Disinfo Docket 18 June
Hi! I'm Kate and welcome to DisinfoDocket. DisinfoDocket curates influence operations-related academic research, news, events and job opportunities.
Did you know that DisinfoDocket takes requests? If you have suggestions or relevant work that you'd like to see included, simply reply to this email and send us the details!
* Accounts peddling child abuse content flood some X hashtags as safety partner cuts ties
* Can undocumented immigrants vote? Fact-checking Trump’s false accusations of voting fraud in L.A.
* China’s Spy Agencies Are Investing Heavily in A.I., Researchers Say...
Highlights
- SPIEF’s propaganda pivot: The theme of ‘social optimism’ permeates the Kremlin’s media coverage guidelines for this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (Meduza, 18 June)
- How the public checks information it thinks might be wrong (Reuters Institute, 17 June)
- Why the rise of social media has given us a less happy, more polarized and dangerous world (Poynter, 18 June)
- Israel-Iran misinformation is circulating online - what to watch out for (Full Fact, 18 June)
- The hillside memorial that sparked misinformation about South Africa’s farm killings (The Independent, 16 June)
- Elon Musk’s X sues New York over hate speech and disinformation law (The Guardian, 17 June)
How misinformation spread after Minnesota lawmaker's murder (PBS, 18 June)
1. Academia & Research
- Study finds Republicans flagged for posting misleading tweets twice as often as Democrats on Community Notes (Phys, 17 June)
- Can shifting attention to accuracy reduce misinformation on social media? A replication and extension in China (Nature, 16 June)
2. Platforms & Technology
- Trump to extend US TikTok ban deadline, White House says (BBC, 18 June)
- Why False Bias Claims Don’t Undermine the Case for Social Media Regulation (Tech Policy Press, 17 June)
BREAKING: MIT just completed the first brain scan study of ChatGPT users & the results are terrifying.
— Alex Vacca (@itsalexvacca) June 18, 2025
Turns out, AI isn't making us more productive. It's making us cognitively bankrupt.
Here's what 4 months of data revealed:
(hint: we've been measuring productivity all wrong) pic.twitter.com/OcHy9197tk
3. Russia & Ukraine
- Same Sea, New Phish: Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords (Citizen Lab, 18 June)
- Takeover of British Russia expert’s email accounts used novel phishing tactic (The Record, 18 June)