'Just 10 "superspreader" users on Twitter were responsible for more than a third of the misinformation posted over an eight-month period, according to a new report.
In total, 34 per cent of the "low credibility" content posted to the site between January and October of 2020 was created by the 10 users identified by researchers based in the US and UK.'
A really interesting update on bots behaviour. I used to be able to spot bots on twitter. I can't spot them on Mastodon and maybe this 👇 is why.
I'll bear this in mind when I see suspicious answering patterns. The last thing I want to do is amplify bots on the Palestine issue ... er, No.
Someone asked me recently about the ability to "Read the Room" and whether or not this was a skill that can be developed. I certainly believe it is a skill and can be cultivated. Perhaps the most impactful maxim which can guide us in this regard was taught to me by a Jedi Knight who went by the name Zenchi from the Temple of the Jedi Order. He told me, "Learn to Observe without needing to React."
The Internet, particularly the social media algorithm demon, has created an incentive not just to React to everything, but to Observe specifically to React. In this way we often bias our interpretation of that which we observe with a skew towards the least charitable interpretation so that our reaction can be as extreme as possible.
To counteract this and hone this skill of reading the room, we can practice several behaviors that will improve our lives.
First, be the last person to speak in an interaction. When you allow everyone else to have their say, it gives you a chance to examine their perspectives and gauge their intentions.
Second, questions are better than statements. The cultivation of curiosity leads to more robust conversations. A statement can often be viewed as dismissive or ultimate in nature, sometimes leaving a conversation partner feeling as though there's nothing left to say. Curiosity, by contrast, is almost always viewed as an invitation to continue discourse.
Third, speak in a way that is pleasant. We've been taught to rely on flippancy and sarcasm in modern discourse as we assume the intentions of others or deliberately misconstrue them to make ourselves look superior. By engaging with someone in a pleasant way, we can disarm hostility. Even if others fail to uphold this standard, we will still maintain our own peace which is of a value beyond measure.
"“when I WIN the Presidency of the #UnitedStates, they and others of the LameStream #Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest & corrupt coverage of people, things, and events,” Donald #Trump posted on Truth Social last September in an attack on NBC News...
What could Trump do to the #news media and its ability to inform the American people?
Judging by what he did in his first term, plenty."
Design, Digested 53 is out! Of the few articles I read the past couple of months, the most memorable are about smartphones use and the ways modern tech can make us miserable.
Exploitative content of poor people is not new. In fact, the term 'poverty porn' was first coined to describe NGOs that captured dehumanizing moments of poor people of color across the world in an attempt to drive donations.
But with #homelessness at a record high in the U.S., there's a burgeoning, exploitative brand of #SocialMedia content where clout-chasing influencers delight in monetizing those struggling to survive.
#Facebook works for despots & pols, worldwide, who in essence, buy elections, bc: pay top$:
Meta Pol Ads Incited Violence.
FB approved ads containing known slurs towards Muslims in IN: “let’s burn this vermin” & “Hindu blood is spilling, these invaders must be burned” +Hindu supremacist lang./disinfo. re pol ldrs.
I mean ”Show me the incentives and I’ll show you the results” has never been clearer.
I bet even now at least ten thousand 12-year old kids are studying their retention metrics underneath the blanket, hiding from their parents, trying to figure out how to squueze out an extra second from their next content.
My mental health thanks me for deleting my TikTok account. It's such a relief to get off that platform. Some good things, sure, but the bad ones were too much. Anyway, it's over. It's finally over. 🙌 ❤️
Fragwürdige Methoden von "Dating Coaches" in sozialen Netzwerken
Viele junge Männer wünschen sich eine Beziehung. In kurzen Videos auf TikTok und Instagram geben "Dating Coaches" vor, dabei zu helfen. Die Methoden sind fragwürdig bis gefährlich. Von Sebastian Vesper.
I guess making money somewhat honestly by having customers that actually pay for a service with at least some guarantees of privacy and safety is not as lucrative as having an open platform network where people are tricked into giving out all their data while they are spied upon for whatever reasons.
Na gut, dies ist nun in Schweden aber wann wird es hier mal aufgeklärt, dass es auch in jeglichem Land Trollfabriken von den Rechten geben kann (oder gibt)?
»Politisches Erdbeben in Schweden wegen Skandal um Trollfabrik:
Enthüllungen über eine von den Schwedendemokraten betriebene Trollfabrik haben ein politisches Erdbeben ausgelöst.«
A French draft law, passed Monday, would let citizens vote in local elections after 10 years' residency in New Caledonia, prompting opposition from independence activists worried it will dilute the representation of indigenous people. The violent demonstrations that have ensued in the South Pacific island of 270,000 have killed at least five people and injured hundreds.
In response to the protests, the government suspended the popular video-sharing app — owned by Beijing-based ByteDance and favored by young people — as part of state-of-emergency measures alongside the deployment of troops and an initial 12-day curfew.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal didn’t detail the reasons for shutting down the platform. The local telecom regulator began blocking the app earlier on Wednesday."
Today I learned the #Japanese equivalent of the #English phrase 'Food Porn' is '飯テロ' or 'Meshi Tero', where the 'tero' part is a borrow word for 'terrorism'.
The literal translation is 'Food Terrorism'. Consider that in relation to the Japanese penchant for filling their #SocialMedia streams with pictures of every single thing they eat.