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December 22, 2024
 

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Meta

Anuj Chopra
Disinformation researchers analyzed over 300 groups on Facebook that masquerade as pro-Harris pages while misleading the Democratic contender's supporters with abusive, hateful posts or capitalize on her popularity to promote merchandise.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 1, 2024
Deceptive 'bait-and-switch' Facebook groups snare U.S. voters
The tactic seems to target actors across the political spectrum, including Trump, but researchers have noticed an "explosion" of groups focused on Harris.
Outrageous stories about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump online were widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation and sow confusion ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2024
'Stolen satire' feeds U.S. election misinformation
False claims are being widely mistaken as real across social media, underscoring how content from satirical websites is being repurposed to fuel political misinformation.
U.S. voters are increasingly concerned about misinformation spreading the good-old-fashioned way — through politicians sowing falsehoods.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2024
More than AI misinformation, U.S. voters worry about lying politicians
Politicians face almost no legal consequences for distorting the truth, researchers say.
Researchers have flagged that Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 and is a vocal backer of Donald Trump, appears to be swaying voters by spreading falsehoods on his personal account.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2024
Musk's misleading election posts viewed 1.2 billion times, study says
Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter (now X) in 2022 for $44 billion, is facing growing scrutiny over his potential influence on voters.
A sprawling, secretive influence operation is attempting to vilify Qatar, the Gulf state mediating between Israel and Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2024
Shadow campaign: Global influence op targets Qatar in wartime
The campaign against Qatar shows the ease with which a person or an entire country can be tarnished in the age of disinformation while masking the ultimate perpetrators.
A new report by international campaign group Global Witness alleges that TikTok approved adverts containing political disinformation ahead of European polls.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2024
TikTok fails 'disinformation test' before EU vote, study shows
The Chinese ByteDance-owned app said its systems correctly identified the breach, but the ads were approved due to "human error" by a moderator.
A woman walks past a banner depicting missiles bearing the emblem of the Islamic Republic of Iran being launched, in central Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2024
Iran strikes showcase disinformation thriving and incentivized on X
Falsehoods amplified by cloud-chasing accounts that feign digital expertise highlight the potential for information chaos during a fast-unfolding crisis.
CrowdTangle, bought by the firm now known as Meta in 2016, offers crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech on influential Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024
Meta to switch off tool that tracks misinformation months before U.S. vote
CrowdTangle offers crucial real-time transparency into the spread of conspiracy theories and hate speech.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, received an outpouring of global sympathy after her video message on Friday revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy.
WORLD / Society
Mar 25, 2024
Wild theories persist despite U.K. royal Catherine's cancer revelation
Conspiracy theorists continue to push claims of digital manipulation, cancer misinformation and anti-vaccine myths on social media.
U.S. lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bill to ban TikTok unless Chinese parent company ByteDance divested itself within six months.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2024
Monsters, asteroids, vampires: AI conspiracies flood TikTok
YouTube tutorials show users how to create "viral conspiracy theory videos" and profit off TikTok's Creativity Program.
An AI-generated story about the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "psychiatrist" committing suicide has exploded online, prompting warnings from experts.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2024
Proliferating 'news' sites spew AI-generated fake stories
At least 739 AI-generated "news" sites in multiple languages operating with little to no human oversight have been identified in recent investigations.
Relatives, friends and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel hold placards and images of those taken, during a protest for their release in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Nov 24, 2023
'You are in a safe place': Israel prepares to embrace hostages
Experts have warned that many hostages held by Palestinian militants could face a long road to recovery.
Ukrainian servicemen ride past a destroyed building in Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region on Thursday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2023
Ukraine's dilemma: Rebuilding in midst of war
The World Bank has said the cost of Ukraine's reconstruction over a decade would be $411 billion — 2.6 times its gross domestic product in 2022.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2023
AI-generated misinformation likely to pose hazard in U.S. election campaigns
Technologists warn that bad actors could exploit the technology to sow chaos amid a highly polarized political climate.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 17, 2023
'Monetizing hate': Unease as misinformation swirls on Twitter
Experts say content moderation at the company has been gutted after mass layoffs, while a paid verification system has served to boost conspiracy theorists.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 2, 2023
Seeing is believing? A global scramble to tackle deepfakes
Most countries appear to be struggling to keep up with the fast-evolving technology amid concerns that regulation could stymie innovation or curtail free speech.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 9, 2023
Second coming of once-banned conspiracy theorists after Twitter amnesty
Twitter has turned into what campaigners call a cesspool of misinformation, hate-filled conspiracies and racial slurs.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 2, 2023
War-themed video game fuels wave of Ukraine conflict misinformation
Footage from Arma 3, often marked 'live' or 'breaking news,' has been used repeatedly in recent months in fake videos about the Russian offensive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 21, 2022
Twitter turmoil and staff exodus aggravate security concerns
Twitter devolved into what campaigners described as a cesspit of falsehoods and hate speech after recent layoffs cut half the company's 7,500 staff.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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