Category Archives: Fake News

PULWAMA, JUNE 30: The Assistant Regional Transport Officer, (ARTO) Pulwama today rebutted a news story circulated over a few social media platforms regarding allotment of a BID/Vanity number to some blue eyed applicant.

The ARTO termed it a fake news item which betrays its content as it proclaims that a public notice has been issued by this office regarding invitation of objections.

The office called the news item illogical and malafide act to give publicity to a untrue story through a popular newspaper.

He said that publishing of the public notice implies that this office is vigorously pursuing the matter as per procedure and in a manner which may not lead to any harm to the public exchequer.

Besides, the ARTO said that currently, the option of e-auction for allotment of BID numbers or Premium Registration Numbers on online portal in J&K is unavailable, although, the same is in vogue in other states like Chandigarh, Punjab, and Delhi etc where portal is open for bidding and interested parties can participate in the bidding and submit their BID fee online.

"Hence, the spirit of the same modus operandi is followed offline by the office through the medium of public notices published in leading dailies to ensure that all interested parties/public are able to participate in the bid and the highest bidder receives the premium number in question, as was done in the instant case", he added.

While sharing the moot point which qualifies the story baseless, the officer said the fact that till date the premium number in question (Reg. No JK13H 0786) is unalloted hence renders the whole story baseless.

While inviting the concerned publishers of fake story to verify details before circulating a baseless news in public domain, the ARTO said, "Let this press note be taken as an invitation by the publishers of the fake news item referred above to approach this office with a sincere desire to research and verify the facts, rather than attempting to create sensationalism through hearsay and half truths".

He further said, "through the medium of this press note, the interested applicants are once again invited to take Part in the said bidding process, which shall take place in the office chambers of ARTO, Pulwama on 01 /07/2022 at 4:30pm".

The interested applicants are further requested to bring disclaimer of their vehicles along.

It is pertinent to mention that administration is committed towards people's welfare/ development and anyone with a counter agenda of spreading baseless rumors and propaganda shall be aptly dealt with.

Continued here:

J&K: ARTO rebuts fake news regarding allotment of Vanity number - Cross Town News

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya suspended three senior scientists at the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) and also pulled up the Drugs Controller General of India, V G Somani, after an investigation revealed that fake Remdesivir antivirals were sold during the second wave of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, according to a report in Mint.

The CDL is India's apex lab, responsible for conducting quality checks on drugs and vaccines. It has now come to light that the three suspended scientists deliberately delayed carrying out similar checks on Remdesivir, said government officials. The development comes at a time when a bribery allegations have rocked the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Hailed as a wonder drug at one point in time, the scientists submitted their findings on Remdesivir to CDSCO after the sample's expiry date. In 2020, the drug regulator granted restricted emergency use of Remdesivir for Coronavirus patients. An injectible, Remdesivir was first used by former US president Donald Trump after he contracted the virus before the WHO issued a warning against its use.

In an interview to Mint, one of the govt officials stated, "CDL Kolkata is an apex lab for quality check of life-saving drugs, medicines and vaccines. They have to submit a quality compliance report to the CDSCO in a timely manner. However, during the covid pandemic, such reports were allowed to be submitted in a fast-track manner." He further added that in the case of Remdesivir, the report was delayed intentionally for a period of nine months.

The health ministry received a tip off regarding the same last month, following which an investigation was ordered by Union health minister Mandaviya. During the investigation, it was revealed that Remdesivir sample was spurious and the three suspended scientists were trying to conceal the report.

A strict warning has now also been issued to the DGCI, directing that such incidents should not happen again. Further, the health ministry has also ordered V G Somani to regularly monitor the work of central labs, those responsible for the quality check of life-saving drugs.

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Centre suspends 3 scientists over fake Remdesivir sale in Covid 2nd wave - Business Standard

Society recognizes that many politicians lie. In five new studies, researchers examined how conservative and liberal Americans responded to media reports of politicians falsehoods. Even accounting for partisan biases in how much people dismissed the reports as fake news and assumed the lies were unintentional, the studies consistently identified partisan evaluations in how much these falsehoods were considered justifiable. The researchers workwhich also touches on issues of trustworthiness and morality more generallyhas implications for understanding the current hyperpolarized U.S. political climate.

