“Disinformation laundering” got us here

Disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz says conspiracy theories like QAnon are like giant balls of lint, picking up everything in their path: baseless claims of voter fraud, 5G, Hunter Biden, anti-vaccination fiction … and last Wednesday that huge ball rolled straight from President Donald Trump’s rally to the Capitol, thanks in part to Trump’s allies in the media and Congress who legitimized it. So what now? Can we unring that bell? We’ll talk about it, and why Jankowicz says there’s reason to be optimistic.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Jankowicz’s latest for Foreign Affairs: “The Day the Internet Came for Them”

And her last appearance on Make Me Smart

“Disinformation’s big win” from Axios

“Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal Has Tested Positive for COVID” from The Cut

“Republicans Weigh Trump Censure, Impeachment” from The Wall Street Journal

“Fox News to Add Another Hour of Right-Wing Talk as Biden Takes Office” from The New York Times