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(Reuters) - Online misinformation that led to violent unrest at the Capitol last week has gone beyond false claims and has reached the point of “radicalization,” researchers told a Reuters Next panel on Tuesday.
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“This is not about false claims, or even conspiracies, but many of the people at the Capitol are now part of a completely alternate reality,” said Claire Wardle, co-founder of anti-disinformation non-profit First Draft.
She added that people must stop thinking about online conspiracies as existing separately from real-world harm: “They’re not just sitting at home in their pajamas clicking ‘yes I agree,’ they’re out there with . guns and pipe bombs.”
By Syndicated Content
By Elizabeth Culliford
(Reuters) - Online misinformation that led to violent unrest at the Capitol last week has gone beyond false claims and has reached the point of radicalization, researchers told a Reuters Next panel on Tuesday. This is not about false claims, or even conspiracies, but many of the people at the Capitol are now part of a completely alternate reality, said Claire Wardle, co-founder of anti-disinformation non-profit First Draft.
She added that people must stop thinking about online conspiracies as existing separately from real-world harm: They re not just sitting at home in their pajamas clicking yes I agree, they re out there with . guns and pipe bombs.
Dimanche, 10 Janvier, 2021 - 21:52
Update: Two days after the publication of this piece, Brock was arrested in Texas and charged in federal court, in the District of Columbia, with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
As insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol this week, a few figures stood out. One man, clad in a combat helmet, body armor, and other tactical gear, was among the group that made it to the inner reaches of the building. Carrying zip-tie handcuffs, he was captured in photographs and videos on the Senate floor and with a group that descended on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite. In a video shot by ITV News, he is seen standing against a wall adjacent to Pelosi’s office, his face covered by a bandana. At another point, he appears to exit the suite, face exposed, pushing his way through the crowds of demonstrators.
Exclusive: FBI warns of potential boogaloo violence during Jan. 17 rallies Caitlin Dickson
Federal authorities are warning state and local law enforcement about threats of possible violence by right-wing extremists at a series of protests planned for later this month in Washington and in state capitols, according to an FBI document obtained by Yahoo News.
The situational information report, produced by the Minneapolis field office of the FBI, is based on information provided by what it describes as “collaborative sources,” and was issued the week before a mob of Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol. It addresses concerns about rallies that the far-right boogaloo movement plans to hold in cities across the country on Jan. 17.