Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

It’s a day of reckoning today for , & a long-awaited culmination for the families who sued Jones for . A federal bankruptcy judge in Texas has decided that Jones must sell off his personal assets through a Chpt 7 liquidation in order to pay families nearly $1.5B in for spreading that the 2012 never happened.


https://www.npr.org/2024/06/14/nx-s1-4991095/alex-jones-bankruptcy-sandy-hook-judge-liquidate-chapter7

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

’s top collapses under efforts

Stanford Observatory, which published some of the most influential analysis on the spread of false info on during , has shed most of its staff & may shut down amid & attacks that have cast a pall on efforts to study .

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/14/stanford-internet-observatory-disinformation-research-lawsuits-politics/

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Just 3 staffers remain at the Observatory, who will either leave or find roles at ’s Center, which is absorbing what remains of the program, acc/to 8 people familiar w/the developments.
The Partnership, a prominent consortium run by the Observatory & a University of Washington team to identify about procedures & outcomes in real time, has updated its webpage to say its work has concluded.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

2 ongoing lawsuits & 2 inquiries into the Observatory have cost millions of dollars in fees. Students & scholars affiliated w/the program say they have been worn down by online & , amid the heated climate for , as threaten to cut to studying .

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

It follows Harvard’s dismissal of expert . A Dec whistleblower complaint alleged she used the university’s close & lucrative ties w/ parent led the university to clamp down on her work, which was highly critical of the giant’s practices.

Nonilex OP ,
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“The Observatory has played a critical role in understanding a range of harms,” said Kate Starbird, who led the University of Washington’s work on the Partnership & continues to publish on .
Starbird said that while most studies of look backward from much later, the Observatory’s “rapid analysis” helped people around the world understand what they were seeing on as it happened.

Nonilex OP ,
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Brown University professor Claire Wardle said the Observatory had created innovative methodology & trained the next generation of experts.
“Closing down a lab like this would always be a huge loss, but doing so now, during a year of , makes absolutely no sense … We need universities to use their resources & standing in the community to stand up to criticism & headlines,” said Wardle, who led at anti- nonprofit First Draft.

Nonilex OP ,
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University spox Dee Mostofi said in a statement that much of the Observatory work was continuing under new leadership….
“Stanford remains deeply concerned about efforts, including & investigations, that chill of & undermine legitimate & much needed — both at Stanford & across ,” Mostofi added.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

The study of has become increasingly controversial, & Stamos, DiResta & Starbird have been besieged by lawsuits, document requests & of physical harm. Leading the charge is Rep , whose subcmte alleges the Observatory improperly worked w/federal ofcls & companies to violate the rights of .

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

has demanded reams of documents from , including RECORDS OF STUDENTS discussing posts as they volunteered to help the Observatory, & Stamos testified before the Cmte for 8 hrs. adviser ’s firm filed a lawsuit in May 2023 against the Observatory, Stamos, DiResta & others, which is still pending.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

In a joint stmnt, Stamos & DiResta said their work involved much more than , & that they had been unfairly maligned.
“The politically motivated attacks against our on elections & have no merit, & the attempts by cmte chairs to suppress protected research are a quintessential example of the .”

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

“We are thankful to for defending our work, including in front of the US , & are confident that the system will eventually act to protect our speech & the speech of other .”

will rule within weeks on a case known as , which includes claims against the Observatory.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

founded the Observatory after publicizing that has attempted to the by sowing division on , causing a clash w/the company’s top execs. Special counsel Robert S. III later cited the Facebook operation in indicting a Kremlin contractor. At , Stamos & his team deepened his study of from around the world, including 1 it traced to the .

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Stamos told associates he stepped back from leading the Observatory last year in part because the pressure had taken a toll. Stamos had raised most of the money for the project, & the remaining faculty have not been able to replicate his success, as many groups shift their focus on & other, fresher topics.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Major, time-limited grants from the , & others have ended. No comparable new grants have materialized. Staff hoped might fund the group through the momentous Nov .
In supporting the project further, the would have risked alienating , figures, & members of , who have threatened to stop all for or cut back general support.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

The Observatory’s non-election work has included developing for students about how to handle & issues on platforms & launching the 1st peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the field. It has also investigated rings publishing material & flaws in the US system for reporting it, helping to prepare to handle an influx of computer-generated material.

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

“We hope that is willing to support the remainder of the SIO team & serve as a safe home for future into how the is used to cause harm against individuals & our ,” Stamos & DiResta said in the stmnt.

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

shares clip of w/o context — again

"…you can see at the 4 sec mark, 8/10 world leaders, incl Biden are looking towards the man on the right packing the parachute…Biden began saying something to him as the others had their attn shifted in the other direction….Once again, focusing on an edited 30-sec clip doesn't tell a full story. Stop being disingenuous,” Brian Krassenstein wrote.


https://www.newsweek.com/video-joe-biden-wandering-off-g7-goes-viral-1912653

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

deeply misleading videos enrapture

’s regularly churns out misleading clips of President intended to show that he is too old

NY Post headline <2hrs later:“What is Biden doing?”
NY Post front pg June 14:“Meander in Chief: Biden embarrasses US w/confused wanderings at world conference”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/14/cheapfake-biden-videos-enrapture-right-wing-media-deeply-mislead/

Nonilex OP , (edited )
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

This past week, the #RNC feed has misleadingly called attention to 2 video clips of #Biden. One was so distorted that it resulted in a “community note” on the X platform calling out its dishonesty. But the RNC’s dismal track record has not stopped right-leaning outfits from echoing the RNC’s framing & reinforcing its narrative that Biden has lost a step.

#FourthEstate #media #journalism #RightWing #propaganda #disinformation #USpol #SharkVsElectrocution #TrumpIsUnfit

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

An X community note was added to the video clip, saying: “Biden didn’t ‘wander off’. After viewing a skydiving demo with the other G-7 leaders, stepped aside to speak with one of the other skydivers who is kneeling on the ground packing away his chute. The video in the above post has been digitally altered to remove the skydiver.”

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

A few hours later, for undisclosed reasons, the X ‘community note’ was changed to simply say “the video was cropped,” w/a link to a 14-minute clip on the YouTube channel of , another outlet. The new note does little to combat the framing of the post: “President Biden appeared to wander off at the G-7 summit in Italy, with officials needing to pull him back to focus.”

DemocracyMattersALot , to random
@DemocracyMattersALot@mstdn.social avatar

So this is making the rounds on , trying to paint democracy as the cause of fascism. Does anyone know the source and origin of this clip or who the speaker is? Dan somebody?

video/mp4

DemocracyMattersALot , to random
@DemocracyMattersALot@mstdn.social avatar

Phony 'news' portals surpass US newspaper sites, researchers say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/phony-news-portals-surpass-us-210923632.html

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

channels across the country used a nearly identical script to push coverage of a controversial @WSJ article questioning President Joe ’s mental fitness.

An eerie supercut compiled by shows how anchors on dozens of channels owned by parroted the story in a coordinated fashion.


https://www.mediaite.com/news/supercut-shows-sinclair-stations-collective-push-of-controversial-wsj-report-attacking-bidens-mental-fitness/

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Here is the supercut by @juddlegum] in 2 parts. It gets old fast, remarkably it’s a full 6 minutes of anchors across the country saying the same thing.

1/2 videos

Sinclair Broadcast Group local news anchors

Nonilex OP ,
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar
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