July 22, 2020

NBC News: Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown

NBC News: Twitter bans 7,000 QAnon accounts, limits 150,000 others as part of broad crackdown. “Twitter will stop recommending accounts and content related to QAnon, including material in email and follow recommendations, and it will take steps to limit circulation of content in features like trends and search. The action will affect about 150,000 accounts, said a spokesperson, who asked to remain unnamed because of concerns about the targeted harassment of social media employees.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
June 23, 2020

Mother Jones: How the Coronavirus Spread QAnon

Mother Jones: How the Coronavirus Spread QAnon. “Data compiled from social networking sites and Google and Wikipedia search trends show a broader spike in interest around QAnon among Americans after businesses started to close and various lockdowns started in mid-March in anticipation of further viral spread. Online activity around QAnon and related topics rapidly climbed to all-time highs. Interest in the search terms has yet to return to pre-COVID levels.”

COVID-19 0
April 18, 2020

Local12: Virus-fueled conspiracy theories take aim at hospitals

Local12: Virus-fueled conspiracy theories take aim at hospitals. “The video lasts just 13 seconds and shows nothing more than the view from a car quietly driving past a hospital entrance. But the person who posted it on Twitter used the footage to sarcastically question reports of ‘apocalyptic conditions’ at Mount Sinai Queens in New York City. That video and dozens of others like it have been spreading on social media through the #FilmYourHospital hashtag. The people taking and posting videos of quiet scenes outside hospitals are promoting a right-wing conspiracy theory that fear-mongering media outlets and Democrats are intentionally exaggerating COVID-19’s deadly toll.”

COVID-19 0
March 22, 2019

The Atlantic: Instagram Is the Internet’s New Home for Hate

The Atlantic: Instagram Is the Internet’s New Home for Hate. “Instagram is teeming with these conspiracy theories, viral misinformation, and extremist memes, all daisy-chained together via a network of accounts with incredible algorithmic reach and millions of collective followers—many of whom, like Alex, are very young. These accounts intersperse TikTok videos and nostalgia memes with anti-vaccination rhetoric, conspiracy theories about George Soros and the Clinton family, and jokes about killing women, Jews, Muslims, and liberals.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
September 19, 2018

Washington Post: How conspiracy theories spread from the Internet’s darkest corners

Washington Post: How conspiracy theories spread from the Internet’s darkest corners. “On July 7, Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and frequent Fox News contributor, published a tweet that contained startling but inaccurately sourced statistics about the alleged growth of human trafficking arrests under the Trump administration. It stated there were 1,952 human trafficking arrests through all of 2016, but in the first half of 2018 authorities had already made an astounding 5,987 human trafficking arrests. Kirk’s tweet falsely claimed these figures came from the Justice Department.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
September 15, 2018

QAnon: The conspiracy theory that’s sparked Reddit bans, explained (CNET)

CNET: QAnon: The conspiracy theory that’s sparked Reddit bans, explained. “The theorizing and fanfare around the QAnon theory has been taking place across the internet since before the 2016 presidential election went in favor of then-candidate Donald Trump. But it wasn’t until President Trump held a rally in Tampa Bay, Florida, in early August that the obscure theory came into the mainstream.”

Useful Stuff 0
August 9, 2018

Vox: We analyzed every QAnon post on Reddit. Here’s who QAnon supporters actually are.

Vox: We analyzed every QAnon post on Reddit. Here’s who QAnon supporters actually are.. “Late on a recent Thursday night, a Reddit user posted a comment in a forum (or subreddit) devoted to the game Magic: The Gathering about how the company that makes the game is hiring with diversity in mind — and how that was ruining the quality of its cards. Then he went to another subreddit, /r/TheRedPill, a men’s rights community known for its misogyny. He posted a comment saying our society lets gay and transgender people and women get away with sexual harassment. His next stop is what’s most interesting.”

Research & Opinion 0

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