Ops Watch Wonk Me

10 ways to spot online misinformation

Propagandists are already working to sow disinformation and social discord in the run-up to the November elections. Many of their efforts have focused on social media, where people’s limited attention spans push them to share items before even reading them – in part because people react emotionally, not logically, to information they come across. That’s […]

Criminal Justice

Federal Defenders Request Attorney General Barr To Act On Inmate Release Re COVID-19

Federal Defenders call on AG William Barr to act on release of federal inmates to address growing concern for elderly and those with compromised health conditions who will face the growing COVID-19 outbreak in prisons. The Federal Public & Community Defenders, Legislative Committee sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr to act on releasing federal inmates […]

Immigration

Why undocumented immigrants still fear the 2020 census

The United States might not be able to get information about more than 10 million people in the 2020 census. That’s the number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Another 16.7 million individuals live in a household with an undocumented member and so might also not be counted in this year’s census. The […]

Voting & Elections

How to protect elections amid the coronavirus pandemic

At least seven states have postponed their presidential primaries in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. That has raised concerns about the other states that have state elections and federal primary elections planned for later this summer – and of course the general election in November. The main concern, in terms of the pandemic, is […]

Courts Healthcare

Delaying ‘nonessential’ abortions during coronavirus crisis endangers women’s health and financial future

Several U.S. states are blocking health clinics from providing abortions, declaring the procedure to be “nonessential” during coronavirus business closures. Other services deemed medically unnecessary during the crisis include dental exams, colonoscopies and cataract surgeries. The inclusion of abortion on this list is controversial and legally contested. Judges in recent days struck down such abortion […]

Candidates

The Danger of the Trump Campaign’s Defamation Lawsuits – The Atlantic

Two telling clues reveal these suits to be frivolous. First, all three lawsuits target opinion pieces—not news reports asserting factual claims. While in theory an opinion piece could meet the Supreme Court’s high bar for defamation of a public figure, in practice this is very hard to imagine. Second, the statements alleged to be defamatory […]