Tag: misinformation

Right-wing ‘zombie’ papers attack Illinois Democrats ahead of elections

SPRINGFIELD — Since late summer, many Illinois residents have been receiving newspapers that they haven’t paid for nor, in many cases, even heard of. Each paper bears a clear-cut tagline: Real data, real news. And each publication that shows up in driveways and mailboxes carries a partisan punch that’s blatant, but not formally disclosed. “They

The national wave of unfounded election-fraud accusations does not spare Illinois

Conspiracy theorists inundate election officials across the state with form letters demanding voter records and threatening lawsuits. CHICAGO — No Republican nominee for president has won Illinois since 1988, with Joe Biden beating Donald Trump by more than 1 million votes in the last election two years ago. As a reliably blue state, Illinois has

How can you tell if the news you read is real?

Before we end our special week of coverage about who is in charge of the news, we wanted to empower all of you with ways to distinguish credible journalism from social media posts that may be shared by your friends and family that’s not based in fact. Today on the show, we were joined by

U of I team investigates spread of rural misinformation

Editor’s note: At the request of Nikki Usher, we have removed the photo posted earlier. Also, Nikki asked that we change the pronouns in this article that pertain to Usher from ‘she/her’ to ‘they/their.’ – Reginald Hardwick, News Director, March 26, 2024   URBANA – In some rural Illinois ZIP codes, only one in five

How Being A Chaplain Gave One Pastor A Sense Of Urgency In The COVID Fight

CHAMPAIGN — Keith Thomas wears many hats in the Champaign-Urbana community.  He’s a full-time pastor at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. And he’s also been on the frontlines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, working as a hospital chaplain at OSF HealthCare. Thomas says the hardest situations he’s been in — as a local chaplain — have