Disinfo black ops: exposing the companies and states spreading false information
Disinformation has been compared to an “atomic bomb in our information ecosystem”, a problem so insidious that it allows hate, anger and conspiracy theories to spread faster than truth. In the words of the journalist and Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa, it renders democracy “a dream”.
From Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, to the January 6 2021 insurrection on the US Capitol, to deadly lies around Covid-19, disinformation is shaping major global events.
Disinfo black ops is a special investigation exposing the deliberate spread of false information around the world. It is part of Story killers, an international collaborative project involving journalists from 30 news outlets, including the Guardian, Observer, Haaretz, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Radio France, TheMarker, Paper Trail Media and the Washington Post.
The investigation shines a light on the usually hidden machinery behind industrial disinformation campaigns, run by state-sponsored entities or private mercenaries who spread fake information across the internet for profit. It also reveals how inconvenient truths can be erased from the internet by those who are rich enough to pay.
The Guardian and Observer have partnered with an international consortium of reporters to investigate global disinformation. Our project, Disinfo black ops, is exposing how false information is deliberately spread by powerful states and private operatives who sell their covert services to political campaigns, companies and wealthy individuals. It also reveals how inconvenient truths can be erased from the internet by those who are rich enough to pay.The investigation is part of Story killers, a collaboration led by Forbidden Stories, a French nonprofit whose mission is to pursue the work
Read more on theguardian.com
