iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

When the “censorship industrial complex” myth was just getting started, in Fall 2022, I got a public records request from the AG’s office of Missouri looking for all my emails related to my team’s election rumor research. The Missouri AG at that time? Eric Schmitt. What a tool.

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Daniel Kimmage @dkimmage.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Congress should investigate the purge that shut down my former office at the State Department, which fought information manipulation by Russia, China, and terrorist organizations. thehill.com/opinion/nati...

thehill.com

We need accountability for federal employee purges made on false pretenses

I was grilling chicken on a sweltering summer night in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, when I peeked at my phone and saw that a senior official in the administration had just accused me of lying to C…

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News Literacy Project @newslit.org · 29/09/2026

“These posts & rumors are highly emotional, invoking our fundamental values, fears & sense of outrage — & so the temptation to quickly share them can also be strong. Be sure anything you pass along or repeat to others is actually true.” - NLP's @peteradams.bsky.social @politifact.bsky.social

politifact.com

What could stop Trump from sending ICE to polls?

Comments from President Trump and his allies fueled fear among some voters that the president could deploy ICE to the polls during the midterm elections. That would face legal and practical challenges...

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James Davenport @jradavenport.com · 29/09/2026

Are you looking to apply for the Astronomy PhD program at the University of Washington this cycle? Please look at our website and see the new Expression of Interest form!! astro.washington.edu/graduate-adm...

astro.washington.edu

Graduate Admissions | Department of Astronomy | University of Washington

The Department of Astronomy is accepting applications to our graduate program for Fall 2027 admissions.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"Fake polls" set the stage for "rigged elections".

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 28/09/2026

NEW: ProPublica’s reporting reveals for the first time the extent of the White House’s role in trying to dictate how mail-in ballots are processed, spurring behind-the-scenes drama that played out for nearly a year.

propublica.org

The Untold Origins of Trump’s Plan to Sharply Restrict Mail-In Voting

ProPublica’s reporting reveals for the first time the extent of the White House’s role in trying to dictate how mail-in ballots are processed, spurring behind-the-scenes drama that played out for near...

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

1. Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker and a GOP candidate for Congress in Arizona, has made “protecting women’s sports” a centerpiece of his election campaign. So I reviewed years of Feely’s podcast appearances to see what he actually thinks about female athletes. 🧵

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Center for an Informed Public @cip.uw.edu · 27/09/2026

🧵New from the @cip.uw.edu election rumor research team. ⤵️⤵️⤵️ The conversations around two incidents in Utah and Texas follow well-worn patterns where false rumors and misleading narratives emerge alongside legitimate criticism of real issues involving election administration.

A cumulative graph of the total number of Bluesky posts mentioning keywords related to the Utah mail-dumping incident. The yellow line represents the total number of posts up until that point of time (shown in Eastern Daylight Time), and individual posts from accounts with at least 20,000 followers are rendered. The posts are sized by the number of reposts (not counting quote posts) that they received. Three prominent posts are individually highlighted. The post from altnps (Alt National Park Service) was by far the most engaged post in our data, and is highlighted in red because it catalyzed an increase in conspiratorial interpretations substantially different from the other major reactions to the press conference. URLs and media attachments are noted in angle brackets.

Figure 5: A cumulative graph of the total number of Bluesky posts mentioning keywords related to the Texas voter registration errors. The yellow line represents the total number of posts up until that point of time (shown in Eastern Daylight Time), and individual posts from accounts with at least 20,000 followers are rendered. These individually-rendered posts are sized by the number of reposts (not counting quote posts) that they received. Four prominent posts are individually highlighted. One of the four highlighted posts comes from an account with under 50,000 followers which does not represent a news outlet, so it was anonymized. URLs and media attachments are noted in angle brackets.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Last week, we saw two cases where real election issues in UT and TX catalyzed legitimate criticism along with false rumors and misleading political narratives. Our team wrote up a "rumor rundown" for each case. uwcip.substack.com/p/recent-uta...

uwcip.substack.com

Recent Utah, Texas incidents fuel rumors and political narratives undermining trust in election integrity

A CIP Election Rumor Rundown

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Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Trump says data center opposition is a Chinese psy-op. Chinese state media says US AI safety calls are a psy-op. Oxford China Policy Lab's Elisabeth Siegel says both accusations point to the same problem: no one can independently verify what AI companies claim.

buff.ly

US, China Psy-Op Accusations Signal Deep Distrust on AI Regulation

Without more checks and balances on AI companies, allegations of “psy-ops” in both the US and China will continue to cloud the waters, writes Elisabeth Siegel.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is one of those stories that drives home just how horrifying the current administration and its immigration policies / enforcement tactics are. It’s heartbreaking and stomach turning.

