What Pizzagate, election fraud lies, and Trump’s crackdown on antifa have in common.
Trump’s Crackdown on Dissent Comes for Minnesota Anti-ICE Organizers
Federal prosecutors charged 15 people with conspiracy, painting their political speech, protest activity, and alleged antifa ties as evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
FROM KIRK TO A/I
For a detailed breakdown of our investigation check out our DEDICATED INVESTIGATION PAGE How a post-assassination campaign against "Antifa" moved through outside advocates, the White House, Congress and U.S. counterterrorism policy before…
The saga of 'Pizzagate': The fake story that shows how conspiracy theories spread
Thousands of people are spreading a false rumour about a Washington pizza restaurant and a child sex ring. But why?
Who are the rightwing influencers filling Trump’s head with visions of antifa?
Meet the content creators whose videos from Portland and Chicago shape the president’s distorted view of reality
Chokehold: Donald Trump’s War on Free Speech & the Need for Systemic Resistance
This Free Press report examines the Trump administration’s hostile relationship with dissent and free expression in 2025. It analyzes how Trump and his political enablers have sought to undermine and chill the most basic freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
The Conspiracy Theory About Wayfair Is Spreading Quickly Among Lifestyle Influencers On Instagram
The theory plays into the bigger QAnon conspiracy theory, which baselessly claims that the world is controlled by a secret cabal of pedophiles that President Trump is actively fighting against.
Trump Told Supporters To “Cheat Like Hell.” The NY Times Went With “A Bit Tired Of Politics.”
By now it’s old hat to point out that the mainstream media bends over backwards to pretend that Donald Trump is a “normal” president. The number of times you could point to the co…
The Fake Free Speech President Has Unleashed ICE On Its Critics
It still amazes me that there are people out there who think that Donald Trump is a supporter of free speech. It has never been true. Anyone who looks will note that the Trump administration regula…
How Trump Made Penn Quake in Its Boots
Fearful of being labeled antisemitic, the University of Pennsylvania has acquiesced to the demands of a punitive Trump administration and vindictive donors—and it’s chilling speech both inside and outside the classroom.
Leveraging Motivations to Curb Misinformation: Self-Affirmation Reduces the Appeal of Political Conspiracy Theories
Abstract: In an era where digital misinformation poses significant challenges to societal well-being, this study explores a novel approach to preserving information integrity by addressing the motivational underpinnings of conspiracy theory engagement. As conspiracy theories proliferate online, traditional fact-checking and debunking strategies often prove ineffective due to the self-reinforcing nature of conspiracy theories. This research investigates whether a priori self-affirmation interventions can reduce individuals’ propensity to engage with conspiracy theories by preemptively fulfilling the ego-protective function these theories often serve. Using a randomized experiment ( N = 451), this study finds that participants who completed a self-affirmation task were less likely to read politicized conspiracy theories, and those who chose to read a conspiracy theory reported greater feelings of affirmation than those who did not. Thus, bolstering individuals’ self-integrity may offer an opportunity to mitigate the appeal of politicized conspiracy theories.
The antifa terrorism threat the Trump administration describes does not exist
Antifa is a scattered movement of local collectives that opposes fascism. It has no leader, command hierarchy, funding structure or record of deadly attacks.
The antifa terrorism threat the Trump administration describes does not exist
Antifa is a scattered movement of local collectives that opposes fascism. It has no leader, command hierarchy, funding structure or record of deadly attacks.
Fascism Depends On The Presumption Of Good Faith
The media's sanewashing of the Trump regime is fueled by this presumption
An Attack on Tech Freedom, an Assault on Dissent
We live in a world of surveillance states, militarized police, and crackdowns on dissent. Meanwhile, corporate behemoths will often ally with the state to shut down dissident speech or aid and abet surveillance. In this context, it’s important for independent groups to develop and maintain encrypted communications platforms and independent web hosting. But the Trump...
Peters Report Finds Trump Administration Has Dismantled Critical Counterterrorism Infrastructure and Weaponized What Remains Against Political Opponents, Leaving Americans Vulnerable to Terror Threats - Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
Senator Gary Peters released a new report detailing how the Trump Administration has systematically dismantled key elements of the nation’s post-9/11 counterterrorism infrastructure, diverting personnel and resources away from preventing terrorist attacks, and increasingly weaponizing other counterterrorism authorities for political purposes.
Dialogues on Democracy: Belief-Tailored AI Conversations Reduce Inaccurate Election Denial Beliefs
Elections, while central to democratic functioning, have become increasingly threatened by beliefs about election fraud. Artificial intelligence (AI) provides a novel opportunity to address such false beliefs through dynamic conversation and debunking. Through two experiments (N = 1,802 Republicans from Lucid who endorsed election fraud claims), we examined the use of AI to fact-check 2020 election conspiracies prior to the 2024 US Presidential election. We tested the effects of two treatments (an information-tailored and values-tailored AI dialogue) in which AI fact-checked their claims and tailored arguments to the specific election conspiracy that the participant themselves articulated. Both treatment conditions, when compared to a control dialogue and a simple statement that the conspiracy was incorrect, reduced confidence in their election conspiracy claims. There was no significant difference between information-tailored and values-tailored feedback. Promisingly, participants with the strongest baseline denialism experienced the largest decreases in denialism beliefs. These studies highlight the potential of AI-driven interventions to address election misinformation.
