Tag - misinformation

 
 

MISINFORMATION

France's President Emmanuel Macron (left) and the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (right) talk as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (center) uses a phone during an informal European Union leaders' summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
EU weighs response to Russian 'interference' in election run-up
Several EU states want to sanction Russia for their suspected disinformation campaigns ahead of European elections set for June.
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.
Canada has become ground zero for Facebook's battle with governments regarding laws that force internet giants to pay media companies for links to news published on their platforms.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2024
When Facebook blocks news, studies show the political risks that follow
The blocking of news links has led to changes in the way Canadian Facebook users engage with information about politics, two unpublished studies found.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, at the Viva Technology conference in Paris on June 16, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2024
Brazil judge opens inquiry into Musk over blocked accounts on X
Musk has challenged a decision by a Supreme Court judge ordering the blocking of certain accounts.
The National Museum of China following the closing of the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on March 11
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2024
China’s advancing efforts to influence the U.S. election raise alarms
The accounts signal a potential shift in how Beijing aims to influence American politics, with more of a willingness to target specific candidates.
Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen visits army bases ahead of the Lunar New Year in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Feb. 6. Over 400 stories portraying Taiwan's military exercises as rehearsals for its leadership to desert in the event of war have been uncovered by an NGO based on the island.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 1, 2024
Chinese state media stoked allegation Taiwan's president would flee war
They are among the many unsupported tales that have been fed into the island by Chinese state media outlets, according to an analysis by Taiwan-based NGO.
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.
The OpenAI offices in San Francisco. The high-profile tech startup is allowing a small group of businesses to test a new system, Voice Engine, that is said to be able to recreate a person’s voice from a 15-second recording, OpenAI announced Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 30, 2024
OpenAI previews new audio tool that can read text and mimic voices
All the software needs is 15 seconds of recorded audio of a person speaking to re-create their voice.
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.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers remarks during the Third Summit for Democracy in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2024
South Korea-hosted summit warns of AI risks to democracy
South Korea is hosting the Summit for Democracy conference, an initiative aimed at discussing ways to stop the erosion of rights and freedoms.
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.
Mary Ann Eduarte at her home in Montalban, Rizal, the Philippines.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Cancer patients in the Philippines falling for alternative 'cures'
The trend was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, when health care systems were overwhelmed and many were too scared to visit a hospital.
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.
Flags fly at Union Station in Washington on June 27. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, caution is being urged over the widespread proliferation of propaganda.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 13, 2024
The battle to tackle U.S. election propaganda heats up
The race is set to become more and more intense amid increased political polarization and pluralistic values.
While online influence campaigns are increasingly common as powerful people and governments around the world seek to manipulate public opinion, experts tracking such operations say China is one of the biggest sources of such drives alongside Russia and Iran.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 8, 2024
Chinese firm behind ‘news’ sites pushes pro-Beijing content globally, report says
Spread over websites in 30 countries, the propaganda material is interspersed with news aggregated from local news outlets and Chinese state media.
Women walk past an army-related billboard at the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow on Jan. 24.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024
New anti-Ukraine disinformation campaign targets Western media
Examples of disinformation include thefts from the Paris catacombs by a Ukrainian and military aid misappropriated by Ukraine.
In the phone message, a voice edited to sound like Biden urged voters in New Hampshire not to cast their ballots in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. In reality, the president isn’t on the ballot in the New Hampshire race — and voting in the primary doesn’t preclude people from participating in November's election.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 23, 2024
Deepfake audio of Biden alarms experts in lead-up to U.S. elections
The ease of producing such doctored messages and the difficulty in tracing them to their source make them a very powerful weapon in the hands of bad actors.
Around 100 YouTube channels actively deny climate change, while also spreading videos attacking solutions such as wind and solar.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 17, 2024
Attacks on renewable energy are proliferating on YouTube
While videos espousing climate denial are declining across nearly 100 YouTube channels, videos attacking solutions such as wind and solar are growing.
Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, inside the Congress Center ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 16, 2024
OpenAI will roll out new tools to thwart election misinformation
New tools will attribute information about current events provided by its chatbot ChatGPT, and help users determine if an image was created by its AI software.
Tokyo is considered a 15-minute city, where many residents live within a short walking or cycling distance from the shops and facilities they need.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2024
Don't let the culture wars sabotage 15-minute cities
In 15-minute cities, amenities can easily be reached on foot. Why are conspiracy theorists attacking the idea and what nuance is missing from the debate?

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan