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{{short description|American far-left news website}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} | |||
{{Italic title}} | {{Italic title}} | ||
{{Infobox website | {{Infobox website | ||
| name = '' |
| name = ''MintPress News'' | ||
| logo = | | logo = MintPress News logo.png | ||
| logocaption = | | logocaption = | ||
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| logo_size = 100px | ||
| screenshot = | |||
| collapsible = | | collapsible = | ||
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| url = {{url|mintpressnews.com}} | | url = {{url|mintpressnews.com}} | ||
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| commercial = Yes | | commercial = Yes | ||
| type = ] | | type = ] | ||
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| founder = Mnar Adley | ||
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| launch_date = |
| launch_date = 2011 | ||
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| revenue = | | revenue = | ||
| current_status = | | current_status = | ||
| footnotes = | | footnotes = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''MintPress News''''' ('''''MPN''''') is an American ]<ref>Multiple sources: | |||
* {{Cite journal |last1=Beers |first1=Andrew |last2=Wilson |first2=Tom |last3=Starbird |first3=Kate |author-link3=Kate Starbird |date=2022-09-20 |title=Demographics of an International Influence Operation Affecting Facebook Users in the United States |url=https://tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/55 |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=7 |doi=10.54501/jots.v1i4.55 |s2cid=252445623 |issn=2770-3142 |access-date=2022-10-29 |archive-date=2022-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029213119/https://tsjournal.org/index.php/jots/article/view/55 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=El Amine |first=Rayan |date=2022-11-04 |title=Syria rolls out the red carpet for influencers and friendly foreigners, while local reporters face death and prison |url=https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/syrian-journalists/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109050408/https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/syrian-journalists/ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{cite web |last1=Adler |first1=Ben |title=Ukrainian mayor, heralded by many, is ultranationalist |url=https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-mayor-heralded-by-many-is-ultranationalist-161819300.html |website=] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=15 March 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319060640/https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-mayor-heralded-by-many-is-ultranationalist-161819300.html |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Sommer |first=Allison Kaplan |date=February 29, 2016 |title=Bernie Sanders Consults With Foreign Policy Expert Who Called Israel 'Predatory' and 'Detrimental' to U.S. |language=en |work=] |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/sanders-consults-with-the-man-who-called-israel-predatory-1.5410949 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409220352/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/sanders-consults-with-the-man-who-called-israel-predatory-1.5410949 |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Mirza |first=Wasi Anjum |date=May 3, 2022 |title=Long-defunct New York Herald did not publish critical cartoon about Pakistan judiciary |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.329C2DZ |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503054124/https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.329C2DZ |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Sandlin |first=Evan |date=October 30, 2016 |title=Dereliction of Duty? The Left and the Syrian Civil War |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/dereliction-duty-left-syrian-civil-war/ |access-date=April 9, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417124020/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/dereliction-duty-left-syrian-civil-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ]. It was founded and edited by Mnar Adley and was launched in January 2012,<ref name="Binkovitz">{{cite news|last=Binkovitz|first=Leah|url=https://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2012/03/mint-press-news.php/|title=Mint Press News|date=March 28, 2012|work=Columbia Journalism Review|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-date=June 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624080543/https://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2012/03/mint-press-news.php/|url-status=live}}</ref> and also publishes the ''MintCast'' podcast. The site covers political, economic, foreign affairs and environmental issues. | |||
''MintPress News'' supported former Syrian president ], and the governments of ] and ].<ref name="JICJ">{{Cite journal |last1=Fiorella |first1=Giancarlo |last2=Godart |first2=Charlotte |last3=Waters |first3=Nick |date=July 14, 2021 |title=Digital Integrity: Exploring Digital Evidence Vulnerabilities and Mitigation Strategies for Open Source Researchers |url=https://academic.oup.com/jicj/article/19/1/147/6320889 |journal=] |language=en |publisher=] |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=147–161 |doi=10.1093/jicj/mqab022 |issn=1478-1387 |accessdate=April 6, 2022 |url-access=subscription |quote=These grassroots communities are particularly evident on Twitter, where they coalesce around individual personalities like right-wing activist ], and around platforms with uncritical pro-Kremlin and pro-Assad editorial lines, like '']'' and ''MintPress News''. These personalities and associated outlets act as both producers of counterfactual theories, as well as hubs around which individuals with similar beliefs rally. The damage that these ecosystems and the theories that they spawn can inflict on digital evidence is not based on the quality of the dis/misinformation that they produce but rather on the quantity. |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105215042/https://academic.oup.com/jicj/article/19/1/147/6320889 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Rudolph |first1=Josh |last2=Morley |first2=Thomas |date=2020 |title=Media Outlets with Foreign Funding |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep26670.10 |journal=] |pages=40–48 |jstor=resrep26670.10 |via=] |jstor-access=free |access-date=2022-04-04 |archive-date=2022-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404073403/https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep26670.10 |url-status=live }}</ref> It opposes the governments of ] and ],<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Andriukaitis |first1=Lukas |title=Breaking Ghouta |last2=Beals |first2=Emma |last3=Brookie |first3=Graham |last4=Higgins |first4=Eliot |last5=Itani |first5=Faysal |last6=Nimmo |first6=Ben |last7=Sheldon |first7=Michael |last8=Tsurkov |first8=Elizabeth |last9=Waters |first9=Nick |date=September 2018 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-61977-565-7 |pages=56–74 |chapter=Disinformation |jstor=resrep30699.12 |oclc=1088564125 |author-link4=Eliot Higgins |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep30699.12 |via=] |jstor-access=free |access-date=2022-04-04 |archive-date=2022-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404073405/https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep30699.12 |url-status=live }}</ref> and reports ] events from an ] perspective.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schafer |first=Bret |url=https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/978-1-61499-943-0-84 |title=Tracking Russia's Digital Deception - Analysis of the Kremlin's Information Operations on Social Media |date=2019 |journal=Challenges in Strategic Communication and Fighting Propaganda in Eastern Europe |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-61499-943-0 |editor-last=Sultănescu |editor-first=Dan |series=] Series E: Human and Societal Dynamics |volume=142 |pages=84–96 |doi=10.3233/978-1-61499-943-0-84 |oclc=1104855741 |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=2022-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702040914/https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/978-1-61499-943-0-84 |url-status=live }}</ref> In one contentious article, ''MintPress News'' asserted that the ] in ] was perpetrated by ] rather than by the ], a claim pushed by the Russian and Syrian governments and rejected by much of the international community.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
'''''MintPress News''''' (MPN) is an independent American ] which was founded in 2011<ref></ref> with an administrative office in ]. <ref></ref> | |||
''MintPress News'' was a major media domain that spread disinformation about the ], a Syrian volunteer organization.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Horawalavithana |first1=Sameera |last2=Ng |first2=Kin Wai |last3=Iamnitchi |first3=Adriana |title=Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Modeling |chapter=Twitter is the Megaphone of Cross-platform Messaging on the White Helmets |date=2020 |editor-last=Thomson |editor-first=Robert |editor2-last=Bisgin |editor2-first=Halil |editor3-last=Dancy |editor3-first=Christopher |editor4-last=Hyder |editor4-first=Ayaz |editor5-last=Hussain |editor5-first=Muhammad |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-61255-9_23 |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |volume=12268 |language=en |location=Cham |publisher=] |pages=238–239 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-61255-9_23 |isbn=978-3-030-61255-9 |s2cid=222349352 |access-date=2022-04-19 |archive-date=2022-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419055713/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-61255-9_23 |url-status=live }}</ref> The site has been accused of regularly publishing pro-],<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=York |first=Chris |date=2022-05-24 |title=The Pro-Russian Attempt to Link the Buffalo Shooting to Ukraine |url=https://newlinesmag.com/argument/the-pro-russian-attempt-to-link-the-buffalo-shooting-to-ukraine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524113225/https://newlinesmag.com/argument/the-pro-russian-attempt-to-link-the-buffalo-shooting-to-ukraine/ |archive-date=2022-05-24 |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> and has been described as a ] website by media studies and disinformation scholars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wedeen |first=Lisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gR2jDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22MintPress%22+news&pg=PA89 |title=Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria |publisher=] |year=2019 |isbn=9780226650579 |page=89 |author-link=Lisa Wedeen |access-date=2023-03-19 |archive-date=2023-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513005549/https://books.google.com/books?id=gR2jDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22MintPress%22+news&pg=PA89 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Horne |first1=Benjamin D. |url=https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85070405169&origin=inward&txGid=d743729dd993cdd9322ad4917b442755&featureToggles=FEATURE_NEW_DOC_DETAILS_EXPORT:1 |title=Different Spirals of Sameness: A Study of Content Sharing in Mainstream and Alternative Media |last2=Nørregaard |first2=Jeppe |last3=Adalı |first3=Sibel |date=April 2, 2019 |publisher=] |series=Proceedings of the Thirteenth International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media |pages=261 |oclc=1106337185 |author-link3=Sibel Adalı |access-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804122022/https://www.scopus.com/home.uri |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
According to its website, Mint Press News is an online journalism startup providing "issue-based-original reporting, in-depth investigations and thoughtful analysis of the most pressing topics facing our nation through the lens of social justice and human" covering national (U.S.) politics and policy, civil liberties, the war on drugs, foreign affairs, energy, lifestyle, culture, technology and the environment. | |||
''MintPress News'' is headquartered in ], where it operated one office location until 2014.<ref name=":4" /> | |||
Reporters, correspondents and editors are based across the United States in over eight states, and several countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. | |||
== History and funding == | |||
“Our media has failed us very miserably,” Mnar Muhawesh said as to her aspirations of starting Mint Press and she cited uninformed public debates around issues like ]’s nuclear capabilities or intervention in ]. “We are in a crucial time in American history where most Americans don’t know what’s going on in the world around them.”<ref name="cjr.org">cjr.org </ref> | |||
] in 2022 |264x264px]] | |||
''MintPress News'' was founded by Mnar Muhawesh (now Adley), a broadcast journalism graduate of ]. She began her career as an intern at ] television station ] and as a freelance journalist.<ref name="Brauer">{{cite news|last=Brauer|first=David|url=https://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring/|title=Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?|work=MinnPost|location=Minneapolis, MN|date=January 18, 2012|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601230144/https://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
After posting her own work on a blog, in 2011 she decided to launch her own news site.<ref name=MapleGrove>{{cite web |last=McKeone Peterson |first=Liz |title=Maple Grove Young Entrepreneurs |url=https://maplegrovemag.com/article/brendan-loney/maple-grove-young-entrepreneurs |work=Maple Grove Magazine |date=November 2012 |accessdate=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228064458/https://maplegrovemag.com/article/brendan-loney/maple-grove-young-entrepreneurs |url-status=live }}</ref> Muhawesh said she believed that "our media has failed us very miserably" and that "We are in a crucial time in American history where most Americans don't know what's going on in the world around them." She spoke of her aspirations for ''MintPress'', citing uninformed public debates around issues like ]'s nuclear capabilities, or intervention in ].<ref name="Binkovitz" /> | |||
==History== | |||
MintPress News was founded in January 2011 by Mnar A. Muhawesh, a broadcast journalism graduate of ] and speaker on responsible journalism, sexism and women in entrepreneurship.{{cn|date=February 2014}} She began her career as an independent multimedia journalist covering Midwest and national politics while focusing on civil liberties and social justice issues where she posted her work on her blog Mint Press, which she later turned the blog into a website.<ref name=MapleGrove>{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Liz McKeone|title=Maple Grove Young Entrepreneurs|url=http://maplegrovemag.com/article/brendan-loney/maple-grove-young-entrepreneurs|publisher=Maple Grove Magazine|date=November 2012|accessdate=18 February 2014}}</ref> | |||
''MintPress News'' said it was a for-profit "regular news organization," with an initial business plan where advertising revenues would exceed costs after three years.<ref name="Brauer"/> ''MintPress''{{'}}s anonymous investors were originally intended to fund ''MintPress'' operations until 2015.<ref name="Binkovitz" /> The editor had investors, who Muhawesh claimed were "retired businesspeople", but she would not name them, a situation '']'' said was "unfortunate for a journalism operation fighting alongside people seeking transparency. The site's 'About Us' page is similarly skinny."<ref name="Brauer" /> | |||
In 2012, Muhawesh raised her startup capital from her connections in the Twin Cities, MN business and non-profit world, which is currently covering all of Mint Press’s costs.<ref name="cjr.org"/> In 2012, MPN said it was a for-profit “regular news organization,” with an initial three-year break-even business plan based on advertising.<ref name=Brauer>David Brauer, '']'', 18 January 2012, </ref> In January 2012, MPN's angel investors were said to be unnamed "retired businesspeople" who "choose to remain anonymous," and will help fund MPN for three years, according to Colombia Journalism Review.<ref name=CJR>{{cite web|last=Binkovitz|first=Leah|title=Mint Press News|url=http://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2012/03/mint-press-news.php|publisher=Columbia Journalism Review|accessdate=18 February 2014}}</ref> Muhawesh’s father-in-law, Odeh Muhawesh, advised MPN on business matters in 2012, but is no longer listed on the masthead. Odeh Muhawesh has said he has "zero involvement financially or editorially" in MintPress, and added, "I’m too conservative to agree with a lot of what they print,” said Muhawesh. He said Mnar is the sole owner of MintPress." <ref>Star Tribune 1 October 2013 </ref> | |||
In 2013 in an email to ], Mnar Muhawesh said she was financing Mint Press alone: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan,” Muhawesh said. “I am the sole investor of MintPress.”<ref>Rosie Gray and Jessica Testa, ], 1 October 2013 </ref> | |||
In a 2013 email to '']'', Muhawesh said she restructured the business plan: "''MintPress'' was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan." She added: "I am the sole investor of ''MintPress''."<ref name="GrayTesla" /> ''MintPress News''<nowiki/>' offices closed in 2014. Since then, the website encourages donations from the public via ] and through ].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Whitaker |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Whitaker |date=November 4, 2021 |title=The 'Echo Chamber' of Syrian Chemical Weapons Conspiracy Theorists |url=https://newlinesmag.com/argument/the-echo-chamber-of-syrian-chemical-weapons-conspiracy-theorists/ |access-date=May 3, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526024159/https://newlinesmag.com/argument/the-echo-chamber-of-syrian-chemical-weapons-conspiracy-theorists/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Muhawesh in 2015 said her funding comes "from donations, sponsorships, grants and ad revenue," and that ''MintPress'' was opposed to U.S. intervention in foreign wars.<ref>{{cite news|last=Muhawesh|first=Mnar|url=http://www.startribune.com/counterpoint-don-t-bash-watchdogs-in-syria-s-information-war/342136901/|title=Counterpoint: Don't bash watchdogs in Syria's 'information war'|work=]|location=Minnesota|date=November 8, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601230136/http://www.startribune.com/counterpoint-don-t-bash-watchdogs-in-syria-s-information-war/342136901/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
