Showing 84 results for:
misinformation
Popular topics
All results
A March 2024 interview between journalist Don Lemon and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is spinning the block and finding new life, resurfacing across social media feeds and news cycles amid the growing backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Although the conversation is nearly a year old, it has gained fresh traction with the recent policy rollbacks under the Trump administration and corporations scaling back DEI initiatives. The interview, which touched on topics ranging from hate speech to the controversial “great replacement theory,” has become a focal point for examining common misconceptions about DEI, particularly in professional environments. In the interview, Lemon directly challenged Musk’s assertions that DEI initiatives are detrimental, particularly in fields like medicine. Musk claimed, “If the standards for passing medical exams and becoming a doctor, or especially something like a surgeon, are lowered, then the probability that the surgeon will make a...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increasingly blurred the line between truth and fiction. For example, deepfake technology is the creation of a video, audio, or image via machine learning that draws inspiration from a real person, as the U.S. Government Accountability Officer mentions. Examples of this include a fake Kamala Harris presidential campaign video that Elon Musk shared in July 2024 with his millions of followers on X. The footage included Harris labeling herself as a “DEI hire” and sharing negative remarks about President Joe Biden. “I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate,” she said in the altered clip. The video amassed 131 million views, according to NBC News. Notably, it violated Musk’s own policies for X—acquired by him in 2022—which state, “You may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.” Deepfake technologies have...
Google is all about getting the facts straight! In a new open fund, the company plans to put an end to vaccine misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is exacerbating a perennial problem of misinformation about immunization,” shared Google in a blog post. “To support additional debunking efforts, the Google News Initiative is launching a COVID-19 Vaccine Counter-Misinformation Open Fund worth up to $3 million.” Sadly, we do live in a world where thanks to social media, false information can spread quickly. Google aims to prevent a continued COVID-19 infodemic which they share has been global in nature and used to target specific populations. Their Open Fund is currently accepting applications from projects that are on a mission to widen the audience of fact checks, specifically for those who are more prone and may be disproportionately affected by the misinformation at hand. Open to new organizations of every size, Google’s new fund is...
Pinterest, known for its DIY recipes, interior decorating ideas, and fashion tips is armoring itself against political and census misinformation and the 2020 presidential election. Although not among the big four social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube), Pinterest is making sure to avoid any blunders that its social media counterparts faced in the past. In 2019, Facebook came under heavy scrutiny regarding Black voter suppression tactics that flooded its platform in the midst of the 2016 presidential election. Pinterest told The Washington Post that it will take down any content that misinforms viewers about when, where, or how to vote. It will also remove any disinformation regarding the census. The Post reported: “‘This is an Internet problem,’” said Aerica Shimizu Banks, Pinterest’s lead for federal policy and social impact. The only way to address misinformation broadly, Banks adds, is for tech companies and government officials to work together.” Pinterest...
The 2020 presidential election is right around the corner and with it come questions around social media’s potential impact on the outcome. Social media’s potential to spread misinformation has been in the news a lot over the past few years and its evolved from something most people saw as a place to connect with friends to a machine that disrupts key parts of our democracy. People are able to curate their timelines and newsfeeds, but algorithms hold the real power, working behind the scenes to regulate the content you see, from targeted ads to the publications that are presented to you. With social media essentially shaping the information you get, many people are concerned about the spread of misinformation. After all, not everything that you read on the internet is true, and social media platforms themselves have been guilty of spreading misinformation or otherwise allowing election interference to occur. Perhaps the most infamous case of election interference spurred by social...
Across social media, vaccine misinformation continues to be a huge issue. Earlier this week, CNN reported that despite Facebook’s pledge to fight vaccine misinformation on its platforms, Instagram still didn’t have the problem under control. The report said that anyone who searched the word “vaccines” would be greeted with posts from anti-vax accounts and hashtags. At a San Francisco Press event on Thursday , Instagram announced that it would begin blocking hashtags advertising “verifiably false” information regarding vaccinations. The new policy will also extend Instagram’s ban policy to hashtags that may seem innocent but are also spreading bad information. “If the hashtag was #vaccines1234, if it contained a high proportion of known vaccine misinformation, we would block that hashtag entirely,” said Karina Newton, Instagram’s global head of public policy, according to The Verge. In the past, Instagram has blocked hashtags promoting false information, Engadget reported . For...
Misinformation continues to be a huge problem online, especially for social media platforms. Previously, Facebook tried tackling it by introducing rules against groups and ads that deliberately spread wrong information about vaccines and political opponents. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. Now, Facebook has introduced updates that include harsher punishments for groups and individuals spreading misinformation across its platforms. In its blog post, Facebook said it plans to reduce the reach of groups that “repeatedly share misinformation”. The company will also add a “click gap” feature to the newsfeed to make sure people see less low-quality content. Lastly, Facebook will partner with the Associated Press, who will serve as a third-party fact-checker. Any content approved by the AP will be expanded on the platform. The moves come as Facebook gears up for another turbulent election season, finds new ways to combat vaccine misinformation, and continues to ban pages associated with...
Anti-vax campaigns have entered the conversation around misinformation on the internet, with false theories about the harms that come with vaccinations spreading on platforms like Facebook and Youtube. The role fundraising sites play in this has mostly gone unnoticed, until now. Recently, GoFundMe shared it will remove anti-vax campaigns on its website, as reported by The Daily Beast. A spokesman for GoFundMe told the outlet, “Campaigns raising money to promote misinformation about vaccines violate GoFundMe’s terms of service and will be removed from the platform.” According to The Daily Beast, fundraisers by anti-vax groups have raised at least $170,000 in the last four years on GoFundMe. That’s a significant amount of money. Removing their ability to use GoFundMe may not completely defund anti-vax groups, but it’ll definitely make things harder for them moving forward. Anti-vax campaigns can be dangerous not only because some of them use bad science, but also because they have...
Facebook announced Thursday in a blog post that it is actively curbing anti-vaccine misinformation on its platform. The company said it will be providing its users with “authoritative” information on vaccines. Facebook said it will now remove ads that have vaccine misinformation and repeated violators’ accounts will be disabled. Groups and pages that promote anti-vaxer talking points will be subject to reduced rankings, and removed from suggested content and searches. The policies will also extend to Instagram. Ads and other content that contain vaccine misinformation will not be suggested on the platform’s discover and hashtag pages. Facebook is using studies and research provided by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify vaccine hoaxes in order to better keep track of misinformation campaigns. “We also believe in providing people with additional context so they can decide whether to read, share, or engage in conversations...
LinkedIn co-founder and billionaire, Reid Hoffman donated more than $750,000 to an organization that used misinformation to ensure a loss for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore. Moore lost in last year’s special election and came under fire for sexual misconduct allegations, but online bots helped bruise his campaign. The campaign against Moore was ran by American Engagement Technologies (AET), a left-leaning firm that works to get Democrats into office. The firm is run by Mikey Dickerson, a key player in helping the Obama administration in establishing the United States Digital Service and in revamping the original HealthCare.gov website. Hoffman said he donated to AET before knowing about their use of misinformation tactics to help Democratic candidates. He also mentioned his donations to dozens of other organizations. “I find the tactics that have been recently reported highly disturbing,” Hoffman said in a statement to the Washington Post . For that reason, I am...
If you’ve grown up in the digital age , you likely have some understanding of how unreliable information spreads across the net. Millennials far and wide have been inundated with enough YouTube troll comments, Nigerian prince emails and “free iPhone” pop-ups to build a healthy skepticism of internet browsing. Now, it seems that this learning curve has become a perennial part of growing up, as Gen Z and Gen Alpha are surmising that social media apps like TikTok are rife with terrible financial advice. New studies from researchers at Intuit Credit Karma estimate that over 77 percent of Gen Z kids are looking to influencers on the short-form video app for money management, while roughly 61 percent of millennials are doing the same on YouTube and Facebook . In order to understand just how damaging these financial words of wisdom can be to a growing audience of youngsters, lets take a moment to briefly run through the data, and see exactly where young people are being led astray. After...
Ross Dress for Less has long been a dominant player in the low-price retail space. It offers a broad selection of products at compelling discounts. Its value proposition, driven by significant cost savings, has made it a popular choice among budget-conscious consumers, particularly within Black communities. Over time, Ross has solidified its position as a go-to destination for those seeking both variety and affordability. However, as the retail landscape evolves, questions are emerging regarding the company’s stance on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) , particularly in light of recent regulatory changes. The new Trump administration’s ban on DEI initiatives has triggered a wave of corporate reassessments . Many businesses are either willfully or forcefully publicly stating their position on DEI policies. As a result, consumers are increasingly scrutinizing the values of the brands they support. This shift in consumer behavior signals that buying decisions are no longer solely...
Addressing the talent gap is essential to mitigating cybersecurity risks effectively. The United States has seen a wave of cybersecurity attacks over the years. In 2024, The Guardian reported that Volt Typhoon, a Chinese hacking group, infiltrated the networks of critical infrastructure organizations, including aviation, rail, mass transit, highways, maritime, pipelines, water, and sewage systems. U.S. intelligence revealed that the group had maintained access to some victim IT environments for over five years. Among the high-profile incidents, MGM Resorts faced a staggering $100 million loss. They were hit with cybersecurity attacks, leading them to shut down their systems in September 2023 “to mitigate risk to customer information,” according to NBC News. This meant workers could not access company emails, slot machines were inaccessible, and some customers could no longer enter their hotel rooms. Despite these measures, the hackers were still able to retrieve sensitive...