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In today’s edition, we debunk dueling viral falsehoods on the Texas floods being pushed by the left and right. We also report on how Russian state propaganda arm RT is getting around a ban in Europe through the use of billboards and “documentaries,” and we unpack a misleading video being shared by pro-Iranian accounts that claims to show Israeli spies being led to their execution.
What happened: False claims from both the left and right have spread widely on social media following the catastrophic floods in Texas — with liberal users falsely blaming Trump-era staffing cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS) for hampering the agency’s response, while conservative accounts are promoting conspiracy theories about weather manipulation.
Context: Early morning on July 4, heavy rains in Kerr County, Texas, and nearby counties caused the Guadalupe River to rise more than 20 feet an hour, leading to massive flooding. As of July 8, at least 104 people had died in the flooding.
In the days after the...
Four Michigan companies have agreed to settle a federal complaint over alleged COVID-19 relief loan fraud, officials said Monday. Your Fantasy Warehouse Inc., Ugly Christmas Sweater Inc., Costume A...