Our Picks: Disinformation & ConspiraciesMeteorologists Face Harassment and Death Threats | Misinformed About Misinformation | From the Ballot to the Boardroom: Lessons Learned from Election Disinformation Efforts, and more

The Fog of Disaster Is Getting Worse  (Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic)
How a changing media environment, worsened by intentional attempts to deceive people, hampers the response to natural catastrophes.

Hurricane Recovery Officials in N.C. Relocated Amid Report of ‘Armed Militia,’ Email Shows  (Brianna Sacks, Washington Post)
Safety fears are growing as misinformation collides with a large-scale federal recovery effort.

FEMA Makes “Operational Adjustments” in Hurricane Response as Threats Spike  (Rebecca Falconer and Andrew Freedman, Axios)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) made “operational adjustments” in its Hurricane Helene response in North Carolina following safety concerns, a spokesperson said Sunday. There’s been a surge in threats following mis- and disinformation on the federal response to Hurricane Helene. Conspiracy theories, some of which amplified by former President Trump, rapidly spread online about aid to communities hit hard by the storm.

North Carolina Authorities Arrest Armed Man After Threats Against FEMA Workers  (Brianna Sacks and Dan Lamothe, Washington Post)
Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office confirms it made the arrest Saturday after learning of threat to Federal Emergency Management Agency employees working on hurricane relief.

FEMA Resumes Door-to-Door Visits in North Carolina After Threats Tied to Disinformation  (AP / VOA News)
Federal disaster personnel have resumed door-to-door visits as part of their hurricane-recovery work in North Carolina, an effort temporarily suspended amid threats that prompted officials to condemn the spread of disinformation.
Over the weekend, reports emerged that workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be targeted by militia as the government responds to Hurricane Helene. A sheriff’s office said Monday that one man was arrested during an investigation, but that the suspect acted alone.

Meteorologists Face Harassment and Death Threats Amid Hurricane Disinformation  (Kate Selig, New York Times)
Weather experts say the spiraling falsehoods, especially claims that the government is creating or controlling storms, have gotten out of hand.

The Trump Voters Who Don’t Believe Trump  (Shawn McCreesh, New York Times)
When the former president endorses violence and proposes using the government to attack his enemies, many of his supporters assume it’s just an act.

Trump Wages Campaign Against Real-Time Fact Checks  (Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey, Washinton Post)
The moves are the latest example of Trump’s long-held resistance to being called to account for his falsehoods.

How Trump May Try to Challenge the Election Results If He Loses Again  (Patrick Marley, Washinton Post)
If Harris wins, election officials and experts worry Trump and his supporters will not accept that outcome.

Trump Urges Using Military to Handle ‘Radical Left Lunatics’ on Election Day  (Maegan Vazquez, Washinton Post)
The former president asserts that those he labels the “enemy from within” are more dangerous than threats from rival nations such as Russia and China.

This Threat Hunter Chases U.S. Foes Exploiting AI to Sway the Election  (Patrick Marley, Washinton Post)
Ben Nimmo brings a literary bent to the serious business of keeping ChatGPT from being an engine of misinformation.

When American Voters Ignored the Warning Signs  (Julian E. Zelizer, Foreign Policy)
An administration called the “most deceitful in history” went on to win 49 states.

From the Ballot to the Boardroom: Lessons Learned from Election Disinformation Efforts  (Naureen Kabir, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance)
Election-related disinformation campaigns have become a staple of modern election cycles, both in the U.S. and globally. Whether driven by foreign influence operations or domestic political or extremist groups, disinformation efforts are now an election mainstay.

Trump, Twitter, and Truth Judgments: The Effects of “Disputed” Tags and Political Knowledge on the Judged Truthfulness of Election Misinformation  (John C. Blanchar and Catherine J. Norris,Misinformation Review)
Misinformation has sown distrust in the legitimacy of American elections. Nowhere has this been more concerning than in the 2020 U.S. presidential election wherein Donald Trump falsely declared that it was stolen through fraud. Although social media platforms attempted to dispute Trump’s false claims by attaching soft moderation tags to his posts, little is known about the effectiveness of this strategy.

Misinformed About Misinformation: On the Polarizing Discourse on Misinformation and Its Consequences for the Field  (Irene V. Pasquetto, Garielle Lim, and Samanth Bradshaw, Misinformation Review)
The field of misinformation is facing several challenges, from attacks on academic freedom to polarizing discourse about the nature and extent of the problem for elections and digital well-being. However, we see this as an inflection point and an opportunity to chart a more informed and contextual research practice.