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Peter Navarro’s dubious election report fuels unfounded fraud narratives
President Donald Trump’s supporters are staying the course on election denialism following the publication of a 36-page report Thursday, released by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. Titled “The Immaculate Deception: Six Key Dimensions of Election Irregularities” and hosted on Steve Bannon’s website, Navarro’s report offers a conclusion that aligns with Trump’s familiar refrain of “a coordinated strategy” to steal the election in Joe Biden’s favor.
The controversial claims presented in the report focused on six swing states and relied on several questionable sources. Navarro’s report cited Texas’ failed Supreme Court lawsuit, as well as conservative outlets like The Michigan Star, operated by former Tea Party activist Michael Patrick Leahy, and The Epoch Times newspaper. Navarro was accused earlier this month of using his government position for campaign purposes — a violation of the Hatch Act, which restricts government employees from engaging in partisan political activities. Navarro said he released Thursday’s report in a “personal” capacity.
These concerns did not stop conservative influencers such as Dan Bongino from sharing the report with his 3 million followers across Twitter, Parler and Rumble. The largest Stop the Steal group on MeWe, which migrated from Facebook after the November 3 election and boasts nearly 17,000 members, shared the story using the tag #mediacensorship. A member of a 6,200 user-strong public Facebook Group that supports Charlie Kirk, co-founder of the right-wing group Turning Point USA, shared the report with the text, saying in part: “This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. I think we can expect […] Pres.Trump declaring martial law and the election done over under the supervision of the U.S. military.” — Diara J. Townes
Fact checkers and news organizations debunk claims of ‘love jihad’ in India
False and misleading claims around the “love jihad” conspiracy theory are endangering Muslims and breaking up wedding ceremonies in India. “Love jihad” is the false theory that Muslim men target and marry Hindu women in an attempt to convert them. Encouragingly, news organizations and fact-checking outfits are routinely debunking these claims both online and on television.
A video of a marriage counselor speaking to a couple, shared with a caption falsely alleging “love jihad,” was viewed thousands of times on Twitter and Facebook. It was debunked by Boom Live, which found there to be no connection between the video and the claim. National news channel NDTV has also debunked some of the claims, and reported there was “no credible evidence” for police cases against those allegedly engaging in this practice, adding that a new law to combat “love jihad” is “being used to harass Hindu-Muslim couples.” — Ali Abbas Ahmadi
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