor this year to sing its praises. Image
Read 8 tweets
Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
Oct 6, 2023
EXCLUSIVE @MikeBenzCyber, former State Dept official & rising voice in the “anti-censorship” movement seems to have a past as“Frame Game,” a popular alt-right YouTuber who frequented white supremacist podcasts and blamed Jews for “white genocide.” nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…
@MikeBenzCyber Frame Game hid his face while pushing racist conspiracy theories. But slips like naming browsers “Mike” in livestreams and websites that autopopulated with his Facebook photo, revealed details about his identity. Benz hung up on me when I asked for comment. Receipts in story. Image
@MikeBenzCyber Frame Game stopped short of advocating for the white ethnostate his interviewers wanted. But he said and wrote some noxious things. A lot of them. Like this. Maybe most often about the ADL, which he called “the Jewish censorship squad.” Image
Read 8 tweets
Brandy Zadrozny Profile picture
Aug 4, 2023
OK, so remember the "flu shot cheerleader" — a 2009 media sensation/meme for a story that a vaccine triggered her strange disability. I reported the story out – and she has a warning about the anti-vaccine movement that made her its poster girl:

"Run"

nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d…
The media storm came as the world was in the midst of a pandemic (not that one)—a novel H1N1 flu—and anti-vaccine activists were on the hunt for vaccine injury stories. Jenny McCarthy’s group found her and offered a cure – if she starred in an anti-vaccine documentary.
A still: Image
Reporting this story was a lesson in how history rhymes. The middle of a pandemic, and lazy media was lit up by a beautiful white woman in distress with a story too good to check. And anti-vaxxers and charlatans used it to push their debunked claims and ineffective treatments. Image
Read 5 tweets

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