Misinformation in the Fog of Tear Gas
A Play by Play of How the #DCblackout Hashtag Spread, and Spread Fear
In the early hours of Monday, June 1, 2020, rumors began spreading on social media that electronic communications from Washington, D.C., were being jammed and that a crackdown on the night’s anti-racism protests was imminent. The posts coalesced around the hashtag #DCblackout. When morning came, telecoms operators and journalists on the ground confirmed that no such “blackout” had occurred.
Ben Nimmo
Head of Investigations
Ben Nimmo was Head of Investigations at Graphika, where he led an expert team of OSINT investigators in detecting, identifying and analyzing inauthentic behavior and information operations online. He specializes in analyzing patterns of online disinformation and influence operations across varying platforms and geographical regions. He is now the Principal Investigator, Intelligence & Investigations at OpenAI.
C. Shawn Eib
Analyst
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