Poynter – How did we get here?: “The world changed last week after rioters infiltrated the U.S. Capitol building and disrupted our legislative and democratic process. It was an event most people did not see coming, but others have worried about for months, if not years. Disinformation and misinformation researchers, online content verification analysts and… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Social Media
The deplatforming of President Trump
Tech Crunch: A review of an unprecedented and historical week for the tech industry: “After years of placid admonishments, the tech world came out in force against President Trump this past week following the violent assault of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. From Twitter to PayPal, more than a dozen companies… Continue Reading
The scramble to archive Capitol insurrection footage before it disappears
MIT Technology Review: “As a violent mob incited by President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on January 6, halting the procedure in Congress to formally certify Joe Biden as president-elect, a Redditor with the username Adam Lynch began a thread on the subreddit r/DataHoarder—a forum dedicated to saving data that might be erased or… Continue Reading
Masked and armed rioters who were inside the Capitol intent on violence
Slate – They Were Out for Blood – “The men who carried zip ties as they stormed the Capitol weren’t clowning around. “…But there were other rioters inside the Capitol, if you look at the images. And once you see them, it’s impossible to look away. The zip-tie guys. Call the zip ties by their… Continue Reading
Every month the archival institutions of this nation unleash tiny particles of the past in a frenzy of online revelry
The New York Times – “The hashtag parties are the handiwork of a small group of employees at the National Archives. Their aims are twofold: to draw public attention to the holdings of the National Archives, and to refract that attention widely, across a community of like-minded organizations, which can themselves refract it on. “A… Continue Reading
How one of America’s ugliest days unraveled inside and outside the Capitol
The Capitol Insurrection via a Washington Post visual timeline: “Jan. 6, 2021, was always on the country’s radar. Two runoff elections that would determine control of the Senate still had not been decided as Tuesday became Wednesday. A joint session of Congress convened to certify Joe Biden’s electoral-vote win while thousands gathered on the Mall… Continue Reading
WHO Guide – Let’s flatten the infodemic curve
“We are all being exposed to a huge amount of COVID-19 information on a daily basis, and not all of it is reliable. Here are some tips for telling the difference and stopping the spread of misinformation. Due to COVID-19, most of us have a new word in our vocabulary: epidemiology. It is the branch… Continue Reading
Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.
ProPublica: Insurrectionists made no effort to hide their intentions, but law enforcement protecting Congress was caught flat-footed. “This story is part of an ongoing collaboration between ProPublica and FRONTLINE that includes an upcoming documentary. The invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was stoked in plain sight. For weeks, the far-right supporters of President Donald… Continue Reading
How years of online misinformation erupted into real-world insurrection
Fast Company – “On social networks, a toxic stew of lies simmered for years—until the president’s supporters responded with violent action at the U.S. Capitol…Despite the many fact-checking outlets and news organization efforts devoted to correcting Trump’s errors, he is un-fact-checkable. His constant stream of half truths and outright lies have fostered an environment where… Continue Reading
2020 was the year activists mastered hashtag flooding
Mashable: “…There are a number of reasons why hashtag flooding can be impactful, but Volsky feels a hashtag’s ability to help people reclaim a narrative is one of the strongest. “I think the way social media is structured is to reward the loudest most obnoxious, most controversial voices out there, and that’s part of the… Continue Reading
Facts won’t fix this: experts on how to fight America’s disinformation crisis
The Guardian – “Trump’s false claims about the election and coronavirus are taking a dangerous toll. Can the divide be healed? At the beginning of 2021, millions of Americans appear to disagree about one of the most basic facts of their democracy: that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The consequences of Donald Trump’s… Continue Reading
7 Steps to Tidying Your Digital Life
Wirecutter / The New York Times – “We live our digital lives across a variety of apps, devices, and accounts. On each of those, a breadcrumb connects back to you. The more breadcrumbs you have out in the world, the easier it is to trace your activity, whether for advertising or identity theft. Installing a… Continue Reading
