According to a new study from Carnegie Mellon University, researchers have found that bots may account for between 45 and 60% of Twitter accounts discussing covid-19. The normal level of bot involvement for U.S. and foreign elections, natural disasters, and other politicized events is usually between 10 and 20%. MIT Technology Review reports: Many of those accounts were created in February…
Tag: Disinformation
Cell-Tower Attacks By Idiots Who Claim 5G Spreads COVID-19 Reportedly Hit US
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly issuing alerts to wireless telecom providers and law enforcement agencies about potential attacks on cell towers and telecommunications workers by 5G/coronavirus conspiracy theorists. The DHS warned that there have already been “arson and physical attacks against cell towers in several U.S. states.” The preposterous claim…
The Atlantic Warns About 2020 Election Security Holes and Possible Russian Interference
Slashdot reader DevNull127 writes: A staff writer at The Atlantic published a 7,800-word warning about election security considering the possibility of everything from ransomware to meddling with voter-registration databases — and of course, online disinformation. But it starts with Jack Cable, a Stanford student who discovered security holes in Chicago’s Board of Elections website — then spent months trying to find…
Chinese Agents Helped Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic In US: Officials
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: The alarming messages came fast and furious in mid-March, popping up on the cellphone screens and social media feeds of millions of Americans grappling with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Spread the word, the messages said: The Trump administration was about to lock down the entire country. “They will…
‘Claim That Covid-19 Came From Lab In China Completely Unfounded Scientists Say’
Newsweek reports: There is no evidence to back claims the coronavirus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic emerged from a lab in China, scientists have told Newsweek. Adam Lauring, an associate professor at the University of Michigan Medical School and an expert in the evolution of viruses, told Newsweek: “This claim is a conspiracy theory and it is not supported at…
Coronavirus Tests Science’s Need for Speed Limits
Preprint servers and peer-reviewed journals are seeing surging audiences, with many new readers not well versed in the limitations of the latest research findings. From a report: Early on Feb. 1, John Inglis picked up his phone and checked Twitter, as he does most mornings. He was shocked at what fresh hell awaited. Since 2013, Dr. Inglis, executive director of Cold…
Russia Spreads Conspiracy Theory Linking Coronavirus Pandemic to Bill Gates
Wired investigated the vast spread of 5G/coronavirus conspiracy theories — and reports that “Amongst the conspiracy sludge, one voice stands out.” “For more than a year, propaganda broadcaster RT has been attacking the roll-out of 5G.”
While RT has never outright linked 5G to coronavirus, it has played a role in adding legitimacy to conspiracy theories surrounding the technology. As The New…
5G Virus Conspiracy Theory Fueled By Coordinated Effort
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: A conspiracy theory linking 5G technology to the outbreak of the coronavirus is quickly gaining momentum, with celebrities including actor Woody Harrelson promoting the idea. But the theory is also getting a boost from what some researchers say is a coordinated disinformation campaign. Marc Owen Jones, a researcher at Hamad bin Khalifa University…
Russia Accused of Spreading Coronavirus Disinformation
Two associate professors studying foreign trolls online have penned an op-ed in the Washington Post arguing that Russian efforts to stir up antagonisms online “continues to be true with coronavirus disinformation.”
In our research, we have found multiple networks of fake accounts — one of which we can attribute to Russia — that use conversations about coronavirus as a tool for political…
Why Taiwan’s Coronavirus Response Is Among The Best Globally
Why does Taiwan have less than 400 confirmed cases of Covid-19? Taiwan’s experience with the 2003 SARS outbreak “helped many parts of the region react faster to the current coronavirus outbreak and take the danger more seriously than in other parts of the world,” reports CNN, “both at a governmental and societal level, with border controls and the wearing of face…