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Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

In case you don't get it, today's Supreme Court ruling allowing states to use flawed SAVE data is infected by these fraud claims. Non-citizen voting (and registration) is exceedingly rare. However, the *perception* is that huge amounts must exist requiring extraordinary measures to combat it

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is... troubling. SCOTUS is allowing the Trump administration to use an error-ridden tool that relies on inaccurate data. This tool has already led to false allegations of non-citizen voting. Now, it could "accidentally" remove legal voters from the rolls, causing real disenfranchisement.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I’m old enough to remember when the Tea Party whipped up a frenzy among conservative parents (and eventually others) around how Common Core’s “new math” was allegedly causing children to struggle to learn math. There’s a latent frame there if someone (a political candidate?) wanted to activate it.

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danah boyd @zephoria.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today is Pub Day for "Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census"!!! ::bounce:: Please support me by buying a copy of the book or asking your library for a copy! press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This news out of California is another troubling example of how the “rigged election” conspiracy theories have been mobilized into policy, including (illegal) ballots seizures. But it’s REALLY IMPORTANT to stress that the seized ballots are from a 2025 special election, not the current election.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A data error in TX delays the processing of 10,000s of registrations. Election officials assure folks they’ll be able to vote as long as they submitted a registration on time (<Oct 5). But this admin error is likely to seed rumors & conspiracy theories on both sides. www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/0...

votebeat.org

Error means unknown number of Texas voter registrations haven’t been processed yet

It’s unknown how many prospective voters have been affected.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Reposting since that last message has an error.

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Shannon McGregor, PhD @shannimcg.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Huge thanks to @rickhasen.bsky.social for convening such an amazing & informative conversation. I learned so much from my fellow panelists. Do you care, think, and/or worry about the 2026 U.S. elections & the role that media of all types are playing/will play/could be playing? Then give it a listen!

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Rumors about “rigged elections" are now a fixture of U.S. elections, leading to diminished trust in election results & democracy (broadly). These rumors can sometimes be hard to debunk, esp. in their early stages. Our UW team has identified the 6 common ways that election integrity rumors mislead:

Infographic titled "Six Ways 'Rigged Election' Rumors Mislead." A two-column table pairs six labeled categories with descriptions. The first three categories are:

No Evidence: The rumor is entirely unsubstantiated. There's no evidence to support the rumor.

Fake/False Evidence: The rumor is based on fake or synthetic evidence (e.g. AI-generated content), manipulated evidence, or false witness testimony.

Misinterpreted Evidence: This rumor is based upon real evidence that has been misinterpreted or intentionally mischaracterized to create a false impression.

A black banner then introduces the final three categories: "Real Evidence, Real Voting Issue, False Narrative."

Exaggerated Impact: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but falsely insinuates or exaggerates impact on election results.

Ignored Remedies: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but ignores and/or obscures the remedies that would address this problem

False Blame: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but either falsely attributes intent for an accidental issue or places blame on an innocent party.

Source: UW Center for an Informed Public, September 2026.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Here's a good test case for our framework, demonstrating how a real incident can be turned into a false "rigged election" rumor or narrative. Here the DOJ highlights a case where a postal worker discarded mail that included ballots, and uses that to suggest voter fraud and untrustworthy elections.

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Spelling @spelling.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Good and thank you! What is the term for people who look for and USE this type of misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies to sow discord and diminish trust in elections?

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Look at this face! Ruby on her walk this morning, being as cute as ever.

Small black dog with red collar and leash, on a beach, staring intensely at the camera, a bit of sand on her snout.

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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 22/09/2026

hey virginians did you know you get to vote to remove a BAN on same-sex marriage from the state constitution and protect people if the 6 robed freaks overturn obergefell? www.vpm.org/news/2026-08...

screenshot

VPM News
Voters will decide whether to enshrine marriage equality in Virginia
VPM | By Jahd Khalil and Adrienne Hoar McGibbon
Published August 24, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Renee DiResta (@noupside.bsky.social) and Dean Jackson published a new paper explaining how the "censorship industrial complex" propaganda campaign took shape & was eventually used to dismantle election information resilience infrastructure in the U.S. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

<em>Public Administration Review</em> | ASPA Journal | Wiley Online Library

This paper examines how a propaganda frame alleging the existence of a “Censorship Industrial Complex” was institutionalized and then helped justify the dismantling of US election information resilie...

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Every authoritarian who attacks the free press claims to be attacking the “fake news.”

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It really is striking how many authoritarian states have ended up in this exact same place, where the leader seizes control of scientific inquiry. Lysenkoism in the Soviet Union, Aryan Physics in the Third Reich, Great Leap Forward (also related to Lysenko) in China.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I wrote up this story about my mom's survival from polio and its connections to world history, family lore, & current events: katestarbird.substack.com/p/a-family-t... We need to keep telling our stories of the world before vaccines — to prevent ourselves from having to live in a world after them.

katestarbird.substack.com

A Family Tree, Nearly Broken by Polio

As MAHA leaders call the polio vaccine a "fraud," an old family photo tells the story of the world before vaccines — and warns of the risk of forgetting.

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Sarah Hamburg @sarahrhamburg.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My father also had polio as a child in Switzerland. His left arm was paralyzed — my grandmother basically invented a form of physical therapy she did with him, and he regained movement, but could never build muscle in that arm.

