Stories about Misinformation and Disinformation
Brexit and Bias? The Framing of Immigrants in the Media
Is there something in the topic of Brexit that disinformation efforts can take advantage of? What perspectives might a high-level, data-driven analysis of Brexit news provide?
When a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Wrong Words
The story of how a photo of a horrific accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo seven years ago took on a life of its own. WARNING: Contains violent images.
Does Al-Qaeda “support” Emmanuel Macron? No.
No, the cited article focused on Macron’s statements during a February visit to Algeria where he described colonization as a “crime against humanity.”
Do 44% of Muslim high school students believe it is acceptable to take up arms for their religion? No.
According to the Fdesouche website, «in certain high schools, 44% of Muslim students believe it is acceptable to “take up arms for one’s religion”». This figure was taken out of context.
Does this video show a foreigner assaulting French hospital employees? No.
A video shared 113,000 times on a Facebook page shows a man assaulting two hospital employees, but it did not happen in France.
Is this picture of refugees from March 17 at the Franco-Italian border? No.
A photograph showing a large crowd of refugees supposedly walking towards France has been shared over 2,000 times.
Did Marine Le Pen Tweet About the Masha and The Bear Cartoon? No.
A screenshot of a fake tweet by Marine Le Pen, in which the National Front (FN) candidate criticizes the Masha and The Bear cartoon (Masha Et Michka in French), was posted on Twitter on Sunday, February 26.
Does this map show recent violence across France? No.
An infographic purporting to map “clashes between the rabble and our police” has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter over the past fortnight. It was, however, created in November 2005 and does not reflect the current reality of social tensions in France.
Was Macron’s campaign for the French presidency financed by Saudi Arabia? No.
The site on which the story appears is a perfect copy of that of the Belgian newspaper Le Soir — with a different URL
Fake, Fraud, False, Fabricated: Finding the Vocabulary for Truth in News
Dwelling on "fake news" can raise questions about the overall limitations of fact-driven reporting, but we see it as an opportunity as well.