== Coverage of the Ghouta chemical attacks == | |||
On 29 August 2013, an MPN article bylined to MPN contributors Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh reported that ] and local residents in ], ] alleged in interviews that the ] was responsible for the ]; those interviewed claimed that weapons had been delivered to untrained fighters and "some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions."<ref>''Mint Press News'', "EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack," Aug. 29, 2013. http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/</ref> Gavlak later told ] that "Despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece."<ref>], 20 September 2013, </ref> Gavlak later clarified that she had "served as an editor of Ababneh's material in English as he normally writes in Arabic. Gavlak had been a weekly corresponent to MintPress News, writing for the online new magazine since March 2013<ref>{{cite web|title=Author : Dale Gavlak|url=http://www.mintpressnews.com/author/dale-gavlak/|accessdate=25 September 2013}}</ref> MPN editor, Mnar Muhawesh released two public statements saying that Gavlak retracted her involvement due to pressure from third parties two days after the article was published and did only "assist in the research and writing process of the article" and that MPN stands | |||
Soon afterward, Brian Lambert of ''MinnPost'' wrote an article following up on Burke's challenge to find out where ''MintPress''{{'}}s money came from. He reported that emails to them went unanswered, their phone was disconnected, and the original office address in ], "haven't been valid in well over a year". While ''MintPress'' listed 20 of its writers, Lambert wrote it did not indicate where the money was "coming from to pay any of these people".<ref name="Lambert"/> | |||
Odeh Muhawesh, whom Mnar once called “a key adviser”, was asked whether the fact that his ideological views were hostile to the Syrian opposition had influenced the story carried by Mint Press News. Reports on the controversy observed statements at websites formerly run by Odeh Muhawesh that are staunchly anti-Saudi, and caused speculation that the chemical weapons story might have been driven by his ideology rather than the facts. He called such theories "plausible but not factual”. <ref> Star Tribune 1 October 2013 </ref> | |||
''MintPress News'' received $10,000 in grants from the ],<ref name=":4" /> an organization which has been described as a pro-Assad group<ref name="Richardson 2018">{{cite web | last=Richardson | first=Seth A. | title=Amended ethics filing shows Dennis Kucinich was paid $20k by pro-Syrian government group | website=cleveland | date=April 18, 2018 | url=https://www.cleveland.com/open/2018/04/amended_ethics_filing_shows_de.html | access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name="AP NEWS 2018">{{cite web | title=The Latest: Peace activist behind Kucinich fee met Hamas | website=AP NEWS | date=April 25, 2018| url=https://apnews.com/article/b83fe3ea574a4c86ab9ddac6691a733b | access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name="cincinnati">, Cincinnati.com</ref><ref name="cleveland scene">, ''Cleveland Scene''</ref> | |||
The MPN report had been "widely circulated"<ref>Bryant Jordan, 10 September 2013, ], </ref> and cited among others by ], the ], ], Spanish newspaper ''], ''] and ].<ref>], 30 August 2013, </ref><ref>], 30 August 2013, </ref><ref>Lisa Pease, ], 4 September 2013, </ref><ref>], 1 September 2013, </ref><ref>'']'', 2 September 2013, </ref> ] initially characterized the article as "honest about the limits of its knowledge", but after Gavlak's comments dissociating herself from the story wrote that "with the allegations of unprofessional behavior on the part of Mint Press News, there's little reason to take the Mint Press story seriously."<ref>], "", 1 Sept 2013 with undated update 20 September 2013.</ref> Asked about the Mint Press News story ], Chief UN weapons inspector in Syria remarked ; "They are famous for 1001 Arabian Nights Stories." <ref></ref>In April 2014 Mnar Muhawesh tweeted that the 'report was based on interviews with locals No one said it was the fact.' Except the locals interviewed by Ababneh, presumably. | |||
In 2022, ] reported that ] informed publishers, including ''MintPress News'', that, "Due to the ], we will pause monetization of content that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war." According to Scheer, these restrictions included "any pieces that question the ] narrative on Ukraine into the content it describes".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scheer |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Scheer |date=May 5, 2022 |title=No such thing as dissent in the age of big tech {{!}} Scheer Intelligence |url=https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/scheer-intelligence/no-such-thing-as-dissent-in-the-age-of-big-tech |access-date=May 21, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522184438/https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/scheer-intelligence/no-such-thing-as-dissent-in-the-age-of-big-tech |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
== Content == | |||
The initial release of ''MintPress News'' was described by ''MinnPost'' as a "typical left-of-center" web outlet that reported on matters such as ] and "bizarre" comments by ] candidates. Additionally, the site's content had a clear focus on Israel and how "']' was abetting the humiliation and slaughter of innocent ]".<ref name="Lambert" /> The site publishes disinformation<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guarino |first1=Stefano |last2=Pierri |first2=Francesco |last3=Di Giovanni |first3=Marco |last4=Celestini |first4=Alessandro |date=March 1, 2021 |title=Information disorders during the COVID-19 infodemic: The case of Italian Facebook |journal=Online Social Networks and Media |language=en |publisher=] |volume=22 |pages=100124 |doi=10.1016/j.osnem.2021.100124 |issn=2468-6964 |pmc=8479410 |pmid=34604611}}</ref> and ] antisemitic conspiracy theories,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sunshine |first=Spencer |date=2019 |title=Looking Left at Antisemitism |url=http://transformativestudies.org/wp-content/uploads/Spencer-Sunshine.pdf |journal=Journal of Social Justice |publisher=] |volume=9 |page=21 |issn=2164-7100 |access-date=2022-04-10 |archive-date=2022-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702020847/http://transformativestudies.org/wp-content/uploads/Spencer-Sunshine.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> including ones on ].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Cuffe |first1=Danil |last2=Simon |first2=Chloe |date=November 4, 2021 |title=Fringe right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread antisemitic disinformation about the Pandora Papers |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/fringe-right-wing-media-and-conspiracy-theorists-spread-antisemitic |access-date=March 19, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314013254/https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/fringe-right-wing-media-and-conspiracy-theorists-spread-antisemitic |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
''MintPress News'' has reposted content from Russian ] outlets ] and ],<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last1=Chabria |first1=Anita |last2=Halper |first2=Evan |date=March 30, 2021 |title=Effort to stem online extremism accidentally pushed people toward an anarchist |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-03-30/google-moonshot-redirect-far-right-online-extremism-anarchist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402094309/https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-03-30/google-moonshot-redirect-far-right-online-extremism-anarchist |archive-date=2022-04-02 |access-date=2022-04-03 |work=]}}</ref><ref name="Silverman" /> and is listed as a "partner" of ], a Russian ] run by the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nimmo |first1=Ben |last2=François |first2=Camille |author-link2=Camille François |last3=Eib |first3=C Shawn |last4=Ronzaud |first4=Léa |date=September 2020 |title=IRA Again: Unlucky Thirteen |url=https://public-assets.graphika.com/reports/graphika_report_ira_again_unlucky_thirteen.pdf |website=Graphika |access-date=2022-04-06 |archive-date=2022-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330131933/https://public-assets.graphika.com/reports/graphika_report_ira_again_unlucky_thirteen.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Quessard |first=Maud |date=2020 |title=Quels dangers pour la démocratie américaine ? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26983667 |journal=] |language=French |issue=106 |pages=81 |issn=1761-0559 |jstor=26983667 |access-date=2022-04-26 |archive-date=2022-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426082308/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26983667 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Silverman |first=Jacob |date=September 7, 2020 |title=A Russian Disinformation Operation Tried to Recruit Me |url=https://slate.com/technology/2020/09/peace-data-russia-disinformation-facebook.html |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=April 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406035053/https://slate.com/technology/2020/09/peace-data-russia-disinformation-facebook.