DisinfoDocket 7 November

DisinfoDocket curates influence operations-related academic research, news, events and job opportunities.

Highlights:

1. Advertisers fleeing, workers in fear: Welcome to Elon Musk’s Twitter (Washington Post, 4 November)
2. High-level global dialogue on online gendered disinformation (UNESCO, 5 November)
3. Russia Reactivates Its Trolls and Bots Ahead of Tuesday’s Midterms (NYT, 6 November)

LISTEN: Richard Epstein discusses the upcoming midterm elections and the consequences of Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter in the next presidential election. (Hoover Institution, 29 October)

1. Platforms & Technology

1. A New WhatsApp “Communities” Feature Makes Organizing Groups A Snap. Critics Say It Will Make Spreading Misinformation Easier. (Buzzfeed, 4 November)
2. Facebook parent company Meta is now the worst performer in the S&P 500 this year (CNBC, 3 November)
3. Facebook Parent Meta Is Preparing to Notify Employees of Large-Scale Layoffs This Week (WSJ, 6 November)
4. This is not a drill. Our new Community Guidelines are here. (Tumblr, 1 November)
5. An update on our services in France (Rumble, 1 November)
6. Sharing an Update to our Privacy Policy (TikTok, 2 November)
7. A Host of Tech Companies Announce Hiring Freezes and Job Cuts (NYT, 3 November)
8. YouTube May Have Misinformation Blind Spots, Researchers Say (NYT, 5 November)
9. Worries Grow That TikTok Is New Home for Manipulated Video and Photos (NYT, 4 November)

Twitter

1. Fact Check-Twitter’s Birdwatch program was not implemented by Elon Musk upon finalizing Twitter acquisition (Reuters, 3 November)
2. World’s richest man decides to set $44 billion on fire (Washington Post, 3 November)
3. Elon Musk Has Fired Twitter’s ‘Ethical AI’ Team (Wired, 4 November)
4. Elon Musk’s Twitter layoffs leave whole teams gutted (The Verge, 4 November)
5. What Musk might mean for cybersecurity at Twitter (Washington Post, 4 November)
6. Twitter layoffs gutted election information teams days before midterms (Washington Post, 4 November)
7. Twitter launches $8 blue tick subscription service (Guardian, 5 November)
8. Influencers debate leaving Twitter, but where would they go? (ABC, 5 November)
9. The Future of Twitter is Open, or Bust (Tech Policy Press, 4 November)
10. These are the men running Elon Musk’s Twitter (Washington Post, 6 November)
11. Germany’s SPD wants tight Twitter supervision after Musk takeover (Euractiv, 7 November)
12. Musk delays Twitter's subscription service until after midterms (Politico, 6 November)
13. Twitter will ban unlabelled parody accounts, says Elon Musk (BBC, 7 November)
14. Twitter Is Said to Delay Changes to Check Mark Badges Until After Midterms (NYT, 6 November)