Enlarge (credit: Nikolai Vinokurov | Getty Images) René has nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine. The 34-year-old lives more than 1, 000 km away in Nuremberg, Germany. He has no family there, and he’s never been to the country. But when Russia invaded, he wanted to help. So on the dating app Tinder, […]
Enlarge For decades now, Vladimir Putin has slowly, carefully, and stealthily curated online and offline networks of influence. These efforts have borne lucrative fruit, helping Russia become far more influential than a country so corrupt and institutionally fragile had any right to be. The Kremlin and its proxies had economic holdings across Europe and Africa […]
The conflict will likely be a proving ground for the use of A.I. in warfare. Read More
A judge’s ruling Tuesday in a federal antitrust case sets the stage for potentially damaging disclosures of internal company records. Read More
Enlarge / Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga. ) answers questions in front of the House steps on November 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images) Tweets permanently suspended the personal account of Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga. ) yesterday, though her professional account remains active. Greene has been an outspoken opponent of COVID-19 […]
Influence campaigns appear to have diminishing returns. Read More
Enlarge (credit: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg / Getty Images) Facebook released its first report today detailing which content it says is widely viewed on the site and Instagram. The report comes as research and news stories have highlighted how misleading posts and outright disinformation can draw intense engagement on the company’s platforms. Much of the […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images (Tom Williams / Drew Angerer)) Two lawmakers have received temporary account suspensions from YouTube and Twitter over their repeated posting of COVID-19 disinformation, yet videos from both espousing similar disinformation remain on Facebook. On Tuesday, YouTube removed a video posted by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky. ) in which he falsely claimed […]
Enlarge (credit: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images) It took Facebook less than two days to shut down the original “Stop the Steal” group but two months for it to realize that the group and its offspring had spawned a “harmful movement” that thrived on the platform and would ultimately lead to violence. The news […]
Many of us are shocked and appalled by the violence that caused the U.S. Capitol to go into lockdown last week. We should be appalled, but not necessarily surprised. This is, after all, what any regular day on the Internet looks like—with information unregulated and manipulated to communicate skewed views and fake news, more often than not encouraging […]