DisinfoDocket 13 September
Hi! I'm Kate and welcome to DisinfoDocket. DisinfoDocket curates influence operations-related academic research, news, events and job opportunities.
Did you know that DisinfoDocket takes requests? If you have suggestions or relevant work that you'd like to see included, simply reply to this email and send us the details!
* Nigerian fact-checkers teamed up to debunk politicians’ false claims at this year’s election
* China Sows Disinformation About Hawaii Fires Using New Techniques
* Non-news sites expose people to more political content than news sites. Why?
Highlights:
- Half in new poll expect AI-related misinformation to affect 2024 election outcome (The Hill, 11 September)
- WhatsApp has reluctantly started work on cross-platform messaging due to EU regulation (Tech Crunch, 11 September)
- Threads blocks searches related to covid and vaccines amid uptick (The Washington Post, 11 September)
- MI5 warned Conservatives that MP hopefuls could be spies (The Times, 12 September)
I am thrilled to introduce State Court Report, a new resource & commentary hub covering constitutional developments across the 50 states. State courts & constitutions are important sources of rights. Let's give them the attention they deserve. https://t.co/n7AlW1WHm0
— Alicia Bannon (@alicia_bannon) September 12, 2023
1. Academia & Research
- Considering Cyberwar Efficacy: Is Mitigation Possible? (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 11 September)
- Ransomware, extortion and the cyber crime ecosystem (National Cyber Security Centre, 11 September)
- Assessing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and barriers to uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa (Nature, 11 September)
2. Platforms & Technology
- ‘I Am Now More Concerned About the Formidable Threat From China.’ - The United States’ and Canada’s chief cyberdefenders talk adversaries and AI (Foreign Policy, 11 September)
- Google Goes on Trial Over Justice Dept. Claims That It Has Monopoly Power (The New York Times, 11 September)
X/Twitter
- Twitter appears to throttle New York Times (Semafor, 11 September)
- X is placing major ads on a heavily followed antisemitic account that endorses killing politicians and LGBTQ advocates (Media Matters for America, 12 September)
Elon Musk repeatedly made business decisions after his takeover of Twitter last year that violated the company’s internal policies, according to depositions from former employees that the Justice Department published in a court filing Tuesday. https://t.co/5Bj5GgcvOz
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 12, 2023
Meta
- Meta Is Developing a New, More Powerful AI System as Technology Race Escalates (The Wall Street Journal, 10 September)
TikTok
- TikTok is blocking searches for WGA amid the ongoing writers strike (Media Matters for America, 11 September)
- How TikTok Became a Hotbed of Brand Misinformation (Newsweek, 12 September)