Monthly Archives: June 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has been battling a whole other threat: what U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres has called a pandemic of misinformation. Misleading propaganda and other fake news is easily shareable on social networks, which is threatening public health. As many as one in four adults has claimed they will not get the vaccine. And so while we finally have enough doses to reach herd immunity in the United States, too many people are worried about the vaccines (or skeptical that COVID-19 is even a dangerous disease) to reach that threshold.

However, a new study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Googles social technology incubator Jigsaw holds some hope to fixing misinformation on social networks. In a massive study involving 9,070 American participantscontrolling for gender, race, and partisanshipresearchers found that a few simple UI interventions can stop people from sharing fake news around COVID-19.

How? Not through literacy that teaches them the difference between reliable sources and lousy ones. And not through content thats been flagged as false by fact checkers, as Facebook has attempted.

Instead researchers introduced several different prompts through a simple popup window, all with a single goal: to get people to think about the accuracy of what theyre about to share. When primed to consider a storys accuracy, people were up to 20% less likely to share a piece of fake news. Its not that weve come up with an intervention you give people once, and theyre set, says MIT professor David Rand, who was also lead author of the study. Instead, the point is that the platforms are, by design, constantly distracting people from accuracy.

An early prototype accuracy prompt asked users to reflect on the accuracy of a news headline before continuing to browse. [Image: Jigsaw]At the beginning of the experiment, people were given a popup prompt, like being asked to rate the accuracy of a neutral headline. One example was, Seinfeld is officially coming to Netflix. This was simply to get them thinking about accuracy. Then they were presented higher-stakes content related to COVID-19 and asked if they would share it. Examples of the COVID-19 headlines people had to parse were, Vitamin C protects against coronavirus (false) and CDC: Coronavirus spread may last into 2021, but impact may be blunted (true). People who were primed to think about the accuracy of headlines were less likely to share false COVID-19 content.

A lot of the time, people can actually tell whats true and false reasonably well. And people say, by and large, they dont want to share inaccurate information, Rand says. But they may do it anyway because theyre distracted, because the social media context focuses their attention on other things [than accuracy].

An animated version of Jigsaws digital literacy tip experience: Variations on this design were tested for efficacy across multiple dimensions. [Image: Jigsaw]What other things? Baby photos. A frenemys new job announcement. The omnipresent social pressure of likes, shares, and follower counts. Rand explains that all of these things add up, and the very design of social media distracts us from our natural discernment.

Even if you are someone who cares about accuracy and is generally a critical thinker, the social media context just turns that part of your brain off, says Rand, who then recounted a time in the past year he discovered that hed shared an inaccurate story online, when he is in fact a researcher on just this topic.

MIT first pioneered the research theory. Then Jigsaw stepped in to collaborate on and fund the work while using its designers to build the prompts. Rocky Cole, research program manager at Jigsaw, says the idea is in incubation at the company, and he doesnt imagine it being utilized in Google products until the company ensures there are no unintended consequences of the work. (Meanwhile, Google subsidiary YouTube is still a dangerous haven for extremist misinformation, promoted by its own suggestive algorithms.)

Through the research, MIT and Jigsaw developed and tested several small interventions that could help snap a person back into a sensible, discerning state of mind. One approach was called an evaluation. All that amounted to was asking someone to evaluate whether a sample headline seemed accurate, to the best of their knowledge. This primed their discerning mode. And when subjects saw a COVID-19 headline after being primed, they were far less likely to share misinformation.

Another approach was called tips. It was just a little box that urged the user to Be skeptical of headlines. Investigate the source. Watch for unusual formatting. Check the evidence. Yet another approach was called importance, and it simply asked users how important it is for them to share only accurate stories on social media. Both of these approaches worked to curb the sharing of misinformation by about 10%.

An approach that didnt work was around partisan norms, which was a prompt that explained how both Republicans and Democrats felt it was important to share only accurate information on social media. Interestingly, when this norms approach was mixed with the tips approach or the importance approach, guess what? Tips and importance both became more effective. The overall conclusion is you can do lots of different things that prime the concept of accuracy in different ways, and they all pretty much work, Rand says. You dont need a special magical perfect way of doing it.