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A report from ] includes ''MintPress News'' as part of the "],"<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 8, 2019 |title=How a Little-Known Pro-Kremlin Analyst Became a Philippine Expert Overnight - |url=https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/how-a-little-known-pro-kremlin-analyst-became-a-philippine-expert-overnight/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625112749/https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/how-a-little-known-pro-kremlin-analyst-became-a-philippine-expert-overnight/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 22, 2019 |title=EXCLUSIVE: Russian disinformation system influences PH social media |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/221470-russian-disinformation-system-influences-philippine-social-media/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331230506/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/221470-russian-disinformation-system-influences-philippine-social-media/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the site has published fake authors attributed to the ], the Russian military intelligence agency.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=Alexander Reid |author-link=Alexander Reid Ross |date=November 8, 2019 |title=Fooling the Nation: Extremism and the Pro-Russia Disinformation Ecosystem |url=https://www.boundary2.org/2019/11/alexander-reid-ross-fooling-the-nation-extremism-and-the-pro-russia-disinformation-ecosystem/#_ftn81 |journal=] |publisher=] |access-date=April 10, 2022 |archive-date=July 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719133650/https://www.boundary2.org/2019/11/alexander-reid-ross-fooling-the-nation-extremism-and-the-pro-russia-disinformation-ecosystem/#_ftn81 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''MintPress News'' defended ], claiming ] government was "illegitimate".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bloodworth |first=James |author-link=James Bloodworth (journalist) |title=Alternative media's useful idiots |url=http://littleatoms.com/society/alternative-media-useful-idiots |access-date=May 30, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704100851/http://littleatoms.com/society/alternative-media-useful-idiots |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The site ran numerous stories sympathetic to former Syrian president ].<ref name="Lambert" /> The false information published by ''MintPress News'' attracts communities, including some ] users, that support Assad and the ].<ref name="JICJ" /> | |||
=== Coverage of the Ghouta chemical attacks === | |||
On August 29, 2013, an unverified ''MintPress'' article attributed to Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh said that ] and local residents in ], Syria alleged that rebels were responsible for the ] on August 21.<ref name="GrayTesla" /> | |||
The story alleged that Saudi Arabia had supplied the rebels with chemical weapons, which the rebels then accidentally set off; '']'' magazine described it as one of the most "crazy" ] about chemical weapons attacks in Syria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/04/these-are-the-5-craziest-conspiracy-theories-about-syrias-chemical-attacks/|title=These Are the 5 Craziest Conspiracy Theories About Syria's Chemical Attacks|last=Groll|first=Elias|date=September 4, 2013|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US|access-date=December 21, 2019|archive-date=May 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526080600/https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/04/these-are-the-5-craziest-conspiracy-theories-about-syrias-chemical-attacks/|url-status=live}}</ref> ] found no evidence for the claims.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Dan |date=September 23, 2013 |title=Syrian rebels and chemical weapons: a disinformation operation? |work=] |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2013/0923/Syrian-rebels-and-chemical-weapons-a-disinformation-operation |access-date=May 21, 2022 |issn=0882-7729 |archive-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214185851/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2013/0923/Syrian-rebels-and-chemical-weapons-a-disinformation-operation |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
On September 20, the ] published a statement from Gavlak saying that "despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the ''Mint Press News'' piece."<ref name="Mackey">{{cite news |last=Mackey |first=Robert |url=https://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/reporter-denies-writing-article-that-linked-syrian-rebels-to-chemical-attack/ |title=Reporter Denies Writing Article That Linked Syrian Rebels to Chemical Attack |work=The New York Times |date=September 21, 2013 |accessdate=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228064447/https://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/reporter-denies-writing-article-that-linked-syrian-rebels-to-chemical-attack/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |work=Brown Moses Blog |date=September 20, 2013 |url=https://brown-moses.blogspot.com/2013/09/statement-by-dale-gavlak-on-mint-press.html |title=Statement By Dale Gavlak On The Mint Press Article 'Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack' |accessdate=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=December 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228064452/https://brown-moses.blogspot.com/2013/09/statement-by-dale-gavlak-on-mint-press.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Gavlak also said the report had not been verified.<ref name="Lambert">{{cite news|last=Lambert|first=Brian|url=https://www.minnpost.com/media/2015/11/mystery-mintpress-news/|title=The mystery of MintPress News|work=MinnPost|location=Minneapolis, MN|date=November 11, 2015|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601230130/https://www.minnpost.com/media/2015/11/mystery-mintpress-news/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Tevlin|first=Jon|url=http://www.startribune.com/tevlin-if-syria-story-is-true-why-is-minnesota-news-site-hiding/225904001/|title=Tevlin: If Syria story is true, why is Minnesota news site hiding?|work=StarTribune|location=Minnesota.|date=October 1, 2013|access-date=May 20, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601230139/http://www.startribune.com/tevlin-if-syria-story-is-true-why-is-minnesota-news-site-hiding/225904001/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Gavlak also told the '']'' that "There was no fact finding or reporting by me for the piece. I did not travel to Syria, so I cannot corroborate account" and that Muhawesh refused to remove her name from the byline because "this is an existential issue for MintPress and an issue of credibility as this will appear as though we are lying."<ref name="Mackey" /> | |||
''MintPress'' added an editor's note at the top of the article stating Ababneh was the sole reporter on the ground in Syria, while Gavlak assisted in researching and writing the article. It said that Gavlak was a ''MintPress News'' correspondent who had freelanced for the ] (AP) in Jordan for a decade. A note at the bottom of the story says: "Some information in this article could not be independently verified. ''Mint Press News'' will continue to provide further information and updates."<ref name="MPN08292013">{{cite news |work=MintPress News |title=EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack |date=August 29, 2013 |url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/ |first1=Dale |last1=Gavlak |first2=Yahya |last2=Abadneh |accessdate=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=December 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227133922/https://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] cited the article in future statements.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Higgins |first=Eliot |author-link=Eliot Higgins |date=2017-09-06 |title=A History of Sarin Use in the Syrian Conflict |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/09/06/history-sarin-use-syrian-conflict/ |access-date=April 7, 2022 |website=] |language=en-GB |archive-date=2022-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529121407/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/09/06/history-sarin-use-syrian-conflict/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Reuter |first=Christoph |date=October 7, 2013 |title=Assad Regime Wages PR Campaign to Discredit Rebels |language=en |work=] |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/assad-regime-wages-pr-campaign-to-discredit-rebels-a-926479.html |access-date=April 7, 2022 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407081855/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/assad-regime-wages-pr-campaign-to-discredit-rebels-a-926479.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On September 21, 2013, ''MintPress'' published a statement by Muhawesh saying soon after the article was published, Gavlak retracted her involvement due to pressure from third parties, which Gavlak believed was prompted by ]. The statement also claimed that Abadneh was being threatened by ] officials.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mnar |last=Muhawesh |title=Official Statement On Dale Gavlak's Involvement In Syria Exclusive |url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-muhawesh-syria-official-statement-on-dale-gavlaks-involvement-in-syria-exclusive/169507/ |work=MintPress News |date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=December 27, 2019 |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122175202/https://www.mintpressnews.com/mnar-muhawesh-syria-official-statement-on-dale-gavlaks-involvement-in-syria-exclusive/169507/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Following the publication of the article, Gavlak stated she has been suspended from the AP.<ref name="Mackey" /> The story continues to be cited by conspiracy websites and supporters of the Assad regime.<ref name="mcclatchy">{{cite news |last=Prothero |first=Mitchell |date=September 22, 2013 |title=Reporter says story on Minnesota website linking Syrian rebels to chemical weapons wasn't hers |work=] |agency=] |location=Minnesota |url=http://www.startribune.com/reporter-story-on-minn-website-tying-syrian-rebels-to-chemical-weapons-not-hers/224780292/ |accessdate=March 25, 2016 |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313035027/http://www.startribune.com/reporter-story-on-minn-website-tying-syrian-rebels-to-chemical-weapons-not-hers/224780292/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
