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'''Disclose.tv''' is a [[ |
'''Disclose.tv''' is a [[Germany|German]] [[news aggregator]] website.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=W. F. |date=12 January 2022 |title=Disclose.tv: Conspiracy Forum Turned Disinformation Factory |url=https://www.logically.ai/articles/disclose.tv-conspiracy-forum-turned-disinformation-factory |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=[[Logically (company)|Logically]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Some sources have criticized Disclose.tv for publishing what they see as [[Far-right politics|far-right]] content,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Schumacher |first=Elizabeth |date=February 8, 2022 |title=Disclose.TV: English disinformation made in Germany |url=https://www.dw.com/en/disclosetv-english-disinformation-made-in-germany/a-60694332 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=en}}</ref> [[disinformation]]{{refn|Sources describing Disclose.tv's publication of disinformation: <ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Guarino |first1=Stefano |last2=Pierri |first2=Francesco |last3=Di Giovanni |first3=Marco |last4=Celestini |first4=Alessandro |date=2021-03-01 |title=Information disorders during the COVID-19 infodemic: The case of Italian Facebook |journal=Online Social Networks and Media |language=en |volume=22 |pages=100124 |doi=10.1016/j.osnem.2021.100124 |issn=2468-6964 |pmc=8479410 |pmid=34604611}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name="HealthFeedback">{{Cite web |date=2022-02-02 |title=Claims that a phase 3 clinical trial showed that ivermectin is effective against Omicron are inaccurate and based on a now-corrected Reuters article |url=https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/claims-that-a-phase-iii-clinical-trial-showed-that-ivermectin-is-effective-against-omicron-are-inaccurate-and-based-on-a-now-corrected-reuters-article/ |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=Health Feedback |language=en-US |quote=...the news agency's incorrect article and headline were shared a number of times on Twitter, including by podcaster Joe Rogan (who has since deleted his tweet), Germany-based disinformation outlet Disclose.tv...}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Manhire |first=Toby |date=2022-06-08 |title=Conspiracy theorists are losing their shit over a clip of Jacinda Ardern in New York |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/08-06-2022/conspiracy-theorists-are-losing-their-shit-over-a-clip-of-jacinda-ardern-in-new-york |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=[[The Spinoff]] |quote=A similar clip was posted by Disclose.tv, the Germany-based disinformation firehose...}}</ref>}} and [[conspiracy theories]]. {{refn|Sources describing Disclose.tv's publication of conspiracy theories: <ref name="ElectricCar">{{Cite web |last=Haas |first=Kyra |date=October 29, 2018 |title=Zimbabwean inventor did not create an electric car that never needs charging |url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/oct/29/blog-posting/zimbabwean-inventor-did-not-create-electric-car-ne/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=PolitiFact |language=en-US |quote=The initial blog post was published in April 2018 on the conspiracy-fueled website Disclose.tv.}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rothschild |first=Mike |date=2021-12-20 |title=Switzerland's viral 'suicide pod' reignites conspiratorial claims of 'med beds' |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/med-beds-swiss-suicide-pods-conspiracy/ |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=[[The Daily Dot]] |quote=And a post on the Telegram channel of conspiracy theory account Disclose TV...|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Palma |first=Bethania |date=5 January 2022 |title=No, 95% of Omicron Cases Are Not in Vaccinated People |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/95-percent-omicron-cases-vaccinated/ |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=[[Snopes]] |language=en-US |quote=The post above was published on Twitter on Dec. 30, 2021, by the conspiratorial network Disclose TV.}}</ref>}}{{refn|Sources describing Disclose.tv as a right-wing fake news website: <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Allcott |first1=Hunt |last2=Gentzkow |first2=Matthew |last3=Yu |first3=Chuan |date=2019-04-01 |title=Trends in the diffusion of misinformation on social media |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/2053168019848554/suppl_file/appendix.pdf |journal=Research & Politics |language=en |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages= |arxiv=1809.05901 |doi=10.1177/2053168019848554 |issn=2053-1680 |s2cid=52291737}}</ref><ref name="Snowden">{{Cite web |last=LaCapria |first=Kim |date=2016-08-10 |title=Snowden Pronounced Dead by His Girlfriend in Russia |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snowden-pronounced-dead/ |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=Snopes |language=en |quote=Disclose.tv and Get Off the BS are sites known for publishing outlandish fabrications and fake news in order to attract readers.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dicker |first=Rachel |date=November 14, 2016 |title=Avoid These Fake News Sites at All Costs |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2016-11-14/avoid-these-fake-news-sites-at-all-costs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006164204/https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2016-11-14/avoid-these-fake-news-sites-at-all-costs |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |access-date=November 8, 2022 |website=[[U.S. News and World Report]]}}</ref><ref name="PolitiFact">{{Cite web |date=April 20, 2017 |title=PolitiFact's guide to fake news websites and what they peddle |url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2017/apr/20/politifacts-guide-fake-news-websites-and-what-they/ |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=[[PolitiFact]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Caplan |first=David |date=2019-12-06 |title=Facebook refuses to take down anti-Semitic post |url=https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/articles/facebook-refuses-to-take-down-anti-semitic-post |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=[[Audacy]] |language=en |quote=Disclose.TV is a website notoriously known for publishing conspiracy theories and fake news, with a particular interest in publishing UFO-related stories.}}</ref><ref name=":0" />|name="fake news website"}} |
