DisinfoDocket 19 June

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. The challenge of media manipulation and disinformation (RNZ, 16 June)

#HateSpeech takes many forms. In its disinformation campaign, the Kremlin has utilized homophobic narratives, denigrating LGBTQI+ individuals and further inflamed division and conflict. Stand with us against all forms of hate speech. #NoToHate https://t.co/gzn7veaTTt

— EUvsDisinfo (@EUvsDisinfo) June 18, 2023

Like any tool, the internet can be used for good or bad.

It's brought us closer together, revolutionized industries & democratized information.

But it's also amplified disinformation & hate.

📲 Learn more and say #NoToHate speech: https://t.co/rufEZYnjdJ pic.twitter.com/5cmKNNea9L

— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) June 19, 2023

#HateSpeech and gendered disinformation is not only a threat to #GenderEquality, but also to freedom of expression and diversity in public debates and democracy.

It is about time to make this STOP!https://t.co/ML817RksmA pic.twitter.com/IDkVygpg7d

— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) June 19, 2023

1. Platforms & Technology

LISTEN: A Conversation with Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal (Tech Policy Press, 18 June)

1. Victims speak out over ‘tsunami’ of fraud on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp (Guardian, 16 June)
2. Microsoft confirms that the recent outages of its Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint online services were caused by DDoS attacks carried out by a pro-Kremlin group named Anonymous Sudan (Microsoft, 16 June)
3. Spotify does nothing as Joe Rogan peddles vaccine misinformation (Verge, 18 June)
4. Humans Aren’t Mentally Ready for an AI-Saturated ‘Post-Truth World’ (Wired, 18 June)

Meta

1. Meta’s Twitter rival: what we know about the rumoured platform (Stuff, 17 June)
2. Meta rolls back measures to tackle COVID misinformation (Reuters, 16 June)

TikTok

1. TikTok allowed millions of people to see Canadian ‘helicopter’ wildfire conspiracies before taking down videos (Independent, 19 June)

Twitter

1. Twitter has suspended the accounts of a prominent Tesla and Elon Musk critic, PlainSite founder Aaron Greenspan (CNBC, 15 June)
2. Twitter restricted Democrat’s abortion-rights ad—but platform may backpedal (ArsTechnica, 16 June)