When asked about the ''MintPress News'' story, ], the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Syria remarked, "They are famous for ] stories!"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/Sellstrom_Feb_2014_v2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019070112/https://cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/Sellstrom_Feb_2014_v2.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |title=Modern Warfare |work=CBRNe World |date=February 2014 |first=Gwyn |last=Winfield |accessdate=February 3, 2016}}</ref> | |||
=== Pro-Assad coverage === | |||
In October 2015, the Minnesota '']'' published a citizen op-ed by Terry Burke, an activist for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of Syria, in which she accused ''MintPress News'' and other "alternative 'news' organizations" of "never publish the international human rights organizations' reports about the regime's crimes. Instead, they post interviews with Assad, polls that claim most Syrians support him, articles on rebel or ] abuses, and stories that blame the U.S. for Syria's uprising."<ref name=Burke>{{cite news|last=Burke|first=Terry|title=Media beyond the mainstream: Syria's information wars|url=http://www.startribune.com/media-beyond-the-mainstream-syria-s-information-wars/337733421/|work=]|location=Minnesota|date=October 27, 2015|access-date=March 18, 2022|archive-date=March 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315165816/https://www.startribune.com/media-beyond-the-mainstream-syria-s-information-wars/337733421/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
'']'' in 2013 described the site as having "an agenda that lines up, from its sympathy with the Syrian regime to its hostility to Sunni Saudi Arabia, with that of the Islamic Republic of Iran."<ref name="GrayTesla">{{cite news|last1=Gray|first1=Rosie|last2=Testa|first2=Jessica|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/the-inside-story-of-one-websites-defense-of-assad|title=The Inside Story of One Website's Defense of Assad|work=]|date=October 1, 2013|access-date=August 19, 2019|archive-date=September 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930185014/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/the-inside-story-of-one-websites-defense-of-assad|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
According to '']'', ''MintPress News'' has received the ] Award (organized by the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees), a financial award of an unknown amount, along with other websites which "routinely promote pro-Assad conspiracy theories".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Charles |date=September 30, 2019 |title=Pro-Assad Lobby Group Rewards Bloggers On Both The Left And The Right |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/09/30/pro-assad-lobby-group-rewards-bloggers-on-both-the-left-and-the-right/ |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=] |language=en-GB |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930183413/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2019/09/30/pro-assad-lobby-group-rewards-bloggers-on-both-the-left-and-the-right/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
=== Arbaeen pilgrimage claim === | |||
In November 2016, a ''MintPress News'' article entitled "Media Blackout As Millions Of Muslims March Against ISIS In Iraq" became a top trending story on ], which prompted criticism that the article was misleading. ''BuzzFeed News'' countered, "This week has seen millions of Shiite Muslims participate in ], one of the world's largest pilgrimages, in Iraq. But they are not specifically marching against ISIL, nor has there been a 'media blackout.'" | |||
''BuzzFeed News'' said the article had been sourced from ''American Herald Tribune'', a website edited by ], a ] and ] suspended from his job as a professor at the ] on charges of antisemitism.<ref name="Silverman">{{cite news|last=Silverman|first=Craig|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/facebook-trending-just-promoted-a-misleading-story-about-a-m|title=Facebook Trending Promoted A Misleading Story About A Muslim Pilgrimage|work=BuzzFeed News|date=November 24, 2016|access-date=November 24, 2016|archive-date=November 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125064307/https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/facebook-trending-just-promoted-a-misleading-story-about-a-m|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rahimi |first=Mahboobeh |date=September 2019 |title=Reframing Arbaeen Pilgrimage in Western Media through a Cultural Translation: A Framing Analysis |url=https://doi.org/10.22054/scmw.2019.10140 |journal=Society and Culture in the Muslim World |publisher=] |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=80 |doi=10.22054/scmw.2019.10140 |access-date=2022-05-07 |archive-date=2023-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804122033/https://scmw.atu.ac.ir/article_10140.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
] described the claims in the ''MintPress'' article as inaccurate: "The pilgrimage was not a massive protest against ], nor did a "media blackout" prevent news agencies from covering the event."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Evon|first=Dan|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/millions-of-muslims-marched-against-the-islamic-state/|title=FACT CHECK: Millions of Muslims March Against the Islamic State|website=Snopes.com|language=en-US|date=November 29, 2016|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116220144/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/millions-of-muslims-marched-against-the-islamic-state/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''MintPress'' stood by its story.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Muhawesh|first=Mnar|url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/islam-isis-buzzfeed-what-youre-not-being-told/223426/|title=Islam, ISIS & Buzzfeed: What You're Not Being Told|date=December 23, 2016|work=MintPress News|access-date=December 27, 2019|language=en-US|archive-date=October 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026185218/https://www.mintpressnews.com/islam-isis-buzzfeed-what-youre-not-being-told/223426/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
=== Guarani Aquifer === | |||
In 2018, ''MintPress News'' falsely claimed that ] and ] were ] the ], a major South American water reserve. The site additionally made the false claim that the alleged deal was being negotiated by Brazilian president ] and has reached an "advanced" stage.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Daudin |first1=Guillaume Daudin |last2=Weymes-McElderry |first2=Sophie |date=July 4, 2018 |title=No, Coca-Cola and Nestle are not going to privatize South America's largest water reserve |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/no-coca-cola-and-nestle-are-not-going-privatize-south-americas-largest-water-reserve |access-date=April 4, 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025055132/https://factcheck.afp.com/no-coca-cola-and-nestle-are-not-going-privatize-south-americas-largest-water-reserve |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The site offered no evidence to support their claims and only provided vague statements. Experts, like law professor ], noted that it would be physically impossible for a private company to control the aquifer due to its large size. Coca-Cola and Nestlé also refuted the allegations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=Saranac Hale |date=March 16, 2018 |title=Coke and Nestlé Aren't Buying The Guarani Aquifer |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2018/03/coke-and-nestle-arent-buying-the-guarani-aquifer/ |access-date=April 4, 2022 |website=] |language=en-US |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412134648/https://www.factcheck.org/2018/03/coke-and-nestle-arent-buying-the-guarani-aquifer/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
=== White Helmets === | |||
