Social: Who uses Twitter? The “outrage” amplifier
Twitter is not good for one’s mental health. Studies show that Twitter (and some other social media) act as outrage amplifiers, creating more anger and more polarization.
Censorship: Zeynep Tufekci argues that censorship might be necessary in era of social media
Tufekci disseminated significant disinformation throughout the Covid pandemic and was given a prominent platform to do so by the NY Times. Tufekci suggested that misinformation on social media should be censored. If she followed her own rules, the rules she seems to wish imposed on others by the technocratic elite like herself, she should deplatform herself immediately.
Polls: Reminder a public opinion poll is a survey of what people have been told
Reminder – a public opinion poll is a metric measuring the success or failure of a propaganda campaign, especially when the public is asked to have views on things they may know little about.
Misinformation on Misinformation: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges
A journal paper finds that misinformation is not as common as perceived, that people are more likely to be uniformed than “misinformed”, and that – surprise – people do not believe everything they read or watch on the Internet.
It is very important that you virtue signal on social media
It is more important than ever that you virtue signal by posting insane photos of yourself “doing everything right” (when it turns out you did everything wrong) on social media. The insanity surrounding Covid knows no bounds.
Homeland Security says if you disagree with the U.S. government you are a terrorist threat
The US Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin, yesterday, saying that anyone engaged in “(1) the proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions; ” is a terrorist. This claim from DHS is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
By my noting this here, this blog is now, apparently, an official terrorist blog. Wow.
The media’s “missing white women syndrome” problem
Academic research confirms the media’s obsession with “missing white women” (specifically, young, blonde, blue eyed women). When someone goes missing, coverage is extreme for missing young white women, drops significantly for missing women of color, and is almost non-existent for men, with coverage of missing white men receiving the least amount of press.
Cherry Picking: “How Not to Diet” by Dr. Michael Greger: A Critical Review
The book “How Not to Diet” uses an appeal to authority and extensive cherry picking to formulate the author’s argument that we should all eat a plant-based diet.
Old tweets kill off another career
Another career is ended due to people learning about a reporter’s actual beliefs via the reporter’s own past tweets and social media posts.
“The myth of the British colonial ‘master’ and his infamous piggy-back ride”
Not at all what was photographed: “”1930, A British Official being carried by a Bengali woman in a remote area of United India where no buses or cars could go.”