The studies, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the University of California, Berkeley, appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Our study suggests that who tells a falsehood, what the falsehood is about, and who is listening all help predict how people explain and evaluate politicians who do not speak the truth, explainsJeff Galak, Associate Professor of Marketingat CMUs Tepper School of Business, who led the study. In so doing, the study emphasizes that the moral acceptability of bearing false witness really depends on the extent to which such falsehoods are used in support of or against the explicit aims of ones political group.

Researchers identified two ways partisans may arrive at different conclusions about a political statement flagged by the media as a falsehood (which the authors term FFs for flagged falsehoods). Sympathetic listeners may decide the media report is fake news or rationalize that the politician did not realize they were lying. Such excuse-making justifies the original falsehoods as more acceptable. The researchers went further by demonstrating that (and explaining why) partisans often still disagree about the acceptability of the falsehoods, above and beyond differences in how they offer up those two excuses.

In each of the five studies, participants of varied political orientations learned about a Democratic or Republican politician whose public statements had been called out as falsehoods by a fact-checking media source. The study examined whether, when, and why people offer partisan evaluations, judging some flagged falsehoods as more acceptable when they come from politicians aligned with their own parties or values.

Republicans and Democrats alike saw their own partys FFs as more acceptable than FFs espoused by politicians of the other party, the study concluded. Such charitability did not extend to all falsehoods. Instead, it was strongest for policy FFsthose intended to advance a partys explicit agenda (i.e., lies designed to push ones own sides stance on immigration reform, minimum wage laws, gun control, and other policy issues)as opposed to personal FFs about a politicians own autobiography (e.g., misclaiming one formerly worked on minimum wage) or electoral FFs that strayed from parties explicit goals by aiming to disenfranchise legally eligible voters.

Although FFs can undermine general trustworthiness in the eyes of both in-group and out-group members, policy FFs signal partisan trustworthiness, leading to the inference that the politician can be trusted by their own political side and not by the other. For likeminded partisans, such partisan trustworthiness predicted not only the perceived acceptability of FFs, but also perceptions of the politician as a more prototypically moral actor, even outside the political sphere.

These findings begin to paint a more complete picture of why the electorate can adopt such sharply divergent views of politicians who are called out for making false statements. Notes Clayton R. Critcher, the Joe Shoong Chair of Business at UC Berkeleys Haas School of Business, who coauthored the study: When politicians show that they can be trusted by one party more than the other, this is a signal of moral character to fellow in-group members but a signal of moral deficiency to the other side. It is thus not simply disinformation, but differential comfort with disinformation, that explains partisan divides in the U.S.

The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Who sees which political falsehoods as more acceptable and why: A new look at in-group loyalty and trustworthiness

16-Jun-2022

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Original post:

Republicans and Democrats see their own party's falsehoods as more acceptable - EurekAlert

The Venezuelan plane with the Iranian crew, currently grounded at Ezeiza International Airport, is a very interesting case study for the analysis of how a communication battle is deployed. Straight news, half-truths, omissions and directly fake news are interlinked within a conceptual promiscuity proper to those situations where prior emotions convert into truth whatever confirms preconceived ideas.

A communication expert would probably be on target, even if cynical, in advising a government: Dont shed light on the dark and shut up all your officials, in the hope that some subsequent news items (e.g. Cristina Fernndez de Kirchners Flag Day speech, the Recoleta fire) will displace news of the plane in the main headlines.

The same is happening with the private companies towards whom the cargo brought to Argentina by the Emtrasur aircraft was heading the Volkswagen people do not want to speak on the record while the Faurecia car parts company (the multinational supplier of Volkswagen importing the seats and dashboards coming from Mexico for the Taos model of Volkswagen) do not attend reporters directly, whether calling on the telephone or travelling to their plant in La Platas industrial suburb of Berisso.

