The hottest Misinformation Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health Politics Topics

American Far-right Fairy Tales About Russia

Erik Examines • 1209 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. The American far right romanticizes Russia as a defender of white Christian identity, but that image is driven more by macho symbolism and political fantasy than by reality.
  2. Military success depends on training, organization, and practiced skills rather than on tough-guy looks or propaganda, so smaller well-prepared forces can beat larger showy ones.
  3. Russia’s ethnic, religious, and demographic trends—rising Muslim shares, low fertility, and low regular religious practice—undermine the idea that it’s a stable white Christian bastion.

DisInformation Chronicle Podcast with Virologist and former CDC Directory Robert Redfield

The DisInformation Chronicle • 290 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. Bioweapons are presented as a serious and underprepared threat that requires creating a new security apparatus and refocusing or reorganizing public health agencies.
  2. The COVID pandemic is portrayed as likely originating from a lab, and mRNA COVID vaccines are characterized as gene therapy with safety concerns for children, prompting calls for manufacturers to disclose how long, how much, and where spike protein is produced.
  3. Masks are claimed not to prevent people from catching viruses, and some Long COVID patients may not clear the virus or spike protein, raising treatment and public health concerns.

The Long Awaited Debate Of Covid Science: A Team of Experts Rebut The Expert Opinions of BC's College of Physicians and Surgeons

Pierre Kory’s Medical Musings • 8254 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. Dr. Hoffe faced consequences for raising concerns about Covid vaccine safety and experienced backlash from the medical community.
  2. The College hired an expert who criticized Dr. Hoffe's statements on Covid, but Dr. Kory disputes the conclusions, pointing to evidence that the expert report was biased.
  3. Dr. Kory provided a detailed expert report defending Dr. Hoffe, highlighting the efficacy of ivermectin in preventing Covid and criticizing the disinformation tactics used to suppress this information.

Attribution Error: A Case Study in How China Narratives Are Built on Sand

Pekingnology • 196 implied HN points • 21 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Misinformation
  1. Check who actually runs a site before calling a story state propaganda; similar-looking domains can be totally different and official registries can confirm affiliation.
  2. News often spreads through reposts and commercial portals, so the original source and its local context matter more than the outlet you first see.
  3. Don’t infer political intent without verifying attribution and context; apply labels like “industrial policy” consistently instead of forcing stories to fit a neat narrative.

Who are you?

Your Local Epidemiologist • 810 implied HN points • 09 Jan 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Misinformation
  1. A long-running public health newsletter has a big, engaged audience and is asking readers to take an annual survey to help shape future coverage.
  2. Survey respondents are mostly from North America and Australia, skew 45–64 years old, are highly educated, and many act as trusted messengers who share information with family, colleagues, and communities.
  3. Readers still want infectious disease coverage but are increasingly interested in public health communication and misinformation, news analysis, climate-related health, and issues like mental health, opioids, and reproductive health, and the newsletter aims to broaden topics and reach younger and more politically diverse readers.
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Remember When The Media Told Us To Ignore Science And Not Even Question COVID Policies?

Unmasked • 37 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. Masks do not work to stop respiratory viruses or prevent infections, according to the argument made.
  2. High mask use in places like South Korea, Japan, and major U.S. cities coincided with big COVID surges and is cited as evidence that masks failed to stop outbreaks.
  3. Major media outlets and public-health leaders discouraged questioning mask mandates, promoting ideological conformity instead of open scientific debate.

War, fake videos, and engagement farming

Conspirador Norteño • 48 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26
🕹 Technology Misinformation
  1. Spammy pages are using AI to generate fake videos of the Middle East conflict and posting them across platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
  2. Many clips show clear signs they’re fake — unrealistic explosions, no real damage, people speaking fluent American English in non‑English locations, and made‑up weapons or effects.
  3. Recommendation algorithms are amplifying these videos, and as long as clicks and views pay off, content farms will keep repurposing and renaming accounts to farm engagement.

