<![CDATA[Reality Check by NewsGuard]]>
www.newsguardrealitycheck.com]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/podcastSubstackSun, 17 May 2026 12:42:10 GMThttps://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/2106147.rssNewsGuardA report on how false claims online are undermining trust — and who’s behind them. Produced by co-CEOs Steven Brill, Gordon Crovitz, and the NewsGuard Team.episodicNewsGuardrealitycheck@newsguardtech.comNo<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Many Americans Think Trump ‘Staged’ Assassination Attempts; Tucker Carlson’s Pro-Russia Platform]]>This week’s episode covers a recent NewsGuard/YouGov poll that found that one in four Americans believe Trump “staged” the attempt on his life at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Our AI hosts break down the striking partisan and age divides revealed in the survey, including that 42 percent of Democrats believe the attempted assassination at the July 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was “staged.” We also discuss the stunning pro-Russian shift of an ex-Zelensky aide, who advanced Kremlin propaganda on the Tucker Carlson Show.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-many-americanssubstack:post:197922911Sat, 16 May 2026 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo824<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: The ‘Staged’ Press Gala Hoax and a Bogus Cancer Link]]>This week’s episode covers the BlueAnon conspiracy that the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was orchestrated by the Trump administration, which received more than 90 million views across the social media platform X. We also discuss how anti-vax social media accounts are falsely claiming that rising cancer rates are caused by COVID vaccines.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-the-stagedsubstack:post:196180506Sat, 02 May 2026 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo411<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Brands that Fund Health Hoaxes and the Microwaved Hungarian Puppy Claim]]>This week’s episode covers a JAMA study’s finding that health care-related institutions, ranging from pharmaceutical companies to government health agencies, spent tens of millions in advertising dollars on news websites flagged by NewsGuard for spreading health misinformation. We also discuss Russian disinformation surrounding Hungary’s parliamentary elections, including that the anti-Putin party planned a Ukrainian-style coup in the event of a loss and that the incoming prime minister microwaved his puppy.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-brands-thatsubstack:post:194554100Sat, 18 Apr 2026 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo711<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Iran War AI Fakes — and the Backlash Against Reality]]>This week’s episode covers how misleading content including AI-generated visuals are being weaponized across the Iran conflict — and how that’s reshaping what people trust online. From a recycled battlefield image falsely portrayed as a U.S. soldier begging Iran for mercy to a viral AI-generated image of a missile inscribed with the slogan “No Kings,” we break down how these narratives spread across ideological lines and how the increasing presence of misinformation in social media and elsewhere online is eroding trust in authentic content.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-iran-war-aisubstack:post:193118236Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo882<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Iran Labels Real Videos as AI Hoaxes]]>This week’s episode covers a twist in the AI misinformation playbook: false claims that authentic content is actually AI-generated. From a real video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of being a deepfake video to AI-manipulated graphics overstating global fuel shortages, we break down two methods for how state-linked actors are using AI narratives to distort reality.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-iran-labelssubstack:post:191619523Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo522<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Iran Is Winning the Disinformation Battle]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s extensive coverage on false claims surrounding the Iran war, from misleading visuals to AI tools repeating disinformation. We also tackle how Iranian state media has evolved to produce convincing AI propaganda targeted at its own population.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-iran-is-winningsubstack:post:190143459Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo599<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: ChatGPT and Gemini Fail to Stop their AI Voice Tools From Spreading False Claims & an iPhone 18 Hoax]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s audit of leading AI audio bots, which found that ChatGPT and Gemini advance false claims on topics in the news about 50 percent of the time, while Alexa+ appears to have effective guardrails. We also report on a viral iPhone hoax originating from an Indonesian-based TikTok account that is attempting to impersonate Apple.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-chatgpt-andsubstack:post:188658413Sat, 21 Feb 2026 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo644<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: How AI Images Hijack the Epstein Files]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s reporting on the Jan. 30, 2026, release of the “Epstein files” and the wave of AI-generated content that followed, falsely linking prominent political leaders to Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes. It also explores a NewsGuard red-teaming effort to assess how easily top AI image generators can be used to create Epstein deepfakes.