A study led by ] at the ] found that ''MintPress News'' was part of a core cluster of websites amplifying disinformation about the ], a volunteer organization formed during ]. The White Helmets has been the target of disinformation campaigns perpetrated by pro-Assad and pro-Russian groups. Such disinformation increased dramatically following the ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Starbird |first1=Kate |author-link=Kate Starbird |last2=Arif |first2=Ahmer |last3=Wilson |first3=Tom |last4=Koevering |first4=Katherine Van |last5=Yefimova |first5=Katya |last6=Scarnecchia |first6=Daniel |date=June 15, 2018 |title=Ecosystem or Echo-System? Exploring Content Sharing across Alternative Media Domains |url=https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/15009 |journal=Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |doi=10.1609/icwsm.v12i1.15009 |s2cid=49410509 |issn=2334-0770 |access-date=April 6, 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418033304/https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/15009 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Higgins |first=Eliot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gg0IEAAAQBAJ |title=We Are Bellingcat : Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News |date=2021 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-63557-730-3 |location=New York, NY |pages=119 |oclc=1237603958 |author-link=Eliot Higgins |access-date=2023-03-19 |archive-date=2023-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513005546/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gg0IEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of ]'s conspiracy theories about the White Helmets appeared on ''MintPress News.''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Starbird |first1=Kate |author-link=Kate Starbird |last2=Wilson |first2=Tom |date=January 14, 2020 |title=Cross-Platform Disinformation Campaigns: Lessons Learned and Next Steps |url=https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PDFappendix_starbird_jan3.pdf |journal=] |volume=1 |issue=1 |doi=10.37016/mr-2020-002 |s2cid=213869565 |access-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524195538/https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PDFappendix_starbird_jan3.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Nicaragua=== | |||
In 2018, during the ], ''MintPress'' ''News'' published a "lengthy, insinuation-infused attack" on the photojournalist ], a freelance reporter for ] and '']'', implying he was anti-regime.<ref name=Gau18>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/02/nicaragua-deports-reporter-who-covered-anti-ortega-protests |title=Nicaragua deports reporter who covered anti-Ortega protests |date=2 Oct 2018 |work=] |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609061720/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/02/nicaragua-deports-reporter-who-covered-anti-ortega-protests |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mayhew 2018">{{cite web | last=Mayhew | first=Freddy | title=NUJ cancels event with Canary editor after reports targeting Guardian freelancer covering protests in Nicaragua lead to his deportation | website=Press Gazette | date=2018-10-05 | url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/nuj-cancels-event-with-canary-editor-after-reports-targeting-guardian-freelancer-covering-protests-in-nicaragua-lead-to-his-deportation/ | access-date=2022-06-15 | archive-date=2022-06-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615142951/https://pressgazette.co.uk/nuj-cancels-event-with-canary-editor-after-reports-targeting-guardian-freelancer-covering-protests-in-nicaragua-lead-to-his-deportation/ | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
According to journalist Joshua Collins, ''MintPress'' accompanied the story, entitled "How an American Anthropologist Tied to US Regime-Change Proxies Became the MSM's Man in Nicaragua",<ref name="Stefano 2018">{{cite web | last=Stefano | first=Mark Di | title=A Journalist Has Been Deported From Nicaragua After Being Doxxed By An Online Mob | website=BuzzFeed | date=2018-10-02 | url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/carl-david-guelle-luciak-arrest | access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref> with a photo of Luciak beside an armed soldier labelled as an opposition figure, when it was in fact a government-supporting ].<ref name=Col20>{{cite news |url=https://medium.com/muros-invisibles/grayzone-grifters-and-the-cult-of-tank-fbd9b8e0dbe2 |author=Joshua Collins |title=Grayzone, Grifters and the Cult of Tank |date=10 February 2020 |publisher=Muros Invisibles |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-date=8 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608175540/https://medium.com/muros-invisibles/grayzone-grifters-and-the-cult-of-tank-fbd9b8e0dbe2 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The false story nevertheless went viral, Luciak went into hiding, was eventually captured by state forces, threatened with torture and deported from the country.<ref name=Gau18/><ref name="Stefano 2018"/><ref name="Mayhew 2018"/> | |||
== Frequent contributors and partners == | |||
], ], ], ], ], and the cartoonist ] are listed as regular contributors to the website.<ref name="MNP News Staff">{{cite web |title=MintPress News Staff |url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/mintpress-staff/ |website=MintPress News |date=4 December 2014 |access-date=December 26, 2019 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015032215/https://www.mintpressnews.com/mintpress-staff/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In 2023, Randi Lucile Nord, a ''MintPress News'' staff writer,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/randi-nord/ |title=Randi Nord's profile at ''MintPress News'' |access-date=2023-05-19 |archive-date=2021-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124150438/https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/randi-nord/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref name="MNP News Staff" /> admitted to spray-painting a ] and the word "Azov" (in reference to the ]) on a synagogue in ], in order to undermine United States support to Ukraine during the ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McConnell |first1=Mike |title=Royal Oak synagogue ethnic intimidation suspect won't represent self in court |url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2023/05/16/royal-oak-synagogue-ethnic-intimidation-suspect-wont-represent-self-in-court/ |work=] |date=May 16, 2023 |access-date=May 19, 2023 |archive-date=May 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519094029/https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2023/05/16/royal-oak-synagogue-ethnic-intimidation-suspect-wont-represent-self-in-court/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
''MintPress News'' frequently partners with the outlets ], ], ], ], '']'', '']'', '']'', and ].<ref name="MNP News Staff" /> | |||
In September 2013, Antiwar.com apologized for linking to and reprinting a ''MintPress News'' story that Syrian rebels were responsible for the Ghouta sarin attacks of 2013.<ref name="Garris">{{cite news|last=Garris|first=Eric|title=Retraction and Apology to Our Readers for Mint Press Article on Syria Gas Attack|url=https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2013/09/20/retraction-and-apology-to-our-readers-for-mint-press-article-on-syria-gas-attack/|date=September 20, 2013|work=AntiWar.com|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212053853/https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2013/09/20/retraction-and-apology-to-our-readers-for-mint-press-article-on-syria-gas-attack/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
== See also == | |||
* '']'' | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
==External links== | == External links == | ||
*{{official website |
*{{official website}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mint Press News}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Mint Press News}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 13:06, 5 January 2025
American far-left news website
Type of site | News website |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Founder(s) | Mnar Adley |
URL | mintpressnews |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | 2011 |
MintPress News (MPN) is an American far-left news website. It was founded and edited by Mnar Adley and was launched in January 2012, and also publishes the MintCast podcast. The site covers political, economic, foreign affairs and environmental issues.
MintPress News supported former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and the governments of Russia and Iran. It opposes the governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia, and reports geopolitical events from an anti-Western perspective. In one contentious article, MintPress News asserted that the Ghouta chemical attack in Syria was perpetrated by rebel groups rather than by the Syrian government, a claim pushed by the Russian and Syrian governments and rejected by much of the international community.
MintPress News was a major media domain that spread disinformation about the White Helmets, a Syrian volunteer organization. The site has been accused of regularly publishing pro-Russian propaganda, and has been described as a conspiratorial website by media studies and disinformation scholars.
MintPress News is headquartered in Minnesota, where it operated one office location until 2014.
History and funding
MintPress News was founded by Mnar Muhawesh (now Adley), a broadcast journalism graduate of St. Cloud State University. She began her career as an intern at Minnesota television station KARE and as a freelance journalist.