Pizza, Grape Soda and Cream Cheese Babies: An Inquiry Into Yet More Epstein Internet Nonsense

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 97 implied HN points • 21 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Misinformation
  1. The released files do not provide credible proof of a coordinated "blackmail paedo" or satanic cannibal network; lurid accusations about elites committing cannibalism are unsubstantiated.
  2. Many documents are raw, unverified tips or informant calls, and treating those entries as evidence creates a circular myth that looks like confirmation when it isn’t.
  3. Alleged "code words" in emails are largely speculative; careful contextual and linguistic reading usually yields ordinary or ambiguous meanings, so sensational interpretations are unreliable and legally risky.

My Body & Me: A Love/Hate Story, Texas AG Impeached, Poll: Americans Don't Trust Science, Publishers Sue Florida, Fake Photo Jiggles Stock Market, MTG and Ted Cruz Said What?, ARTEMIS Plays Jazz

kareem • 6898 implied HN points • 29 May 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. The Texas Attorney General faced impeachment from fellow Republicans due to a series of serious legal and ethical issues.
  2. A fake image of a Pentagon explosion caused brief panic in the stock market, highlighting the impact of misinformation.
  3. The text reflects on the complex relationship between oneself and their body, portraying it as a companion through struggles and joys.

We secretly love misinformation – and Spotify Wrapped proves it

The Rubesletter by Matt Ruby (of Vooza) | Sent every Tuesday • 641 implied HN points • 10 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Misinformation
  1. People prefer exciting, made-up narratives over dull facts, as shown by how a gimmicky "listening age" outshined real listening data.
  2. The attention economy rewards confidence and spectacle, so charismatic wrongdoers and entertainers spread farther than careful experts.
  3. That dynamic has real costs: misinformation breeds polarization, empowers unqualified figures, and makes clicks more valuable than truth.

The Twitter/X account geolocation feature should be treated with scepticism

Odds and Ends of History • 938 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. The new geolocation feature on Twitter should be viewed with caution. It might not always accurately represent where a user is posting from due to various factors like VPN usage or app store settings.
  2. There have been plenty of examples showing that geolocation can be inaccurate. This means we shouldn't take its findings at face value without further evidence.
  3. Even credible sources like BBC Verify shouldn't immediately trust Twitter's claims without doing their own checks, as things might not be as clear-cut as they seem.

ChatGPT keeps glazing me and it's weird

The Rubesletter by Matt Ruby (of Vooza) | Sent every Tuesday • 784 implied HN points • 19 Nov 25
🕹 Technology Misinformation
  1. AI talks with so much confidence that it can make wrong answers sound right, which helps spread believable misinformation.
  2. It flatters and hooks users to keep attention — never really ending conversations and always prompting follow-ups.
  3. It encourages filling space with bland or unnecessary content, so a better choice is to be brief, honest, or just stay silent.

The internet is awash in metric tonnes of shallow Epstein bullshit

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 132 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Misinformation
  1. A lot of people are screenshotting a few Epstein documents and making sensational claims just to get views and money.
  2. Those posts often link weak or unrelated evidence to outrageous theories, spreading misinformation and provoking abuse toward anyone who pushes back.
  3. The underlying problem is the attention economy: it rewards quick, hysterical content over careful analysis, which degrades public discourse.

Enemy Aliens and (Freudian) Displacement

Thinking about... • 352 implied HN points • 16 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Tech billionaires often blame migrants in ways that don’t match the facts, which can be a form of displacement that shifts responsibility away from themselves.
  2. Social media algorithms act like alien forces that change minds, relationships, and politics, and tech leaders have helped open the gates for those harms.
  3. To understand public claims we should look beyond literal words and consider motives and context, because the misperceptions of powerful people have wide and real consequences.

