Disinformation and propaganda have dominated the impeachment process from the beginning. On this week’s show, we look at this through the lens of two claims from Senate Republicans and Trump’s defense attorneys during the trial: Did the House of Representatives “not do its job” when requesting evidence for the impeachment investigation? And was attorney Alan Dershowitz’s jarring comment about quid pro quos and the public interest mischaracterized in the media?
Feb 04, 2020•13 min
President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is underway, and there are still some uncertainties. Will the trial include witnesses? Will the Senate stay awake during any part of the proceedings? Will Sen. Rand Paul ever finish his crossword puzzle? Also: Listeners, we want to know what you think about Hard Reset. Take our survey by visiting bigiftrue.org/survey.
Jan 27, 2020•13 min
Presidents and other officials can be impeached for “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” On today’s show: What that means and why impeachment charges don’t have to be tied to a specific crime.
Jan 21, 2020•13 min
After an American drone strike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani this month, President Donald Trump and other officials have said that the general had been planning an attack against the U.S. at the time of his death. But the White House has offered conflicting details of Soleimani’s plans to attack and no evidence to support them. On this episode of Hard Reset, we’ll explore those contradictions and factcheck two other claims that emerged after Soleimani’s death: Did Democrats mourn Soleiman...
Jan 13, 2020•19 min
Last week, a report from the Department of Justice’s inspector general examined how the FBI conducted its investigation into whether or not the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. We factchecked a claim about the report and former Central Intelligence Agency head John Brennan. Plus: YouTube’s updated harassment policy and why Big If True looks for data voids, search engine results that provide little or no reliable information.
Dec 18, 2019•19 min
The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that a new policy for food stamp recipients will cause about 688,000 people to lose their benefits. We factchecked some of the reactions to this rule change, including whether or not children will be affected and if this will hit families before the Christmas holiday. Plus, an update from last week’s episode about hate speech podcasts.
Dec 09, 2019•12 min
As podcasts grow in popularity, white nationalists and white supremacists are using the platform to reach a broader audience ever. Experts on extremism have expressed concerns that these shows could radicalize others into hate groups. Today on the show: How white nationalists use podcasts to fly under the radar, how these shows amplify conspiracy theories and how audio platforms are responding to this content.
Dec 02, 2019•16 min
A 21-year-old white nationalist is using online platforms like YouTube to rally his followers into trolling conservatives IRL. On this episode, we’ll hear from William Nardi, a conservative writer for National Review who met Nicholas Fuentes when they both were college students in Boston.
Nov 15, 2019•25 min
The internet is filled with hoax photos, but tracing where they came from isn’t as hard as you might think. The Hard Reset team gives you tips on how to identify a fake photo and walks you through the process reporters used to debunk two very different images – a K9 unit linked to the al-Baghdadi raid and Prince’s mugshot from a Mississippi jail.
Nov 04, 2019•21 min
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a U.S. special operations raid in Syria. In his speech, Trump claimed he predicted the 9/11 attacks, but is that accurate? And another fact check: Can medical abortions be reversed?
Oct 28, 2019•12 min
Last week, Hillary Clinton accused Russia of “grooming” Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for a third-party presidential bid. There isn’t evidence to back that up, which raises questions of why Clinton made the claim, where her allegations came from and if Clinton’s attacks actually aided Russia in sowing discord in the Democratic party.
Oct 21, 2019•16 min
This week on the show: Last week, a questionable story spread from a press conference in Ukraine to Fox News and other conservative outlets. We ask the age-old question: Why do news organizations run unvetted or straight-up inaccurate information? Also mentioned on the show: False equivalence, how news fatigue contributes to an unbalanced media diet and the Columbia Journalism Review’s adopted role as public editor.
Oct 16, 2019•15 min
JC and Mollie peel back the layers of misinformation surrounding the whistleblower complaint, including the main tactics being used to discredit allegations involving Trump and Ukraine. Also: How the reliance on anonymous sources and filter bubbles impact perceptions of the media.
Oct 07, 2019•26 min
Hard Reset factchecks claims growing around the Trump-Ukraine call and whistleblower complaint. Was there a quid quo pro or a cover-up? Do the whistleblowers’ attorneys work for Hilary Clinton and donate to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign? Plus, how a new Twitter feature could aid the spread of misinformation.
