The Spectacular Collapse of Putin’s Disinformation Machinery
A few critical errors have brought down Russia’s complex and objectively brilliant war of influence in the West.
The Spectacular Collapse of Putin’s Disinformation Machinery Read MoreTag: Propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented. Propaganda can be found in news and journalism, government, advertising, entertainment, education, and activism and is often associated with material which is prepared by governments as part of war efforts, political campaigns, revolutionaries, big businesses, ultra-religious organizations, the media, and certain individuals such as soapboxers.
In the 20th century, the term propaganda was often associated with a manipulative approach, but historically, propaganda has been a neutral descriptive term.
—Wikipedia, “Propaganda”
Propaganda is a broad term. Disinformation is a subset of, is narrower than propaganda. Disinformation is used more in the modern context whereas propaganda tends to be more of a historical usage. Neither usage nor meaning are mutually exclusive.
The Internet was supposed to foster democracy. China has different ideas.
“I just want freedom of speech without fear.” – BEHIND THE FIREWALL: How China tamed the Internet | This is part 3 of 6 of a series examining the impact of China’s Great Firewall, a mechanism of Internet censorship and surveillance that affects nearly 700 million users.
The Internet was supposed to foster democracy. China has different ideas. Read More
How the truth was murdered
Instead, I’m here to point out, as others have before, that people had a choice to intervene much sooner, but didn’t. Facebook and Twitter didn’t create racist extremists, conspiracy theories, or mob harassment, but they chose to run their platforms in a way that allowed extremists to find an audience, and they ignored voices telling them about the harms their business models were encouraging.
How the truth was murdered Read More
The WIRED Guide to Memes
…memes, bits of cultural DNA that encoded society’s shared experiences while also constantly evolving.
The WIRED Guide to Memes Read More
Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America
For the first time, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower tells the inside story of the data mining and psychological manipulation behind the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum, connecting Facebook, WikiLeaks, Russian intelligence, and international hackers.
Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America Read More
At Least 70 Countries Have Had Disinformation Campaigns, Study Finds
The New York Times, September 26, 2019
By Davey Alba and Adam Satariano
“Despite increased efforts by internet platforms like Facebook to combat internet disinformation, the use of the techniques by governments around the world is growing, according to a report released Thursday by researchers at Oxford University. Governments are spreading disinformation to discredit political opponents, bury opposing views and interfere in foreign affairs.”
At Least 70 Countries Have Had Disinformation Campaigns, Study Finds Read More
The Internet Has Made Dupes—and Cynics—of Us All
Wired, June 24, 2019
By Zeynep Tufekci
“Online fakery runs wide and deep, but you don’t need me to tell you that. New species of digital fraud and deception come to light almost every week, if not every day: Russian bots that pretend to be American humans. American bots that pretend to be human trolls. Even humans that pretend to be bots. Yep, some “intelligent assistants,” promoted as advanced conversational AIs, have turned out to be little more than digital puppets operated by poorly paid people. ”
The Internet Has Made Dupes—and Cynics—of Us All Read More
Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe
“The New York Times bestseller about a noted tech venture capitalist, early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, and Facebook investor, who wakes up to the serious damage Facebook is doing to our society – and sets out to try to stop it. “
Roger McNamee has been a Silicon Valley investor for 35 years. He co-founded successful funds in venture, crossover and private equity. His most recent fund, Elevation, included U2’s Bono as a co-founder. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and…
Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe Read More