DisinfoDocket 23 November

Hi! I'm Victoria 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:

1. It’s Time to Revisit the Framing of Internet Shutdowns in Africa (CEIP, 21 November)
2. New report finds ‘algorithmic audits’ need more clarity to bring accountability to AI (Digital New Deal, 21 November)
3. Colorado Springs shooting: The latest in a transnational, upward trend of anti-LGBTQ hate (ISD Global, 22 November)
4. Attempt to close YouTube channel of Bangladeshi dissident in France part of ongoing conspiracy to break US law. Action needed to stop widespread breaking of US law, as Bangladesh authorities seek to censor dissidents outside Bangladesh. (Netra News, 4 November)
5. How Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover may impact the work of African journalists. The platform’s new owner will charge $8 a month for the iconic blue badge. Journalists from Nigeria and Zimbabwe express their concerns (Reuters Institute, 22 November)
6. PEN America launches the Arabic version of its online harassment field manual (PEN)

LISTEN: The latest Musk shenanigans, why the flight to decentralized platforms isn’t solving all our content moderation problems, account hijacking at Meta, and what to make of the discussion of the security risks of TikTok. (Moderated Content, 21 November)

1. Meta's Adversarial Threat Report, Q3 2022

Read the Full Report from Meta

1. Meta confirms U.S. military involvement in sprawling phony social media operation (Cyber Scoop, 22 November)
2. Facebook’s Most Popular Posts Were Trash. Here Is How It Cleaned Up. Third-quarter content report shows only one in the top 20 posts qualified as engagement bait (WSJ, 22 November)

2. Academia & Research

1. Crises in Romania Spark Autocratic Desires: With rampant disinformation, a rise in public distrust in government, skyrocketing inflation and an underdeveloped civil society, Romania is struggling with numerous issues simultaneously.  (Visegrad Insight, 23 November)
2. Messaging Strategies of Ukraine and Russia on Telegram during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (Research Square, 21 November)
3. Minding Your Business: A Critical Analysis of the Collection of De-identified Mobility Data and Its Use Under Socially Beneficial and Legitimate Business Exemptions in Canadian Privacy Law (CitizenLab, 22 November)
4. For shopping, phones are common and influencers have become a factor – especially for young adults (Pew, 21 November)

3. Platforms & Technology

1. The metaverse will be a digital graveyard if we let new technologies distract us from today’s problems (Guardian, 21 November)
2. Can Big Tech Get Bigger? Microsoft Presses Governments to Say Yes. (NYT, 21 November)
3. Why The Billionaire Frank McCourt is Stepping Down As CEO Of His Company To Focus on Rebuilding Social Media (Time, 21 November)
4. UK investigating Apple, Google mobile browser dominance (Reuters, 22 November)

Twitter