Using the Life Cycle of Media Manipulation, each case study features a chronological description of a media manipulation event, which is filtered along specific variables such as tactics, targets, mitigation, outcomes, and keywords.
In 2020, a vast protest movement purportedly attempting to "#SaveTheChildren" from a non-existent cabal of satanist-worshipping pedophiles grew out of the QAnon conspiracy movement and mobilized people into the streets across the United States and beyond. Along the way, the campaign contributed to the spread misinformation about sex trafficking, and exposed a mainstream audience to harmful conspiracy theories. This case study traces the #SaveTheChildren campaign through its origins to its current impact.
Since the 1970s, before there was an internet to spread disinformation, activists in the anti-abortion movement have promoted the falsehood that there is a link between breast cancer and abortion. There is no link, but this scare tactic has had enormous staying power, and the internet has provided a networked terrain for it to spread even farther.
In the fall of 2019, a coalition of conservative and right-wing influencers and conspiracists encouraged campaign participants to keyword squat the name of an individual who they alleged was the whistleblower who lodged a complaint about President Trump's dealings with Ukraine. Mainstream press outlets implemented a media blackout to protect the identity of the whistleblower, which involved never printing the name of anyone alleged to be the person, including the target of the campaign. This asymmetrical media environment shaped the breaking news event and led to misidentification and targeted harassment.
