Free Republic

Google was the chief promulgator of the Donald Trump "bloodbath" hoax over the weekend, flooding its search results with articles that deceptively framed the former president's comment. Trump predicted that re-electing Joe Biden would stir an economic "bloodbath," while specifically referencing the automotive industry at a rally last weekend. Yet nearly every headline Google generated on the topic led users to an article skimping over the context, suggesting Trump warned of his plans to provoke a civil war. Google understands it can no longer lead users to such deceptive headlines. Most Americans know what Trump said by now. Therefore, Google...

In the wake of the riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, a groundswell built in Washington to rein in the onslaught of lies that had fueled the assault on the peaceful transfer of power. Social media companies suspended Donald Trump, then the president, and many of his allies from the platforms they had used to spread misinformation about his defeat and whip up the attempt to overturn it. President Joe Biden’s administration, Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans sought to do more to hold the companies accountable. Academic researchers wrestled with how to strengthen efforts to monitor...

New FBI data confirms previous indications that crime in the U.S. declined significantly in 2023, continuing a post-pandemic trend and belying widespread perceptions that crime is rising. The new fourth-quarter numbers showed a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime. That’s based on data from around 13,000 law enforcement agencies, policing about 82% of the U.S. population, that provided the FBI with quarterly data through December. “It suggests that when we get the final data in October, we will have seen likely the largest...

As America closes in on a major election, mistrust is brewing around the mysterious government entity that’s now denounced in scary-sounding terms — “the deep state” and “the swamp.” What do those words even mean? Who exactly do they describe? We went on a road trip to find out. As we met the Americans who are being dismissed as public enemies, we discovered that they are … us. They like Taylor Swift. They dance bachata. They go to bed at night watching “Star Trek” reruns. They go to work and do their jobs: saving us from Armageddon. Sure, our tax...