Misinformers accuse Biden of flying migrants into U.S. as voters, Facebook outage leads to baseless claims of election meddling, and more
In this excerpt of NewsGuard's confidential weekly briefing for clients, we update you on the top misinformation and disinformation trends and narratives to help your organization stay ahead of emerging threats.
Subscribe to NewsGuard's Substack newsletter, "Reality Check," a weekly report on how misinformation online is undermining trust—and who’s behind it.
Edited by Jack Brewster and Eric Effron.
No, the Biden Administration Is Not Secretly Flying Migrants to the U.S. as Voters
Conservative commentators, websites, and X users with thousands of followers are falsely claiming that the Biden administration last year secretly flew over 300,000 undocumented migrants from Latin America into 43 airports across the U.S., as part of an election-fraud scheme.
“The Biden regime has been operating secret charter flights to transport illegal immigrants from foreign airports to various U.S. cities,” stated a March 5, 2024, article on TheGatewayPundit.com (NewsGuard Trust Score: 30/100). In a similar vein, a March 5, 2024, article on NotTheBee.com (Trust Score: 62.5/100) stated: “In addition to the millions who have illegally crossed the southern border, American tax dollars have also paid to fly people ILLEGALLY into the United States. No passports, no visas, no nothing.”
Super Tuesday Facebook Outage Sparks Unfounded Election Interference Claims
Temporary Facebook and Instagram outages on Super Tuesday, the day 15 states cast their presidential primary votes, led misinformers to baselessly claim that the disruptions were part of a larger election interference scheme ahead of the November 2024 general election. The misinformers did not specify whom they believed was behind the supposed scheme, nor did they detail how the outages would impact any party or candidate.
“They’re showing us what they can do in real-time,” stated a March 5, 2024, article on WND.com (Trust Score: 17.5/100). The article was headlined, “‘Practice run for November?’ Facebook, related sites go dark on Super Tuesday.”?
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Pro-Kremlin Sources Promote Deepfake Dancing Video of French President Macron
By Eva Maitland and Natalie Huet
Pro-Kremlin sources have been promoting a deepfake video appearing to show French President Emmanuel Macron dancing in a 1980s disco wearing wigs and dresses, in an apparent effort to ridicule the French president as he hosted a meeting on military support for Ukraine.
“Macron … before his political life,” stated a Feb. 26, 2024, X post by @MyLordBebo — a pro-Kremlin account that frequently advances disinformation — which was shared nearly 9,000 times and amassed more than 27,000 likes. The one-minute video gained a surge of traction on Feb. 27, 2024, when it was shared by pro-Kremlin and other accounts in the hours after Macron refused to rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine at a Feb. 26, 2024, summit in Paris.
Moon Landing Skeptics Spin Conspiracy Theory About a New Space Mission?
Moon landing deniers are flooding TikTok with baseless claims that the Feb. 22, 2024, landing of Odysseus — the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in 53 years — was staged.?
NewsGuard identified a dozen videos advancing the false claim that the lunar landing, conducted by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, was faked. Most of the videos were shared by TikTok accounts known for spreading moon landing and “flat earth” conspiracy theories. Cumulatively, these videos garnered 1.7 million views as of March 11, 2024.
Subscribe to NewsGuard's Substack newsletter, "Reality Check," a weekly report on how misinformation online is undermining trust—and who’s behind it.