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YouTube says it'll finally stop recommending conspiracy videos
YouTube says it will stop recommending conspiracy videos. Given that even the most innocuous of searches can lure you down an algorithmically generated path that almost invariably leads to videos containing outlandish claims, the move seemed inevitable. YouTube's Kids app wasn't immune either, as such videos were popping up there.
InfoWars has a platform again, thanks to a new Roku channel (updated)
Last year, amid heated criticism over the conspiracy theories it spread about events like the Parkland, Florida and Sandy Hook school shootings, InfoWars -- along with owner Alex Jones -- started to its see reach diminished as one by one, platforms began to remove its content from their services. But now, months after many outlets banned InfoWars and Jones, Roku has given them their own channel. Digiday reported the move today, one that has already sparked backlash across social media.
YouTube searches for 'RBG' led to slew of bogus conspiracy videos
As much as YouTube has done to counter hoaxes and fake news in its searches, it still has room for improvement. The Washington Post discovered that "more than half" of YouTube's top 20 search results for "RBG," the nickname for US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, were known fake conspiracy theory videos. In fact, just one of the results came from a well-established news outlet. And if you played one of those videos, the recommendations quickly shifted to more extreme conspiracies.
Twitter’s new midterm election page already includes fake news
Today, Twitter rolled out a new page focused on the US midterm elections, and on it, users can view supposedly relevant tweets through two tabs -- "Latest" and "Top Commentary." On mobile, there's also a "News" tab that includes separate sections for each state. However, while this page is clearly meant to be a place for users to find more information about the upcoming election, it's surfacing tweets from conspiracy theorists, people pushing disinformation and what appear to be bot accounts, BuzzFeed News reports.
Reddit bans communities promoting QAnon conspiracy theory
Reddit's tougher policies just led to more community bans, albeit not for typical reasons. The site has confirmed to Slate that it shut down subreddits associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory, including GreatAwakening, QProofs and thestorm, among others. While the company didn't say exactly what had prompted the bans, it noted that its rules bar activity that "incites violence, disseminates personal information, or harasses." It had banned a related board in March, but it hadn't conducted such a sweeping response until now.
Anonymous deals with its QAnon branding problem
When you're a notorious hacking entity like Anonymous, and a pro-Trump conspiracy cult (QAnon) steals your branding (while claiming you're the impostor), the obvious thing to do is declare cyberwar. That's exactly what Anonymous did this past week in a press announcement, followed by a social media and press offensive. So far Anonymous has managed to take over QAnon's hashtags (while adding #OpQAnon and others) and dox a couple hundred members of Trump's pedophilia-obsessed, "deep state" doomsday cult. QAnon's mouthpieces responded exactly as we'd expect, with taunts and tweets saying: "These people are STUPID!! They have no brains and no skills. Typical 'empty threat' terrorists! But DO NOT click their links!! Virus city baby!!"
The internet’s slow turn against Alex Jones and InfoWars
Tech companies are finally starting to take action on Alex Jones, the man who called the Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax and said the Democrats were planning a second civil war, for spreading his hateful conspiracy nonsense on the internet. It all began a couple of weeks ago when YouTube removed multiple videos from his channel for hate speech, a move that was followed by Facebook blocking him from posting on his personal page for 30 days. Since then, Spotify has taken down multiple episodes of Alex Jones' podcast, citing violations of its rules against hate speech, while Stitcher and Apple have gone as far as completely removing InfoWars shows. And now Facebook and YouTube have outright banned him and his InfoWars pages. Although things seem to have come to a head just recently, the battle between the InfoWars creator and tech firms has actually been brewing for months. Here's a timeline of the most important events leading up to today, when it seems that tech companies have decided that enough is enough.
Facebook bans Alex Jones and InfoWars pages
Facebook has removed four pages from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, saying that the channels "repeatedly" violated its hate speech and bullying policies. Last week, Facebook removed four videos from the channels and suspended the controversial radio personality for 30 days. However, today it wrote that since the earlier action didn't seem to deter Jones, it was taking stronger measures.
Amazon Prime Video is offering dubious conspiracy videos
It won't surprise you to hear that streaming services are full of documentary-style videos with dodgy claims about aliens or the paranormal. Amazon Prime Video, however, is coming under fire for offering considerably worse. The Telegraph has noticed that the service includes numerous conspiracy videos from widely discredited sources like Alex Jones and David Icke. Amazon isn't going out of its way to promote the junk theories (which include the New World Order and reptilian aliens). As a subscription service, though, it's paying the authors for their work -- unlike YouTube, it can't just pull ads.
YouTube ran ads on AIDS conspiracy theory videos
YouTube has run into issues in the past for showing ads before inappropriate videos. In some cases it has caused companies to pull their ads from the platform and at least one firm has put together its own algorithm to identify YouTube channels on which it's safe to advertise. However, though YouTube has changed its guidelines and hired more human moderators, advertisements are still showing up alongside questionable content. Now, Adweek reports, ads from major companies are appearing before videos featuring fake medical news such as AIDS conspiracy theories.
