Twitter’s launch of DeSantis’ presidential bid underscores platform’s rightward shift under Musk
May 25, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Two years ago, signing a bill intended to punish Twitter and other major social media companies, Florida Gov.
Lawyer demands Fox apologize for Jan. 6 conspiracy theory
March 23, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for a one-time supporter of former President Donald Trump who has been caught up in a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory demanded Thursday that Fox News and host Tucker Carlson retract and apologize for repeated “falsehoods" about the man's supposed intentions.
COVID-19 conspiracies soar after latest report on origins
March 1, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19's origins remain hazy. Three years after the start of the pandemic, it's still unclear whether the coronavirus that causes the disease leaked from a lab or spread to humans from an animal.
Richard Belzer, stand-up comic and TV detective, dies at 78
February 19, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV's most indelible detectives as John Munch in "Homicide: Life on the Street" and “Law & Order: SVU,” has died.
Russian coronavirus-denying ex-monk sentenced to 7 years
January 27, 2023 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — A former Russian Orthodox monk, who denied that the coronavirus existed and defied the Kremlin, was handed a seven-year prison sentence Friday.
Nikolai Romanov, 67, who was known as Father Sergiy until his excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church, urged his followers to disobey the Russian government's lockdown measures and spread conspiracy theories about a global plot to control the masses.
Allen announces withdrawal from voter registration group
January 18, 2023 GMTMONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's new secretary of state announced the state's withdrawal Tuesday from a 32-state voter registration partnership, a data-sharing effort that was designed to maintain accurate voter rolls but has sometimes become the target of conservative ire and conspiracy theories.
As elites arrive in Davos, conspiracy theories thrive online
January 16, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — When some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential figures gathered at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting last year, sessions on climate change drew high-level discussions on topics such as carbon financing and sustainable food systems.
German coup plot fueled by conspiracy claims, COVID measures
December 9, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — An alleged plot to topple the German government, led by a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a Berlin judge, had its roots in a murky mixture of post-war grudges, antisemitic conspiracy theories and anger over recent pandemic restrictions, experts say.
Republican kicked out of caucus running for Wis. Senate
December 5, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who was kicked out of the Assembly GOP caucus by fellow Republicans who said they lost trust in her after she pushed election conspiracy theories, is running for an open state Senate seat.
Antisemitic celebrities stoke fears of normalizing hate
December 3, 2022 GMTA surge of anti-Jewish vitriol, spread by a world-famous rapper, an NBA star and other prominent people, is stoking fears that public figures are normalizing hate and ramping up the risk of violence in a country already experiencing a sharp increase in antisemitism.
Worker pleads guilty in election equipment tampering case
December 1, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — A former elections manager who prosecutors say assisted in a security breach of voting equipment in a Colorado county pleaded guilty on Wednesday under a plea agreement that requires her to testify against her former boss.
Judge backs full $49M jury award against Alex Jones in Texas
November 22, 2022 GMTAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge said Tuesday she will not lower a nearly $50 million punishment against Alex Jones that a jury handed down earlier this year over the Infowars host spreading false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
House GOP pushes Hunter Biden probe despite thin majority
November 19, 2022 GMTTrump-backed Republican kicked out of Wis. Assembly caucus
November 16, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican chair of the Wisconsin Assembly elections committee who was backed by former President Donald Trump, embraced conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and wanted to decertify President Joe Biden's victory, has been kicked out of the closed GOP caucus because her colleagues don't trust her, according to a letter sent to the lawmaker.
Arizona remains epicenter for post-election misinformation
November 10, 2022 GMTArizona remained the epicenter for post-Election Day misinformation Thursday as vote counting in that state continued.
Many of the misleading claims circulating two days after the election focused on printing problems that prevented vote counters from reading some ballots.
Voting snag in Arizona fuels election conspiracy theories
November 9, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — A printing malfunction at about one-quarter of the polling places across Arizona's most populous county slowed down voting Tuesday, but election officials assured voters that every ballot would be counted.
Election conspiracy theorists ordered freed in Texas lawsuit
November 7, 2022 GMTHOUSTON (AP) — An appeals court on Monday ordered the release of the leaders of a Texas-based group that promotes election conspiracy theories after they had been jailed last week for not complying with a court order to provide information in a defamation lawsuit over some of their claims.
Complaint charges Milwaukee election official with fraud
November 4, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former Milwaukee elections official charged Friday with sending fake military ballots to a Republican legislator who has advanced election fraud conspiracy theories told investigators she did it because she wanted to expose real vulnerabilities in Wisconsin elections, according to a criminal complaint.
Musk boosts surge in misinformation about Pelosi attack
November 4, 2022 GMTWithin hours of the attack on Paul Pelosi, conspiracy theories deflecting blame for the assault on the husband of U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi were already swirling online.
It didn't matter that authorities said Paul Pelosi was alone when the suspect broke into the couple's San Francisco home.
Misinformation and the midterm elections: What to expect
November 3, 2022 GMTConspiracy theories about mail ballots. Anonymous text messages warning voters to stay home. Fringe social media platforms where election misinformation spreads with impunity.
