A Slow Social Media Newsletter

Shane Creevy
Nov 3 · 3 min read

November 3, 2019

Happy Sunday

This is my roundup of social journalism stories from the last week. As some people requested, I’ve added a little bit more quoting from some stories to help you get a sense of them.

I’m interested to know what stories I’ve missed that you think should be here? Send me on any and all links, as I’m particularly eager to expand the range of sources presented here.

Global Investigative Journalism Network: How They Did It: Exposing Right-Wing Radicalization on YouTube.

“Researching a platform as huge as YouTube poses some formidable challenges. Each minute, about 400 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube. The recommendation algorithm isn’t a simple recipe that you can reverse engineer: It is a very complex system, a deep neural network that takes many variables into account to deliver an experience that is unique for each user. Our approach was first to map the prevalence of right-wing content on YouTube and then focus on the dynamics of how this content was recommended and consumed by viewers.”

BBC: Boris Johnson, Jennifer Arcuri, and the mysterious Annie Tacker.

NYT: Russia Tests New Disinformation Tactics in Africa to Expand Influence.

“Facebook said it removed three Russian-backed influence networks aimed at African countries. The activity by the networks suggested Russia’s approach was evolving.”

Engaged Journalism Accelerator: How Global Voices created a community council to give users a say in its future strategy.

“A temporary council of Global Voices community volunteers informed its future strategy by reviewing four white papers and taking polls on key questions about the organisation’s values, structure and funding.”

Vice: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb.

“I had unknowingly stumbled into a nationwide web of deception that appeared to span eight cities and nearly 100 property listings — an undetected scam created by some person or organization that had figured out just how easy it is to exploit Airbnb’s poorly written rules in order to collect thousands of dollars through phony listings, fake reviews, and, when necessary, intimidation.”

Joe.ie: Campaigners against sex education are claiming small children will be taught masturbation in schools.

“A major misinformation campaign has been whipping up opposition to sex education reforms by telling parents that their four-year-old children will be taught how to masturbate.”

The Economist: Lithuanians are using software to fight back against fake news.

Vice: QAnon and UFO Conspiracies Are Merging.

Irish Independent: Irish data protection commissioner set to issue decisions on Twitter and Whatsapp probes by end of year.

NYT: Americans Trust Local News. That Belief Is Being Exploited.

“The nature of the news misinformation problem may be changing. As consumers become more skeptical about the national news they encounter online, impostor local sites that promote ideological agendas are becoming more common. These sites exploit the relatively high trust Americans express in local news outlets — a potential vulnerability in Americans’ defenses against untrustworthy information.”

Buzzfeed: Gaggle Knows Everything About Teens And Kids In School.

“Gaggle monitors the work and communications of almost 5 million students in the US, and schools are paying big money for its services. Hundreds of company documents unveil a sprawling surveillance industrial complex that targets kids who can’t opt out.”

Platforms

Facebook

CNN: This man is running for governor of California so he can run false Facebook ads.

Popular Information: Facebook allows prominent right-wing website to break the rules.

TechCrunch: Facebook is failing to prevent another human rights tragedy playing out on its platform, report warns.

The Guardian: EU disputes Facebook’s claims of progress against fake accounts.

The Verge: A Facebook content moderation vendor is quitting the business after two Verge investigations.

CNN: Facebook let a fake page posing as the Trump campaign run political ads.

YouTube

FFWD: Creators Say They’ve Cracked YouTube’s Monetization Algorithm.

Twitter

Jack Dorsey’s thread on banning political advertising.

Microsoft

NBC News: Why did Microsoft fund an Israeli firm that surveils West Bank Palestinians?

TikTok

Mashable: TikTok users of color call for better visibility on the For You Page.

Poynter: Dance and sing while spreading a hoax — this is what TikTok looks like now.

Until next time,

Shane

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