Hard Reset

A group of three connected debt collection companies were permanently banned from the industry last week. Here are some of the illegal tactics they used on millions of consumers across the country.

Plus, new numbers dispute allegations that the tech industry is biased against conservatives and a resurfaced video that placed an interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar out of context.

Facing a record-breaking backlog of cases, immigration courts are strapped for a resource that isn't available from the Department of Justice - time. Cases stretch on for years in a process that creates anxiety for defendants and constant stress for overworked immigration judges.

Plus: A game that helps people recognize fake news.

On this episode of Hard Reset: Last week, the White House held what it called a social media summit, but no social media platforms were on the guest list. That's because the event focused on unfounded allegations that tech companies are biased against conservatives. In this episode, hosts JC Cortez and Justin Sanders dig into these bias allegations, as well as claims that shadow-banning and doxxing are being used to target conservatives.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that the indefinite detention of asylum-seeking migrants is unconstitutional. Here's how that order came about, despite the fact that immigration judges have had the ability to grant bond to asylum-seekers for more than a decade.

Plus, just a few minutes after an earthquake hit California last week, the Los Angeles Times had a story on the quake ready to go. That's because the story had been automatically generated by a robot, as part of a growing trend in journalism.

Veritas literally means “truth” in Latin, but Project Veritas never lets the truth get in the way of a good story. We talked about some of the ethical issues with Project Veritas' recent videos alleging bias against conservatives in the tech industry.

Also: Medicare for all became one of the lasting issues from last week's Democratic debates. We took a look at some of the issues that came up, including debunked allegations that Medicare for all would put all hospitals out of business.

With an unprecedented surge of migrants fleeing violence in Central America, US border shelters are overcapacity. This situation led the Department of Health and Human Services to announce plans to house up to 1,400 undocumented migrant children in Fort Sill, an Army base in Oklahoma. Hosts JC Cortez, Justin Sanders and Mollie Bryant discuss these developments and take a look at the controversy unleashed when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's called border detainment facilities "concentration camps."

Read Mollie's fact check on what caused the migrant crisis here: https://www.bigiftrue.org/2019/06/25/factchecking-oklahoma-what-caused-the-migrant-children-crisis/

And read our fact check on the definition of concentration camps here: https://www.bigiftrue.org/2019/06/24/american-mythology-what-are-concentration-camps/

On the first episode of Hard Reset, hosts Mollie Bryant, JC Cortez and Justin Sanders dive into the world of misinformation - what it actually is, how technology helps it spread and the impending danger of deepfakes.