36 Matching Annotations
  1. Aug 2023
  2. Jul 2023
  3. Mar 2023
  4. Dec 2022
    1. I am not afraid of Charlie because he writes extreme, offensive things online. I am afraid of him because I recognize so many of his proclivities in regular people—the shifting eyes, the formless references and mental absence. If you spend all of your time consuming internet culture, you are consuming stories and myths and personalities that only exist online. To curate your online presence is to give up a piece of your physical self, to live in a simulated universe of your own creation. 
  5. Oct 2022
    1. Edgerly noted that disinformation spreads through two ways: The use of technology and human nature.Click-based advertising, news aggregation, the process of viral spreading and the ease of creating and altering websites are factors considered under technology.“Facebook and Google prioritize giving people what they ‘want’ to see; advertising revenue (are) based on clicks, not quality,” Edgerly said.She noted that people have the tendency to share news and website links without even reading its content, only its headline. According to her, this perpetuates a phenomenon of viral spreading or easy sharing.There is also the case of human nature involved, where people are “most likely to believe” information that supports their identities and viewpoints, Edgerly cited.“Vivid, emotional information grabs attention (and) leads to more responses (such as) likes, comments, shares. Negative information grabs more attention than (the) positive and is better remembered,” she said.Edgerly added that people tend to believe in information that they see on a regular basis and those shared by their immediate families and friends.

      Spreading misinformation and disinformation is really easy in this day and age because of how accessible information is and how much of it there is on the web. This is explained precisely by Edgerly. Noted in this part of the article, there is a business for the spread of disinformation, particularly in our country. There are people who pay what we call online trolls, to spread disinformation and capitalize on how “chronically online” Filipinos are, among many other factors (i.e., most Filipinos’ information illiteracy due to poverty and lack of educational attainment, how easy it is to interact with content we see online, regardless of its authenticity, etc.). Disinformation also leads to misinformation through word-of-mouth. As stated by Edgerly in this article, “people tend to believe in information… shared by their immediate families and friends”; because of people’s human nature to trust the information shared by their loved ones, if one is not information literate, they will not question their newly received information. Lastly, it most certainly does not help that social media algorithms nowadays rely on what users interact with; the more that a user interacts with a certain information, the more that social media platforms will feed them that information. It does not help because not all social media websites have fact checkers and users can freely spread disinformation if they chose to.

    1. "In 2013, we spread fake news in one of the provinces I was handling," he says, describing how he set up his client's opponent. "We got the top politician's cell phone number and photo-shopped it, then sent out a text message pretending to be him, saying he was looking for a mistress. Eventually, my client won."

      This statement from a man who claims to work for politicians as an internet troll and propagator of fake news was really striking, because it shows how fabricating something out of the blue can have a profound impact in the elections--something that is supposed to be a democratic process. Now more than ever, mudslinging in popular information spaces like social media can easily sway public opinion (or confirm it). We have seen this during the election season, wherein Leni Robredo bore the brunt of outrageous rumors; one rumor I remember well was that Leni apparently married an NPA member before and had a kid with him. It is tragic that misinformation and disinformation is not just a mere phenomenon anymore, but a fully blown industry. It has a tight clutch on the decisions people make for the country, while also deeply affecting their values and beliefs.

    1. Trolls, in this context, are humans who hold accounts on social media platforms, more or less for one purpose: To generate comments that argue with people, insult and name-call other users and public figures, try to undermine the credibility of ideas they don’t like, and to intimidate individuals who post those ideas. And they support and advocate for fake news stories that they’re ideologically aligned with. They’re often pretty nasty in their comments. And that gets other, normal users, to be nasty, too.

      Not only programmed accounts are created but also troll accounts that propagate disinformation and spread fake news with the intent to cause havoc on every people. In short, once they start with a malicious comment some people will engage with the said comment which leads to more rage comments and disagreements towards each other. That is what they do, they trigger people to engage in their comments so that they can be spread more and produce more fake news. These troll accounts usually are prominent during elections, like in the Philippines some speculates that some of the candidates have made troll farms just to spread fake news all over social media in which some people engage on.

  6. Jul 2022
  7. Jun 2022
  8. May 2022
  9. Oct 2021
    1. copyright trolling—the opportunistic over-litigation of copyright-protected material

      I've never heard of a "copyright troll" until now. I wanted to learn more - apparently people can troll all sorts of industries to make a profit. Check out, eff.org/issues/copyright-trolls for more information.

  10. Mar 2021
  11. Feb 2021
  12. Nov 2019
    1. Too often “membership” is a code for “paywall”, with outlets paying lip service to genuine engagement with their paying subscribers. This is not at all the case in the outlets covered in the report. The memberships both help sustain the sites financially, but also bring community benefits to both the editorial staff and the members.

      I'll note here that it's the same sort of free business that allows spam to exist in the email space. If we needed to pay some modest amount for each email, then spammers wouldn't exist because it would be prohibitively expensive for them to operate the way they do.

  13. Feb 2019
    1. Managing and maintaining the privacy and security of your digital identity through behaviors and digital tool settings

      Staying safe online is the most important aspect of learning internet usage. Knowing the repercussions of online sharing and how if it gets into the wrong hands can turn very dangeruos, very fast can help us to stay safe and continue to present ourselves in a safe environment.

