Wednesday, January 15

SOCIAL MEDIA

Manipulation And Misinformation On Social Media – How ‘Engagement’ Makes You Vulnerable
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Manipulation And Misinformation On Social Media – How ‘Engagement’ Makes You Vulnerable

Filippo Menczer, Indiana University Facebook has been quietly experimenting with reducing the amount of political content it puts in users’ news feeds. The move is a tacit acknowledgment that the way the company’s algorithms work can be a problem. The heart of the matter is the distinction between provoking a response and providing content people want. Social media algorithms – the rules their computers follow in deciding the content that you see – rely heavily on people’s behavior to make these decisions. In particular, they watch for content that people respond to or “engage” with by liking, commenting and sharing. As a computer scientist who studies the ways large numbers of people interact using technology, I understand the logic of using the wisdom of the crowds in these algorithms...
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6 Questions Answered – Why Facebook Created Its Own ‘Supreme Court’ For Judging Content
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SOCIAL MEDIA

6 Questions Answered – Why Facebook Created Its Own ‘Supreme Court’ For Judging Content

Facebook’s quasi-independent Oversight Board on May 5, 2021, upheld the company’s suspension of former President Donald Trump from the platform and Instagram. The decision came four months after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg banned Trump “indefinitely” for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The board chastised Facebook for failing to either set an end date for the suspension or permanently ban Trump and gave the social media company six months to resolve the matter. What is this Oversight Board that made one of the most politically perilous decisions Facebook has ever faced? Why did the company create it, and is it a good idea? We asked Siri Terjesen, an expert on corporate governance, to answer these and several other questions. 1. What is the Facebook Oversight Boa...
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Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Turns Online Arguments Between Teens Into Real-World Violence

The deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January exposed the power of social media to influence real-world behavior and incite violence. But many adolescents, who spend more time on social media than all other age groups, have known this for years. “On social media, when you argue, something so small can turn into something so big so fast,” said Justin, a 17-year-old living in Hartford, Connecticut, during one of my research focus groups. (The participants’ names have been changed in this article to protect their identities.) For the last three years, I have studied how and why social media triggers and accelerates offline violence. In my research, conducted in partnership with Hartford-based peace initiative COMPASS Youth Collaborative, we interviewed dozens of young people aged 1...
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Avoid Becoming A Misinformation Superspreader: 7 Ways To Avoid It
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Avoid Becoming A Misinformation Superspreader: 7 Ways To Avoid It

The problem of misinformation isn’t going away. Internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter have taken some steps to curb its spread and say they are working on doing more. But no method yet introduced has been completely successful at removing all misleading content from social media. The best defense, then, is self-defense. Misleading or outright false information – broadly called “misinformation” – can come from websites pretending to be news outlets, political propaganda or “pseudo-profound” reports that seem meaningful but are not. Disinformation is a type of misinformation that is deliberately generated to maliciously mislead people. Disinformation is intentionally shared, knowing it is false, but misinformation can be shared by people who don’t know it’s not true, especially becau...
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How Search Engines Spread Misinformation – It’s Not Just A Social Media Problem
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SOCIAL MEDIA

How Search Engines Spread Misinformation – It’s Not Just A Social Media Problem

Search engines are one of society’s primary gateways to information and people, but they are also conduits for misinformation. Similar to problematic social media algorithms, search engines learn to serve you what you and others have clicked on before. Because people are drawn to the sensational, this dance between algorithms and human nature can foster the spread of misinformation. Search engines often serve up a distorting blend of information and misinformation. Crispin la valiente/Moment via Getty Images, CC BY-ND Search engine companies, like most online services, make money not only by selling ads, but also by tracking users and selling their data through real-time bidding on it. People are often led to misinformation by their desire for sensational and entertaining news as well as ...
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Experts In Online Communications Weigh In – Does ‘Deplatforming’ Work To Curb Hate Speech And Calls For Violence?
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Experts In Online Communications Weigh In – Does ‘Deplatforming’ Work To Curb Hate Speech And Calls For Violence?

