Twitter has deleted thousands of automated accounts posting messages that tried to discourage and dissuade voters from casting their ballot in the upcoming election next week. Some 10,000 accounts were removed across late September and early October after they were first flagged by staff at the Democratic Party, the company has confirmed. “We removed a […]
View More Twitter removes thousands of accounts that tried to dissuade Democrats from votingCategory: deception
Zuckerberg gets joint summons from UK and Canadian parliaments
Two separate parliamentary committees, in the UK and Canada, have issued an unprecedented international joint summons for Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before them. The committees are investigating the impact of online disinformation on democratic processes and want Zuckerberg to answer questions related to the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook user data misuse scandal, which both have been […]
View More Zuckerberg gets joint summons from UK and Canadian parliamentsIn its first cyberoperation against Russian trolls, U.S. takes a gentle approach
Russia has been blamed for shutting down power grids, hacking into critical systems, and more recently launching a massive misinformation campaign aimed at meddling with past and upcoming elections. Now, the U.S. is striking back ahead of the midterm elections in an unconventionally gentle way. U.S. Cyber Command, the military wing tasked with offensive cyberoperations, […]
View More In its first cyberoperation against Russian trolls, U.S. takes a gentle approachThousands of Twitter accounts that spread fake news during the 2016 election are still active today, say researchers
Fake news and misinformation was a key tactic used by the Russians during the 2016 presidential election to try to sway voters against candidates and sow mistruths and mistrust. Now, with just weeks before the 2018 midterm elections, researchers say things are almost as bad. Research out Thursday by the Knight Foundation found that more […]
View More Thousands of Twitter accounts that spread fake news during the 2016 election are still active today, say researchersTech and ad giants sign up to Europe’s first weak bite at ‘fake news’
The European Union’s executive body has signed up tech platforms and ad industry players to a voluntary Code of Practice aimed at trying to do something about the spread of disinformation online. Something, just not anything too specifically quantifiable. According to the Commission, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Mozilla, some additional members of the EDIMA trade association, […]
View More Tech and ad giants sign up to Europe’s first weak bite at ‘fake news’Real Vision, a media platform for finance and business, raises $10 million
Real Vision is entering the crowded business and financial new space with a bang. The company, which recently raised a $10 million Series B after a $5 million A, is working on a number of new initiatives including distribution on Apple TV, a content distribution partnership with Thomson Reuters and an upcoming documentary on PBS. […]
View More Real Vision, a media platform for finance and business, raises $10 millionEurope eyeing bot IDs, ad transparency and blockchain to fight fakes
European Union lawmakers want online platforms to come up with their own systems to identify bot accounts. This is as part of a voluntary Code of Practice the European Commission now wants platforms to develop and apply — by this summer — as part of a wider package of proposals it’s put out which are […]
View More Europe eyeing bot IDs, ad transparency and blockchain to fight fakesABC’s ‘Deception’ finds the FBI needing the assistance of a highly-skilled magician to fight crime
We sat down with the stars of ABC’s Deception, Jack Cutmore-Scott and Ilfenesh Hadera, to discuss the show, working with magic, and the art of illusion.
Cutmore-Scott even provided us with a magic show, showcasing the skills he has honed on set. …
Serial SWATter arrested, charged with involuntary manslaughter
Wichita police have arrested a 25-year-old online troll who calls himself SWAuTistic, charging him with involuntary manslaughter after sending police to a Kansas address. When police arrived at the address they opened fire on the resident, a fath…
View More Serial SWATter arrested, charged with involuntary manslaughterFighting fake news online wins these three projects accolades
There are few greater threats to democracy in the world today than the proliferation of fake news and propaganda.
So it was no surprise that this year’s National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) prestigious Democracy Award focused on websites and research organizations that are countering the distribution of fake news. Read More