Photo: Disinformation Business by Sofiya Voznaya
Did Mark Twain predict the rise of disinformation campaigns? Presumably, no. Nevertheless, his words are as relevant today as they were in the 18th century.
Our first challenge for you: start to dissect your cable news. Mentally note any identity-driven ads you see on your social sites.
What you’ll start to notice is how frequently our news stories come with a blaming component, “here’s what’s happening, here’s why you should be afraid, and here’s who's to blame”.
Two key points to remember as you start to reveal what is commonly known as tactics of scarcity (more on this below)
1. These strategies are intentional.
2. We can spot it quite frequently in everyday advertising.
Scarcity (and the law of) says, "If what we desire appears to be in limited supply, the perception of its value increases significantly".
Think: Toilet paper and Covid19.
Propaganda: biased or misleading information, circulated through some form of mass media, with the intent of promoting a political agenda, and/or/to influence people’s thoughts, opinions, and actions.
In order to start thinking critically, we need to start recognizing the connections between fear, pain, propaganda, and the belief in scarcity.
Sometimes, false information can spread so widely that it becomes accepted as true. Gain the habits of mind, tools, and resources to evaluate and interpret information + gain an understanding of the importance of the watchdog role of the press.
> Checkology’s resources show you how to navigate today’s challenging information landscape.
Learn how to identify credible information, seek out reliable sources, and apply critical thinking skills to separate fact-based content from falsehoods.
> ClaimBuster. Automated Live Fact-Checking. Developed out of the University of Texas at Arlington. Human data-labeling. Register for a free API key to access.
> Hoaxy (Observatory on Social Media) Content-focused free tool that offers bot + spam detection, and evaluates photo authenticity + articles shared on social media, in order to track the spread of disinformation campaigns.
Most commercial sites, from social media platforms to news outlets to online retailers, collect a wide variety of data about their users’ behaviors. Platforms use this data to deliver content and recommendations based on users’ interests and traits, and to allow advertisers to target ads to relatively precise segments of the public. But how well do Americans understand these algorithm-driven classification systems, and how much do they think their lives line up with what gets reported about them?
In the 1950's, as part of a campaign to expose suspected communists, thousands of innocent individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as McCarthyism destroyed lives and careers. But how did this episode of political repression take off?
Can someone’s political identity actually affect their ability to process information? The answer lies in a cognitive phenomenon known as partisanship. While identifying with social groups is an essential and healthy part of life, it can become a problem when the group’s beliefs are at odds with reality. So how can we recognize and combat partisanship? Jay Van Bavel shares helpful strategies.
To analyze the facts of an issue, objectively (without personal bias or outside influence) to form a judgment (evidence-based decision).
Say you're in front of a judge to dispute a fine. The judge is expected to consider the facts of your case, without taking into account outside factors, such as political affiliation or personal beliefs.
The best education we can give ourselves is to train our mind to think critically, differently, and deeply.
Consider your beliefs. How did they come to be? Why do you believe what you do? Where did this belief come from? What type of information backs this belief up? Has this belief evolved or changed over time? If so, what factors led to a shift in thinking? Deeply consider the source of the information and ask these same questions. Help your children practice this thinking at home.
Start with developing a higher standard as to what we accept into our belief systems and how we pass these beliefs on.
Learn about your own bias and how it compares with others. AllSides Media Bias Ratings help you to easily identify different perspectives so you can get the full picture and think for yourself.
Try the News Literacy Group's quiz to see if you can spot false or misleading stories.
No matter what country you were in during World War II, whether you were at home or at work, propaganda was everywhere: posters, buttons, pamphlets, toys, clothing, and more.why was propaganda used? Watch this video and learn more.
For the past six years, a shadow disinformation campaign by Russian operatives, went virtually undetected as they flooded the Internet with false stories across 300 social media platforms, in seven languages - according to new research by Graphika; outlined findings of report here.
The campaign, named "Secondary Infektion", has sought to spread pro-Russian propaganda around the world by sharing fake tweets from U.S. elected officials and conspiracy theories about the coronavirus.
It also attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Researchers say it will likely try to spread falsehoods tied to the November election, as well.
As our position is focused on co-creating solutions, our approach champions effective altruism. We believe people should have the ability to donate passionately across multiple causes but effectively within these causes to produce the most consequential outcomes.
Collective action on any social issue requires attention to the ways digital regulations influence and shape every other policy domain. Often we see a fragmented or independent set of influences or individuals as the culprit toward exasperating an issue, however, to create solutions within a digital-dependent society, we have to address the fact that these digital systems are owned and managed by corporate and government entities. The need for a transparent and regulated code of ethics, as the baseline for digital development and intent of use, is absolutely necessary toward scaled social solutions.
Our fundraising is three-pronged. Please do not hesitate to reach out directly for a more comprehensive breakdown of each fundraising objective. In addition to a monthly donor report, we will host an open Zoom session each month to review these reports and speak candidly to these goals and produced outcomes.
Prong 1. Digital rights advocacy and protection.
Combatting disinformation and increasing digital and media literacy.
A lack of connection is one of the main contributing problems towards the isolation of communities and the acceptance of reality and facts. Communities need reliable, accurate news and access to factual information that creates the opportunity for dialogue, reflection, and informed decision-making.
By addressing the evolution of key digital systems, and developing a common understanding of practices used in such, we'll begin to shed light on the addictive and intentionally-designed digital tactics used to curate our google results, social media feed, and the ads we see. Underscoring the need to rethink how we consume and share information, the goal is to bring awareness, trigger a moment of pause, and stir curiosity towards confronting our digital addictions and the subsequent repercussions of such.
Up first:
A. Awareness towards the rise of ISP (internet service provider) and media monopolies over our local and regional news.
B. The need to advocate for transparent ethical standards in behavioral analysis, predictive analytics, responsible data collection, including corporate and government commitments toward the funding of ethical data infrastructure.
The plan, in-part:
Increased collaboration across organizations and issue areas to levy an awareness campaign that brings attention to digital problems by reinforcing the interconnected threats to our collective communities, particularly within marginalized and rural communities. We often may overlook the relationship between algorithms and socio-economic, environmental, and public health issues, but by organizing collective power through a shared goal, we have an opportunity to push for real change.
Partnerships with tech leaders within the social impact sectors, and creating an open-communication access point between our campaign and experts in the digital protection and national security space.
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