DisinfoDocket 26 April
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* “Tell a more complete story” and other lessons from a new report on mistrust of news media
* Brazil’s ‘fake news bill’ sets global precedent with dangerous implications
* China's planned changes to espionage law alarm foreign businesses
Highlights
- How to Manage Brand Reputation in Light of AI-Fueled Misinformation (PR News Online, 5 April)
- Integrity Institute Supports UK’s Ofcom as it Develops Online Safety Codes of Practice (Integrity Institute, 24 April)
- Fake or fact: how to recognise a conspiracy theory (Guardian, 24 April)
- Europe names 19 platforms that must report algorithmic risks under DSA (TechCrunch, 25 April)
#Disinformation threatens our individual behaviour, attitudes & overall health.
— Alliance4Europe (@Alliance4EU) April 25, 2023
The damage this can do is massive. For example, a WHO review published in September 2022 explains how unreliable health-related #misinformation caused mental & social distress among platform users.* pic.twitter.com/8YI8nqfdGI
❗️We are hiring❗️
— Hybrid CoE (@HybridCoE) April 25, 2023
HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
🔹A key position at @HybridCoE now open🔹
👉Read more and apply today: 🔗https://t.co/CDeeTXiNz1 pic.twitter.com/afU5T16GrZ
1. Platforms & Technology
LISTEN: Elon Musk JD Program False Advertising Unit (Moderated Content, 24 April)
- AI Spam Is Already Flooding the Internet and It Has an Obvious Tell (Vice, 24 April)
- WhatsApp adds option to use the same account on multiple phones (The Verge, 25 April)
- Twitter, YouTube, Instagram Among Sites to Face New EU Rules (Bloomberg, 25 April)
- Jack Dorsey-Backed Bluesky Attracts More Users as Twitter Falters (Bloomberg, 25 April)
- Australian researchers plant false memories in chatbots (IT News, 20 April)
- Quad countries to bolster cyber defense with information-sharing: Australia, India, Japan and U.S. aim for agreement by May summit (Nikkei Asia, 25 April)
🚫Censorship
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) April 24, 2023
🚫Shadowbanning
✅Freedom of speech, not reach.
Our new labels are now live. https://t.co/a0nTyPSZWY
- Nearly 25,000 Twitter users pay to subscribe to Elon Musk's exclusive tweets (Mashable, 24 April)
Account Labelling & Verification
- Far-right Britain First party given Twitter gold tick (Guardian, 24 April)
- Twitter users are now wondering if mandatory blue checks are illegal: Nobody actually knows the answer, but it’s probably not worth filing a lawsuit over. (Verge, 24 April)
- Twitter verified a fake Disney account created by a troll (Mashable, 24 April)
- Elon Musk says verified Twitter accounts are now prioritized, whatever that means (Mashable, 25 April)
- Twitter blue ticks: 5 ways to spot misinformation without verified accounts (The Converstion, 25 April)
Content Moderation
- Russian, Chinese propaganda surging on Twitter amid platform changes (CBC, 24 April)
- Twitter changes stoke Russian, Chinese disinformation (PBS, 24 April)
- Twitter changes boost autocrats’ digital disinformation (NED, 25 April)
Meta
- Inside Meta’s scramble to catch up on AI (Rappler, 25 April)
- Terrorists Using Local Language To Spread Propaganda On Facebook (HumAngle, 17 April)
TikTok
- Forget a U.S. ban — TikTok is thriving in its second-biggest market: TikTok Shop, the controversial app’s ambitious next phase, has caught fire in Indonesia. “This is truly the year of TikTok,” says one seller. (Rest of World, 25 April)
TikTok bans
- Nearly Half of U.S. Voters Would Ban TikTok, Particularly Those Who Have Never Used It (WSJ, 24 April)