After posting her own work on a blog, in 2011 she decided to launch her own news site. Muhawesh said she believed that "our media has failed us very miserably" and that "We are in a crucial time in American history where most Americans don't know what's going on in the world around them." She spoke of her aspirations for MintPress, citing uninformed public debates around issues like Iran's nuclear capabilities, or intervention in Syria.
MintPress News said it was a for-profit "regular news organization," with an initial business plan where advertising revenues would exceed costs after three years. MintPress's anonymous investors were originally intended to fund MintPress operations until 2015. The editor had investors, who Muhawesh claimed were "retired businesspeople", but she would not name them, a situation MinnPost said was "unfortunate for a journalism operation fighting alongside people seeking transparency. The site's 'About Us' page is similarly skinny."
In a 2013 email to BuzzFeed News, Muhawesh said she restructured the business plan: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan." She added: "I am the sole investor of MintPress." MintPress News' offices closed in 2014. Since then, the website encourages donations from the public via Patreon and through crowdfunding.
Muhawesh in 2015 said her funding comes "from donations, sponsorships, grants and ad revenue," and that MintPress was opposed to U.S. intervention in foreign wars.
Soon afterward, Brian Lambert of MinnPost wrote an article following up on Burke's challenge to find out where MintPress's money came from. He reported that emails to them went unanswered, their phone was disconnected, and the original office address in Plymouth, Minnesota, "haven't been valid in well over a year". While MintPress listed 20 of its writers, Lambert wrote it did not indicate where the money was "coming from to pay any of these people".
MintPress News received $10,000 in grants from the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees, an organization which has been described as a pro-Assad group
In 2022, Robert Scheer reported that Google AdSense informed publishers, including MintPress News, that, "Due to the war in Ukraine, we will pause monetization of content that exploits, dismisses, or condones the war." According to Scheer, these restrictions included "any pieces that question the NATO narrative on Ukraine into the content it describes".
Content
The initial release of MintPress News was described by MinnPost as a "typical left-of-center" web outlet that reported on matters such as climate change and "bizarre" comments by Republican candidates. Additionally, the site's content had a clear focus on Israel and how "'American imperialism' was abetting the humiliation and slaughter of innocent Arabs". The site publishes disinformation and coded antisemitic conspiracy theories, including ones on George Soros.
MintPress News has reposted content from Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, and is listed as a "partner" of PeaceData, a Russian fake news site run by the Internet Research Agency. A report from New Knowledge includes MintPress News as part of the "Russian web of disinformation," and the site has published fake authors attributed to the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency. MintPress News defended Russia's invasion of Crimea, claiming Ukraine's post-revolution government was "illegitimate".
The site ran numerous stories sympathetic to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The false information published by MintPress News attracts communities, including some Twitter users, that support Assad and the Russian government.
Coverage of the Ghouta chemical attacks
On August 29, 2013, an unverified MintPress article attributed to Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh said that Syrian rebels and local residents in Ghouta, Syria alleged that rebels were responsible for the chemical weapons attack on August 21.
The story alleged that Saudi Arabia had supplied the rebels with chemical weapons, which the rebels then accidentally set off; Foreign Policy magazine described it as one of the most "crazy" conspiracy theories about chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Human Rights Watch found no evidence for the claims.
On September 20, the Brown Moses Blog published a statement from Gavlak saying that "despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece." Gavlak also said the report had not been verified.
Gavlak also told the New York Times that "There was no fact finding or reporting by me for the piece. I did not travel to Syria, so I cannot corroborate account" and that Muhawesh refused to remove her name from the byline because "this is an existential issue for MintPress and an issue of credibility as this will appear as though we are lying."
MintPress added an editor's note at the top of the article stating Ababneh was the sole reporter on the ground in Syria, while Gavlak assisted in researching and writing the article. It said that Gavlak was a MintPress News correspondent who had freelanced for the Associated Press (AP) in Jordan for a decade. A note at the bottom of the story says: "Some information in this article could not be independently verified. Mint Press News will continue to provide further information and updates." The Russian Foreign Ministry cited the article in future statements. On September 21, 2013, MintPress published a statement by Muhawesh saying soon after the article was published, Gavlak retracted her involvement due to pressure from third parties, which Gavlak believed was prompted by Prince Bandar. The statement also claimed that Abadneh was being threatened by Saudi officials.
Following the publication of the article, Gavlak stated she has been suspended from the AP. The story continues to be cited by conspiracy websites and supporters of the Assad regime.
When asked about the MintPress News story, Åke Sellström, the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Syria remarked, "They are famous for 1001 Arabian Nights stories!"
Pro-Assad coverage
In October 2015, the Minnesota Star Tribune published a citizen op-ed by Terry Burke, an activist for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of Syria, in which she accused MintPress News and other "alternative 'news' organizations" of "never publish the international human rights organizations' reports about the regime's crimes. Instead, they post interviews with Assad, polls that claim most Syrians support him, articles on rebel or ISIL abuses, and stories that blame the U.S. for Syria's uprising."
BuzzFeed News in 2013 described the site as having "an agenda that lines up, from its sympathy with the Syrian regime to its hostility to Sunni Saudi Arabia, with that of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
According to Bellingcat, MintPress News has received the Serena Shim Award (organized by the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees), a financial award of an unknown amount, along with other websites which "routinely promote pro-Assad conspiracy theories".
Arbaeen pilgrimage claim
In November 2016, a MintPress News article entitled "Media Blackout As Millions Of Muslims March Against ISIS In Iraq" became a top trending story on Facebook, which prompted criticism that the article was misleading. BuzzFeed News countered, "This week has seen millions of Shiite Muslims participate in Arbaeen, one of the world's largest pilgrimages, in Iraq. But they are not specifically marching against ISIL, nor has there been a 'media blackout.'"
BuzzFeed News said the article had been sourced from American Herald Tribune, a website edited by Anthony Hall, a 9/11 and Sandy Hook shooting conspiracy theorist suspended from his job as a professor at the University of Lethbridge on charges of antisemitism.
Snopes described the claims in the MintPress article as inaccurate: "The pilgrimage was not a massive protest against ISIS, nor did a "media blackout" prevent news agencies from covering the event." MintPress stood by its story.
Guarani Aquifer
In 2018, MintPress News falsely claimed that Coca-Cola and Nestlé were privatising the Guarani Aquifer, a major South American water reserve. The site additionally made the false claim that the alleged deal was being negotiated by Brazilian president Michel Temer and has reached an "advanced" stage.
The site offered no evidence to support their claims and only provided vague statements. Experts, like law professor Gabriel Eckstein, noted that it would be physically impossible for a private company to control the aquifer due to its large size. Coca-Cola and Nestlé also refuted the allegations.
White Helmets
A study led by Kate Starbird at the University of Washington found that MintPress News was part of a core cluster of websites amplifying disinformation about the White Helmets, a volunteer organization formed during Syrian Civil War. The White Helmets has been the target of disinformation campaigns perpetrated by pro-Assad and pro-Russian groups. Such disinformation increased dramatically following the Douma chemical attack. Many of Vanessa Beeley's conspiracy theories about the White Helmets appeared on MintPress News.
Nicaragua
In 2018, during the 2018–2022 Nicaraguan protests, MintPress News published a "lengthy, insinuation-infused attack" on the photojournalist Carl David Goette-Luciak, a freelance reporter for NPR and The Guardian, implying he was anti-regime.
