Two major outdoor-goods retailers “have joined a boycott of Facebook after six civil rights groups called on businesses to stop advertising on Facebook in July,” reports CNET, “to push the social network to do more to combat hate speech and misinformation…”
The moves by the high-profile brands [North Face and REI] suggest the ad boycott, unveiled Wednesday, is beginning to gain traction….
Tag: hate speech
Disney Almost Bought Twitter in 2016
This fall saw the release of an autobiography by former Disney CEO Bob Iger (2005 to 2020) titled The Ride of a Lifetime. And Friday Bloomberg reporter Kurt Wagner shared an interesting excerpt (spotted by blogger John Gruber) in which Iger reveals he saw Twitter as “a potentially powerful platform for us, but I couldn’t get past the challenges that would…
How the coronavirus pandemic is fuelling online trolls and scams
The pandemic has resulted in a surge in anti-Asian hate speech, a proliferation of covid-19 scams, and in the rapid spread of scientific misinformation Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2245300-how-the-coronavirus-pandemic-is-fuelling-online-trolls-and-scams/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Nearly Half of Twitter Accounts Pushing To Reopen America May Be Bots
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…
France Passes Law Forcing Online Platforms To Delete Hate-Speech Content Within 24 Hours
France’s lower chamber has passed a controversial law that will require social networks and online platforms remove flagged hate speech within 24 hours. If companies do not comply, they will have to pay hefty fines every time they infringe the law. Other more extreme content, such as terrorist content and child pornography, will require online platforms react within an hour. TechCrunch…
Facebook Gives Workers a Chatbot to Appease That Prying Uncle
Some Facebook employees recently told their managers that they were concerned about answering difficult questions about their workplace from friends and family over the holidays. What if Mom or Dad accused the social network of destroying democracy? Or what if they said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, was collecting their online data at the expense of privacy? So just before Thanksgiving,…
Sacha Baron Cohen Gave the Greatest Speech on Why Social Networks Need To Be Put On Check
For an actor who made a career by playing silly characters, actor Sacha Baron Cohen gave yesterday one of the most eloquent and convincing speeches in a long time in support of cracking down on large social media networks to prevent the spread of lies and hate speech that these platforms allow. From a report: While accepting his award, Cohen touched…
Undercover Reporter Reveals Life In a Polish Troll Farm
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: It is as common an occurrence on Polish Twitter as you are likely to get: a pair of conservative activists pouring scorn on the country’s divided liberal opposition. “I burst out laughing!” writes Girl from oliborz, a self-described “traditionalist” commenting on a newspaper story about a former campaign adviser to Barack Obama…
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Says He Fears ‘Erosion of Truth’ But Defends Allowing Politicians To Lie in Ads
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview he worries “about an erosion of truth” online but defended the policy that allows politicians to peddle ads containing misrepresentations and lies on his social network, a stance that has sparked an outcry during the 2020 presidential campaign. From a report: “People worry, and I worry deeply, too, about an erosion of…
US Using Trade Deals To Shield Tech Giants From Foreign Regulators
The Trump administration has begun inserting legal protections into recent trade agreements that shield online platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube from lawsuits, a move that could help lock in America’s tech-friendly regulations around the world even as they are being newly questioned at home. From a report: The protections, which stem from a 1990s law, have already been tucked into…