misinformation Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Court rules Eggleston may appeal medical commission’s denial of preliminary injunction

By Rachel Sun October 12, 2023

A portrait of Dr. Richard Eggleston smiling at the camera

A retired Clarkston ophthalmologist was facing discipline from the Washington Medical Commission after writing a series of opinion columns sharing contested COVID-19 information. Now, he will be allowed to appeal a decision denying his request for a preliminary injunction. Rachel Sun reports.Read More

Doctors still doing damage control after pandemic fallout

By Rachel Sun January 10, 2023

When the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Inland Northwest almost three years ago, Dr. Max Williams started seeing a change in some of his patients that shocked him: People he had treated successfully for years no longer trusted him.Read More

Paid Ballot Observers In Benton County

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour July 28, 2022

The Benton County Auditor is testing a new paid ballot observer program this year using members of partisan and nonpartisan organizations. Read More

WA Elected Official Shares Malinformation About Voting

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour July 20, 2022

Mal-information post Listen (Runtime 2:35) Read State Representative Brad Klippert has been using his Congressional Campaign social media account to encourage people to monitor drop-boxes and report suspicious activities. Representative […]Read More

MisinfoDay: How To Identify And Battle Misinformation

By NWPB March 15, 2022

MisinfoDay is dedicated to teaching about misinformation and how to combat it Tuesday, March 15 is Misinfo Day, an annual event sponsored by the University of Washington Center For An […]Read More

Poll: Two-Thirds Of Americans Believe Democracy Is Under Threat, But For Different Reasons

By PBS Newshour July 4, 2021

Electioneers greet voters outside the Hamilton County Government Center

Ahead of the first Fourth of July since an attack on the Capitol, fueled by baseless claims of voter fraud, and as several GOP-led states work now to enact stricter voting rules, majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents express worry about the health of democracy.Read More

5 Ways For Seniors To Protect Themselves From Online Misinformation

By NPR News June 14, 2021

Seniors are especially at risk. People over 65 were more likely to share false or misleading content on Facebook during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to one study from researchers at Princeton and New York University. Older adults were also exposed to more misinformation on Twitter during that election.Read More

Instagram Bars Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For Spreading Vaccine Misinformation

By NPR News February 11, 2021

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now blocked from Instagram after he repeatedly undercut trust in vaccines. Kennedy has also spread conspiracy theories about Bill Gates, accusing him of profiteering off vaccines and attempting to take control of the world's food supply.Read More

Washington Elections Officials Bracing For Last-Minute Disinformation Campaigns

By Austin Jenkins October 26, 2020

drops her ballot in a drop box at Lacey City Hall in Thurston County on Monday, Oct. 26. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

State and local election officials in Washington sought to reassure voters Monday that robust security measures are in place to protect against interference with the general election, even as they acknowledged the likelihood that bad actors will try to sow distrust and undermine confidence in the national election results.Read More

Twitter’s New Rules Aim To Prevent Confusion Around The 2020 Vote

By NPR News September 10, 2020

Twitter says it will crack down on attempts to undermine faith in the November election or incite unrest. CREDIT: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Twitter will label or remove posts that spread misinformation. Social media companies are under pressure to curb the spread of false claims and prevent interference from foreign and domestic actors. Read More

Okanogan Public Health Workers Report Hostile Threats And Fears About Contact Tracing

By NPR News June 3, 2020

At the Salt Lake County Health Department, a woman teaches new contact tracers on May 19 how to identify potential new exposures after a person tests positive for the coronavirus

Online misinformation is fueling a backlash in some places against coronavirus containment strategies such as contact tracing and isolation. Some health officials have even received violent threats.Read More