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-how-ai-imagessubstack:post:187137539Sat, 07 Feb 2026 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo600<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: AI Chatbots Can’t Spot AI & Russian Disinformers Make Most of Controversy Over Greenland ]]>This week’s episode covers a Jan. 22 NewsGuard report that assessed whether leading chatbots ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini can be counted on to determine the authenticity of videos made with OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video generator. (Hint: They can not). We also examine false claims coming out of Russia targeting Europe’s anxieties over Greenland — all of which impersonate legitimate news outlets to deceive viewers.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-ai-chatbotssubstack:post:185578300Sat, 24 Jan 2026 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo603<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: AI Distortions of Capture in Venezuela and ICE Shooting in Minneapolis]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s reporting on the use of AI images and out-of-context visuals to falsely portray the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. We also detail how AI images of the Jan. 7 ICE shooting in Minneapolis attempted to reframe events and falsely identify the ICE agent involved.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-ai-distortionssubstack:post:184061036Sat, 10 Jan 2026 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo574<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: The Sydney Hanukkah Massacre]]>This week’s episode covers false claims about the horrific Hanukkah massacre in Sydney, Australia, with falsehoods aimed at the victims, the alleged shooters, and the man who disarmed one of the perpetrators. We break down how these narratives spread in different corners of the internet and why they continued to gain traction despite clear evidence to the contrary.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-the-sydneysubstack:post:182136609Sat, 20 Dec 2025 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo573<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Google’s AI Hoax Machine, Hyundai Is Not in Russia, and Italian Myths Travel Abroad]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s False Claim of the Week — the falsehood that 59 percent of undocumented immigrants collect SNAP food-stamp benefits. We also expose how Russia’s propaganda outlet RT celebrated its 20th anniversary with a life-sized megaphone beside the Kremlin and celebrity guests in attendance. We end by debunking a viral false health claim, spread by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and podcaster Tucker Carlson, that Jews and the Chinese are immune to COVID-19.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-googles-aisubstack:post:180835172Sat, 06 Dec 2025 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo570<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Grok’s Election Denial, A Bogus Business Exodus from NYC, and Russia’s Interference with Armenian Elections]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s False Claim of the Week — the falsehood that 59 percent of undocumented immigrants collect SNAP food-stamp benefits. We also expose how Russia’s propaganda outlet RT celebrated its 20th anniversary with a life-sized megaphone beside the Kremlin and celebrity guests in attendance. We end by debunking a viral false health claim, spread by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and podcaster Tucker Carlson, that Jews and the Chinese are immune to COVID-19.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-groks-electionsubstack:post:178932277Sat, 15 Nov 2025 15:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo627<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Food Stamps & Immigrants, Celebrating Propaganda RT’s Anniversary, and an Ethnic COVID Hoax]]>This week’s episode covers NewsGuard’s False Claim of the Week — the falsehood that 59 percent of undocumented immigrants collect SNAP food-stamp benefits. We also expose how Russia’s propaganda outlet RT celebrated its 20th anniversary with a life-sized megaphone beside the Kremlin and celebrity guests in attendance. We end by debunking a viral false health claim, spread by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and podcaster Tucker Carlson, that Jews and the Chinese are immune to COVID-19.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-food-stampssubstack:post:177691065Sat, 01 Nov 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo658<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Open AI’s Sora Spreads False News Claims 80% of the Time and a Russian Disinformation Laundering Loop]]>This week’s episode covers the ease with which OpenAI’s Sora can generate realistic deepfake videos designed to spread false claims in the news at scale. We also unpack how a fabricated corruption claim about Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled from a fringe Turkish outlet through Russian media to the mainstream platform MSN operated by Microsoft  and a member of Congress, before returning to Moscow as supposed “proof.”



