Facebook will ban anti-vaccine ads in an effort to combat misinformation and support public health experts, the social media platform announced in a statement on Tuesday. Axios reports: The company now says it doesn’t want these ads on its platform, but the policy does not apply to influencers who experts say drive a significant amount of organic misinformation about vaccines. “Our…
Tag: Hoaxes
Hoax That Fooled Armed Protesters Was Created By a Socialist Troll on Food Stamps
Remember that anonymous online hoaxster who urged hundreds of armed protesters to counter a non-existent flag-burning event at America’s historic Civil War battefield at Gettysburg? An investigation by the Washington Post reveals that the hoaxster had in fact been a “lifelong Democrat” before instead registering in 2015 with the Socialist Party — and that he now collects food stamps:
Adam Rahuba, a…
Hundreds of Armed US Counter-Protesters Fall for ‘Apparent Hoax’
Yesterday as America celebrated its Independence Day, the Washington Post reports something unusual happened at the historic Civil War battefield at Gettysburg: For weeks, a mysterious figure on social media talked up plans for antifa protesters to converge on this historical site on Independence Day to burn American flags, an event that seemed at times to border on the farcical… There…
Facebook Will Warn Users Who ‘Liked’ Coronavirus Hoaxes
The Associated Press reports that soon Facebook will start warning users who “shared or interacted with dangerous coronavirus misinformation”:
The new notice will be sent to users who have clicked on, reacted to, or commented on posts featuring harmful or false claims about COVID-19 after they have been removed by moderators. The alert, which will start appearing on Facebook in the coming…
What is pareidolia?
Seeing a dog in a patch of clouds, or a face in the moon, are examples of what’s called pareidolia. Look here for photos to test your own ability to see things that aren’t there. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/seeing-things-that-arent-there…
The Most Popular YouTube Videos About The Coronavirus Are Being Made In India — And They’re Full Of Hoaxes
India is in the middle of a YouTube-powered coronavirus frenzy that could kill people. From a report: The most popular YouTube video in the world about the coronavirus was created by a channel called Wonderful Secrets of the World, which typically publishes Hindi-language videos about sports and cars, as well as roundups like “Top 5 Secret Places Hidden in Famous Locations”…
Fake News Hoax in Russia Tries Blaming the US For Coronavirus
“Russia’s intelligence services are apparently behind a well-coordinated social media campaign to blame the U.S. for creating and unleashing the Wuhan coronavirus on the world,” reports the International Business Times. That conclusion comes from the Atlantic Council think tank (founded in 1961), which established its Digital Forensic Research Lab in 2016. Eto Buziashvili, an analyst at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic…
Pinterest Bans Misinformation About Voting and the Census
An anonymous reader shares a report: Pinterest is ramping up its efforts to crack down on political misinformation ahead of the 2020 election — a sign that the platform best known for lighthearted fare such as recipes, wedding planning and beauty tips is not immune from the challenges facing other major social media sites. The company tells The Technology 202 that…
Fact-Checking Website Snopes Is Locked In a Nasty Legal Dispute
jader3rd shares a report from The Seattle Times: After more than two decades battling internet hoaxes, retouched photos, and other fake news, David Mikkelson, co-founder of Snopes, faces a much larger and more existential adversary. Since 2017, Mikkelson has been locked in a nasty legal dispute with former business associates over control of Snopes, the pioneering fact-checking website that Mikkelson launched…