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Shannon Bond Shannon Bond is a correspondent at NPR, covering how misleading narratives and false claims circulate online and offline, and their impact on society and democracy.
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Shannon Bond

Tuesday

Cameo is being used for political propaganda — by tricking the stars involved

Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities were tricked into calling for the ouster of Moldova's president through videos requested on the Cameo app that were edited and posted on TikTok. TikTok/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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TikTok/Screenshot by NPR

Untangling Disinformation

Cameo is being used for political propaganda — by tricking the stars involved

Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities were tricked into calling for the ouster of Moldova's president. It's the latest example of the Cameo app being used for an apparent political propaganda operation.

Cameo is being used for political propaganda — by tricking the stars involved

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Friday

Untangling Disinformation

Tech giants pledge action against deceptive AI in elections

Fears over how AI could be used to mislead voters are escalating in a year that will see hundreds of millions of people around the world cast ballots. As a result, tech giants are pledging action.

Tech giants pledge action against deceptive AI in elections

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Thursday

AI fakes raise election risks as lawmakers and tech companies scramble to catch up

Voters wait to cast their ballots on Jan. 23 in Loudon, N.H. Shortly before voting began, some voters in the state got calls from a faked version of President Biden's voice urging them not to vote, a sign of the potential that deepfakes could have on the electoral process. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images hide caption

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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

AI fakes raise election risks as lawmakers and tech companies scramble to catch up

As AI-generated deepfakes are being used to spread false information in elections in the U.S. and around the world, policymakers, tech platforms and governments are trying to catch up.

AI fakes raise election risks as lawmakers and tech companies scramble to catch up

Listen · 4:11
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Tuesday

Meta will start labeling AI-generated images on Instagram and Facebook

Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, will start labeling images created with leading artificial intelligence tools in the coming months, amid growing worries about the potential for AI to mislead. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Meta will start labeling AI-generated images on Instagram and Facebook

Meta will start labeling images created with leading artificial intelligence tools in the coming months, amid growing worries about the potential for AI to mislead.

Friday

The Taylor Swift Super Bowl Conspiracy Theory

Taylor Swift waves after the AFC Championship NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Baltimore. Nick Wass/AP hide caption

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Nick Wass/AP

The NPR Politics Podcast

The Taylor Swift Super Bowl Conspiracy Theory

This NFL season, popstar Taylor Swift has been a mainstay at the Kansas City Chiefs games cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce. Now far-right Donald Trump-supporting conservatives are and circulating conspiracy theories about Swift, the 2024 election and Kelce's participation in the Super Bowl.

The Taylor Swift Super Bowl Conspiracy Theory

Listen · 25:00
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Thursday

Friday

2024 elections are ripe targets for foes of democracy

Elections for many national governments and the European Parliament, seen here in Brussels in 2020, will take place in 2024. Experts warn that these elections are ripe targets for bad actors seeking to disrupt democracy. Thierry Roge/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Thierry Roge/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

2024 elections are ripe targets for foes of democracy

Billions of people around the world are expected to head to the polls in 2024. But experts warn that these elections are ripe targets for bad actors seeking to disrupt democracy.

2024 elections are ripe targets for foes of democracy

Listen · 4:29
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Wednesday

Elections

Worldwide, 2024 elections are a target for bad actors trying to disrupt democracy

Billions of people around the world are expected to head to the polls in 2024. But experts warn that these elections are ripe targets for bad actors seeking to disrupt democracy.

Worldwide, 2024 elections are a target for bad actors trying to disrupt democracy

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Wednesday

Fake social media accounts are targeting Taiwan's presidential election

A supporter of Kuomintang, or KMT, Taiwan's major opposition party, waves Taiwan's national flag on Nov. 24, 2023, in Taipei, Taiwan. Researchers uncovered an influence operation targeting Taiwan's upcoming presidential election on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Annabelle Chih/Getty Images hide caption

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Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Fake social media accounts are targeting Taiwan's presidential election

The influence operation identified by Graphika researchers involved a network of more than 800 fake Facebook accounts that reposted Chinese-language TikTok and YouTube videos about Taiwanese politics.

Monday

Disinformation researcher says Harvard pushed her out to protect Meta

Disinformation researcher Joan Donovan testifying remotely during a U.S. Senate hearing in April 2021. Donovan contends she lost her job at Harvard University due to pressure from the social media company, Meta. Pool/Getty Images hide caption

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Pool/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Disinformation researcher says Harvard pushed her out to protect Meta

Joan Donovan accused Harvard of violating her free speech rights and the school's own commitment to academic freedom in an attempt to protect its relationship with the tech company and its executives.

Thursday

Meta warns that China is stepping up its online social media influence operations

Meta, the social media company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday that this year it has taken down five networks of fake accounts originating in China that aimed to influence politics in other countries. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

Meta warns that China is stepping up its online social media influence operations

China has become the third most common source of foreign influence operations, behind Russia and Iran, according to the owner of Facebook and Instagram.

Monday

Civilian deaths are being dismissed as 'crisis actors' in Gaza and Israel

This picture taken from a position in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing in the the Palestinian territory after an Israeli strike on November 21, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Civilian deaths are being dismissed as 'crisis actors' in Gaza and Israel

As graphic images from Gaza flood social media platforms, many people are claiming those images are fake, in the latest iteration of a disturbing trope.

Civilian deaths are being dismissed as 'crisis actors' in Gaza and Israel

Listen · 4:37
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Friday

Analysis

National

Did a letter written by Osama bin Laden really go viral on TikTok this week?

Videos praising a letter written by Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden briefly circulated on TikTok this week. But the reaction exceeded the reach of the videos themselves.

Did a letter written by Osama bin Laden really go viral on TikTok this week?

Listen · 5:42
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Tuesday

YouTube will label AI-generated videos that look real

A photo shows the logo signs of Google and YouTube at their stand ahead of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos in 2022. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Untangling Disinformation

YouTube will label AI-generated videos that look real

The Google-owned video platform says it will shut accounts if they don't disclose when they use AI tools to make realistic-looking content. Other platforms are adopting similar policies.