Disinfo Docket 10 January

Hi! I'm Kate and welcome to DisinfoDocket. DisinfoDocket curates influence operations-related academic research, news, events and job opportunities.

Did you know that DisinfoDocket takes requests? If you have suggestions or relevant work that you'd like to see included, simply reply to this email and send us the details!

Highlights

The pandemic unleashed a flood of bad public health information. Professor @cward1e of @IFL_Brown, who recently contributed to a review of 50 studies that looked at possible ways to mitigate Covid-19 misinformation, says "there isn’t the silver bullet.”https://t.co/sNk2B94KvG

— Brown Public Health (@Brown_SPH) January 9, 2024

1. Taiwan confronts China’s disinformation behemoth ahead of vote (Coda Story, 5 January)
2. AI Disinformation – We Need New Defenses (CEPA, 8 January)
3. Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2024 (Reuters Institute, 9 January)
4. Robots Learn, Chatbots Visualize: How 2024 Will Be A.I.’s ‘Leap Forward’ (The New York Times, 8 January)

1. Academia & Research

🚨NEW RESEARCH ALERT!🚨

"How pro- and anti-abortion activists use encrypted messaging apps in post-Roe America" from @zellycmartin, @martinriedl & Samuel Woolley in @BigDataSoc. https://t.co/JT5eHvFZBb

— Center for Media Engagement (@EngagingNews) January 9, 2024

1. Democracy Hypocrisy: Examining America's Fragile Democratic Convictions (Democracy Fund, 4 January)
2. How online misinformation exploits ‘information voids’ – and what to do about it (Nature, 9 January)

2. Platforms & Technology

1. Announcing the 2024 #ShareTheMicInCyber Fellows (New America, 9 January)
2. Substack says it will remove Nazi publications from the platform (Platformer, 8 January)
3. ‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, OpenAI says (The Guardian, 8 January)
4. Rumble Is Part of an ‘Active and Ongoing’ SEC Investigation (WIRED, 8 January)
5. Misinformation: how fact-checking journalism is evolving – and having a real impact on the world (The Conversation, 8 January)

Meta

1. Meta profited from ads featuring Alex Jones, despite banning Infowars content from its platforms (Media Matters for America, 9 January)
2. Under growing pressure, Meta vows to make it harder for teens to see harmful content (NPR, 9 January)

Did you know that Facebook memes can bridge political divides? Research from @GinaMMasullo found that a sense of common humanity—which can be primed using Facebook memes—is associated w/ability to form relationships w/people you disagree with politically. https://t.co/B8Cmi6hgqM

— Center for Media Engagement (@EngagingNews) January 4, 2024