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The website was created in 2007 as a forum focused around conspiracy content such as [[UFOs]] and [[paranormal]] phenomena. In 2021, the website announced it would be operating exclusively as a news website.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> |
The website was created in 2007 as a forum focused around conspiracy content such as [[UFOs]] and [[paranormal]] phenomena. In 2021, the website announced it would be operating exclusively as a news website.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> |
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A study published in March 2021 in the ''Online Social Networks and Media'' journal identified Disclose.tv as a purveyor of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=":3" /> |
A study published in March 2021 in the ''Online Social Networks and Media'' journal identified Disclose.tv as a purveyor of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=":3" /> |
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In January 2022, Logically noted that the website "consistently pushes [[anti-vaccine]] and [[anti-lockdown]] narratives", with many of its social media posts being focused on the "negative aspects of government responses to the |
In January 2022, Logically noted that the website "consistently pushes [[anti-vaccine]] and [[anti-lockdown]] narratives", with many of its social media posts being focused on the "[[Protests against responses to the COVID-19 pandemic|negative aspects of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic]]" Logically also claimed that Disclose.tv focused strongly on negative effects from the [[COVID-19 vaccine]], which are "usually presented in a misleading manner". Logically said that the website's own reporting "misrepresents developments related to COVID-19", citing an October 2021 article titled "German court declares Corona curfew unconstitutional", which referred to a March 2020 curfew in [[Bavaria]] that was retroactively ruled unconstitutional by the State Court.<ref name=":0" /> |
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In February 2022, Disclose.tv shared on Twitter a [[Reuters]] article with the |
In February 2022, Disclose.tv shared on Twitter a [[Reuters]] article with the headline "Japan's [[Kowa (company)|Kowa]] says that [[ivermectin]] effective against [[Omicron variant|Omicron]] in [[phase III trial]]". Reuters subsequently corrected its headline and article to note that the research conducted by Kowa was non-clinical research;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Settles |first=Gabrielle |date=February 2, 2022 |title=Ivermectin study showed 'antiviral effect,' which is not the same as being effective against omicron |url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/feb/02/tweets/ivermectin-study-showed-antiviral-effect-which-not/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=[[PolitiFact]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="HealthFeedback" /> the correction was shared by Disclose.tv, which still falsely stated that ivermectin was "effective against Omicron in phase III trial".<ref name="HealthFeedback" /> |
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== Operation == |
== Operation == |
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* {{Official website|https://disclose.tv}} |
* {{Official website|https://disclose.tv}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:News aggregators]] |
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[[Category:Internet properties established in 2007]] |
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2007]] |
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[[Category:Disinformation operations]] |
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[[Category:Conspiracist media]] |
[[Category:Conspiracist media]] |
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[[Category:Websites with far-right material]] |
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[[Category:German news websites]] |
[[Category:German news websites]] |
Revision as of 10:21, 27 November 2022
Type of site | Fake news website[1] |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Founded | 2007[2] |
Headquarters | Passau, Germany[3] |
Owner | Futurebytes GmbH & Co. KG[3] |
URL | disclose |
Disclose.tv is a German news aggregator website.[3][4] Some sources have criticized Disclose.tv for publishing what they see as far-right content,[4] disinformation[8] and conspiracy theories. [13][1]
The website was created in 2007 as a forum focused around conspiracy content such as UFOs and paranormal phenomena. In 2021, the website announced it would be operating exclusively as a news website.[3][4]
History
Archived versions of Disclose.tv were found as far back as March 2007 by Logically, a British anti-disinformation organisation. In its initial form, the website operated as a forum focusing on user-generated content discussing topics such as UFOs, paranormal phenomena and other conspiracy theories.[3][4]
