Investigations

Politics & Government

Danielle Citron: What Happens In A World Where Fake Becomes Real?

10:02am October 30, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

Deep fakes are taking over the Internet—distorting our perception of what's real. Law professor Danielle Citron explains how deception online not only harms people, but also our democracy.

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C'Artis Harris, walking with her children in 2017, was searching for housing that would accept her Section 8 voucher when NPR began following her in 2016. Today, Harris and her family still live in an area of high poverty.

National

Trump Stokes Fear In The Suburbs, But Few Low-Income Families Ever Make It There

4:21pm October 28, 2020

by Laura Sullivan

President Trump is appealing to suburban voters by promising they won't have to live near affordable housing. But 50 years after the Fair Housing Act, the truth is housing remains deeply segregated.

An election worker uses an electronic pollbook to check voters at a polling station in the Echo Park Recreation Complex in Los Angeles on March 3, 2020.

Voter Websites In California And Florida Could Be Vulnerable To Hacks, Report Finds

12:08pm October 22, 2020

by Dina Temple-Raston

Cyber experts told the Department of Homeland Security in July that voter registration systems in California and Florida could be vulnerable to a hack, a closely-held report obtained by NPR reveals.

Far-right extremist "Boogaloo boys" stand on the steps of the capitol in Lansing, Mich., during a rally on Oct. 17. Michigan is one of five states with the highest risk of increased militia activity around the elections, according to a new report.

Here's Where The Threat Of Militia Activity Around The Elections Is The Highest

7:20am October 22, 2020

by Tim Mak

Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Oregon have the highest risk of seeing increased militia activity around the elections, according to a new report obtained exclusively by NPR.

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Steve Wynn speaks to reporters in Massachusetts in 2016, when he still led Wynn Resorts. In 2018, Wynn stepped down from the company after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct, including one allegation of rape. Wynn has denied any wrongdoing.

Politics & Government

GOP Welcomes Steve Wynn's Millions, Despite Rape And Harassment Allegations

9:21am October 21, 2020

by Tom Dreisbach

Former casino mogul Steve Wynn has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and harassment. Still, politicians have continued to accept major campaign contributions from Wynn, who has denied wrongdoing.

Demonstrators wearing face masks gather Sunday in Marseille, France, to pay tribute to teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded after he showed his class cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

French Police Conduct Raids Against Suspected Extremists After Teacher's Beheading

3:10pm October 19, 2020

The attack was carried out on Friday in apparent response to a lesson about freedom of expression that showed the students cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

National

Media Investigation Finds Differing Accounts In Antifa Activist's Fatal Shooting

6:04pm October 14, 2020

by Conrad Wilson

U.S. marshals gave conflicting accounts of what happened during the killing of antifa activist Michael Reinoehl last month, according to an investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica.

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A U.S. flag flies above a fence at the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Dec. 10, 2008, in an image reviewed by the U.S. military.

New 9/11 Judge at Guantánamo Quits After Two Weeks

10:44pm October 02, 2020

by Sacha Pfeiffer

A U.S. military court judge who took over the 9/11 case two weeks ago has quit. That means a 9/11 trial is unlikely to begin by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

TeleTracking was awarded a contract to collect COVID-19 data from the nation's hospitals despite no previous experience working on this sort of data collection. And its system has been plagued by inconsistencies and errors.

HHS Renews $10.2 Million Contract For Controversial COVID-19 Data Tracking Company

11:30am October 02, 2020

Despite an HHS Inspector General investigation and questions about performance, the administration has renewed TeleTracking's contract to gather COVID data from hospitals, NPR has learned.

So far, few deepfakes have been used this political season. It's not because they aren't a potential threat, but because simpler deceptive tactics are still effective at spreading misinformation.

Where Are The Deepfakes In This Presidential Election?

5:58am October 01, 2020

Deepfake videos haven't been a problem yet in the 2020 presidential race. It's not because they aren't a threat, but because simpler deceptive tactics are still effective at spreading misinformation.

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