The only problem is that we still dont understand a key piece of the puzzle: How long do these prompts work? When do their effects wear off? Do users begin to tune them out?

Id hypothesize [these effects are] quite ephemeral, Cole says. The theory suggests people care about accuracy . . . but they see a cute cat video online and suddenly theyre not thinking about accuracy, theyre thinking about something else. And the more you see accuracy prompts, the easier it is to ignore them.

These unknowns point to avenues for future research. In the meantime, we do know that we have tools at our disposal, which can be easily incorporated into social media platforms, to help curb the spread of misinformation.

To keep people sharing accurate information, sites could require a constant feed of novel ways to get users to think about accuracy. Rand points to a prompt Twitter released during the last presidential election. He considers this prompt to be a very good bit of design, as it asks readers if they want to read an article before retweeting it, reminding them about the topic of accuracy. But Twitter has not updated the prompt in the many months since, and its probably less effective as a result, he says. The first time [I saw that] it was like Whoa! Shit!' Rand says. Now its like, yeah, yeah.'

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Google and MIT prove social media can slow the spread of fake news - Fast Company

HOUSTON In what many experts are calling a massive infestation not seen in many years, there is a swarm of creatures overtaking the facilities in downtown Houston. So far, the infestation appears to be localized, most focused on the South, Central part of the city. However, we cant guarantee that this will remain the case in the future. We really dont know all that much about this particular brood, and we cant be sure about migratory patterns. noted sociologist Dr. Magic Septendecim.

At the latest count, we figure there are 72 or so of these particular creatures taking up residence around South Central Houston. Interestingly enough, they all seem concentrated in one specific area, forming nests in and around the NRG Stadium. Given the rarity of this creatures and this type of concentration, there is much more study and analysis we will need to perform before we can get the full picture of what we are dealing with as a community and a species.

What are these creatures that seemingly emerge from out of nowhere (perhaps out of the ground), buzz around areas, making a lot of noise and seemingly moving in less-than-graceful manners?

This is the localized species of Free Agentius Texacanus. While known to frequent this part of the city from the early spring, rising in numbers by late summer, but thinning out by autumn, the high numbers of individual creatures are especially unusual. While it is not unheard of for other parts of the country to experiences such a massive conflagration in a localized area, this is a once-in-decade-or-two event. Noted another mammalian researcher, Dr. Ci Cadia.

An emergence/swarming this big, it is leading many of us to think of these things as a brood. Ok, maybe they dont cover quite an area like the whole Brood X thing going on, but in their general living area, they are no less dense, and certainly, no less loud than the their six-legged counterparts.

So, what is the deal with the emergence of Brood Texans? Is this meant to rival the near biblical emergence of Brood X?

Well, I dont know about all of that scientifical stuff, but all I know is that we have a real need for free agents and new players. Especially at Linebacker and Running Back. Big demand opined Texans GM Nick Caserio.

After my time back at college, I was looking to expand my coaching horizons noted Texans Defensive Coordinator Lovie Smith. In particular, after one of our many rough Big Ten games, a couple of players showed me a lesson they were working on for biology. Ended up reading something about this type of bugs that only come out of the ground like once every 17 years or so. That seemed kinda coolor it could have been the hookah we were smoking (for medicinal purposes). Anyway, it was something that just always stuck in the back of my mind for the next few months. Then I get to Houston.

After talking with [Head Coach Dave] Culley, we then went into a meeting with Nick [Caserio]. That was one wild conversation. I noted how we seemed a little thin at linebacker, especially with my new Serie A inspired concepts, and [Offensive Coordinator] Tim [Kelly] kept saying that he wanted a deeper bench of running backs, and thus, our plan came to germinationfruitionevolution, oh whatever, that is when we went all Brood X on them.

Brood X?

Yeah, that we got from Dave. Before he left Baltimore, he kept reading about how the big Brood X was coming up out of the ground and taking over everything up there. Imagine, a swarm of cicadas. Our Swarming Cicada Defense and Rushing Attack! Doesnt that strike terror into the hearts of our opponents?

