I think a lot about the '80s and the moral panics that characterized the time. It's no surprise that we've so recently fallen for this immigrants-are-eating-the-pets rumor, a lie often rooted in racism and fear. And one that only aids hate groups. nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…
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Yesterday, I got served up this trending video on X. According to Grok, this guy was a member of Hamas, threatening the Olympics in Paris. I watched the video and thought, Hey, I think I know that guy! nbcnews.com/tech/misinform…
The uniform, the voice, the gray wall behind him, even the words … I had seen this guy in a video from October, included in this Clemson paper about a Russian disinformation campaign, from @DarrenLinvill and @plwarre.
The October video was a fake - in it the fake Hamas actor was thanking Zelensky for sending weapons – a claim without evidence – propaganda meant to weaken western support for Ukraine. This time, they were focused on the Olympics, with fake propaganda meant to create fear around the threat of violence at the Games, a goal outlined by Microsoft in June.
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…
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.
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.
If you don't know Bigtree — he's quite the character.
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.
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.
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.
@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.”