MEBRO · DISINFO DESK
Investigations
Long-form dossiers on the hoaxes, deepfakes, and death rumors that go viral — each one stamped with a verdict and printed with every source on the record.
Media & Platforms
YouTube Radicalization Pipeline: Algorithmic Rabbit Holes Examined
A review of the evidence on YouTube's recommendation algorithm and radicalization finds a mixed, contested picture rather than a clear-cut pipeline.
FILED OCT 19, 2026 · UPDATED OCT 19, 2026 · 15 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Wire Service Amplification: One Story, Hundreds of Outlets
How wire-service syndication, the illusory truth effect, and platform trust gaps combine to let a single story — accurate or not — reach large audiences almost simultaneously.
FILED OCT 18, 2026 · UPDATED OCT 18, 2026 · 9 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Viral News Under the Microscope: Four Stories Exposed
Forensic analysis of four viral narratives from February 2026 — separating verified events from narrative hijacking, fabrication, and zombie disinformation across the information ecosystem.
FILED OCT 16, 2026 · UPDATED OCT 16, 2026 · 17 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
No, The New York Times Didn't 'Doctor' Trump's Golf Club Photo
Trump accused the Times of blackening his Doral resort's facade to make it look bad ahead of the G20. Archival photos shot by other photographers in other years show the same weathering — and Trump's own 'proof' image isn't even the same view of the building.
FILED OCT 16, 2026 · UPDATED OCT 16, 2026 · 3 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
The King Charles 'Divorce Dossier' Is an AI Content Farm's Invention
A YouTube channel racking up tens of thousands of views claims Prince Louis found a secret dossier that ended a royal marriage. The story is AI-generated fiction — Charles and Camilla appeared together in public the same month.
FILED SEP 30, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 30, 2026 · 3 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
That 'Rude Reaction' Charli XCX Gave Taylor Swift at the VMAs Never Happened
A parody account spliced Charli XCX's deadpan face from Nirvana's VMA honor into Taylor Swift's speech. Millions of views and a fresh round of feud speculation later, X's own community note says it plainly: the video is edited.
FILED SEP 29, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 29, 2026 · 4 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Primetime Special Legitimization: When Networks Give Platforms to Misinformation
Analysis of how primetime network specials can legitimize fringe narratives: there is no legal 'equal time' requirement outside political candidates, so airing a controversial figure in primetime is an editorial choice, not an obligation — one made in an industry that admits it is struggling to counter misinformation.
FILED SEP 26, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 26, 2026 · 7 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Pink Slime News: 1,265 Fake Local Sites Targeting the 2026 Midterms
Investigation into 1,265 pink slime news sites that now outnumber America's 1,213 daily newspapers, funded by PACs and political operatives ahead of the 2026 midterms.
FILED SEP 25, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 25, 2026 · 31 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Partisan Influencer Networks: The Amplification Machine
Analysis of how social media influencers amplify disinformation through parasocial relationships, financial incentives, and coordinated campaigns.
FILED SEP 24, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 24, 2026 · 14 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
The Online Trust Collapse: How AI Is Breaking the News Cycle
Investigation into the collapse of online trust as AI-generated content floods the web, newsrooms shrink, and detection tools fail — threatening the foundation of informed democracy.
FILED SEP 23, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 23, 2026 · 36 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Jay-Z Fired by Apple Music? How Satire Becomes Misinformation
Forensic analysis of a viral satire-to-misinformation case: America's Last Line of Defense fabricated a claim that Apple Music fired Jay-Z after Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance. How screenshots strip disclaimers and political polarization make satire indistinguishable from fake news.
FILED SEP 8, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 8, 2026 · 28 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
The Iran War Fake Video Flood: How Games, AI, and Old Footage Rewrote a Real Conflict
Forensic analysis of the fake video flood during the 2026 Iran conflict: War Thunder clips, Arma 3 footage, recycled explosions, and AI-generated propaganda reaching 100M+ views
FILED SEP 8, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 8, 2026 · 33 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Propaganda Wars: How a Viral TikTok Exposed the US-Iran Information Battlefield
A TikTok account spliced together White House 'slopaganda' and Iran's IRGC-linked Lego animation — both produced during an active war. We traced both videos to their sources, verified military claims, and mapped the propaganda techniques. Verdict: DUAL PROPAGANDA — confirmed.
FILED SEP 8, 2026 · UPDATED SEP 8, 2026 · 31 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Edward Bernays: The Father of Spin Who Invented Modern Propaganda
Born in Vienna in 1891, Edward Bernays was the double nephew of Sigmund Freud — his mother was Freud's sister, and his father's sister married Freud. He turned psychoanalytic theory into the modern techniques of public relations, from wartime propaganda to a Guatemalan coup.
FILED AUG 27, 2026 · UPDATED AUG 27, 2026 · 7 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
The Architecture of Deception: Global Disinformation Landscape 2024-2025
Forensic analysis of the industrial-grade disinformation complex: platform architecture, economic engines, foreign influence operations.
FILED AUG 25, 2026 · UPDATED AUG 25, 2026 · 17 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
Cable News Narrative Laundering: How Fringe Becomes Mainstream
Peer-reviewed and investigative research shows cable news functions as a pipeline that carries fringe claims into the mainstream — through outlet-to-outlet legitimization, primetime polarization, and quote-softening.
FILED AUG 20, 2026 · UPDATED AUG 20, 2026 · 14 SOURCES
Media & Platforms
The Architecture of Perception: A History of American Media Disinformation
Comprehensive analysis of American disinformation from Yellow Journalism to AI deepfakes, tracing the evolution of influence operations, regulatory frameworks, and the battle for reality.
FILED AUG 16, 2026 · UPDATED AUG 16, 2026 · 54 SOURCES
Investigative reports — not user-submitted fact-checks.