Docket+ 2 September

Hi! I'm Victoria and welcome to DisinfoDocket. Docket+ is a weekly roundup of the latest influence operations-related academic research, events and job opportunities.

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Highlights

1. Unmasking the fake MAGA accounts: stolen photos and digital lies (Centre for Information Resilience, 28 August)
2. How AI tools fueled online conspiracy theories after Trump assassination attempt (DFRLab, 23 August)
3. The American Sunlight Project unveils detailed report on disinformation laundering networks (American Sunlight Project, 29 August)

1. Academia & Research

1.1 Platforms & Technology

1. Why the Loss of CrowdTangle Signals Trouble for Civic Tech Products (Tech Policy Press, 23 August)
2. The Arrest Of Telegram’s Pavel Durov: What’s Encryption Got To Do With It? (Tech Policy Press, 28 August)
3. Introducing 'personhood credentials', Brazil goes after platforms and following Barclay (Everything in Moderation, 23 August)
4. August 2024 AI Misinformation Monitor of Leading AI Chatbots (NewsGuard, 28 August)
5. Social Engineering in The Age of Disinformation: A Multimodal Approach to Detection and Prevent (SSRN, 28 August)

Images & Visualisations

1. Aiblocknet - Novel Framework for Authenticity Validation Using Blockchain and Machine Learning for Fake Image Detection (SSRN, 28 August)

Availability and spread of information

1. Easy-access online social media metrics can effectively identify misinformation sharing users (ArXiv, 27 August)
2. Going Viral: Sharing of Misinformation by Social Media Influencers (SAGE, 25 August)

1.2 World News 

1. A “Battle for hearts and minds”? EU digital diplomacy toward the Global South (Wiley, 22 August)
2. Authoritarian Demand in East‐Central Europe Post‐Pandemic and Amid Neighbouring War (Cogitatio, 21 August)

Russia & Ukraine

1. 23 August – Black Ribbon Day, or the European Day of Remembrance (EUvsDisinfo, 23 August)
2. Playing Games in Africa (EUvsDisinfo, 26 August)
3. The convenient distraction of false martyrdom (EUvsDisinfo, 29 August)
4. Legitimizing friends and denouncing enemies: A comparative analysis of Ukraine war coverage in China, South Korea, and Japan (SAGE, 23 August)
5. Does Russian Propaganda Lead or Follow? Topic Coverage, User Engagement, and RT and Sputnik’s Agenda Influence on US Media (SAGE, 28 August)