My name is Todd Leventhal. I’ve worked researching false stories about the United States for the State Department for 15 of the past 21 years.
In 1987, when I started, the big disinformation story was the false Soviet claim that the United States had invented the AIDS virus. No scientists believed this and, in 1999, scientists determined that the virus had come from a West African chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes troglodytes.
The “baby parts” rumor also started in 1987. The false story that Americans or others were adopting or kidnapping Latin American children for use in organ transplants tore through the world press for 10 years. Variants of it won the most prestigious journalism prize in France in 1995 and in Spain in 1996 – both based on untrue stories.
In the 1990’s, I researched false claims that depleted uranium munitions used during the 1991 Gulf War had caused cancer and birth defects in Iraq. We all have powerful fears about the highly enriched uranium used in weapons and nuclear power plants, but depleted uranium is very different; it’s only very weakly radioactive. It’s been “depleted” of its radioactivity. But anything with the last name “uranium” scares people, and emotional associations often trump logic when dealing with things we don’t know much about.
Finally, after the September 11 attacks, I’ve spent a lot of time debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories.
See some examples of my work under “Related Sites” on the right.
Todd Leventhal is the Department’s expert on conspiracy theories and misinformation—stories that are untrue, but widely believed. He enjoys reading obituaries, which tell the personal stories of people who have shaped the fabric of American life.
Todd became interested in international affairs after a four-month trip to the Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India in 1972. He worked for Voice of America for seven years and bikes to work year-round.
Comments (4)
prateep pal
30 June 2008 at 09:03 EDT
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The stories of depleted uranium munitions
are widely circulated among the the people of different countries a big section firmly belives with that theory. Its the duty of NATO to prove that this is a false claim and the people of Afganistan and Iraque are not suffering with any problem of depleted uranium munitions .
Travellers Content
5 July 2008 at 05:12 EDT
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Stories about the baby parts are definately not true.
http://www.travellers-content.co.uk
Rafiq
28 September 2008 at 09:17 EDT
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what about the news story that it was US special forces soldiers that put the fires at the Kuwaiti oil wells at the time of the withdrawl of Iraqi troops ?
Dr.
20 January 2009 at 13:54 EST
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Well, Todd, you seem to be the gate keeper for all “misinformation” that plagues us foolish little sheeple. Thanks for the protection. The folks down at the Lodge and even the very fine examples at your synagogue are undoubtedly very proud of you. I suspect that your many years of investigations has lead to the conclusion that the USA Corporation is innocent of all accusations. Especially 9/11, where the official version has yet to be contradicted in any way shape or form. Of course, we know that the State Dept. considers any criticism of Israel as anti-semitism now, so regardless of culprit, the table is very well set for us as usual.