Most candidates for top election posts say no to hand counts
November 1, 2022 GMTThe vast majority of candidates running to become their states' chief election officers oppose hand counting ballots, a laborious and error-prone process that has gained favor among some Republicans embracing conspiracy theories about voting machines.
Election conspiracy theorists jailed in Texas lawsuit
October 31, 2022 GMTHOUSTON (AP) — The leaders of a Texas-based group that promotes election conspiracy theories were jailed Monday for not complying with a court order to provide information in a defamation lawsuit over some of their claims.
Suspect in assault at Pelosi home had posted about QAnon
October 29, 2022 GMTThe man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories.
Musk took over Twitter. Then some users began testing chaos
October 28, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Shortly after Elon Musk took control of Twitter, some conservative personalities wasted no time to jump on the platform and recirculate long-debunked conspiracy theories in a tongue-in-cheek attempt to “test” whether Twitter’s policies on misinformation were still being enforced.
Nevada officials begin unprecedented hand count of ballots
October 28, 2022 GMTHand vote count stops, but Nevada county vows to try again
October 28, 2022 GMTLAS VEGAS (AP) — A rural Nevada county roiled by voting machine conspiracy theories stopped its unprecedented effort Friday to hand count ballots cast in advance of Election Day.
But Nye County officials vowed to reshape their plan and seek another go-ahead from the Nevada Supreme Court, after justices ruled late Thursday that counting methods used this week violated rules they set to prevent the county from allowing early disclosure of election results.
Michigan governor candidates debate tax cuts, abortion, guns
October 26, 2022 GMTROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer accused Republican challenger Tudor Dixon on Tuesday of “stoking violence” and pushing conspiracy theories meant to divide people, while Dixon said voters have felt the pain of the Democrat's failures and “you deserve better.”
GOP voters told to hold onto mail ballots until Election Day
October 22, 2022 GMTEXPLAINER: What to expect at polling places this year
October 20, 2022 GMTCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — This year's midterms are playing out against the backdrop of former President Donald Trump's persistent falsehoods about losing the 2020 election, a relentless campaign that will have implications for voters across the country as they cast their ballots.
Reno man headed to prison for death threats to politicians
October 18, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — A 47-year-old Reno man will spend up to 15 years in prison for sending death threats to a half-dozen Nevada elected officials in messages citing false conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen.
Is Alex Jones verdict the death of disinformation? Unlikely
October 17, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — A Connecticut jury's ruling this week ordering Alex Jones to pay $965 million to parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims he maligned was heartening for people disgusted by the muck of disinformation.
$1B judgment against Alex Jones not the final word
October 14, 2022 GMTWATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — The nearly $1 billion judgment against Alex Jones for spreading false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre brought long-sought relief to family members and hopes the eye-popping figure would deter others from broadcasting falsehoods.
Nevada county’s plans to hand-count early ballots challenged
October 4, 2022 GMTRENO, Nev. (AP) — A rural county in Nevada where conspiracy theories about voting machines run deep is planning to start hand-counting its mail-in ballots two weeks before Election Day, a process that risks public release of early voting results.
Wisconsin’s Johnson embraces controversy in reelection bid
September 27, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Far from shying from his contrarian reputation, Wisconsin Republican Sen.
Ohio GOP House candidate has misrepresented military service
September 22, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Campaigning for a northwestern Ohio congressional seat, Republican J.R. Majewski presents himself as an Air Force combat veteran who deployed to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, once describing “tough” conditions including a lack of running water that forced him to go more than 40 days without a shower.
Breaches of voting machine data raise worries for midterms
September 16, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Sensitive voting system passwords posted online. Copies of confidential voting software available for download. Ballot-counting machines inspected by people not supposed to have access.
Trump openly embraces, amplifies QAnon conspiracy theories
September 16, 2022 GMTAfter winking at QAnon for years, Donald Trump is overtly embracing the baseless conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world events linked to it grows.
Colorado clerk pleads not guilty in election system breach
September 7, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — A Colorado county clerk accused of allowing an unauthorized person to break into her county’s election system in search of proof of the conspiracy theories spun by former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case on Wednesday.
US election conspiracies find fertile ground in conferences
September 4, 2022 GMTOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — On a quiet Saturday in an Omaha hotel, about 50 people gathered in a ballroom to learn about elections.
The subject wasn't voter registration drives or poll worker volunteer training.
Wisconsin elections agency wants money to bolster confidence
August 31, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s bipartisan elections agency, which has been under fire from Republicans since Donald Trump’s loss in 2020, voted unanimously Wednesday to ask the GOP-controlled Legislature to create a new division designed to increase confidence in election results in the face of ongoing conspiracy theories and false claims of widespread fraud.
Voting machine tampering points to concern for fall election
August 25, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — On the last day of voting in Colorado’s June primary, a poll worker sent to wipe down a voting machine found a concerning error message on its screen: “USB device change detected.”
