Apr 22, 2018

A fake news campaign hotline

President Trump often blasts "fake news" at his campaign-style rallies. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

NewsGuard, a new service that uses trained journalists to rate thousands of news and information sites, will announce that it has launched a secure, encrypted digital and telephone hotline for political candidates and members of the public to report suspected fake news sites.

The big picture: Steven Brill, co-CEO of NewsGuard: “We’ve already seen one case of a candidate citing an endorsement from a bogus site that was created by supporters of that candidate. This is a particularly insidious variety of fake news, because it is aimed directly at unsuspecting voters.”

From a forthcoming release: A "SWAT team of NewsGuard analysts will operate 24/7 to identify suddenly trending news sites that NewsGuard has not yet rated and assure — or warn — internet users about them in real time."
Options for contacting the hotline: "Send a secure, end-to-end encrypted message with Signal or Whatsapp: +1-740-480-1850 ... Send an SMS message to: +1-740-480-1850 ... Call and leave a digital voice message: +1-740-480-1850 ... Email: tips@newsguardtech.com ... Leave a comment."
Go deeper.

Get more stories like this by signing up for our daily morning newsletter, Axios AM.

Go deeper

Axios

Louisiana governor says state will run out of ventilators on April 9

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that modeling projects his state will run out of ventilators for coronavirus patients on April 9 and hospital beds on April 11.

Why it matters: New York is the only state in the country with a worse per-capita death rate than Louisiana, where around 12,500 people have been infected and 409 have been killed.

Go deeper3 mins ago - Health

Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 1,216,422 — Total deaths: 65,711 — Total recoveries: 252,478 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 312,245 — Total deaths: 8,503 — Total recoveries: 15,021 — Map.
Public health latest: CDC launches national trackers and recommends face coverings in public. Federal government will cover costs of COVID-19 treatment for uninsured. The virus is hitting poor, minority communities harder and upending childbirth.
2020 latest: "We have no contingency plan," Trump said on the 2020 Republican National Convention. "We're having the convention at the end of August."
Business updates: Restaurants step up for health care workers. Employees are pressuring companies to provide protections during coronavirus.
Oil latest: Monday meeting among oil-producing countries to discuss supply curbs is reportedly being delayed amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Education update: Many college-age students won't get coronavirus relief checks.
What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health. Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingUpdated 50 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Mike Allen

Trump sees "sooner rather than later" return of pro sports

Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

President Trump predicted yesterday that the Republican National Convention will open as scheduled in Charlotte on Aug. 24 — "We have no contingency plan" — setting a new bar for a phased return to business in America.

The big picture: With the virus peak for New York projected as Thursday, and for the nation as April 15 (a week from Wednesday), Trump continued trying to leaven dire warnings with a sunny streak.

Go deeper55 mins ago - Sports