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-open-ais-sorasubstack:post:176452648Sat, 18 Oct 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo622<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Tylenol and the Mormon Church Shooting]]>This week’s episode covers the unfounded hysteria surrounding a rumored spike in Tylenol overdoses among pregnant women supposedly looking to spite President Trump. We also unpack a prominent false claim about the Michigan Mormon church shooting, highlighting the growing trend of assigning fake political identities to suspects in the aftermath of mass tragedies.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-tylenol-andsubstack:post:175233039Sat, 04 Oct 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo670<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Charlie Kirk’s Assassination]]>This week’s episode covers false claims about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, including claims originating from Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state media that aim to sow division and undermine Western allies.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-charlie-kirkssubstack:post:174051978Sat, 20 Sep 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo748<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Trump’s Phony Health Crisis and AI’s Growing False Claim Rate]]>This podcast is created based on NewsGuard's Reality Check newsletter using Google's NotebookLM AI tool. Each podcast's content is closely reviewed by NewsGuard's team of journalists for accuracy. For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary "AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right."

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter false claims for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-trumps-phonysubstack:post:172903461Sat, 06 Sep 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo560<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Russian Influence Ops and a Rabies Myth]]>This podcast is created based on NewsGuard's Reality Check newsletter using Google's NotebookLM AI tool. Each podcast's content is closely reviewed by NewsGuard's team of journalists for accuracy. For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary "AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right."

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter false claims for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-russian-influencesubstack:post:171588400Sat, 23 Aug 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo657<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: RFK Jr., DOGE's 'Big Balls,' and Obama's Martha's Vineyard Estate]]>This podcast is created based on NewsGuard's Reality Check newsletter using Google's NotebookLM AI tool. Each podcast's content is closely reviewed by NewsGuard's team of journalists for accuracy. For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary "AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right."

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter false claims for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-rfk-jr-dogessubstack:post:170481962Sat, 09 Aug 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo916<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Trump-Epstein Fakes and Assassination Hoaxes]]>This podcast is created based on NewsGuard's Reality Check newsletter using Google's NotebookLM AI tool. Each podcast's content is closely reviewed by NewsGuard's team of journalists for accuracy. For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary "AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right."

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter false claims for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-trump-epsteinsubstack:post:169251180Sat, 26 Jul 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo829<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Texas Flood Myths, Iranian Propaganda, and the L.A. Traffic Hoax]]>This podcast is created based on NewsGuard's Reality Check newsletter using Google's NotebookLM AI tool. Each podcast's content is closely reviewed by NewsGuard's team of journalists for accuracy. For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary "AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right."

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter false claims for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-texas-floodsubstack:post:168148039Sat, 12 Jul 2025 14:03:28 GMTNewsGuardNo714<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: CDC Vaccine Advisor Debunked and LA Misinformation, Foreign and Domestic]]>This podcast is created based on NewsGuard's Reality Check newsletter using Google's NotebookLM AI tool. Each podcast's content is closely reviewed by NewsGuard's team of journalists for accuracy. For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary "AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right."

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter misinformation for readers, brands, and democracies. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/reality-check-podcast-cdc-vaccinesubstack:post:165893534Sat, 14 Jun 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo731<![CDATA[Reality Check Podcast: Harvard Gets Punked from Both Sides]]>For more information on NewsGuard's use of AI to make these podcasts, read our commentary “AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right.”

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter misinformation for readers, brands, and democracies. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/ai-podcast-harvard-gets-punked-fromsubstack:post:164830723Sat, 31 May 2025 14:00:00 GMTNewsGuardNo763<![CDATA[Commentary: AI Made This Podcast — But We Made Sure it Got it Right]]>By Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard Co-CEO

When Reality Check reports about artificial intelligence, it’s almost always to explain how bad actors use fake images, audio, or video to fool people into believing falsehoods, from Russian disinformation to healthcare hoaxes and conspiracy theories.

As a change of pace, we are presenting a use of AI to inform people about misinformation instead of to create misinformation: We are sharing an AI-produced podcast version of the most recent week of top Reality Check stories. This podcast, produced using Google’s NotebookLM, shows how accurate and engaging an AI-created podcast can be — so long as it is carefully reviewed by humans, in our case by NewsGuard analysts.

We were surprised by how well the AI “hosts” are able to tell the stories we cover in Reality Check. We thought our Reality Check readers might be as interested as we were in hearing what an AI tool can do to convert a written report into a podcast format. Again, however entertaining or informative the podcast sounds, we believe that has to be accompanied by close human oversight — and with clear disclosure that AI is being used.

We think we have done a good job on both counts, but we would like to know if you agree. So, please let us know what you think about this use of AI, including whether you would like to have a regular podcast version of Reality Check.

Gordon Crovitz is the Co-CEO and Co-Editor-In-Chief of NewsGuard. Previously, he was publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter misinformation for readers, brands, and democracies. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.



Get full access to NewsGuard's Reality Check at www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/subscribe]]>https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/commentary-ai-made-this-podcast-butsubstack:post:163398364Mon, 12 May 2025 16:14:40 GMTNewsGuardNo595