propaganda
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Propaganda bots dominate social networks in some countries
It won't shock you to hear that governments and shady political groups will use social network bots in a bit to control the flow of information. But just how prevalent are they? Depending on where you live, they might just dictate the social media landscape. Oxford University researchers have published a study showing that "computational propaganda" (bots and other coordinated campaigns) is practically par for the course in some countries. In Russia, for instance, 45 percent of Twitter activity stems from "highly automated" accounts. And Ukraine is a "frontline" for just about everyone -- Russia, Ukrainian nationalists and civil society groups are all using digital propaganda systems in a bid to sway public opinion.
Russia is targeting US military personnel with online propaganda
Russia is going to great lengths to undermine the US military by not just spying on it, but trying to influence its members, according to a report from Politico. Operatives have been friending soldiers and veterans on social media, posting on popular sites and, of course, hacking members. The aim, according to experts, is to turn service members into a "fifth column" for Russia, and the military is struggling to stop it.
ISIS created its own social network to spread propaganda
Social media has been a main tool for Islamic State militants to spread propaganda and recruit members for years now. But as companies like Twitter and Telegram continue to crack down on ISIS accounts, militants appear to be building their own private social networks to further their communications efforts. European Police Office (Europol) director Rob Wainwright said at a security conference in London that a new network was discovered during a two-day operation against Islamic extremism. According to Reuters, Europol conducted the operation along with the United States, Belgium, Greece, Poland and Portugal; it uncovered more than 2,000 extremist "items" across a total of 52 online networks.
Mark Zuckerberg explains how Facebook is fighting fake news
Ever since the end of the presidential election, the spread of rumors, misinformation and outright fake news on social media has been in the spotlight. With even President Obama speaking out about social media's role in pushing propaganda, and some coders taking matters into their own hands with browser extensions, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted tonight about what his company is doing. According to Zuckerberg, "We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties."
Zuckerberg says Facebook didn't influence the election
If you controlled a media publishing platform that connected to millions of people, it'd make you a pretty powerful individual. Not so, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who has come out against the notion that Facebook helped win it for Trump. TechCrunch reports that the CEO was challenged about his social network's laissez-faire policy towards stopping the flood of fake, bubble-reinforcing propaganda. He thinks that the notion that the torrent of fabricated stories "influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea."
UK: Facebook, Google, Twitter 'consciously failing' on terrorism
The UK parliament has slammed Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for "consciously failing" to remove terrorism recruitment content. According to a report from the Home Affairs Committee, the social networks are "the vehicle of choice in spreading propaganda and the recruiting platforms for terrorism." In statements to the WSJ, the companies denied that they are lax with extremist postings. "We deal swiftly and robustly with reports of terrorism-related content," a Facebook spokesperson said.
US considers rebranding its anti-ISIS propaganda
According to a report by the Washington Post, the US State Department is considering scaling back its anti-ISIS messaging. The move follows a review from a panel of marketing experts, which included people from both Silicon Valley and New York, that expressed concerns about the agency's ability to provide credible counter arguments against the terrorist organization. The six-member group of experts, with members from both Google and Twitter, not only questioned the US government's tactics, but if it should even be running this type of program in the first place.
How Russia's 'troll factory' pumps out online propaganda
Russian blogger Marat Burkhard told Radio Free Europe that working in an infamous "troll factory" generating fake internet posts and comments was "Orwellian." "Whatever we're told, that's what we'll write about, no questions asked, and we don't want to know." Using the word "absurd" no less than five times, he detailed how a typical day went at "Internet Research," a company run by a Vladimir Putin crony. The team of around 300 employees reportedly puts out about 30,000 pro-Kremlin comments a day from fake accounts on Twitter, Facebook and websites like the New York Times. Burkhard took the job because it was an "adventure" and pays considerably more than a professional journalist makes in the nation.
Verizon's self-serving tech news site is no more
SugarString, Verizon's news site that wouldn't cover its corporate parent's dirty laundry, is no more. It was originally set up to ape outlets like the one you're reading, except that Big Red banned discussion of spying and net neutrality. Unfortunately, just over a month since the Daily Dot exposed such limits, the site has been pulled from the internet. According to DSLReports, the company is now saying that SugarString was a "pilot project" and that it's evaluating, learning, and moving forward from the experience.
