misinformation | ResearchBuzz: Firehose

October 1, 2023

Fact Checkers Take Stock of Their Efforts: ‘It’s Not Getting Better’ (New York Times)

New York Times: Fact Checkers Take Stock of Their Efforts: ‘It’s Not Getting Better’. “The number of fact-checking operations at news organizations and elsewhere has stagnated, and perhaps even fallen, after a booming expansion in response to a rise in unsubstantiated claims about elections and the pandemic. The social networking companies that once trumpeted efforts to combat misinformation are showing signs of waning interest. And those who write about falsehoods around the world are facing worsening harassment and personal threats.”

October 1, 2023

Combating Distrust Online: New GW Study Explains Why Current Messaging Efforts May Not Be Effective (George Washington University)

George Washington University: Combating Distrust Online: New GW Study Explains Why Current Messaging Efforts May Not Be Effective. “New research led by the George Washington University finds that current mitigation efforts to combat distrust online may not be effective because organizations and governments tackling distrust are only targeting one topic and only one geographical scale. The study shows that online distrust has become a ‘glocal’ phenomenon, meaning that it is spreading with different topics lumped together and mixing both local and global interests.”

Research & Opinion 0

September 30, 2023

WIRED: Six Months Ago Elon Musk Called for a Pause on AI. Instead Development Sped Up

WIRED: Six Months Ago Elon Musk Called for a Pause on AI. Instead Development Sped Up. “SIX MONTHS AGO this week, many prominent AI researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on development of AI systems more capable than OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 language generator. It argued that AI is advancing so quickly and unpredictably that it could eliminate countless jobs, flood us with disinformation, and—as a wave of panicky headlines reported—destroy humanity. Whoops!”

Tweaks & Updates 0

September 30, 2023

New York Times: China Uses ‘Deceptive’ Methods to Sow Disinformation, U.S. Says

New York Times: China Uses ‘Deceptive’ Methods to Sow Disinformation, U.S. Says. “The State Department accused China on Thursday of using ‘deceptive and coercive methods’ to shape the global information environment, by acquiring stakes in foreign newspapers and television networks, using major social media platforms to promote its views and exerting pressure on international organizations and media outlets to silence critics of Beijing.”

Security & Legal Issues 0

September 29, 2023

Euronews: Pro-Russia disinformation floods Slovakia ahead of crucial parliamentary election

Euronews: Pro-Russia disinformation floods Slovakia ahead of crucial parliamentary election . “Propaganda and attacks on LGBTQ people are prominent ahead of election which could decide whether the country moves politically closer to Moscow. Voters in Slovakia are being inundated with misinformation from home and abroad in the run-up to the country’s parliamentary elections on Saturday. The vote could determine whether the country of 5.4 million moves closer to Moscow or not, with much of the false information coming from Russia.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

September 28, 2023

Rolling Stone: Twitter Fires Election Integrity Team Ahead of 2024 Elections

Rolling Stone: Twitter Fires Election Integrity Team Ahead of 2024 Elections. “Several European staffers working on a threat disruption team for the social platform, including senior manager Aaron Rodericks, have been fired this week, according to a report in the tech publication The Information that cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Site owner Elon Musk confirmed the termination of the team members on Wednesday.”

Tweaks & Updates 0

September 28, 2023

Irish Times: TikTok discovers ‘covert influence operation’ targeting Ireland

Irish Times: TikTok discovers ‘covert influence operation’ targeting Ireland. “Video-sharing service TikTok dismantled a ‘covert influence operation’ network dedicated to targeting users in Ireland with ‘divisive’ content to “intensify social conflict”, the company has disclosed. The influence network was made up of 72 accounts that together had a following of some 94,743 users, and was shut down earlier this year.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

September 27, 2023

New York Times: Disinformation is a weapon regularly deployed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

New York Times: Disinformation is a weapon regularly deployed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.. “What is clear is that misdirection, disinformation and propaganda are weapons regularly deployed in Russia’s war in Ukraine to buoy spirits at home, demoralize the enemy or lead opponents into a trap. And it is often hard to know when reports are false or why they may have been disseminated. Now, Ukraine and Russia are offering dueling narratives over whether a more senior Russian naval officer, the commanding admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, is alive or dead.”

Security & Legal Issues 0

September 27, 2023

Deutsche Welle: EU says Elon Musk’s X is biggest source of disinformation

Deutsche Welle: EU says Elon Musk’s X is biggest source of disinformation. “The social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, is the biggest source of fake news, a top European official said Tuesday. European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said that X, which is not a signatory to a European Union-wide code of conduct to crack down on fake news on social media platforms and advertising companies, has the ‘largest ratio of mis/disinformation posts.’”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

September 27, 2023

Ars Technica: Can you melt eggs? Quora’s AI says “yes,” and Google is sharing the result

Ars Technica: Can you melt eggs? Quora’s AI says “yes,” and Google is sharing the result. “When you type a question into Google Search, the site sometimes provides a quick answer called a Featured Snippet at the top of the results, pulled from websites it has indexed. On Monday, X user Tyler Glaiel noticed that Google’s answer to ‘can you melt eggs’ resulted in a ‘yes,’ pulled from Quora’s integrated ‘ChatGPT’ feature, which is based on an earlier version of OpenAI’s language model that frequently confabulates information.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

September 27, 2023

The Guardian: X/Twitter scraps feature letting users report misleading information

The Guardian: X/Twitter scraps feature letting users report misleading information. “X, the company formerly known as Twitter, has removed the ability for people to report a tweet for containing misleading information just weeks before a referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament in Australia.”

Tweaks & Updates 0

September 25, 2023

Harvard Gazette: How federal missteps opened door to COVID misinformation

Harvard Gazette: How federal missteps opened door to COVID misinformation. “Federal agencies helped set the stage for a wave of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories about its origins through early missteps in messaging about the virus and control measures, stumbles that fueled public distrust and hampered government efforts, according to New York Times health and science reporter Apoorva Mandavilli. For instance, public health agencies failed to speak clearly and in a timely fashion about how the virus could spread indoors, Mandavilli said in a talk sponsored by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health Communication on Wednesday afternoon.”

COVID-19 0

September 25, 2023

The Guardian: AEC struggles to get Twitter to remove posts that ‘incite violence’ and spread ‘disinformation’ ahead of voice

The Guardian: AEC struggles to get Twitter to remove posts that ‘incite violence’ and spread ‘disinformation’ ahead of voice. “The Australian Electoral Commission has struggled to get Twitter to remove posts that it says are inciting violence against staff and promoting disinformation about the electoral process ahead of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, documents reveal.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

September 24, 2023

The Hill: Biden campaign launches strategy to combat misinformation on social media

The Hill: Biden campaign launches strategy to combat misinformation on social media. “President Biden’s reelection campaign is creating a working group centered on combating misinformation on social media networks, a Biden campaign official told The Hill on Wednesday. The group will be led by Rob Flaherty, deputy campaign manager; Michael Tyler, communications director; and Maury Riggan, general counsel, as well as aides from the rapid response communications team and legal team.”

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September 24, 2023

Washington Post: Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks

Washington Post: Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks. “Academics, universities and government agencies are overhauling or ending research programs designed to counter the spread of online misinformation amid a legal campaign from conservative politicians and activists who accuse them of colluding with tech companies to censor right-wing views.” The link is to a gift article so you should be able to read it without paywall.

Research & Opinion 0

New York Times: Disinformation is a weapon regularly deployed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Harvard Gazette: How federal missteps opened door to COVID misinformation

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