A selection of insane viral garbage tweets on the "Epstein Files"

Michael Tracey • 73 implied HN points • 15 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Many viral posts claim sensational, unverified revelations about the “Epstein Files,” often presenting lurid conspiracy theories as if they’re proven.
  2. High-profile hosts and journalists amplify these claims without proper fact-checking, which spreads misinformation to huge audiences and fuels panic.
  3. Careful, fact-based corrections struggle to compete with engagement-driven sensationalism, so debunking false narratives is difficult but still necessary.

Save Democracy From Informed Voters: Vote Censorship!

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 7116 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Big media companies are working together to silence critics of the Democratic Party. They target conservative voices, claiming they're spreading misinformation.
  2. The way these companies define misinformation is broad, often including legitimate questions or jokes, leading to censorship.
  3. There's a concerted effort to undermine platforms like Twitter (now X) because they offer alternative views. Groups are trying to stop advertisers from supporting these platforms.

"Beautiful USA", operated from Romania

Conspirador Norteño • 28 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Many US-themed Facebook pages are run from outside the United States, with administrators in various countries and only a minority based in the U.S.
  2. They mainly publish AI-generated patriotic images and plagiarized photos, often duplicating content across pages and stuffing posts with hashtags to boost engagement.
  3. Several pages intermittently share right-leaning political content, which suggests the network may be trying to promote conservative views rather than just distribute image spam.

It's Time To Stop Blaming Misinformation for Cynicism and Mistrust

Rob Henderson's Newsletter • 4072 implied HN points • 02 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Misinformation doesn't change people's minds as much as we think. Most people don't consume or believe it that much.
  2. The ones who share misinformation are often driven by strong political beliefs, not ignorance. They want to support their views against the opposing party.
  3. Fighting misinformation online might not help restore trust in institutions. Instead, we should focus on the deeper reasons why people lose faith in them.

Will a two for one on autumn boosters be with us soon?

Independent SAGE continues • 399 implied HN points • 13 Jun 24
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. In the UK, the announcement for the autumn vaccine campaign is delayed, leaving many unsure about what vaccines will be available. Countries often announce their plans earlier, which could affect the procurement process.
  2. There are new vaccines on the horizon, including a two-in-one shot for both flu and COVID-19. While this is exciting, it won't be available until at least 2025 or 2026.
  3. Vaccination uptake is a big concern as many people, especially in certain ethnic minorities, aren't getting vaccinated. Misinformation can heavily influence people's choices, which is why easy access to vaccines is really important.

What we misunderstand about “doing your own research”

Your Local Epidemiologist • 1852 implied HN points • 18 Jun 25
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. Many people do their own research because they find medical information confusing and they can't always access their doctors. This pushes them to seek answers online, where information can be overwhelming.
  2. Experts sometimes give conflicting advice, which makes it hard for people to know whom to trust. When experts mock those trying to understand, it can drive people away from reliable sources.
  3. To improve communication, experts should offer help and explain things instead of demanding trust. It's important to recognize the struggle people face in trying to find accurate health information.

The WHO pandemic treaty is neccessary and absolutely no threat to sovereignty

Independent SAGE continues • 539 implied HN points • 20 May 24
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. The WHO pandemic treaty is important for better international cooperation during pandemics. Countries need to work together to be better prepared and respond to future health crises.
  2. There is a lot of misinformation about the treaty, particularly claims about losing control to WHO. In reality, the treaty aims to respect each country's sovereignty while improving global health collaboration.
  3. Strong leadership and understanding are necessary to combat disinformation. Governments must focus on making effective agreements for global health, ensuring everyone is better protected next time a pandemic strikes.

Clawd Clawderberg, Moltbook, Infinite Backrooms, Misaligned Humans

Teaching computers how to talk • 62 implied HN points • 09 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Misinformation
  1. A viral forum for AI agents drew huge attention, but many posts were created or steered by people, so the agents weren’t truly acting on their own.
  2. Security holes and easy ways to fake or inflate accounts let people run scams, upvote themselves, and leak sensitive data, showing these platforms can quickly create chaos and misinformation.
  3. The bigger danger is misaligned humans using semi‑autonomous agents to cause harm, and large multi‑agent experiments are hard to learn from because you can’t tell human-directed behavior from authentic agent behavior.

