Recommended Reading: Russia's professional trolling agency
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read.
The Agency
by Adrian Chen
The New York Times Magazine
There's a super-secret group of internet trolls in Russia that's causing problems not only online, but also in US cities. The so-called Internet Research Agency caused a ruckus in Louisiana last September with fake reports of an accident at a chemical plant -- reports that eventually made national news. To find out more about the organization, Adrian Chen took a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, in April and found himself in the group's crosshairs.
I, Justine: An Analog Memoir Every wonder how a person goes from obscurity to viral success? Well, our pal iJustine wrote a whole book on the topic. If you're unaware, Justine Ezarik is what folks in the biz call a "lifecaster" -- someone who broadcasts their life 24 hours a day. Her memoir chronicles the funny and not so funny stories about what it's like to put your whole life on the internet. | Scientists Dismissed "Hot Streaks" in Sports for Decades. They Were Wrong. If you played the Super Nintendo (and arcade) game NBA Jam, you know that the in-game announcer would label a player that made three shots in a row "on fire," which almost always meant he'd make the next shot. Despite previous reports disproving the theory, so-called hot streaks in sports are real. |
Colorblind: On 'Witcher 3,' 'Rust,' and Gaming's Race Problem If you played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, you probably noticed that every character in the game is white. Polygon's Tauriq Moosa discusses that title and more in a look at gaming's ongoing problem with race. | How Superhero Movies Are Bad At Science Is it a Golden Age for science in pop culture? Despite the popularity of films like Interstellar, Forbes' Chad Orzel isn't convinced. In fact, he explains that super hero movies that rely on "outright magic" are actually creating a public perception that science is something ordinary folks can't do. |
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