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Jude Joffe-Block
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Jude Joffe-Block

Friday

Mario, who is in the U.S. without legal status, shows a social media hoax he saw on his phone warning of immigration checkpoints in Sacramento, Calif.

Mario, who is in the U.S. without legal status, shows a social media hoax he saw on his phone warning of immigration checkpoints in Sacramento, Calif. Jude Joffe-Block/NPR hide caption

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Jude Joffe-Block/NPR

National

Immigrants are being swamped with social media rumors about possible raids

People without legal status in the U.S. are fearful about ramped up immigration enforcement. But when they check social media for immigration news, they're also likely to see false alarms and hoaxes.

Immigrants are being swamped with social media rumors about possible raids

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Thursday

Thursday

In this photo, Elon Musk is wearing a suit and is standing behind a lectern with the presidential seal on the front. His right arm is raised up and to the side, with the palm of his hand facing down.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Politics

Elon Musk tried to turn the salute controversy into a joke

The incident lasted only seconds, but it sparked what has become a global debate about how to interpret what Musk did. Then Musk started posting Nazi-themed jokes.

MUSK GESTURE

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Monday

Friday

Firefighters work with water hoses near houses burned down in the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif. on Jan. 9, 2025. Right-wing influencers have claimed that the firefighters' response was hampered by workforce diversity goals.

Firefighters work with water hoses near houses burned down in the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif. on Jan. 9, 2025. Right-wing influencers have claimed that the firefighters' response was hampered by workforce diversity goals. David Pashaee/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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David Pashaee/AFP via Getty Images

California Wildfires

Why right-wing influencers are blaming the California wildfires on diversity efforts

Prominent right-wing influencers are claiming that the response to the Los Angeles wildfires was hampered by workplace diversity policies. It's part of a wider strategy to discredit those policies.

Conspiracy theories are blaming the scale of L.A. wildfire destruction on DEI efforts

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Monday

A QAnon sign at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Many of the rioters who attacked the Capitol later told investigators they were motivated in part by the online conspiracy theory.

A QAnon sign at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Many of the rioters who attacked the Capitol later told investigators they were motivated in part by the online conspiracy theory. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Four years after the Capitol riot, why QAnon hasn't gone away

Some of the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 believed in the QAnon conspiracy theory. In the aftermath, social media platforms ramped up efforts to push QAnon content off their sites. Four years later, the QAnon movement has morphed into something else.

4 years later, where does the QAnon conspiracy theory stand?

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Monday

Kash Patel during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference in Fort Washington, Md. on Feb. 23, 2024. President-elect Trump has nominated Patel to lead the FBI even though the agency's current director, Christopher Wray, has more than two years left on his term.

Kash Patel during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference in Fort Washington, Md. on Feb. 23, 2024. President-elect Trump has nominated Patel to lead the FBI even though the agency's current director, Christopher Wray, has more than two years left on his term. Dominic Gwinn/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Dominic Gwinn/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

How Kash Patel has used children's books and podcasts to promote conspiracy theories

Trump's pick to head the FBI has parlayed his time serving in various national security roles in the first Trump administration to building a brand promoting pro-Trump conspiracy theories.

Kash Patel

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Thursday

In this photo taken outdoors, Stephen Ghiglieri stands on the left and Katrina Vaillancourt stands next to him on the right at their San Francisco Bay Area home on September 17. Green trees and foliage are in the background.

Stephen Ghiglieri and Katrina Vaillancourt at their San Francisco Bay Area home on Sept. 17. Jude Joffe-Block/NPR hide caption

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Jude Joffe-Block/NPR

Seeking Common Ground

What happens when your partner has an overnight political conversion?

A California couple's relationship was upended when one partner found a whole new set of beliefs after an overnight video binge. Four years later, they're still navigating how to talk about politics.

How this couple managed to stay together when one embraced QAnon conspiracy theories

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Friday

People wait in line to vote outside a polling station on Election Day in Nazareth, Pa., on Nov. 5.

People wait in line to vote outside a polling station on Election Day in Nazareth, Pa., on Nov. 5. Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Claims that millions of noncitizens would illegally vote evaporated after Trump's win

Before Election Day, right-wing social media was awash with claims about noncitizens voting. Once it was clear President-elect Trump would win, those claims dried up.

Noncitizen voters legacy

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Tuesday

Wednesday

Politics

What we know about the voter roll purge in Virginia

Wednesday, just six days before the election, the Supreme Court made a ruling allowing Virginia to continue purging individuals from state voter rolls.

SCOTUS VA Decision

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Tuesday

Voters work on their ballots at a polling station in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 20.

Voters work on their ballots at a polling station in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 20. AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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AFP via Getty Images/AFP

Untangling Disinformation

U.S. citizens are among the voters removed in Virginia's controversial purge

Nadra Wilson and other Virginians got letters saying her U.S. citizenship was in question, along with her voter registration. "I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. — I'm a citizen," Wilson told NPR.

VIRGINIA US CITIZENS

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Saturday

A person leaves an early voting site after casting a ballot on Oct. 21 in Deland, Fla. Florida is one of three states that recently sued the Biden administration over citizenship checks of voters.

A person leaves an early voting site after casting a ballot on Oct. 21 in Deland, Fla. Florida is one of three states that recently sued the Biden administration over citizenship checks of voters. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

GOP lawsuits about an obscure immigration database may set up election challenges

Florida, Texas and Ohio have filed last-minute lawsuits against the Biden administration demanding data about the citizenship of voters on their state rolls. One expert calls these "zombie" lawsuits.

Lawsuit Over Citizenship Data

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Wednesday

An early voting site is seen in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday. Ahead of this year's general election, Donald Trump and Republican allies have zeroed in on the baseless claim that Democrats are encouraging newly arrived migrants to vote for them.

An early voting site is seen in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday. Ahead of this year's general election, Donald Trump and Republican allies have zeroed in on the baseless claim that Democrats are encouraging newly arrived migrants to vote for them. Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

How Republicans mainstreamed the baseless idea of noncitizen voting in 2024

Donald Trump and his allies have zeroed in on the baseless claim that Democrats are encouraging newly arrived migrants to vote for them in the 2024 election. There is no evidence of a plot like this.

A way to challenge the election? With no evidence, Trump says noncitizens are voting

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Saturday

Voters fill out their ballots on the second day of early voting in the 2024 presidential election at the Board of Elections Loop Super Site in Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 4, 2024.

Voters fill out their ballots on the second day of early voting in the 2024 presidential election at the Board of Elections Loop Super Site in Chicago on Oct. 4. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

6 facts about false noncitizen voting claims and the election

All the available evidence suggests that a miniscule number of noncitizens vote illegally in federal elections and not in numbers that would sway the outcome of any race.