A Times reporter and editors discuss the challenges of sifting through what’s real and what’s not in pursuit of the news.

From the 1918 influenza pandemic to reports of a possible laboratory accident in Irkutsk, history shows how incomplete evidence, sensationalist reporting, and geopolitical rivalry can turn medical uncertainty into a tool of political narrative-building. The Spanish flu was not named for its place of origin. It acquired its misleading name in the information environment of […]

Brazil spent years targeting electoral lies on the internet. Now, artificial intelligence is stumping the election authorities and reshaping a high-stakes race.