Capitol riot misinformation persists: False claims continue to circulate on Facebook

Months aft supporters of now-former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, debunked conspiracy theories astir who was down the insurrection proceed to circulate connected Facebook.

That's according to caller probe from Avaaz, shared exclusively with U.S. TODAY. The online activistic web recovered that, successful 2021, the 2 ascendant misinformation narratives astir the onslaught connected Facebook and Instagram were mendacious claims that anti-fascist activists "infiltrated the assemblage and incited the insurrection" and that the FBI played a relation successful the violence.

Between January and October, researchers recovered 116 posts and 31 articles connected Facebook and Instagram that contained the debunked claims. Together, they generated astir 1 cardinal likes, shares and comments, according to the Avaaz analysis.

The Avaaz findings travel amid a bipartisan probe into the Jan. 6 insurrection, arsenic good arsenic legislature grounds connected the relation that Facebook played successful the attack.

Over the past fewer weeks, the House prime committee investigating the Capitol riot has issued subpoenas to far-right groups, erstwhile Trump advisers and organizers of the "Stop the Steal" movement. The committee has besides demanded records related to the insurrection from technology companies similar Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook.

"At this point, Facebook is moving with america to supply the indispensable accusation we requested," Rep. Bennie G. Johnson, the Democratic seat of the committee, told "Face the Nation" successful precocious October.

In a March legislature hearing, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg downplayed the company's relation successful the Jan. 6 insurrection, alternatively blaming Trump, the rioters and a "political and media situation that drives Americans apart."

But much recently, Frances Haugen, a erstwhile Facebook merchandise manager turned whistleblower, accused the institution of making interior decisions that contributed to the dispersed of misinformation aft the 2020 election, culminating successful the Capitol riot.

"Just arsenic the Jan. 6 onslaught was organized close nether Facebook's nose, truthful excessively is the insurrection 'truther' question that aims to undermine the captious probe into the violence," Rebecca Lenn, a elder advisor astatine Avaaz, said successful a statement.

Meta spokesperson Kevin McAlister pointed to steps the level takes to combat misinformation, including successful the weeks starring up to Inauguration Day.

"The work for the insurrection lies with those who broke the instrumentality during the onslaught and those who incited them," McAlister said successful an emailed statement. "Our attack for addressing mendacious claims astir the predetermination includes fact-checking, labeling, removing and demoting content."

U.S. TODAY and different media outlets person debunked claims that the FBI oregon antifa activists were down the Jan. 6 insurrection. But they stay fashionable online, according to Avaaz.

"For us, Jan. 6 was nary coincidence—it was different achy reminder that what happens online doesn't enactment online," Lenn said successful a telephone interview. "Not lone did extremists usage Facebook and different platforms to get people, to rally them successful beforehand of the Capitol building, these folks were radicalized by years of unchecked misinformation astir rampant elector fraud and election-rigging online."

Dozens of fact-checking organizations and media outlets—including U.S. TODAY—work with Meta Platforms to combat misinformation connected its platforms. If a work debunks a Facebook oregon Instagram post, the institution reduces the scope of the station and appends a statement saying it contains mendacious oregon misleading information.

Avaaz surfaced Jan. 6 misinformation by analyzing debunks from immoderate of those autarkic fact-checking organizations, Kaitlin Hansen, who researches online disinformation campaigns for Avaaz, told U.S. TODAY. Then, the radical recovered matching posts connected Facebook and Instagram by searching for keywords connected CrowdTangle, a societal media insights instrumentality owned by Meta Platforms.

According to Avaaz's research, lone 21% of the posts it recovered promoting the FBI and antifa conspiracy theories had fact-checking labels applied—despite the information that Meta Platforms' partners had debunked the claims. Facebook and Instagram retroactively removed 9 of the posts Avaaz highlighted, Lenn said.

Of the posts researchers analyzed, 85% promoted a June assertion from Fox News Channel big Tucker Carlson that "unindicted co-conspirators" mentioned successful national charging documents amounted to impervious that undercover FBI agents oregon informants were progressive successful the insurrection.

U.S. TODAY rated a akin assertion false, citing ineligible experts who said undercover authorities operatives cannot beryllium named successful authorities filings arsenic unindicted co-conspirators.

"We saw that the antifa claims benignant of fizzled retired successful the summer, successful June, but the FBI assertion is inactive going beardown again with Tucker Carlson's 'Patriot Purge' documentary," Hansen said.

The three-part documentary, which aired successful aboriginal November connected Fox Nation, the network's subscription streaming service, suggests the Capitol onslaught was a false-flag cognition aimed astatine purging Trump supporters successful a "new warfare connected terror." Two Fox contributors discontinue implicit the documentary, which besides sparked bipartisan backlash successful Washington.

In a connection emailed to U.S. TODAY, Fox pushed backmost connected Avaaz's research.

"It's nary astonishment that a left-wing activistic radical co-founded by Moveon.org that has been highly criticized from crossed the governmental spectrum, including for making mendacious claims and for deficiency of transparency, is down this study," spokesperson Irena Briganti said successful the statement.

While the posts Avaaz recovered successful its probe amassed astir 1 cardinal interactions connected Facebook, Carlson's amusement attracts millions of viewers each night. Even so, some Facebook and Avaaz accidental Congress should walk broad tech regulation, successful portion to amended code the occupation of misinformation connected societal media.

"Ultimately, nary backstage institution should beryllium deciding wherever to gully these lines unsocial successful a escaped society, which is wherefore we've been asking for updated net regulations acceptable by democratically-elected leaders for years and volition proceed doing so," Meta Platforms' McAlister said.

U.S. TODAY shared Avaaz's findings with the House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. The committee did not instrumentality a petition for comment.

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