Sep 30, 2019•20 min
The last week has been dominated by news of a whistleblower complaint alleging President Donald Trump made a promise to a Ukrainian leader. We factchecked some responses to this story. Plus: A $2.2 billion valuation for the company that provides background checks to the gig economy; a revived conspiracy theory about Jussie Smollett, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris; and issues with a popular statistic on transgender youth.
Sep 23, 2019•15 min
A lawsuit filed last week alleges Uber is willfully breaking a new California state law by continuing to classify its drivers as contractors. Plus, a factchecking rundown from the third Democratic debate.
Sep 15, 2019•21 min
Silicon Valley’s biggest gig-economy companies use a background check provider that puts the onus on the consumer to correct its mistakes. At least dozens of workers have lost opportunities at Uber, Lyft and other companies due to issues with background checks from San Francisco-based Checkr Inc., according to lawsuits and interviews conducted by Big If True. Hard Reset host Justin Sanders and Big If True founder Mollie Bryant talk about what makes Checkr’s background checks different from more ...
Aug 27, 2019•11 min
Proposed rules for the nation's nursing homes would scale back regulations for infection prevention and antipsychotic prescriptions. The industry said these requirements were unnecessary, costly and burdensome, but elder care advocates are concerned that eliminating them will put residents at risk.
Aug 19, 2019•11 min
In 2014, Oklahoma City's immigration court, technically a sub-office of Dallas's court, closed its doors. Big If True and Oklahoma Gazette examined the impact of the closure five years later, as defendants face higher costs to defend their cases. Plus: Conspiracy theories began to circulate within minutes of Jeffrey Epstein's apparent suicide in jail. Epstein had faced charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy.
Aug 12, 2019•25 min
Sexual assault victims have the right to file lawsuits under Title IX, a federal law that bans sexual discrimination at colleges and universities. But these lawsuits are restricted by statutes of limitations, meaning judges can dismiss cases that aren't filed within a certain amount of time. Victim advocates say this deprives assault victims of their day in court, especially in situations where abuse didn't come to light until years later.
Aug 05, 2019•12 min
A group of three connected debt collection companies were permanently banned from the industry last week. Here are some of the illegal tactics they used on millions of consumers across the country. Plus, new numbers dispute allegations that the tech industry is biased against conservatives and a resurfaced video that placed an interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar out of context.
Jul 29, 2019•29 min
Facing a record-breaking backlog of cases, immigration courts are strapped for a resource that isn't available from the Department of Justice - time. Cases stretch on for years in a process that creates anxiety for defendants and constant stress for overworked immigration judges. Plus: A game that helps people recognize fake news.
Jul 22, 2019•24 min
On this episode of Hard Reset: Last week, the White House held what it called a social media summit, but no social media platforms were on the guest list. That's because the event focused on unfounded allegations that tech companies are biased against conservatives. In this episode, hosts JC Cortez and Justin Sanders dig into these bias allegations, as well as claims that shadow-banning and doxxing are being used to target conservatives.
Jul 15, 2019•31 min
Last week, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that the indefinite detention of asylum-seeking migrants is unconstitutional. Here's how that order came about, despite the fact that immigration judges have had the ability to grant bond to asylum-seekers for more than a decade. Plus, just a few minutes after an earthquake hit California last week, the Los Angeles Times had a story on the quake ready to go. That's because the story had been automatically generated by a robot, as part of a grow...
Jul 08, 2019•17 min
Veritas literally means “truth” in Latin, but Project Veritas never lets the truth get in the way of a good story. We talked about some of the ethical issues with Project Veritas' recent videos alleging bias against conservatives in the tech industry. Also: Medicare for all became one of the lasting issues from last week's Democratic debates. We took a look at some of the issues that came up, including debunked allegations that Medicare for all would put all hospitals out of business....
Jul 01, 2019•22 min
With an unprecedented surge of migrants fleeing violence in Central America, US border shelters are overcapacity. This situation led the Department of Health and Human Services to announce plans to house up to 1,400 undocumented migrant children in Fort Sill, an Army base in Oklahoma. Hosts JC Cortez, Justin Sanders and Mollie Bryant discuss these developments and take a look at the controversy unleashed when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's called border detainment facilities "concentration camp...
Jun 24, 2019•15 min
On the first episode of Hard Reset, hosts Mollie Bryant, JC Cortez and Justin Sanders dive into the world of misinformation - what it actually is, how technology helps it spread and the impending danger of deepfakes.
Jun 17, 2019•22 min