The machine, used to mark ballots electronically, was taken out of use and an investigation launched.
False claims about pens in Arizona primary prompts warning
August 2, 2022 GMTPHOENIX (AP) — The attorney for Arizona's most populous county sent a letter on Tuesday warning a local candidate to stop encouraging voters to steal the pens given to them at polling places on Election Day to mark their ballots.
Election conspiracies grip Nevada community, sowing distrust
July 29, 2022 GMTTONOPAH, Nev. (AP) — The Nye County Commission is used to dealing with all sorts of hot-button controversies.
Water rights, livestock rules and marijuana licenses are among the many local dramas that consume the time of the five commissioners in this vast swath of rural and deeply Republican Nevada.
Conspiracy-promoting sheriffs claim vast election authority
July 22, 2022 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The sheriff in Kansas' most populous county says he took it for granted that local elections ran smoothly — until former President Donald Trump lost there in 2020.
Now he's assigned detectives to investigate what he claims is election fraud, even though there has been no evidence of any widespread fraud or manipulation of voting machines in 2020.
Election leaders urge openness to dispel misinformation
July 20, 2022 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The key to dispelling conspiracy theories and misinformation about how elections are run is to confront the lies head on, top state election officials said Wednesday.
No major problems with ballot drop boxes in 2020, AP finds
July 17, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — The expanded use of drop boxes for mailed ballots during the 2020 election did not lead to any widespread problems, according to an Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S.
Republican-led counties urge election reform in New Mexico
July 15, 2022 GMTSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — County boards led by Republicans are urging New Mexico legislators to require photo identification at polling locations, approve new procedures for purging voter registration rolls and prohibit the use of ballot drop boxes that aren't supervised directly by people.
Choose your reality: Trust wanes, conspiracy theories rise
July 9, 2022 GMTDaniel Charles Wilson believes the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were an inside job. The war in Ukraine is “totally scripted” and COVID-19 is “completely fake.” The Boston Marathon bombing? Mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas?
Colorado GOP voters reject indicted clerk for election post
June 29, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — Colorado Republicans on Tuesday chose a former local official who pledged to keep politics out of running elections as their nominee for secretary of state over an indicted county clerk who gained national prominence by promoting conspiracy theories about voting machines.
A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell scandal
June 28, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — From the moment he first faced criminal charges, in 2006, Jeffrey Epstein has been the object of public fascination, conspiracy theories and outrage — especially after his lawyers got prosecutors to agree to a lenient plea deal that spared him from serious prison time.
New Mexico election drama has roots in wider county movement
June 23, 2022 GMTSANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) — A rural New Mexico county's initial refusal to certify its primary election results sent ripples across the country last week, a symbol of how even the most elemental functions of democracy have become politicized pressure points amid the swirl of lies stemming from the 2020 presidential outcome.
Screams, threats as New Mexico counties certify vote
June 18, 2022 GMTALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A standoff over the security of voting machines between a Republican-leaning county in New Mexico and Democratic state officials that threatened to erupt into a wider political crisis was defused Friday after local commissioners voted to certify their election results.
Official in election standoff avoids prison in Capitol riot
June 17, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — An elected official who was a central figure in a New Mexico county’s refusal to certify recent election results based on debunked conspiracy theories about voting machines avoided more jail time on Friday for joining the mob that attacked the U.S.
County’s refusal to certify the vote hints at election chaos
June 15, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — The conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines that erupted during the 2020 presidential contest flared this week in a remote New Mexico county in what could be just a preview of the kind of chaos election experts fear is coming in the fall midterms and in 2024.
‘Horrifying’ conspiracy theories swirl around Texas shooting
May 26, 2022 GMTPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — By now it's as predictable as the calls for thoughts and prayers: A mass shooting leaves many dead, and wild conspiracy theories and misinformation about the carnage soon follow.
Violent death in America stalks ordinary walks of daily life
May 17, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — In far-flung cities, deadly violence ripped apart the most typical of American spring weekends, driven by rage or madness, the bloodiest by suspected racist hate.
GOP fears far-right candidate will be PA governor nominee
May 11, 2022 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With six days until Pennsylvania's primary, Republicans are openly worrying that a leading candidate in the crowded GOP field for governor is unelectable in the fall general election and will fumble away an opportunity for the party to take over the battleground state's executive suite.
GOP works to get out the vote after calling elections rigged
May 6, 2022 GMTATLANTA (AP) — Republican David Perdue has made election fraud the centerpiece of his run for Georgia governor. But if he hopes to win in this year's midterm elections, his supporters will have to use the same democratic system he says they shouldn't trust.
Capitol riot defendant: I was following Trump’s instructions
April 14, 2022 GMTAn Ohio man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and stealing a coat rack testified that he joined thousands of protesters in ransacking the building last year on what he thought were orders from the president, Donald Trump.
Capitol riot defendant: I was following Trump’s instructions
April 13, 2022 GMTAn Ohio man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and stealing a coat rack testified Wednesday that he joined thousands of protesters in ransacking the building last year on what he thought were orders from the president, Donald Trump.