Disinfo Docket 10 July

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Highlights

1. Justice Department Leads Efforts Among Federal, International, and Private Sector Partners to Disrupt Covert Russian Government-Operated Social Media Bot Farm (U.S. Department of Justice, 9 July)
2. Russia operated nearly 1,000 sock puppet accounts on X, Justice Department says (NBC, 10 July)
3. Why exiled journalists from Latin America require more support and protection (IJNet, 10 July)
4. Generative AI and election disinformation: much ado about nothing? (Access Now, 4 July)

It’s not AI, it’s us.

Instead of a deepfake tsunami, the election on social media was activists shaping & manipulating conversation with tested tactics (including AI). I investigated with BBC’s Undercover Voters, holding social media companies to account.https://t.co/igGT3V74DQ pic.twitter.com/vHQPOcszJ3

— Marianna Spring (@mariannaspring) July 8, 2024

1. Academia & Research

When misinformation is covered on mainstream broadcast news, it is largely covered through the lens of platform policy and party politics, finds @TheJianingLi @prowag. Important work in the conceptualization of misinformation among the press and public https://t.co/ywFE3eBtA2 pic.twitter.com/4tF6WSeii3

— Ross Dahlke 🔑 (@Ross_Dahlke) July 9, 2024

1. Study shows impact of misleading headlines from mainstream news (MIT Sloan, 9 July)
2. Blame and obligation: The importance of libertarianism and political orientation in the public assessment of disinformation in the United States (Wiley Online Library, 8 July)
3. The Hate Ministries: Far-Right Social Media Extremism in Argentina and Brazil (GNET, 9 July)

Who is regulating AI?

Our paper (w/@ChrisTMarsden) on AI co-regulation has just been published: https://t.co/Pb9hrIjDgK

We explore the role of standards in the AI Act, democratic legitimacy, and the need for inclusive approaches to AI regulation pic.twitter.com/Z3H61aWfvI

— Marta Cantero (@MartaCantero) July 9, 2024

2. Platforms & Technology

1. Researchers Develop Taxonomy of Generative AI Misuse From Real World Data (Tech Policy Press, 10 July)
2. Fight Against Misinformation Suffers Defeat on Multiple Fronts (Bloomberg, 8 July)
3. Bellingcat warns of ‘censorship’ on X after research on Russian attack is labeled spam (The Record by Recorded Media, 10 July)
4. Meta Is Getting Rid of CrowdTangle — and Its Replacement Isn’t As Transparent or Accessible (Proof, 9 July)
5. Errol Morris on whether you should be afraid of generative AI in documentaries (Nieman Lab, 10 July)