DisinfoDocket 25 September

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Highlights:

"What our study shows is that with very little you can create a small change but that's not enough. So perhaps the solution is also improving how news outlets are working"@csadaba on her research on older audiences and misinformation #medialiteracy https://t.co/qq06Bi9sX0

— Reuters Institute (@risj_oxford) September 24, 2023

1. Lachlan Murdoch’s succession leaves him alone at the helm of a global empire. Here’s why that’s troubling. (Media Matters for America, 21 September)
2. Tech companies try to take AI image generators mainstream with better protections against misuse (AP News, 21 September)
3. New threat intel effort to study ‘undermonitered’ regions (CyberScoop, 21 September)
4. Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks (The Washington Post, 23 September)

What a response to this! At Most Popular on BBC iPlayer.

Following the investigation, police leaders and teachers' unions are warning that TikTok frenzies encouraging anti-social behaviour are putting a strain on public services. Follow-up report here. https://t.co/SjT8706I1q https://t.co/OgSyJ0cWjb pic.twitter.com/2JzhmfdNQs

— Marianna Spring (@mariannaspring) September 23, 2023

1. Platforms & Technology

1. Google Says Switching Away From Its Search Engine Is Easy. It’s Not. (The New York Times, 20 September)
2. British government quietly sacks entire board of independent AI advisers (The Record by Recorded Future, 21 September)
3. Poland opens privacy probe of ChatGPT following GDPR complaint (TechCrunch, 21 September)
4. AI-focused tech firms locked in ‘race to the bottom’, warns MIT professor (The Guardian, 21 September)

X (formerly known as Twitter)

1. Twitter ranks worst in climate change misinformation report (The Guardian, 21 September)
2. How the ex-Twitter founders of Pebble plan to compete with their old employer (Quartz, 23 September)

Meta

1. Meta to Push for Younger Users With New AI Chatbot Characters (The Wall Street Journal, 24 September)

TikTok

1. TikTok's Rules Deter Researchers From Crunching Data on Users, Misinformation (Bloomberg, 21 September)
2. UK dials up fight with Meta over encryption (Politico, 20 September)