Misinformation Review – Harvard Kennedy School – “The Kremlin’s use of bots and trolls to manipulate the recommendation algorithms of social media platforms is well-documented by many journalists and researchers. However pro-Kremlin manipulation of search engine algorithms has rarely been explored. We examine pro-Kremlin attempts to manipulate search engine results by comparing backlink and keyphrase… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Social Media
Flipboard joins the fediverse
“Flipboard has announced it is joining the fediverse in a major way, by allowing you to interact with Mastodon through their app, as well as setting up their own instance. Reading the language in the blog posts, it is clear that Flipboard sees this not just as a side experiment, but that they are all… Continue Reading
DuckDuckGo special reports on privacy
Stupid Sexy Privacy “is a WAYWO.TV special report, sponsored by DuckDuckGo. In this 24-ish episode miniseries, you’ll hear from privacy and security experts, and get the best tips on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos.” Continue Reading
State Child Privacy Law Update, February 28, 2023
WilmerHale: State Child Privacy Law Update, February 28, 2023: “In addition to the numerous comprehensive privacy laws that have been proposed in at least 20 states thus far in 2023, legislative trends demonstrate an emerging focus on regulations that address specific types of information, including the personal information of children. To date, 19 such proposals… Continue Reading
The Reaction Economy
The London Review of Books: The Reaction Economy – William Davies – “When I deleted my Twitter account in September last year, provoked not by Elon Musk’s imminent takeover but by the suffocating quantity of royal coverage gushing from every media source, I was left feeling bereft, as any addict is when their drug is… Continue Reading
Four ways the Supreme Court could reshape the web
MIT Technology Review – “Though we won’t probably know until summer, here are some scenarios for how cases on Section 230 and content moderation could resolve…We shouldn’t read too much into the oral arguments heard this week, and they’re not a firm indication of how the court will rule (likely by summer). However, the questions… Continue Reading
How to delete your Twitter account and protect your data, too
ZDNet: “Even before all of the turmoil that’s plagued Twitter since Elon Musk’s takeover, there were many reasons why people wanted to leave it. From social media detoxes, to simply migrating to a new platform, the transition happens more than you might think. Now, since Elon Musk appears to be failing in his promise not to turn Twitter… Continue Reading
Section 230 Won’t Protect ChatGPT
Lawfare, Matt Perault: “The emergence of products fueled by generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT will usher in a new era in the platform liability wars. Previous waves of new communication technologies—from websites and chat rooms to social media apps and video sharing services—have been shielded from legal liability for content posted on their… Continue Reading
What did they know, and when did they know it? The Microsoft Bing edition
Gary Marcus – Substack – The Road to AI We Can Trust – A new discovery that makes a curious story a whole lot more curious. “We all know by now just how off the rails Bing can get. Here’s a timeline, deliberately leaving out one surprising thing out until the end. March 23, 2016: Microsoft… Continue Reading
Russian propagandists are buying Twitter blue-check verifications
Washington Post: “Accounts pushing Kremlin propaganda are using Twitter’s new paid verification system to appear more prominently on the global platform, another sign that Elon Musk’s takeover is accelerating the spread of politically charged misinformation, a nonprofit research group has found. The accounts claim to be based outside of Russia, so they can pay for… Continue Reading
Twitter Just Weakened Account Security For Almost 368 Million Users
Forbes: “The latest twist in the Twitter tale since Elon Musk bought the company is one of the most worrying to date. In a truly bizarre move, which appears to put penny-pinching before account security, Twitter has announced it will limit the use of SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) to Twitter Blue subscribers from March 20.… Continue Reading
American Views 2022: Part 2, Trust Media And Democracy
“As part of Knight Foundation’s belief that a strong Fourth Estate is paramount to a thriving democracy, the organization has worked with Gallup to study Americans’ trust in the news media, consistently finding that their level of confidence is driven by perceptions of news organizations’ accuracy, bias and transparency. However, a new report finds that… Continue Reading
