After the election, I sat down to look at how disinformation undermined US institutions & turned Americans against one another.

It's a long, winding read and a culmination of the work our team has been doing for the last 12 months (4 years?
). Enjoy it. http://buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/disinformation-broke-us

A little more about this story. It doesn't only touch on the election. It's also about science, civil rights, and the individual people whose day-to-day lives have been upended.

It takes the long view.

Americans have been targeted with disinformation about covid-19 before it even appeared in the US. Manufactured lab conspiracies, fake cures, and bogus lockdown information overwhelmed social media channels.

Then, Plandemic stitched them all together.

Medical workers feel the impact. I spoke with one nurse, Eric Sartori in Az, who marveled at how nurses went from the most trusted profession in the country to being subject of conspiracies.

“There’s this subsection of the population that thinks we’re trying to kill everyone.”

Then, after George Floyd was killed by a police officer, peaceful protesters were repainted as violent, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Trump perpetuated this lie in his reelection campaign, during the RNC convention, in his ads, and on the White House lawn.

So, people in the country went from banging pots and pans for medical workers to spitting on them and threatening them.

From supporting the millions marching for Black lives to attacking them.

All of this was achieved through known disinformation channels, by known disinformants.

Then the election came and the basic right to have your ballot counted was put at risk.

When I was writing the opening to the story, I had to check the date on the events five times over. I just couldn't believe the amount of news Nov. 5 held in itself.

I'm very proud of this story. Please, please read it. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/disinformation-broke-us