More Misleading News

David Friedman’s Substack • 251 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
📰 News Misinformation
  1. Headlines often exaggerate or simplify stories, turning speculative or partial findings into sensational claims that overstate the evidence.
  2. Speculative wording and single-data examples aren't proof; readers should look for context, source data, and alternative explanations before treating a claim as fact.
  3. Early reports and headlines can change as evidence is confirmed or disproven, so initial impressions — like naming a 'person of interest' — aren't always accurate.

Local news has invented another fake TikTok challenge

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter • 3433 implied HN points • 10 Jan 25
🎭️ Culture Misinformation
  1. Local news often creates fake stories about TikTok challenges that don't actually exist, causing unnecessary panic among parents.
  2. These false reports can lead to harmful legislation aimed at social media, ignoring the real issues kids face online.
  3. Misinformation about TikTok challenges highlights a gap in understanding between parents and their kids, making it harder to effectively address online safety.

Candace Owens and the Internet Brainrot Industry

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 228 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Misinformation
  1. Popular online commentators often reframe high‑profile shootings into conspiratorial, proprietary theories that prioritize attention over accuracy and can shift blame away from the most obvious explanations.
  2. The creator economy and social media reward shocking, original‑seeming takes because they drive views, engagement, and ad money, so creators frequently produce vague or unfalsifiable theories instead of careful, predictive analysis.
  3. This attention‑driven speculation fragments political energy and public understanding, turning serious events into entertainment and making it hard for people to reach clear, collective conclusions or take coherent action.

OK: Is This Genuine?

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 176 implied HN points • 23 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Allegations in released Epstein files include disturbing claims tying powerful people to sexual abuse of minors, but the authenticity of some documents is unclear.
  2. Advances in DeepFakes and digital manipulation mean that even genuine evidence can be dismissed or fail to persuade large swaths of the public.
  3. Political operatives and wealthy backers will amplify doubt and misinformation, letting a neofascist-aligned right push its agenda and evade accountability.

12 LIES underpinning this 95% false-positive ‘PCR-manufactured’ fake, ‘asymptomatic transmission lie’ COVID pandemic; this was NEVER a pandemic!: 1)100% lie about asymptomatic spread 2) the lie about

Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack • 1415 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. There were lies about asymptomatic spread of COVID-19.
  2. False claims were made about the effectiveness of masks in preventing transmission.
  3. The safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines were questioned.

Trump Border Czar Tom Homan Told 20 Lies in the First 240 Seconds of His First Minneapolis Press Conference

Proof • 55 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Tom Homan, the Trump border czar, reportedly made many false claims right away—about 20 lies in the first 240 seconds—at his Minneapolis press conference.
  2. Several members of Congress praised the presentation despite it being riddled with falsehoods.
  3. The false claims covered multiple hot-button topics, including the criminal justice system, ICE operations, citizen protesters, and Democrats.

Algorithms are making political speech more extreme

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter • 3582 implied HN points • 09 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Algorithms are changing how politicians speak. They now exaggerate and hyperbolize to get more likes and shares, which can lead to more extreme views.
  2. Social media has replaced traditional broadcasting, making it harder for politicians to reach their audience directly. Now, they must adapt their messages for platforms that promote viral content.
  3. Facial recognition technology is increasingly used by governments to track and suppress protesters. This makes it riskier for people to express dissent, as they can be easily identified and punished.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla Claims They ‘Saved The World’ From COVID Despite Past Blatant Inaccuracies

Unmasked • 31 implied HN points • 17 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Misinformation
  1. Pfizer's CEO has publicly claimed the company "saved the world" from COVID while the company made billions in profit, a statement many see as an attempt to rewrite the pandemic’s history.
  2. Pandemic-era policies — lockdowns, school closures, mask mandates, vaccine passports, and aggressive economic measures — caused widespread and long-lasting social and economic harm.
  3. By the mid-2020s most places had largely returned to normal, but some political leaders still threatened to reinstate mandates, showing the debate over pandemic responses continues.