Verizon's tech news site won't cover anything that makes it look bad
It's a great time for technology journalism, with hundreds of sites all working very hard to bring you exhaustive coverage of their specialist field. Verizon, however, clearly doesn't feel that it's getting enough attention, which is why it's launched SugarString, a tech news site that covers "humanity's climb towards the new next." There is, unfortunately, a catch, which is that Big Red hasn't been able to stop itself from ensuring that some pretty big technology topics are strictly off-limits. The Daily Dot received an email, purportedly from new editor Cole Stryker, that claims that two subjects can't be discussed on the site: spying and net neutrality. "Wait," you ask us, "aren't they the two areas where Verizon's got plenty of dirty laundry?" to which we simply nod.
Militants use off-the-shelf drones for surveillance and propaganda
Video footage has emerged showing that ISIS militants deployed a $500 consumer drone to spy on a crucial Syrian airfield, which they eventually seized. Taken by a DJI Phantom FC40 drone, the video was spotted on YouTube (and pulled, since it also contained graphic scenes of execution). It shows images of the base from what looks like a lofty altitude, along with insurgents discussing how to use the info. They later sent in suicide bombers to attack the important northern airfield, but it's unclear if the information from the drone was of much strategic use. However, the footage has further value for the group as propaganda. It formed part of a disturbing video meant to show that the group is high-tech (and extremely violent) which helps it attract and radicalize new recruits.
PlayStation 4 teardown voids the warranty so you don't have to (update: quite repairable)
Not content with Sony's official teardown of the PlayStation 4, iFixit has started work on its own thorough analysis of the console's internals. The dissection isn't complete yet, but early evidence shows that Sony is using standard measures to deter modders and tinkerers, including security screws and lengthy passages in the user guide about how "analysis" of the PS4's components is "not authorized." (With the replaceable hard drive being an awkward exception.) Now, this happens to be exactly the sort of language that gets up iFixit's nose, and it could well hurt the PS4's score for repairability and recyclability. The site also reports a potential issue with the HDMI port, spotted earlier by Kotaku, in which a small metal obstruction in front of the port on some units could potentially stop video output if you're not careful when you first plug in your cable (although the HDMI pins can apparently be bent back into position). In any case, we'll update this post as soon as the experts have splayed everything out and come to a verdict. Update: Though you might expect a low repairability score from a gaming console -- especially in a smallish case like Sony's Playstation 4 -- iFixit gave it eight out of 10. All things considered, that's an excellent mark, which the teardown site chalked up to the absence of adhesives and a non-proprietary, user-replaceable hard drive. Security screws and tamper seals put a slight damper on things, but the biggest markdown came from a sharp mid-plane which resulted in a cut finger. Naturally, the site included a pic of said wound, adding that "we wear our repair scars with pride."
Chinese army creates nifty iOS propaganda app
When it comes to Chinese propaganda, you can already get the "Little Red Book" (Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung) in app form for your iPhone and iPad. Now the People's Liberation Army is getting into the fun with a new official app for iPhones and iPads that lets you stay on top of all the latest things happening in the happy world of the PLA. The app is a newsreader providing video, pictures, and press releases from official Chinese military outlets. State-run China Daily gushed about the app, saying that "The app was praised by many netizens. They said it is one of the great achievements by the Chinese military in promoting transparency." Retired PLA general and military strategist Peng Guangqian said that "cooperation with Apple is helping the ministry to form a new public image, one that is more open and modernized." Well, the PLA isn't exactly "cooperating" with Apple. The app can't be found on the App Store, and is only available on jailbroken devices. Couple that with the fact that China is a suspect in many hacking incidents against the American military and defense contractors, and it's not likely that many of the target market users are going to load the app on their iPhones.
We need this BioShock Infinite propaganda art on every surface of our homes
We know that, barring some amazing Tron-like technological breakthrough, our odds of one day living on the floating city of Columbia are slim. We'll take the next best thing: printing out this official BioShock Infinite propaganda art and wallpapering our apartments with it.
