Our picksBig Tech’s Pandemic Power Grab | Congresswoman QAnon | NK Nukes, and more
· Trump Administration Moves to Solidify Restrictive Immigration Policies
· Is OAN the Leading Edge of Russian Misinformation?
· The Frequent Overlap Between Trump’s Conspiracy Theories and Russian Propaganda
· Why Russia Will Keep Poking America’s Racial Wounds
· Ice Cube Spreads Russian Propaganda and Anti-Semitic Conspiracy on Twitter
· Big Tech’s Pandemic Power Grab
· White House Eyes Travel from Mexico as Source of Virus Spike
· No, Trump Probably Can’t List Antifa as a “Terrorist Group.” Here’s What He’s Really Doing.
· A Wild, Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory Group Is about to Get Its First Congresswoman
· North Korea Promises to Advance Nuclear Weapons as It Turns Back to Foreign Affairs
Trump Administration Moves to Solidify Restrictive Immigration Policies (Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Maggie Haberman, New York Times)
The administration proposed a rule this week that would raise the standard of proof for migrants hoping to obtain asylum and is expected to propose additional visa restrictions.
Is OAN the Leading Edge of Russian Misinformation? (Edward-Isaac Dovere, The Atlantic)
The Biden campaign says Trump’s favorite TV network is peddling the Kremlin’s lies.
The Frequent Overlap Between Trump’s Conspiracy Theories and Russian Propaganda (Aaron Blake, Washington Post)
President Trump on Tuesday morning passed along a bizarre conspiracy theory suggesting the protester who bled from his head after being pushed by Buffalo police and falling to the ground might have been involved in some kind of antifa plot.
The theory is all the more ugly considering its origins: In the tweet, Trump tagged the pro-Trump One America News Network. The OANN journalist behind the dubious conspiracy theory is Kristian Rouz, who has moonlighted as a reporter for the Russian propaganda outlet Sputnik News.
As the Daily Beast’s Kevin Poulsen reported in November, Rouz has a history spouting such bizarre theories and of putting a pro-Russia slant on his OANN reporting:
Trump sharing such a specious theory is one thing — particularly given the unrest roiling the country during the protests over George Floyd’s death. But we now know the theory was shared based on reporting from someone who has been paid to promote the Kremlin’s party line. That’s an indirect through line, but the theory fits with what U.S. intelligence has said is Russia’s aim in the United States: To sow distrust, discord and division.
The theory also fits broadly with Russia’s efforts during the Floyd protests to portray these protesters, and protesters more generally, as dangerous and violent provocateurs.
But it’s hardly the first time Trump has passed along something that fits so neatly with Russian propaganda.
