Social Panic – Page 73 – Opinion: Factfulness on propaganda, media, social media and privacy

The story behind the fake DPRK News Service Twitter account

February 8, 2018 Edward MS

The DPRK News Service is one of the funniest Twitter accounts in existence as it hilariously makes fun of North Korea and a host of world leaders and events. It’s run by 2 guys in the U.S. who launched it to share jokes between friends. Not long after launching it, the U.S. media repeatedly cites them as an official North Korean news service. “It feels like all online media outlets have prioritized being First rather than Right, like it’s some…

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“Computational propaganda”

February 4, 2018 Edward MS

I just saw this term on Twitter. It refers to the use of automation to deliver propaganda messaging on social media. We’ve heard of “bots” and “bot networks” – as examples, but it could also include automated tech and sales support systems that use algorithms to respond to customer inquiries. The term highlights a new direction in propaganda for the 21st century – “computational propaganda” – and points to the automation of propaganda messaging as a key advancement in propaganda…

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Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws each day – or not

January 26, 2018 Edward MS

Americans are said to use 500 million plastic straws each day. Where did the 500 million estimate come from? A child named Milo Cress did a telephone survey – when he was nine years old in 2011. This is said to be the sole source of this estimate, now quoted by politicians, the media, the National Park Service and the National Restaurant Association. A lot of people accept this number without realizing it means roughly everyone in the U.S. uses…

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Does social media play a role in “wealth culture”?

January 21, 2018 Edward MS

This problem pre-dates social media but it is likely that social media has amplified some of its effects: “We’ve gone from a culture that prized hard work, frugality and discretion as the central tenets of the American Dream to a culture that prized celebrity, bling and narcissism.” Source: Sundance film documents ‘wealth culture’ addiction spiralling out of control – MarketWatch Television has played a big role in promoting celebrities. Social media, especially Instagram but also Facebook, creates an environment for…

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How Twitter’s shadow banning system works

January 11, 2018 Edward MS

Here is some insight in to how Twitter’s shadow banning algorithm’s may be operating. In addition to their “machine learning” (a good but significantly over-hyped technology) scanning of messages, their algorithms take in to account user reports, and the muting or blocking of accounts to decide if individual tweets or accounts should be shadow banned. The user that is shadow banned is not notified of the ban. Once shadow banned, one’s Tweets may not show up in some follower’s Twitter…

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Instagram said to use shadow banning

January 11, 2018 Edward MS

See here. On Instagram, if you use the same hash tags too often, Instagram shadow bans your account because they can. Instagram is owned and operated by Facebook, which also shadow bans posts. It looks like all online platforms engage in shadow banning.

Was I “shadow banned” by Twitter? #shadowbanned

January 11, 2018 Edward MS

For a little over a month last fall, I ramped up my daily use of Twitter. During that time, I posted many screen snapshots of actual price quotes from HealthCare.gov. For 4 weeks, I did not see a single new follower to my Twitter feed. It was as if my account had vanished. Not one additional follower for 4 weeks. With the news that Twitter actively censors political or policy speech that Twitter disagrees with, it seems likely that Twitter shadow…

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Constant consumption of news leads to anxiety, sleep problems, night mares, sense of distraction and loss of control

January 5, 2018 Edward MS

Staying informed is a strength, but for many people it’s mushroomed into an obsession with the news. Source: My therapy clients can’t tear themselves away from the news — and it’s messing with their lives – The Washington Post Personally, I found that certain subjects were “triggering” anxiety in me and I have cut way back on news and social media consumption. I also unfollowed or unfriended individuals who spent most of their social media time baiting people with hostile…

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We watched a social media propaganda theme explode in real time – and you won't believe what happened next!

December 24, 2017 Edward MS

This past week we learned about social media idiots! In a world where facts and logic no longer matter, a train derailment on the first paying passenger run on a brand new, $181 million upgraded rail corridor, completed as part of an $800 million dollar infrastructure upgrade, is: An example of America’s “crumbling infrastructure” An example of America’s lack of investment in infrastructure An example that future budgets (which might cut infrastructure spending) caused this crash, in the present An…

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