Mass manipulation of public opinion through social media and other digital media
Digital Media Misinformation (16)
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- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
In this film, the entire globe copes with the outbreak and spread of the mysterious MEV-1 virus. Amidst the chaos, blogger Alan Krumwiede rises to prominence by spouting conspiracy theories such as the tale of how he was “cured” of the virus using the mysterious drug Forsythia. He uses his new platform to challenge the CDC and its policies before ultimately being arrested for spreading misinformation.
- Kinolab
- 2011
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- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
Misinformation and Hysteria During Global Emergencies
In this film, the entire globe copes with the outbreak and spread of the mysterious MEV-1 virus. Amidst the chaos, blogger Alan Krumwiede rises to prominence by spouting conspiracy theories such as the tale of how he was “cured” of the virus using the mysterious drug Forsythia. He uses his new platform to challenge the CDC and its policies before ultimately being arrested for spreading misinformation.
Discussion Prompts:
Can misinformation on digital media channels be handled any better than it already is, or are we at the point where any digital media misinformation which occurs is an inevitable byproduct of the existence of these channels? How can experts maintain authority in the digital age? Do digital technologies cause more bouts of hysteria than there would have been before their existence?
Contagion: Where's the Opportunity?-
- 4 min
- Reuters
- 2020
Facebook has a new independent Oversight Board to help moderate content on the site, picking individual cases from the many presented to them where it is alright to remove content. The cases usually deal in hate speech, “inappropriate visuals,” or misinformation.
- Reuters
- 2020
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- 4 min
- Reuters
- 2020
From hate speech to nudity, Facebook’s oversight board picks its first cases
Facebook has a new independent Oversight Board to help moderate content on the site, picking individual cases from the many presented to them where it is alright to remove content. The cases usually deal in hate speech, “inappropriate visuals,” or misinformation.
Discussion Prompts:
How much oversight do algorithms or networks with a broad impact need? Who all needs to be in a room when deciding what an algorithm or site should or should not allow? Can algorithms be designed to detect and remove hate speech? Should such an algorithm exist?
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- 4 min
- TechCrunch
- 2021
On the day of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S Capitol, social media proved to be a valuable tool for telling the narrative of the horrors taking place within the Capitol building. At the same time, social media plays a large role in political polarization, as users can end up on fringe sites where content is tailored to their beliefs and not always true.
- TechCrunch
- 2021
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- 4 min
- TechCrunch
- 2021
Social media allowed a shocked nation to watch a coup attempt in real time
On the day of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S Capitol, social media proved to be a valuable tool for telling the narrative of the horrors taking place within the Capitol building. At the same time, social media plays a large role in political polarization, as users can end up on fringe sites where content is tailored to their beliefs and not always true.
Discussion Prompts:
How can social media platforms be redesigned or regulated to crack down more harshly on misinformation and extremism? How much can social media be valued as a set of platforms that “help tell the true story of an event” when they also allow mass denial of objective fact? Who should be responsible for shutting down fringe sites, and how should this happen?
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- 5 min
- MIT Tech Review
- 2020
With the surge of the coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 became an important one in terms of new applications for deepfake technology. Although a primary concern of deepfakes is their ability to create convincing misinformation, this article describes other uses of deepfake which center more on entertaining, harmless creations.
- MIT Tech Review
- 2020
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- 5 min
- MIT Tech Review
- 2020
The Year Deepfakes Went Mainstream
With the surge of the coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 became an important one in terms of new applications for deepfake technology. Although a primary concern of deepfakes is their ability to create convincing misinformation, this article describes other uses of deepfake which center more on entertaining, harmless creations.
Discussion Prompts:
Should deepfake technology be allowed to proliferate enough that users have to question the reality of everything they consume on digital platforms? Should users already approach digital media with such scrutiny? What is defined as a “harmless” use for deepfake technology? What is the danger posed to real people in the acting industry with the rise of convincing synthetic media?
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- 10 min
- The Washington Post
- 2019
After prolonged discussion on the effect of “bots,” or automated accounts on social networks, interfering with the electoral process in America in 2016, many worries surfaced that something similar could happen in 2020. This article details the shifts in strategy for using bots to manipulate political conversations online, from techniques like Inorganic Coordinated Activity or hashtag hijacking. Overall, some bot manipulation in political discourse is to be expected, but when used effectively these algorithmic tools still have to power to shape conversations to the will of their deployers.
- The Washington Post
- 2019
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- 10 min
- The Washington Post
- 2019
Are ‘bots’ manipulating the 2020 conversation? Here’s what’s changed since 2016.
After prolonged discussion on the effect of “bots,” or automated accounts on social networks, interfering with the electoral process in America in 2016, many worries surfaced that something similar could happen in 2020. This article details the shifts in strategy for using bots to manipulate political conversations online, from techniques like Inorganic Coordinated Activity or hashtag hijacking. Overall, some bot manipulation in political discourse is to be expected, but when used effectively these algorithmic tools still have to power to shape conversations to the will of their deployers.
Discussion Prompts:
How are social media networks architectures that can be manipulated to an individual’s agenda, and how could this be addressed? Should any kind of bot accounts be allowed on Twitter, or do they all have too much negative potential to be trusted? What affordances of social networks allow bad actors to redirect the traffic of these networks? Is the problem of “trends” or “cascades” inherent to social media?
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- 10 min
- MIT Media Labs
- 2021
This is an MIT research project. All data for research is collected anonymously for research purposes.
This project will show you a variety of media snippets including transcripts, audio files, and videos. Sometimes, we include subtitles. Sometimes, the video is silent. You can watch the videos as many times as you would like. The site will ask you to share how confident you are that the individual really said what we show. If you have seen the video before today, please select the checkbox that says “I’ve already seen this video.” And remember, half of the media snippets that are presented are statements that the individual actually said. Read more about this project and the dataset used to produce this research on the About page
https://detectfakes.media.mit.edu/about
- MIT Media Labs
- 2021
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- 10 min
- MIT Media Labs
- 2021
Detect DeepFakes
This is an MIT research project. All data for research is collected anonymously for research purposes.
This project will show you a variety of media snippets including transcripts, audio files, and videos. Sometimes, we include subtitles. Sometimes, the video is silent. You can watch the videos as many times as you would like. The site will ask you to share how confident you are that the individual really said what we show. If you have seen the video before today, please select the checkbox that says “I’ve already seen this video.” And remember, half of the media snippets that are presented are statements that the individual actually said. Read more about this project and the dataset used to produce this research on the About page
https://detectfakes.media.mit.edu/about
Discussion Prompts:
- What about these videos is so disturbing?
- How can we be convinced to not trust our own judgement about the information being presented?