The Atlantic [read free]: “These platforms were already imperfect. Now extremist groups are making sophisticated use of their vulnerabilities. The incentives of social media have long been perverse. But in recent weeks, platforms have become virtually unusable for people seeking accurate information….Social media has long encouraged the sharing of outrageous content. Posts that stoke strong… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Social Media
Are people actually using TikTok for news?
Mashable: “…Researchers Nick Hagar from the New York Times and Nicholas Diakopoulos of Northwestern University have published a study in New Media and Society [Algorithmic indifference: The dearth of news recommendations on TikTok] which investigated how news content was amplified and recommended on the TikTok For You Page. Bear in mind that at the end… Continue Reading
Violent and graphic content of the Gaza conflict served to minors’ accounts
Content warning: This dispatch contains graphic descriptions of violence, including to children. Institute for Strategic Dialogue: “Over a 48-hour period, ISD analysts surfaced more than 300 posts or videos across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, portraying extremely graphic, distressing, or violent imagery around the conflict between Hamas and Israel, available to the accounts of 13-year-olds utilising… Continue Reading
Misinformation Is Soaring Online. Don’t Fall for It
Wired via PodMust: “Misinformation lives everywhere. False accounts of events, doctored photos, and purposely misleading news stories are quickly shared and passed around on social media, usually by well-meaning people who don’t know they’re sharing incorrect information. It’s a big problem in the best of times, but the stakes become much higher during a heated… Continue Reading
Antisemitism and Its Impacts
Use this Explainer and Tropes Chart to help students understand what antisemitism is, how it shows up in contemporary settings, why it persists, and how it impacts individuals and communities….”What Forms Does Antisemitism Take and Where Does It Show Up? Because humans often divide our societies into “in” groups and “out” groups, and because we… Continue Reading
radio free fedi – sound from the fediverse to the universe
24/7 music and sounds from the fediverse. “This is small web, consent driven, artist populated, non-commercial mechanism, attribution promoting, community radio from the fediverse. Our RFF flagship main channel is a hyper diverse free form format lightly curated to not completely rip the paint off the wall or wear out your welcome but will challenge… Continue Reading
Don’t believe everything you see and hear about Israel and Palestine
Vox: “After Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,000 and taking at least 150 hostages, and Israel declared war against Hamas and retaliated, photographs and videos of violence flooded out of the region and onto social media. Some of the images were posted by victims on the… Continue Reading
Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been Negligible
Nieman Reports: “A lot of people threaten to leave Twitter. Not many of them have actually done it. This was true even before Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform a year ago. But the parade of calamities since — cutting back on moderation, unplugging servers, reinstating banned accounts, replacing verified check marks with paid subscription… Continue Reading
WordPress.com blogs can now be followed on Mastodon and other federated platforms
TechCrunch:”Earlier this year, WordPress.com owner Automattic acquired a plug-in that allowed WordPress blogs to be followed in the fediverse — the decentralized social networks that include the Twitter rival Mastodon and others. As a result, it launched version 1.0.0 of the plug-in, allowing WordPress blogs to be followed on Mastodon and other fediverse apps. At… Continue Reading
Protesters Decry Meta’s “Irreversible Proliferation” of AI
IEE Spectrum: “Efforts to make AI open source have become a lightning rod for disagreements about the potential harms of the emerging technology. Last week, protesters gathered outside Meta’s San Francisco offices to protest its policy of publicly releasing its AI models, claiming that the releases represent “irreversible proliferation” of potentially unsafe technology. But others… Continue Reading
How to Maintain Mental Hygiene as an Open Source Researcher
Giancarlo Fiorella is the Director for Research and Training at Bellingcat. This article, published November 22, 2022, has even greater weight and significance now, for those who engage throughout each day with images as well as narrative that can cause great harm. To all the journalists who risk their lives, who keep us informed with… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 7, 2023
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 7, 2023 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex… Continue Reading