In April 2012, Disclose.tv announced a redesign of its website.[18] During the 2010s, Disclose.tv's content became more political, with users' posts on the site casting doubt on the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and criticising "social justice warriors",[3][4] which Logically said was indicative of "the right-wing undercurrent of the community".[3]
In 2019, the website removed its user-written articles.[3] In September 2021, it removed its old versions and cleared out its Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts, and announced to its users that it would be operating exclusively as a news website.[3][4] Logically found that around the same time, the website published news articles that were backdated to September 2020, and many of which were plagiarised from a combination of reliable sources and other conspiracy theory websites.[3]
In January 2022, after Logically sent a request for comment during its investigation of the website, Disclose.tv published an unsigned statement claiming to have never heard of Logically, stating it had "lost sight" of the hateful content being posted on its Discord channel despite claiming to have moderators and bots searching for such posts, and apologizing for the examples of plagiarism listed in the investigation. The statement also included Logically reporter Ernie Piper's name.[3][4] Logically noted that Disclose.tv had blocked many members of its editorial team on Twitter prior to the request for comment, despite claiming to have never heard of Logically.[3] Piper said that the statement, part of which was described as being "ironic and mocking in tone", was "not a normal way for a media organization to respond to critical coverage", and added that it was "alarming" that Disclose.tv had published his name to its followers.[4]
Influence
As of 7 November 2022, Disclose.tv has social media accounts on Twitter (1 million followers[19]), Telegram (438,000 followers), YouTube (12,000 followers) and Facebook (3 million followers), as well as the far-right platforms Gettr (612,000 followers) and Gab (199,000 followers).[3][4] Disclose.tv also maintained a Discord channel, which was created in September 2021. As of 11 January 2022, the channel was closed after Logically sent a request for comment the previous day during its investigation of the website.[3]
Miro Dittrich, a senior researcher for the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), a German extremism monitoring agency, said that Disclose.tv "[was] an exception in terms of its reach" in relation to other fringe websites, and in how it was "trying to portray itself as not being a German outlet" and reusing American far-right sources' talking points. Dittrich and Stephan Mündges, the head of the Technical University of Dortmund's Journalism Institute, said that the biggest threat from outlets like Disclose.tv was their ability to present conspiracy theories, disinformation and misleading stories as factual news.[4]
Content
In its current form, Disclose.tv acts as a news aggregator on its social media platforms, sharing information from other sources, frequently without attribution or links to other news websites. Logically stated that the website's continued uncritical coverage of conspiracy narratives and UFOs since its September 2021 relaunch revealed its links to pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.[3]
Dittrich stated that the website often creates content "that doesn't look like it's conspiracy-driven" and is occasionally shared by "apolitical people or people on the left who don't know its true purpose". Mündges said, "It is not, in my experience, very common for a channel based in Germany to be producing a lot of content for an international audience, or in another language, such as English," adding: "It is more common that items from the English-language media, for example the 'Stop the steal' narrative, are taken and translated into German".[4]
In January 2022, Logically reported that Holocaust denial, neo-Nazism and other forms of hate speech were flourishing on the website's Discord and Telegram groups.[3][4] Promoting or platforming Holocaust denial is illegal in Germany, with a punishment of up to five years in prison. Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office said that they were aware of Disclose.tv, but did not comment further on the extent to which they were monitoring Disclose.tv's channels.[4]
Prior to 2021 relaunch
In August 2016, Disclose.tv published an article falsely claiming that Edward Snowden was pronounced dead by his girlfriend in Russia.[15] In September, Disclose.tv reported that NASA had admitted to being in contact with aliens and had not formally announced the information due to believing that everyone was already aware of it; Snopes traced the source of the claim to Waterford Whispers News, an Irish satirical news website.[20]
In October 2018, Disclose.tv published a story claiming that a Zimbabwean man had created an electric car that did not require charging. PolitiFact rated the claim "Pants on Fire", noting that the man's claims had already been reported on in 2015, and that the Zimbabwean technology news website TechZim had noted that the car was outside of the Law of Conservation of Energy.[9]
COVID-19 misinformation
A study published in March 2021 in the Online Social Networks and Media journal identified Disclose.tv as a purveyor of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