YouTube's Kids app suggested conspiracy theory videos
As much work as YouTube may have done to scrub vile videos from its Kids app, there's still some work to go. Business Insider has discovered that the Kids app was suggesting conspiracy theory videos when you searched for certain keywords. If you looked for "UFO," for instance, you'd find videos from David Icke parroting numerous discredited conspiracy theories, including the notion that the planet is run by reptile-human hybrids.
Wikipedia had no idea it would become a YouTube fact checker
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said during a SXSW talk this week that the company would be making a more concerted effort to stem the spread of misinformation on its site. Specifically, YouTube plans to start adding "information cues," including text boxes that link to third-party sources like Wikipedia, to videos covering hoaxes and conspiracy theories. But in a statement, Wikimedia Foundation has now said that neither it nor Wikipedia were told about YouTube's announcement ahead of time. "In this case, neither Wikipedia nor the Wikimedia Foundation are part of a formal partnership with YouTube," the company said. "We were not given advance notice of this announcement."
YouTube CEO talks misinformation, creators and comments at SXSW
YouTube's presence at SXSW 2018 extended beyond its Story HQ, a space where it turned ads into videos that feel more like art. The company's CEO, Susan Wojcicki, was part of a panel at the event titled "Navigating the Video Revolution in the Digital Age." There, she talked about a wide range of topics, including experiments for YouTube's comments section and how much money creators are making. But the biggest news Wojcicki dropped on stage was about a new feature she called "information cues," which will help fight hoaxes by linking viewers to articles on Wikipedia that debunks those.
YouTube finally notices Infowars is peddling dangerous conspiracies
Earlier this week, YouTube took down a video from one of Infowars' channels. It was one of many videos out there claiming that students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are not in fact students and school shooting survivors, but are instead paid "crisis actors." The video, which was titled "David Hogg Can't Remember His lines In TV Interview," was removed by YouTube from the Alex Jones Channel on Wednesday and the platform said it violated its policies against harassment. CNN now reports that this qualifies as one strike against the Infowars channel and if it gets two more within a three-month period, the channel will be terminated.
Medium suspends alt-right trolls following major rules change
Medium is taking its own steps in the fight against fake news and following a major reworking of its rules, has suspended the accounts of a handful of writers. As The Outline reports, the accounts of Mike Cernovich, Jack Posobiec and Laura Loomer now link to a largely blank page that says, "This page is unavailable."
Tom DeLonge needs your help funding his next UFO obsession
Former Blink-182 singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge is taking his fascination with/conspiracy theories about UFOs to their logical conclusion point: He's partnering with former government officials on a public benefit corporation studying "exotic technologies" from Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) that the consortium says can "revolutionize the human experience."
Recommended Reading: Silicon Valley's role in government surveillance
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. @War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex by Shane Harris The NSA's surveillance tactics have been discussed at length, and will continue to be as new information comes to light. In a recent book, author Shane Harris details Silicon Valley's involvement with the government's watch, including how some companies are disclosing security flaws to US agencies before they're alerting customers. Harris also covers details like how network traffic is shared and how backdoors are intentionally left open for the authorities' prying eyes. Want to read on? You can dive in with an excerpt from the title over at Salon.
Entelligence: Conspiracy theory, part one
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. We've all heard the great conspiracy theories of our time. President Kennedy was killed by more than one gunman. The moon landing was hoax, a drama secretly recorded on a stage set somewhere in Atlanta or Texas. More recently, the attacks on the World Trade Center were really perpetrated by the US, not Islamic terrorists. There are far more, I assure you. What's funny is that in the last few years, our industry has spun off a number of conspiracy theories worthy of being made into a movie. Apple, Microsoft, RIM, HP, Palm -- you name it, and there's a story being told. Of course, with most of these stories it's never direct from the source. It's people, who know of people, who knew someone, who heard from a friend that... something happened. As with all good tales, there's always someone who will believe. Oliver Stone, are you listening? Here are my five favorite tech conspiracies.
Michael Bay's format war conspiracy theory: it's a Microsoft fix
It's no secret that Michael "Transformers" Bay prefers his high definition optical discs in the Blu variety, but what we didn't know was how convinced the man is that the whole format war is nothing but a stalling tactic, with Microsoft pulling all the strings. Responding to a commenter angry over Paramount's decision to burn Optimus and friends onto HD DVD only, Bay claims to have the inside track on the "corporate politics" at play here, suggesting that "Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads." He goes on to claim that Redmond has only been financially backing HD DVD over "superior Blu-ray" to create "confusion in the market" until such time as high def digital downloading goes prime time. In other words, if you believe Bay, Microsoft is backing a known loser in order to prolong a war it doesn't want anyone to win. Pretty wild theory, if you ask us -- hey, this guy should make movies.[Thanks, Timothy and Kiwi616]