Actually chimed in Dr. Cadia, that has to be one of the dumbest statements I have ever heard. Yeah, the Brood X swarms around, and there are billions of those things, getting into everything. They are as loud AF when they are all chiming, but they fly around like staggering drunks, and the only thing they are aggressive about is mating. Then again, if youve been stuck underground for 17 years, and dont have a long life span, what do you think your priorities will be?

Oh, well, at least we have the whole depth thing going for us, countered Caserio. Why do you think we have SEVEN running backs on the roster, and 10, 12 LBs on the rosterthat, and we can flex the LBs and all the other positions. So, we lose a few. We just overwhelm our opponents with depth. We are quite scary, right?

Would this put fear into opposing teams? What say the East Coast Teams?

Wow, how dumb is that organization getting? I mean, they [cicadas] get all over the place, and they do sorta freak you out at first when the land all over everything. Yet, they dont hurt the crops, dont actually bite or sting, and if you get them on their backs, they are generally useless. You just crush the ones in your way, and you ignore the rest as you drive through them to get wherever observed one player.

This was the sentiment from just about everyone, well, except the Baltimore contingent, who seemed obsessed with using Old Bay to add some flavor to them, or just the fact that they use Old Bay in everything from cooking, to air freshening, to deodorant. You throw some Old Bay on anything, including a gross-looking bug, and for those who are full-up Maryland, their tongues will lap them all up, wings and all.

Normally, when a brood like Brood X comes out, that is a once in a lifetime/career opportunity. However, with Brood Texans...eh, not quite as many people looking to really study their habits. I guess someone will have to cover it, but dont think I will be on that crew stated Dr. Cadia. However, if you excuse me, I have some work to do... This probably did not have anything to do with a female colleague that was walking by, but we dont want to speculate.

Until then, we at Totally Not Fake News recommend that people remain calm. Brood Texans, while loud and maybe a little scary-looking, are really quite harmless and shouldnt be any cause for alarm. Just go calmly about your lives, and all will be fine, even if you have to scrap the remains off your windshield.

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TOTALLY NOT FAKE NEWS: The Emergence of the Brood Texans - Battle Red Blog

The world has undoubtedly got a fake news problem there is a compelling case for setting up an international body to combat it, writes Graham Lawton

By Graham Lawton

Guy Bell/Shutterstock

I AM not a gambler, but every now and then something comes across my desk that looks worth a punt. Im also not a tipster who gives away their inside info? but Im going to have to show my hand, or this wont be much of a column. My tip for the day: Sheldon Himelfarb to win the Nobel peace prize.

Hardly a household name, admittedly. And not a bet that is likely to pay out any time soon. Im playing the long game, a bit like the time I decided to put a tenner on one of my sons

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We need to set up an international body to fight fake news - New Scientist

A steady stream of false information has been a part of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many conspiracy theories emerging around the existence of the virus, whether it poses a real risk to health, and the safety of vaccines.

But where are these false claims about the virus and vaccines coming from and why do people believe them? Is there a large, coordinated network behind the spread of this false information or are these just individuals acting on their own? And as the pandemic subsides, what comes next?

Irish Times crime correspondent Conor Gallagher, who has been tracking the spread of false information over the past year, explains on todays podcast how people are no longer falling down rabbit holes of fake news online, but are sometimes being dragged into these spirals of disinformation by high profile figures.

Its very hard to accept that the world is so random and unpredictable that this pandemic can kill millions and theres not really much we can do about it. Its much easier to blame a government or pretend the pandemic doesnt exist, says Gallagher.

Almost inevitably it starts to drive a wedge between you and your loved ones and youre even more alone which reinforces your belief that youre the only one that has cottoned on to the truth.

In The News is hosted by reporters Conor Pope and Sorcha Pollak.

You can listen to the podcast:APPLESPOTIFYRSSACAST

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Podcast: Will fake news about Covid outlive the pandemic? - The Irish Times