The explanation would be that, given the lack of seats and dashboards (also at their Brazilian subsidiary to complete the units of the Taos model with a daily output of 200 finished vehicles) they had to fly them in from Mexico instead of bringing them in by boat, given that delays in delivery are punished by fine by law.

Days later, another shipment of auto parts for Faurecia/Volkswagen, also from Mexico, arrived aboard another air freight carrier, this time a United States company, which would confirm that the imported auto parts were necessary and urgent.

Obviously neither Faurecia nor Volkswagen are responsible for the international air freight forwarder Fracht USA contracting first a Venezuelan aeroplane and then a US plane, while it is understandable that their executives do not want to come out explaining, in order not to trigger more news linking their brand to something sinister according to public opinion. But limiting themselves to a solitary communiqu which began by saying: SAS Automotriz Argentina informs that it has no relationship with the situation of the Boeing 747-300 freight transport aircraft of Venezuelan origin permitted information to circulate denying the contents of the cargo of the Emtrasur plane.

The fact that the transported goods were genuine does not take away from the possibility of their being an alibi to cover up other ends. With the 250,000 litres of fuel for a Boeing 747 costing around US$300,000, to finally decide whether the Emtrasur flight was commercially logical or not, you would need to know whether there was a freight contract with Argentina or passengers to take back to Venezuela, Mexico or some other destination.

Also not explaining anything (presumably because it would also darken the picture) are the government of Venezuela, its Embassy in Argentina and its flag carrier Conviasa, probably at the request of the Argentine government to try and remove the case from the agenda in the hope that, with no new information on the issue, the scandal will follow the same course as the alleged corruption of the Vaca Muerta pipeline being built by Techint, denounced by many of the same members of the opposition denouncing the Iranian aircraft and shelved 10 days later.

Worse than the lack of information is false information such as the pilot Gholamreza Ghasemi being a namesake of an important Iranian government official because the pilot was 10 years younger, according to Security Minister Anbal Fernndez. Without going so far, the antagonists of the government have also been sloppy when weighing information. That the aeroplane formed part of the airlines Mahan Air and Qeshm Fars Air when the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of Washingtons Treasury Department penalises those doing business with Iranian airlines exposed to the application of OFAC sanctions does not imply that sanctions against legal entities (a company) also apply to physical persons (a pilot or company executive since Gholamreza Ghasemi was also the main director of the company). The Iranian crew of the Emtrasur aircraft would have to be themselves accused of terrorism to be able to be tried and/or extradited. In fact there were no red alerts nor arrest warrants nor legal charges against these physical persons.

While nothing has been denounced prior to the arrival of the aircraft, judge Federico Villena could still indict the Iranian pilot for anything newly committed in Argentina an illegality such as espionage with some evidence or via a transitory appeal to the doctrine of the criminal law of the enemy, the Feindstrafrecht as defined by German Professor Gnter Jakobs at a 1985 Berlin criminal law congress where he separated criminal law for ordinary citizens from such enemies as terrorism, drug-trafficking, organised crime and human-trafficking. Jakobs denies such enemies the condition of a person because for somebody to be considered a citizen they have to give in exchange a certain cognitive guarantee that they will behave as a person. If no such guarantee exists, they will be submitted to suspicion, considering them as the possible creator of dangers not permitted and a potential enemy with their conduct characterised as creating danger. Something similar to the police right to detain persons under suspicion, which cannot be sustained without the existence of evidence. Instead of judging individuals for their past actions, the criminal law of the enemy preventively removes them from society in light of their possible future actions. It was widely used in the United States as from the Twin Towers attack in New York in 2001 when people began to become suspects solely on account of their origin or religion. Guantnamo prison was its paroxysm.

In the Middle Ages, women accused of witchcraft were burnt at the stake but it wasnt always gender prejudice. The character of the enemy of society was tackled by philosophers of the stature of Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant or Jean-Jacques Rousseau and was always controversial.

Further confusing information indicated that less passengers arrived than had departed, also triggering a wave of suspicions because the previous month the aircraft had been in Ciudad del Este on the Paraguayan side of the Triple Frontier, the focus of South American terrorism. The decisive attitude of Paraguays Intelligence minister Esteban Aquino contrasts with the permissive way he previously not only permitted the aeroplane to land and take off again last month without problems but also the Iranian crew to spend three days in that city without any restrictions.

