DisinfoDocket 16 August
DisinfoDocket curates influence operations-related academic research, news, events and job opportunities.
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Good morning! Below the paywall this morning -
* Sweden not staying neutral in Russia's information war
* Climate disasters hit, and Spanish-language misinformation spreads
* How to rid Zambian journalism of ‘blalizo’
* Sweden not staying neutral in Russia's information war
* Climate disasters hit, and Spanish-language misinformation spreads
* How to rid Zambian journalism of ‘blalizo’
Highlights:
- Hawaii wildfires: 'Directed energy weapon' and other false claims go viral (BBC, 14 August)
- YouTube announces new policies to target medical misinformation (The Hill, 15 August)
- Biden administration urges Supreme Court to block Texas social media law (The Washington Post, 14 August)
- Report warns of mysoginistic incel violence threat (ABC, 11 August)
- The Case Against AI Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (TIME, 11 August)
- How to respond to disinformation spread on social media (IJNet, 14 August)
1. Academia & Research
- During pandemic, proponents of 'doing your own research' believed more COVID misinformation (Phys.org, 15 August)
- Communicating Science Across Political Divides (Center for Media Engagement, 4 August)
2. Platforms & Technology
- China accuses US of trying to block its development and demands that technology curbs be repealed (AP News, 11 August)
- These Women Tried to Warn Us About AI (Rolling Stone, 12 August)
- Iraq to unblock Telegram app as platform responded to security requirements -statement (Reuters, 12 August)
- White House is fast-tracking executive order on artificial intelligence (CyberScoop, 12 August)
- AI Detection Tools Falsely Accuse International Students of Cheating (The Markup, 14 August)
X/Twitter
- Elon Musk's X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes (The Washington Post, 15 August)
- Alarm at exodus of climate voices on Twitter after Musk takeover (The Guardian, 15 August)
Meta
“In 2021, Facebook announced a ban on targeting based on race, religion & sexual orientation… But the latest analysis suggests interest labels assigned by Facebook based on web browsing and social media activity are routinely used as a proxy.”@guardian https://t.co/q6Jo2I1gZ7
— Real Facebook Oversight Board (@FBoversight) August 14, 2023
TikTok
- LGBTQ+ people in Ethiopia blame attacks on their community on inciteful and lingering TikTok videos (AP News, 11 August)
- TikTok GST fraud hit on Tax Office blows out to $4.6b (Financial Review, 14 August)