Long before the word “tweet” was associated with anything other than birds, Einstein’s career was nearly derailed by an early form of the disinformation now ubiquitous on social media. In 1920, skeptical scientists who deemed Einstein a crackpot, and his theory of relativity nonsense, joined forces. Like other prominent Jews, Einstein was targeted as an enemy of the state, and a bounty was rumored to have been placed on his head. Einstein received a welcome reception whenever he arrived on the shores of New York City. For the final two decades of his life, he was one of the most widely respected public figures in the world.

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Persons: Einstein, ”, Matthew Stanley, Stanley, “, Carolyn Abraham, —, Walter Cronkite, influencers Organizations: Berlin Philharmonic Hall, New York University, Caltech, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Germany, Austrian, Europe, New York City, United States