All articles tagged with #misinformation
Online chatter linked influencer Maria Julissa to the death of CJNG leader El Mencho after a February 22 raid in Tapalpa and a circulating photo claimed to be their last together; authorities have not confirmed any involvement by Julissa, and she publicly denied the claims while the operation focused on the cartel amid continuing violence.
In the State of the Union, Trump urged passage of the SAVE America Act, claiming it would curb fraud and require citizenship proof at registration and photo ID at voting; however, the bill’s provisions are disputed—critics say it would disenfranchise millions and opposes no-excuse mail voting bans—while supporters frame it as election integrity. The proposal faces partisan hurdles in the Senate, and Trump has floated executive-action steps despite the likely constitutional challenges.
MSG is not inherently dangerous; decades of research, including the FDA/FASEB review and GRAS status, find no evidence that typical MSG intake harms most people, with only a small subset possibly experiencing mild symptoms at very high doses. The long-standing fear traces to a flawed 1968 letter and xenophobia, not science, so in moderation MSG-containing foods are generally safe to enjoy.
CNN’s fact-check roundup finds several Trump State of the Union claims false or exaggerated, including the alleged $18 trillion in investments (the White House figure is far lower), gas prices supposedly below $2.30 a gallon (not supported by AAA data), and claims about inherited record inflation and ending eight wars; it also challenges assertions about the largest tax cuts, the migrants with murderers figure, tariffs, and balancing the budget by eliminating fraud, citing data from sources like AAA, GAO, CBO, and the White House—along with related context from CNN’s reporting.
After the killing of cartel boss El Mencho, researchers say a coordinated propaganda push by organized crime spread AI-generated misinformation and false reports of violence across Mexico, amplified by narco influencers and social media; while authorities refute claims, experts warn such campaigns distort public perception and obscure the real scale of violence.
Malawi has launched a major polio vaccination drive after detecting the virus in Blantyre and has vaccinated about 1.3 million children in four days with vaccines airlifted by the WHO; community leaders and influencers are mobilising to counter misinformation on social media, but funding shortfalls from aid cuts threaten sustained response and eradication efforts, underscoring the need for trust and high coverage to prevent vaccine-derived poliovirus spread.
Gary Marcus argues that generative AI has been wildly overstated and remains unreliable, often hallucinating and making errors; while it has some practical uses (for example, coding), it falls far short of expectations and could harm education, the information ecosystem, and the economy, a critique grounded in Washington Post reporting and his own analysis. The piece calls for scrutiny of hype surrounding AI and caution about its broader societal impact.
A BBC reporter demonstrated how a fabricated webpage claiming a tech journalist dominates hot-dog eating fooled AI models like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini into praising the fake claim. Within 24 hours, AI Overviews echoed the misinformation, prompting Google to correct the record and acknowledge a misinformation case. The episode highlights how data-scraping and unvetted sources can seed false information into AI systems, underscoring the need for guardrails and better data vetting to prevent real-world harm.
A large Lancet analysis pooling data from over 120,000 patients across 19 randomized trials finds that statins do not meaningfully increase most side effects and their cardiovascular benefits far outweigh potential risks. The piece attributes the ongoing “statin hysteria” to misinformation and celebrity/aut online narratives, noting past observational studies were misinterpreted and that skeptics persist despite this stronger evidence.
A Vanderbilt-led study shows that the ability to distinguish real from AI-generated faces depends on a stable object-recognition skill, not general intelligence or AI experience. Researchers created the AI Face Test and found that people with higher object-recognition abilities consistently outperform others in spotting AI faces, with performance remaining stable over time. This cross-domain skill is linked to perceptual tasks in radiology and pathology, suggesting a broad defensive advantage against visual misinformation.
The Bulwark's Jared Poland profiles Tricia McLaughlin, the outgoing DHS spokesperson known for defending the Trump administration's mass deportation program and repeatedly promoting misleading narratives. The piece itemizes five notable claims she made—misstating the Alex Pretti shooting, labeling the Renee Good incident as domestic terrorism, denying that children were zip-tied during raids, asserting DHS targets the “worst of the worst,” and defending taxpayer spending—and notes how video evidence, reporting, and data contradicted each, painting a pattern of mendacity as she departs.
A BBC tech journalist shows how easily AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini can be nudged into repeating lies by posting a single online piece; after he ranked fake “hot-dog‑eating” tech journalists, the AI tools echoed the claim, highlighting vulnerabilities in how AI pulls from the web, cites sources, and handles data voids. The episode underscores risks of misinformation, scams, and reputational harm, especially on health and finance topics. Experts call for clearer disclaimers, better sourcing, and more user critical thinking as safeguards while companies work to shore up safety.
Online misinformation circulated false identities and images of alleged suspects in Quentin Deranque's fatal beating in Lyon, even as authorities announced three women and eight men detained in connection with the case; officials note possible far-left involvement and legal action was promised against those spreading baseless claims.
The Atlantic's second‑person essay about a mother's encounter with a child's death from measles drew emotional responses, but controversy surged when readers learned the piece was reported fiction, prompting a broader debate about the ethics of fictionalized narratives in journalism and the handling of vaccine‑related storytelling.
Variety reports that Ted Sarandos blasted Paramount Skydance for 'flooding the zone with misinformation' aimed at destabilizing Netflix’s Warner Bros. Discovery deal, while Netflix grants a seven-day waiver for new talks and pursues a March 20 shareholder vote, arguing the Netflix-led offer delivers the best value and that Paramount’s regulatory path is not faster.