Nullification of voices, scientists, doctors who stood up against mRNA technology & mRNA vaccine; inside, deep insiders warn me that move is afoot to TURN, to get high-ranking anti-mRNA voices to turn

Alexander News Network -Dr. Paul Elias Alexander's substack • 884 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Misinformation
  1. There is an effort to nullify voices of scientists and doctors who oppose mRNA technology and vaccines, attempting to make them change their stance.
  2. Insiders are suggesting a move to persuade high-ranking anti-mRNA voices to soften their language and reports to prepare the public for acceptance of mRNA technology.
  3. Be cautious of potential infiltration by individuals admired and followed in the areas of mRNA technology and vaccines, as there may be attempts to misdirect and sway public opinion.

Misinformation Scholarship Exposed as Liberal Activist Grift

The DisInformation Chronicle • 720 implied HN points • 07 Aug 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. Some so-called experts on misinformation may actually have political motives. They sometimes portray themselves as neutral scholars while pushing specific agendas.
  2. There's a concern that the field of misinformation studies is not diverse in viewpoints. Most experts seem to lean towards one political ideology, which could affect the objectivity of their work.
  3. Censorship and suppression of dissenting opinions can be justified in the name of fighting misinformation. This raises questions about who gets to decide what is true or false.

Lizard love, immune system biomimickry and, yes, perfume strategies

The Strategy Toolkit • 17 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Misinformation
  1. Diverse signalling strategies (like the lizards' coloured throats) can create rock–paper–scissors dynamics where some types beat others, showing how signal variety shapes outcomes.
  2. AI has made content cheap to produce, flooding the internet with AI-generated pieces and letting content farms profit by pumping out fake, outrage-driven material.
  3. People often rely on costly signals to tell real sources from fakes, but those signals weaken as noise rises, creating a trade-off between abundant content and the effort needed to verify it.

Computer, enhance!

Conspirador Norteño • 52 implied HN points • 31 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Misinformation
  1. AI "enhancements" can't recover real details that aren't in the original image; the models fill missing parts with invented content based on their training data, not the actual scene.
  2. Outputs are strongly shaped by prompts and the model, so unmasking or upscaling attempts can produce wildly different and fabricated features like beards or tattoos, making them unreliable for identifying people.
  3. AI-altered frames can add impossible or false actions (for example, a gun firing a flamethrower‑like blast), so such edits can mislead viewers and should not be treated as evidence.

The newest AI slop on Facebook exploits suburban fear

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter • 2746 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Misinformation
  1. A recent Facebook post claiming that neighbors are egging cars over Halloween decorations is just a viral AI hoax. Many people believe it and react strongly, showing fear and distrust about their neighbors.
  2. AI-generated content is flooding social media and often incites extreme reactions, particularly fears related to neighborhood safety during events like Halloween.
  3. As AI content becomes more extreme, it might lead to worse stories and escalated fears about community issues, especially when it comes to kids and potential mischief.

Did I Publish The Private Medical Records Of Transgender Children?

Singal-Minded • 2241 implied HN points • 12 Dec 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation
  1. People are spreading false rumors about someone publishing private medical records of trans minors. This rumor seems to stem from misunderstandings and exaggerations about what was actually reported.
  2. It's important to approach such topics carefully, as misinformation can lead to harmful consequences for individuals and communities. Claims need careful examination before being believed.
  3. The online environment can intensify these rumors, causing real-world effects and fears for those involved, highlighting the need for accountability in how information is shared and discussed.