  14. Nov 2018
    1. 4. Use it as F.U.E.L.When (not if) you experience these trolls, you can either fuel their fire or you can use the experience to fuel your own fire. When 'this' happens, I like to think positive: F - find humor in every obstacle or situation (big smile) U - unleash something new + amazing in your own business E - enjoy your mocha + your own great moments (@#$%@ them) L - love on your clients + your biz even more Summary: never let anyone steal your joy! #unleashthebiz
  15. Oct 2018
  16. Aug 2018
    1. The first of the two maps in the GIF image below shows the US political spectrum on the eve of the 2016 election. The second map highlights the followers of a 30-something American woman called Jenna Abrams, a following gained with her viral tweets about slavery, segregation, Donald Trump, and Kim Kardashian. Her far-right views endeared her to conservatives, and her entertaining shock tactics won her attention from several mainstream media outlets and got her into public spats with prominent people on Twitter, including a former US ambassador to Russia. Her following in the right-wing Twittersphere enabled her to influence the broader political conversation. In reality, she was one of many fake personas created by the infamous St. Petersburg troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency.
    2. Instead of trying to force their messages into the mainstream, these adversaries target polarized communities and “embed” fake accounts within them. The false personas engage with real people in those communities to build credibility. Once their influence has been established, they can introduce new viewpoints and amplify divisive and inflammatory narratives that are already circulating. It’s the digital equivalent of moving to an isolated and tight-knit community, using its own language quirks and catering to its obsessions, running for mayor, and then using that position to influence national politics.
  17. Jul 2018
    1. "There's no paradox here. It's two sides of the same coin," Igor Ashmanov, a Russian internet entrepreneur known for his pro-government views, told BuzzFeed. "The Kremlin is weeding out the informational field and sowing it with cultured plants. You can see what will happen if they don't clear it out from the gruesome example of Ukraine."
    2. The trolls appear to have taken pains to learn the sites' different commenting systems. A report on initial efforts to post comments discusses the types of profanity and abuse that are allowed on some sites, but not others. "Direct offense of Americans as a race are not published ('Your nation is a nation of complete idiots')," the author wrote of fringe conspiracy site WorldNetDaily, "nor are vulgar reactions to the political work of Barack Obama ('Obama did shit his pants while talking about foreign affairs, how you can feel yourself psychologically comfortable with pants full of shit?')." Another suggested creating "up to 100" fake accounts on the Huffington Post to master the site's complicated commenting system.
    3. According to the documents, which are attached to several hundred emails sent to the project's leader, Igor Osadchy, the effort was launched in April and is led by a firm called the Internet Research Agency. It's based in a Saint Petersburg suburb, and the documents say it employs hundreds of people across Russia who promote Putin in comments on Russian blogs.
    4. Russia's campaign to shape international opinion around its invasion of Ukraine has extended to recruiting and training a new cadre of online trolls that have been deployed to spread the Kremlin's message on the comments section of top American websites.Plans attached to emails leaked by a mysterious Russian hacker collective show IT managers reporting on a new ideological front against the West in the comments sections of Fox News, Huffington Post, The Blaze, Politico, and WorldNetDaily.The bizarre hive of social media activity appears to be part of a two-pronged Kremlin campaign to claim control over the internet, launching a million-dollar army of trolls to mold American public opinion as it cracks down on internet freedom at home.
    1. RuNet Echo has previously written about the efforts of the Russian “Troll Army” to inject the social networks and online media websites with pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Twitter is no exception, and multiple users have observed Twitter accounts tweeting similar statements during and around key breaking news and events. Increasingly active throughout Russia's interventions in Ukraine, these “bots” have been designed to look like real Twitter users, complete with avatars.
  18. Nov 2017
    1. Whistle-blowers and dissidents might need to use a different platform.)

      The way that he casually mentions whistle blowers and dissidents is troubling to say the least. Also, will dig up studies, but removing anonymity hasn't really shown to decrease trolling or other bad behavior. Also, "privacy" anyone?

      http://theweek.com/articles/632929/problem-internet-trolls-isnt-anonymity

  19. Mar 2017
    1. not a student of science fiction, I placed a query on the CompuServe science fiction forum -- I suppose that such a query might in some modest way resemble the brother Grimm's interrogation of bearers of folktale.

      Comparison of asking listserv to informants

  20. Nov 2016
  21. Oct 2016
    1. Recent changes in the U.S. patent system have made it easier for companies with deep pockets to combat claims. Shipping & Transit has turned its sights on scores of small online retailers and logistics startups. It typically demands licensing fees of $25,000 to $45,000, amounts just small enough to discourage a legal battle, yet painful for businesses with only a few employees.

      ...

      Despite hundreds of lawsuits filed by Shipping & Transit and its predecessor, a court has never ruled on the merits of its patent claims, according to Lex Machina. CD Universe, of Wallingford, Ct., settled last month on confidential terms. “To fight it would have cost more than settling,” Mr. Nastri said.

  22. Jul 2015
    1. with the admission that “a few readers were flooding the site with inappropriate mat e rial.”

      for more on this, see Whitney Phillips, This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things http://www.amazon.com/This-Cant-Have-Nice-Things/dp/0262028948

      Here's a great essay on sexism and trolling: http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/staff-editorials/12898/trolling-stem-tech-sexism/ You can read more from Whitney here: http://billions-and-billions.com/about/

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