Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 17h

Fake NFL fan pages on Facebook are churning out made-up reactions to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, with foreign clickbait articles attributing the same quote calling the singer a "puppet of the left" to over a dozen different coaches and players. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 17h

These images have been falsely claimed to show water cannons being deployed against US protesters opposing ICE and Donald Trump's mass-deportation policies.

The photos actually come from footage of a September protest in Montpellier, France.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 23h

NEW: A MAGA X account often shared by Senator Mike Lee and House Republicans like Nancy Mace--that often alleges Democrats encourage voting fraud-- is run by a man who not only has never stepped foot in the US, he also illegally donated to an American campaign.

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

The Viral MAGA Accounts Run by a Man Who Has Never Been to America

Two influential MAGA social media accounts are run by Rumen Naumovski, a Macedonian who may have illegally donated to a U.S. election.

www.rollingstone.com

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 1d

This photo is being falsely claimed to show an ICE agent detaining a young migrant child in Chicago.

The image is from 2024 -- before Trump's presidency -- and comes from a video of a Texas policeman playfully handcuffing his son in a make-believe game.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 1d

A deepfake video of a US military leader criticizing Donald Trump and demanding the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files has gone viral across platforms.

It is an AI-generated fake, modeled on an image from 2007 of a long-retired lieutenant general.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 1d

This photo is being falsely claimed to show an ICE agent detaining a young migrant child in Chicago.

The image is from 2024 -- before Trump's presidency -- and comes from a video of a Texas policeman playfully handcuffing his son in a make-believe game.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 6d

🏆 AFP reporter Samad Uthman took home the top award for "Fact Check of the Year" by a professional fact-checker at the #AfricaFactsSummit2025, which brought together journalists and information integry experts from across the continent.
Read the winning story here: u.afp.com/AIfactcheck

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 4d

A clip of a WWII era tank was also misrepresented.

The clip dates to August and the Oregon National Guard confirmed soldiers are not driving tanks in the Portland area u.afp.com/PortlandTank

Screenshot of a post on Threads with a red x across the text to indicate it is false

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

AFP Fact Check @factcheck.afp.com · 4d

Several clips have been shared out of context by supporters of President Trump's move to federalize national guard, including this footage from an annual transgender pride celebration hosted in the United Kingdom u.afp.com/ManchesterNo...

Screenshot of a post on X with a red x across it to indicate it is false

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 3d

A UK coroner ruled a British health blogger who promotes conspiracy theories had "adversely influenced" her daughter to refuse chemotherapy, causing her death from cancer. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

UK health blogger 'adversely influenced' daughter's cancer treatment, coroner says

Kate Shemirani is a British blogger who promotes conspiracy theories on social media to tens of thousands of followers.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Alex Kaplan @alkapdc.bsky.social · 14d

Far-right trolls on 4chan attempted to block Indians from flying to the US amid Trump’s H-1B change.

The campaign spread widely among the far-right on multiple platforms, garnering thousands of shares.

My latest:

4chan troll campaign tried to block Indians from flying to the US amid Trump’s H-1B change

www.mediamatters.org

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 16d

These two photos do not show the Matthew J. Ruth who at 24 years old ambushed and killed police in Pennsylvania last week and then died in an exchange of gunfire.

The pictures are of a different and still very much alive man with the same first and last name.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 14d

My latest @factcheck.afp.com: Trump falsely claims Amish 'have essentially no autism' factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 14d

My latest @factcheck.afp.com: Trump falsely claims Amish 'have essentially no autism' factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 14d

Some MAHA activists are extremely frustrated that Trump has blamed the existence of autism on Tylenol, and not vaccines.

Anti-vax groups struggle to explain how Tylenol fits in with their whole thing

The White House's very weird autism announcement triggers a moment of opportunity and crisis.

www.motherjones.com

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 14d

YouTube will allow creators previously banned for promoting Covid-19 misinformation and false election-related content to apply for reinstatement, according to a letter sent Tuesday by parent company Alphabet to a Republican lawmaker. www.france24.com/en/live-news...

YouTube to reinstate creators banned over misinformation

YouTube is set to reinstate creators previously banned for promoting Covid-19 misinformation and false election-related content, according to a letter sent Tuesday by parent company Alphabet to a Repu...

www.france24.com

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Grant Marek @grantmarek.bsky.social · 19d

An @sfgate.com investigation revealed dozens of NFL team-specific Facebook pages leaning hard into inciting anger over Kirk’s death w/ fake quotes from NFL stars, from Detroit Gridiron Heroes (Lions), to Green and Gold Legacy (Packers), to Ravens Purple Wings (Ravens): www.sfgate.com/49ers/articl...

Massive Charlie Kirk sports news scam targets NFL players, teams

An SFGATE investigation revealed a misinformation ring profiting off NFL outrage.

www.sfgate.com

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 16d

A man with the same first and last name as the gunman who fatally shot Pennsylvania police officers last week had his image blasted across the internet in posts falsely linking him to the attack -- a chilling example of the harms wrought by misinformation. factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 16d

These two photos do not show the Matthew J. Ruth who at 24 years old ambushed and killed police in Pennsylvania last week and then died in an exchange of gunfire.

The pictures are of a different and still very much alive man with the same first and last name.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 20d

I geolocated the clip to an apartment complex in College Park, Georgia: factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 20d

As Donald Trump sends the National Guard to Memphis, this video has gone viral with claims it shows residents stealing tanks.

In fact, it shows a music video being filmed near Atlanta in 2020, two local rappers involved with the shoot confirmed to me.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 21d

Been talking to some of the groups Rs want to target in post-Kirk crackdowns. The Wren Collective, with 11 employees, hired security and scrubbed staff names from its website after Chip Roy mentioned them in his demand for a "select committee" probing the left. www.semafor.com/article/09/1...

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 22d

A paper on domestic terrorism detailing far-right extremist violence in the United States has been removed from the Justice Department's website, AFP confirmed Tuesday. www.barrons.com/news/researc...

Research On Extremism Removed From US Justice Dept Website

A paper on domestic terrorism detailing far-right extremist violence in the United States has been removed from the Justice Department's website, AFP confirmed Tuesday.

www.barrons.com

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Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 22d

This is not a photo of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson wearing a pro-Palestinian keffiyeh.

The photo shows army cadets in Utah Valley University's ROTC program in 2019 -- when Robinson, who never attended UVU, would have been 16 years old.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

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Reposted by Bill McCarthy

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 27d

Two people misidentified online as suspects in the fatal shooting of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk told me today they were terrified by the misinformation targeting them, as the manhunt for the real killer continued. www.france24.com/en/live-news...

People misidentified as Charlie Kirk's shooter fear retaliation

Two people misidentified online as suspects in the fatal shooting of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk told AFP Thursday they were terrified by the misinformation targeting them, as the manhunt for…

www.france24.com

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