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Jacqueline B. @jaxsb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

In 1947 my Mom became a fatherless child. Her mother was left with four children ten or under to raise, one an infant. My Mom was the eldest at age 10. Only her father got it. No one else in the family showed visible signs. She adored him and never got over the loss. Very cruel disease.

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skatuin.bsky.social @skatuin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My mom had a friend in elementary school (maybe 2nd or 3rd grade) in St Louis, MO who became a motherless child because of polio- maybe 1948 or ‘49

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

In authoritarian states, “law” upholds lawlessness, and its first duty is to keep the leader safe from domestic or outside accountability processes. Judicial capture is the means, and the conversion of the law into what the leader and his enablers need it to be is the end.

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Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 19/09/2026

Staying informed through trusted, nonpartisan sources is one of the most effective ways to combat election disinfo. For reliable, election-specific coverage, two nonprofit newsrooms stand out - @votebeat.org and @boltsmag.org. Check out ways you can be part of the solution ⬇️ protdem.org/4yCiN88

An image with a banner titled "WHAT YOU CAN DO WEEK OF SEPT 14" at the top. Below, a phone displays a news app. The main section reads "Get election news you can trust." Additional text indicates "Time needed: Few minutes" and "Action type: Learn." A website is provided: "protdem.org/actions.

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Mallory Harris, PhD @malar0ne.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is nuts AND...290 people attended in-person (with another 230 online). Pathetic showing from a small & unpopular but very loud group that has hijacked American public health to our deep detriment.

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Madfishmonger @madfishmonger.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Grandma went to school in the 30s. She told me once that some kids would just not show up at school one day and you'd never see them again. She couldn't conceive of why anyone would be be against vaccines at all. Dutifully had all her shots until she passed.

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Dan On the Beach @danod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My mother had a good friend who became a quadriplegic in her late teens due to polio. She lived to her late 40s, cared for by her parents. I can still remember how grateful my mother was when the vaccine was introduced. I was in the long line at school to get the vax.

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Sam Thomas @saminedmonton.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Fortunately, some people documented that history. My Grandad wrote a book called "Polio '53" about his time in charge of the polio ward in Edmonton during the polio epidemic in Alberta. That book is the first thing I think about whenever anti-vaxxers show up and start spouting their nonsense.

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Papafox @papafox888.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My mother was an elementary school teacher from 1932 to 1970. Every year at least one child would be diagnosed with polio. It was that common. Let the statistics show the result of vaccination. By 1960, polio was effectively wiped out. The graph shows US polio cases 1910-2019

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Brian Spears @briankspears.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My dad had polio when he was a kid and could have been considered lucky because he "only" came out of it with a withered left arm and a limp and a curved spine that caused him pain his entire life. Few things in my life anger me more than people downplaying the severity of these diseases.

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MC020 @mashedparsnip.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My mother had it too. Was in the hospital for a long time. Ultimately they took a piece of her hip bone and fused it in her ankle to keep it in a position that allowed her to walk again. All the muscles from her knee down were dead. Braces, surgeries, crutches, canes, she endured a lot of pain.

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4Speech @4speech.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A young friend on my street ended up in an iron lung for life after getting polio. Parents were very scared b/c the way it was transmitted wasn't known. When the Saulk polio vaccine came out in 1955, families lined up around the block to get it, with NO hesitation.

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Crip Dyke @cripdyke.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I wasn't going to write, bc others connections are more personal, but the reason I live in the city I live in is because of polio. With my disabilities I need help. I can live alone, but need help a day or two a week. My BFF was doing that for me. But then a few years ago her uncle needed help.

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altache.bsky.social @altache.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Same here. My dad recovered in his teens, but post-polio syndrome has made him more immobile and prone to falls now.

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Benjamin D Lane @slowtalking.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My godmother had it as a child and recovered. She always had difficulty with it, and by the time she was 60 she was back in a wheelchair for life.

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lowinchen.bsky.social @lowinchen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My grandpa lost both his older brothers to polio. They were three and five, and died within two weeks of each other in 1928. I was thrilled to give my kids the polio vaccine.

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Rich Jackman @bldgcommunity.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My aunt had polio as a child. She's lucky it didn't kill her, but she needed a wheelchair her entire life. She could drive with hand controls but kept an old Chevy Nova because installing the controls was so expensive. RFK Jr needs to be in prison.

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Nichole Christoff @nicholechristoff.com · 18/09/2026

My uncle survived polio as a toddler in the mid-1940s, but lived the rest of his life with a severe limp and brain damage from extreme fever. His siblings were sent to their grandparents for months because caring for him through polio was a 24/7 job for his mom.

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Dan Johnson @sudocrushms.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

My heart uncle had polio. Right before the vaccine was prevalent. He's needed leg braces and a cane his whole life. A huge baseball fan that hasn't run or even walked without assistance since he was a small child. I can't fathom the rage if someone suggested his 5 grandsons not be vaccinated.

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like-eike @like-eike.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A cousin of my mom’s was in an iron lung due to polio and, as she put it, died young but maybe not soon enough. Hideous existence.

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