In the wake of the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Twitter permanently suspended Donald Trump’s personal account, and Google, Apple and Amazon shunned Parler, which at least temporarily shut down the social media platform favored by the far right. Dubbed “deplatforming,” these actions restrict the ability of individuals and communities to communicate with each other and the public. Deplatforming raises ethical and legal questions, but foremost is the question of whether it’s an effective strategy to reduce hate speech and calls for violence on social media. The Conversation U.S. asked three experts in online communications whether deplatforming works and what happens when technology companies attempt it. Sort of, but it’s not a long-term solution Jeremy Blackburn, assistant profes...
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Favored By Trump Supporters – And Used By Participants In The US Capitol Insurrection, Big Tech’s Rejection Of Parler Shuts Down A Site
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Favored By Trump Supporters – And Used By Participants In The US Capitol Insurrection, Big Tech’s Rejection Of Parler Shuts Down A Site

Early in the morning of Jan. 11, the social media platform Parler went offline after Amazon withdrew the platform’s web hosting services. Parler sued Amazon in response. Amazon’s move followed Google and Apple’s banning the Parler app from their app stores. The tech companies cited the platform’s inability or unwillingness to block calls for and threats of violence. Amazon’s move shut the platform down, at least until the company can find an alternative web hosting service. Parler had a surge in new users following Twitter’s ban of President Donald Trump on Jan. 8. Since the November election, when it saw a spike in usage, Parler has contributed to the widening gap between the different perceptions of reality held by the polarized public. Competitor Gab was similarly forced offline afte...
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Here’s How Instagram’s Redesign Shifts Toward Shopping Can Be Harmful
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BUSINESS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Here’s How Instagram’s Redesign Shifts Toward Shopping Can Be Harmful

Recently, when I opened Instagram, I noticed that the usual spot for checking notifications is now a Shop tab. The Instagram blog post announcing the redesign said that the change will support small businesses and connect people with their favorite brands and creators. This made me pause. As a researcher who studies social media, people and society, I’m concerned about the effects of surveillance capitalism. This includes social media companies profiting from collecting user data, making algorithmic inferences about people’s preferences and using this information to target people with advertising. Features like Instagram’s Shop tab facilitate surveillance capitalism, so it’s important to look at their consequences. Many people use Instagram to share their lives with other people, but the...
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Giving Us Rebel Nurses And Dancing Cops – TikTok Is Upending Workplace Social Media Policies
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SOCIAL MEDIA, VIDEO REELS, WORK

Giving Us Rebel Nurses And Dancing Cops – TikTok Is Upending Workplace Social Media Policies

As the Thanksgiving holiday was winding down, a medical center in Salem, Oregon, found itself in the middle of a frothing social media mess. A nurse named Ashley Grames posted a video on TikTok that went viral in which she mock-confessed to ignoring coronavirus health guidelines. The video – which Grames has since taken down, though it remains available on other feeds – is less than 15 seconds long. And if you’re not familiar with TikTok tropes, the video will seem very weird. The nurse is wearing scrubs and seemingly at a medical facility. She lip-syncs to a short audio clip from “The Grinch” and mocks her co-workers’ outrage at her decision to flout the state mask mandate outside of work. The nurse’s antics drew some unflattering attention to her employer, Salem Health, which suspended...
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Parler The Social Media Platform Attracts Millions Of Trump Supporters, Bringing Together Mainstream Conservatives, Anti-Semites And White Supremacists
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SOCIAL MEDIA

Parler The Social Media Platform Attracts Millions Of Trump Supporters, Bringing Together Mainstream Conservatives, Anti-Semites And White Supremacists

Since the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Parler has caught on among right-wing politicians and “influencers” – people with large online followings – as a social media platform where they can share and promote ideas without worrying about the company blocking or flagging their posts for being dangerous or misleading. However, the website has become a haven for far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who are now interacting with the mainstream conservatives flocking to the platform. As the three highest-profile social media companies – YouTube, Facebook and Twitter – continue to take action to mitigate the spread of extremism and disinformation, Parler has welcomed the ensuing exodus of right-wing users. It has exploded in popularity, doubling its members to 10 million during the mo...
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