EVE Evolved: Emergence in the sandbox
We often hear about the amazing things players get up to in EVE Online, from full-scale political wars and massive heists to collaborative business ventures and high-profile kills. While we can all enjoy these tales of high-powered exploits from afar, they can be difficult to relate to the actual game experience. Most of us will never be the puppet master pulling the strings of alliance warfare or the mastermind of some great theft, but we don't have to be. Smaller examples of emergent and opportunistic gameplay exist all over EVE in the daily play of thousands of individuals. I've always thought of EVE less as a game and more as a giant social sandbox with spaceships -- a story about what people do when left alone in each other's company. Players naturally take on roles for which they have a strong aptitude, crafting completely new gameplay styles for themselves in the process. The entrepreneurs among us spy opportunities never imagined by the game's developers, tech-savvy individuals sell web-services, and artists craft propaganda for recruitment or a war on their enemy's morale. Countless players carve their own game out of the EVE universe, and there's no reason you can't be one of them. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the unique gameplay experiences players have engineered for themselves over the years and the community that makes EVE what it is.
Mario propaganda posters for glorious Koopa Kingdom
The Koopas are fighting, why aren't you? Don't let Mario stomp all over the armies of the great and mighty Koopa. Join up today!
BioShock Infinite propaganda implores your patriotism
What will you say when little Sally asks, "Daddy, what did you do during the Siege of Columbia?" Will you tell her that you stood with your Ultranationalist compatriots against the foreign hordes, or that you rejected your floating paradise in favor of the common man? BioShock Infinite proposes just such questions with the recent release of a handful of propaganda art pulled directly from Columbia's walls. Game Informer has them exclusively as part of coverage of the game leading up to the Saturday Evening Post-style cover story in its next issue. We absolutely suggest you check out the pics, but try not to be swayed by the WWII-esque sentiments.
Winners of "Declare your Loyalty" contest announced for City of Heroes
Sometimes you notice them and sometimes you don't, but the background touches in City of Heroes are always there. They're little reminders that you're moving through a city full of people. The Rogue Isles has its share of shady billboards and decorations (including no-questions-asked investigators and a minion recruitment service), while Paragon City has law firms and socially-conscious advertisements about the Rikti. And Praetoria has propaganda for Emperor Cole... and against him. That's the crux of the now-concluded contest to declare your loyalty in artistic form for Going Rogue, and the winners of said contest have been announced. There are three winners in each category, for both Loyalist propaganda and Resistance subversion. Two of the pieces of Resistance graffiti and one of the Loyalist billboards have also been adopted by the developers -- they will be featured in Going Rogue, albeit in a slightly-altered form. The gallery of winners showcases both the original submissions and the slight alterations made for the appearance in-game. City of Heroes players who haven't yet picked a side -- or those who are just interested in seeing some nicely-done propaganda pieces -- should head on over to take a look.
City of Heroes launches "Declare Your Loyalty" contest
Any City of Heroes fan will likely recognize and have an answer for the question "Loyalist or Resistance?" It's all part of the ongoing campaign for the game's upcoming expansion, Going Rogue, and ties to the main storyline -- whether you're a Loyalist of Tyrant's totalitarian utopia, or a no-holds-barred Resistance member willing to topple Tyrant at any cost. Paragon Studios is taking the campaign one step further to celebrate both the impending release and the six-year anniversary: they're letting players make a permanent mark on the world of Praetoria based upon their allegiance. There are two halves to the contest, based upon one's affiliation. If you're a Loyalist, you are tasked with designing a suitable propaganda poster for Emperor Cole, extolling his virtues and those of his society. On the other hand, Resistance members will design graffiti to spread the message of freedom and encouraging others to rise up. There's a lot of fun to be had with the contest, and the prizes are pretty substantial -- even without the fact that the best entries may very well wind up in Praetoria when Going Rogue launches. Take a look at the full rules, and start declaring your City of Heroes affiliation -- the contest runs until May 14th.
Join the cause with '80s arcade propaganda art
Forget about minimalism, it's time to join the fight! Illustrator Steve Thomas has fashioned four propaganda-style posters urging all of us to push back against '80s arcade all-stars Donkey Kong, Joust, Frogger, and Dig Dug, contending you should "Find your place among the flying elite!" and "Defeat the beast!" For prices ranging from $11.95 to $41.95 (starting at 11"x16" and getting as large as 35"x52"), you can snag yourself one of these beauts -- there are even framing options, should you be so inclined. That said, given the flood of folks rushing to purchase Justin Russo's aforementioned posters just last week, we'd suggest getting in on this one early before they're all gone. [Via GameSetWatch]