According to journalist Joshua Collins, MintPress accompanied the story, entitled "How an American Anthropologist Tied to US Regime-Change Proxies Became the MSM's Man in Nicaragua", with a photo of Luciak beside an armed soldier labelled as an opposition figure, when it was in fact a government-supporting Sandinista.
The false story nevertheless went viral, Luciak went into hiding, was eventually captured by state forces, threatened with torture and deported from the country.
Frequent contributors and partners
Eva Bartlett, Vanessa Beeley, Max Blumenthal, Miko Peled, Kevin Zeese, and the cartoonist Carlos Latuff are listed as regular contributors to the website.
In 2023, Randi Lucile Nord, a MintPress News staff writer, admitted to spray-painting a swastika and the word "Azov" (in reference to the Azov Brigade) on a synagogue in Royal Oak, Michigan, in order to undermine United States support to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
MintPress News frequently partners with the outlets Project Censored, Free Speech TV, Media Roots Radio, ShadowProof, The Grayzone, Truthout, CommonDreams, and Antiwar.com.
In September 2013, Antiwar.com apologized for linking to and reprinting a MintPress News story that Syrian rebels were responsible for the Ghouta sarin attacks of 2013.
See also
References
- Multiple sources:
- Beers, Andrew; Wilson, Tom; Starbird, Kate (September 20, 2022). "Demographics of an International Influence Operation Affecting Facebook Users in the United States". Journal of Online Trust and Safety. 1 (4). Stanford Internet Observatory: 7. doi:10.54501/jots.v1i4.55. ISSN 2770-3142. S2CID 252445623. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
- El Amine, Rayan (November 4, 2022). "Syria rolls out the red carpet for influencers and friendly foreigners, while local reporters face death and prison". Coda Story. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- Adler, Ben (March 15, 2022). "Ukrainian mayor, heralded by many, is ultranationalist". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- Sommer, Allison Kaplan (February 29, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Consults With Foreign Policy Expert Who Called Israel 'Predatory' and 'Detrimental' to U.S." Haaretz. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- Mirza, Wasi Anjum (May 3, 2022). "Long-defunct New York Herald did not publish critical cartoon about Pakistan judiciary". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- Sandlin, Evan (October 30, 2016). "Dereliction of Duty? The Left and the Syrian Civil War". Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ Binkovitz, Leah (March 28, 2012). "Mint Press News". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Fiorella, Giancarlo; Godart, Charlotte; Waters, Nick (July 14, 2021). "Digital Integrity: Exploring Digital Evidence Vulnerabilities and Mitigation Strategies for Open Source Researchers". Journal of International Criminal Justice. 19 (1). Oxford University Press: 147–161. doi:10.1093/jicj/mqab022. ISSN 1478-1387. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
These grassroots communities are particularly evident on Twitter, where they coalesce around individual personalities like right-wing activist Andy Ngo, and around platforms with uncritical pro-Kremlin and pro-Assad editorial lines, like The Grayzone and MintPress News. These personalities and associated outlets act as both producers of counterfactual theories, as well as hubs around which individuals with similar beliefs rally. The damage that these ecosystems and the theories that they spawn can inflict on digital evidence is not based on the quality of the dis/misinformation that they produce but rather on the quantity.
- ^ Rudolph, Josh; Morley, Thomas (2020). "Media Outlets with Foreign Funding". German Marshall Fund of the United States: 40–48. JSTOR resrep26670.10. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Andriukaitis, Lukas; Beals, Emma; Brookie, Graham; Higgins, Eliot; Itani, Faysal; Nimmo, Ben; Sheldon, Michael; Tsurkov, Elizabeth; Waters, Nick (September 2018). "Disinformation". Breaking Ghouta. The Atlantic Council. pp. 56–74. ISBN 978-1-61977-565-7. JSTOR resrep30699.12. OCLC 1088564125. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via JSTOR.
- Schafer, Bret (2019). Sultănescu, Dan (ed.). Tracking Russia's Digital Deception - Analysis of the Kremlin's Information Operations on Social Media. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series E: Human and Societal Dynamics. Vol. 142. IOS Press. pp. 84–96. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-943-0-84. ISBN 978-1-61499-943-0. OCLC 1104855741. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
{{cite book}}
:|journal=
ignored (help) - Horawalavithana, Sameera; Ng, Kin Wai; Iamnitchi, Adriana (2020). "Twitter is the Megaphone of Cross-platform Messaging on the White Helmets". In Thomson, Robert; Bisgin, Halil; Dancy, Christopher; Hyder, Ayaz; Hussain, Muhammad (eds.). Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Modeling. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 12268. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 238–239. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-61255-9_23. ISBN 978-3-030-61255-9. S2CID 222349352. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- York, Chris (May 24, 2022). "The Pro-Russian Attempt to Link the Buffalo Shooting to Ukraine". New Lines Magazine. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- Wedeen, Lisa (2019). Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria. University of Chicago Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780226650579. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- Horne, Benjamin D.; Nørregaard, Jeppe; Adalı, Sibel (April 2, 2019). Different Spirals of Sameness: A Study of Content Sharing in Mainstream and Alternative Media. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media. AAAI. p. 261. OCLC 1106337185. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ Whitaker, Brian (November 4, 2021). "The 'Echo Chamber' of Syrian Chemical Weapons Conspiracy Theorists". New Lines Magazine. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Brauer, David (January 18, 2012). "Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?". MinnPost. Minneapolis, MN. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- McKeone Peterson, Liz (November 2012). "Maple Grove Young Entrepreneurs". Maple Grove Magazine. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ Gray, Rosie; Testa, Jessica (October 1, 2013). "The Inside Story of One Website's Defense of Assad". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- Muhawesh, Mnar (November 8, 2015). "Counterpoint: Don't bash watchdogs in Syria's 'information war'". StarTribune. Minnesota. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Lambert, Brian (November 11, 2015). "The mystery of MintPress News". MinnPost. Minneapolis, MN. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- Richardson, Seth A. (April 18, 2018). "Amended ethics filing shows Dennis Kucinich was paid $20k by pro-Syrian government group". cleveland. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- "The Latest: Peace activist behind Kucinich fee met Hamas". AP NEWS. April 25, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- Democrat Dennis Kucinich returns $20K he received to speak in 2017 to pro-Syrian group, Cincinnati.com
- Pro-Peace or Pro-Assad? Dennis Kucinich, Richard Cordray and Attempts to Frame a "Bombshell" $20,000 Speech, Cleveland Scene
- Scheer, Robert (May 5, 2022). "No such thing as dissent in the age of big tech | Scheer Intelligence". KCRW. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- Guarino, Stefano; Pierri, Francesco; Di Giovanni, Marco; Celestini, Alessandro (March 1, 2021). "Information disorders during the COVID-19 infodemic: The case of Italian Facebook". Online Social Networks and Media. 22. Elsevier: 100124. doi:10.1016/j.osnem.2021.100124. ISSN 2468-6964. PMC 8479410. PMID 34604611.
- Sunshine, Spencer (2019). "Looking Left at Antisemitism" (PDF). Journal of Social Justice. 9. Transformative Studies Institute: 21. ISSN 2164-7100. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- Cuffe, Danil; Simon, Chloe (November 4, 2021). "Fringe right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread antisemitic disinformation about the Pandora Papers". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- Chabria, Anita; Halper, Evan (March 30, 2021). "Effort to stem online extremism accidentally pushed people toward an anarchist". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
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{{cite web}}
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