In January 2022, Logically noted that the website "consistently pushes anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown narratives", with many of its social media posts being focused on the "negative aspects of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic" Logically also claimed that Disclose.tv focused strongly on negative effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, which are "usually presented in a misleading manner". Logically said that the website's own reporting "misrepresents developments related to COVID-19", citing an October 2021 article titled "German court declares Corona curfew unconstitutional", which referred to a March 2020 curfew in Bavaria that was retroactively ruled unconstitutional by the State Court.[3]
In February 2022, Disclose.tv shared on Twitter a Reuters article with the headline "Japan's Kowa says that ivermectin effective against Omicron in phase III trial". Reuters subsequently corrected its headline and article to note that the research conducted by Kowa was non-clinical research;[21][6] the correction was shared by Disclose.tv, which still falsely stated that ivermectin was "effective against Omicron in phase III trial".[6]
Operation
Disclose.tv is owned by Futurebytes GmbH & Co. KG, which describes itself as a "private equity company" and is based in Passau.[3] The company is owned by Uwe Braun, a Cologne-based entrepreneur.[3][4] Braun has not publicly acknowledged his connection to the website.[4]
In January 2022, Logically reported that all of the website's articles were attributed to only four writers, none of whom had links to personal websites, social media or bios, and their profile pictures were fakes generated by artificial intelligence.[3] The writers' articles also appeared to have been written by a native German speaker.[3][4]
References
- ^ a b Sources describing Disclose.tv as a right-wing fake news website: [14][15][16][17][10][3]
- ^ "Disclose.tv". whois.domaintools.com. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Thomas, W. F. (12 January 2022). "Disclose.tv: Conspiracy Forum Turned Disinformation Factory". Logically. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Schumacher, Elizabeth (8 February 2022). "Disclose.TV: English disinformation made in Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ a b Guarino, Stefano; Pierri, Francesco; Di Giovanni, Marco; Celestini, Alessandro (1 March 2021). "Information disorders during the COVID-19 infodemic: The case of Italian Facebook". Online Social Networks and Media. 22: 100124. doi:10.1016/j.osnem.2021.100124. ISSN 2468-6964. PMC 8479410. PMID 34604611.
- ^ a b c "Claims that a phase 3 clinical trial showed that ivermectin is effective against Omicron are inaccurate and based on a now-corrected Reuters article". Health Feedback. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
...the news agency's incorrect article and headline were shared a number of times on Twitter, including by podcaster Joe Rogan (who has since deleted his tweet), Germany-based disinformation outlet Disclose.tv...
- ^ Manhire, Toby (8 June 2022). "Conspiracy theorists are losing their shit over a clip of Jacinda Ardern in New York". The Spinoff. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
A similar clip was posted by Disclose.tv, the Germany-based disinformation firehose...
- ^ Sources describing Disclose.tv's publication of disinformation: [5][3][6][4][7]
- ^ a b Haas, Kyra (29 October 2018). "Zimbabwean inventor did not create an electric car that never needs charging". PolitiFact. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
The initial blog post was published in April 2018 on the conspiracy-fueled website Disclose.tv.
- ^ a b Caplan, David (6 December 2019). "Facebook refuses to take down anti-Semitic post". Audacy. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
Disclose.TV is a website notoriously known for publishing conspiracy theories and fake news, with a particular interest in publishing UFO-related stories.
- ^ Rothschild, Mike (20 December 2021). "Switzerland's viral 'suicide pod' reignites conspiratorial claims of 'med beds'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
And a post on the Telegram channel of conspiracy theory account Disclose TV...
- ^ Palma, Bethania (5 January 2022). "No, 95% of Omicron Cases Are Not in Vaccinated People". Snopes. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
The post above was published on Twitter on Dec. 30, 2021, by the conspiratorial network Disclose TV.
- ^ Sources describing Disclose.tv's publication of conspiracy theories: [9][10][11][3][4][12]
- ^ Allcott, Hunt; Gentzkow, Matthew; Yu, Chuan (1 April 2019). "Trends in the diffusion of misinformation on social media" (PDF). Research & Politics. 6 (2). SAGE Publishing. arXiv:1809.05901. doi:10.1177/2053168019848554. ISSN 2053-1680. S2CID 52291737.
- ^ a b LaCapria, Kim (10 August 2016). "Snowden Pronounced Dead by His Girlfriend in Russia". Snopes. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
Disclose.tv and Get Off the BS are sites known for publishing outlandish fabrications and fake news in order to attract readers.
- ^ Dicker, Rachel (14 November 2016). "Avoid These Fake News Sites at All Costs". U.S. News and World Report. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "PolitiFact's guide to fake news websites and what they peddle". PolitiFact. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "Conspiracy multimedia hub Disclose.tv gets a makeover: New design, new features". PR Web. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Disclose.tv". Twitter. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ LaCapria, Kim (19 September 2016). "NASA Admits It Is in Contact with Alien Species and Just Forgot to Mention It". Snopes. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ Settles, Gabrielle (2 February 2022). "Ivermectin study showed 'antiviral effect,' which is not the same as being effective against omicron". PolitiFact. Retrieved 9 November 2022.