Misinformation in the Fog of Tear Gas

A Play by Play of How the #DCblackout Hashtag Spread, and Spread Fear

In the early hours of Monday, June 1, 2020, rumors began spreading on social media that electronic communications from Washington, D.C., were being jammed and that a crackdown on the night’s anti-racism protests was imminent. The posts coalesced around the hashtag #DCblackout. When morning came, telecoms operators and journalists on the ground confirmed that no such “blackout” had occurred.