Regarding the aeroplane, the possibility was rumoured of the Argentine State decommissioning it and selling it off to pay compensation to the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks. In that case they could continue with the Iranian Embassy in Argentina, located on Figueroa Alcorta Avenue 3229 in Barrio Parque, facing the lifelong home of Franco Macri.

Although understandable due to the wounds left behind by the attacks on the Israeli Embassy and the AMIA Jewish community centre, it is always desirable to raise the level of discussion in such complex issues requiring the best of us.

See the article here:

Dont shed light on the dark - Buenos Aires Times

Every time President Trump speaks this is what I see

There are a lot of lunatics that Trump created with his battle cry of fake news.

President Trumpvalidated Greed, Bigotry and a lack of empathy.

His validation of Bigotry allowed the Proud Boiz, Oath Keepers and Klan cockroaches to crawl out of their cracks into public view.

Would theUniversity of Virginia Klu Klux Klan style Torch Marchers(many fine people) have happened after the call for civil rights 50 years ago? And sadly that call continues.

My God have we fallen that far?

But far more insidious isPresident Trumps validation of revokinganytruth you dont like even when damning evidence is right in front of your face.

The sky is blue. THAT IS FAKE NEWS

And correcting the historical recordwritten by the victors is now cancel culture. We cry fake news when we look at the inconvenienttruths aboutour history.

The cry of Fake News means screw anything you don't want to hear. It is a lie. Especially if it is critical of you, your belief systems or could weaken your political power.

Double down when you face the truth. Trade vocal volume for facts in a debate or discussion. Truth is measured by how loud you can yell.

Make up conspiracy theories to validate your own insanity. Build aSocial Club of those with special knowledge.

Cognitive dissonance validates belonging to that club. You are wrong. Thats FAKE NEWS rather than examine what you believe.

Or if you are too stupid to make up consipracy theories then promote someone elses that fits your agenda or merely brings you the fanatical support of morons like those whofollowMargret Taylor Greene. She is pretty stupid.

Our families are torn apart as in the Civil War.

Law enforcement officers ignore the beatings and deaths of fellow officers by the criminally insane. Your belief system are your endsthat justify any means.

Maybe those desperate for power political weasels can coax their crackpots and goons to storm state government buildings next.

It is 1938 Germany for me.

Over 70,000,000 voted for President Trump in the last election.

Those voters all thought they were part of some kind (at various levels) of specialRevolutionay Knights Templar Armyand anyone not in it is against God, Freedom,and Apple pie.

That Army punishes people for who they are.

That Army is pro birth and anti child when we see that guns were the leading cause of death in children.

That scares me.

Here is the original post:

Reaping the seeds planted by President Trump's battle cry of FAKE NEWS - Daily Kos

A top GOP representative denounced accusations he discussed presidential pardons with Congress after defending claims about fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told Fox Newss Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that he never requested a pardon because he didn't do anything wrong. A witness told the Jan. 6 committee last week that Jordan had discussed presidential pardons but didnt testify that he requested one.

Yeah, fake news, Jordan said after Bartiromo brought up the witness's testimony saying Jordan discussed the prospect. The witness said I didnt request a pardon, and I didnt request a pardon because I didnt do anything wrong, and I never in relation to Jan. 6 discussed pardons.

JAN. 6 COMMITTEE REVEALS NAMES OF GOP LAWMAKERS WHO ALLEGEDLY SOUGHT TRUMP PARDONS

Jordan went on to blast the Jan. 6 committee, saying, We caught them in another lie, before transitioning to criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not allowing him to be a member of the Jan. 6 panel.

Although he repeatedly said the committee had been caught in multiple lies, Jordan was coy about which lies he was referring to, besides the revelation last year that the committee altered a text message between himself and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Jordan discussed the indiscretion by the committee on Bartiromos program earlier this month.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

On Sunday, Jordan said the committee misrepresented a video clip of him saying the ultimate date of significance is Jan. 6 in a presidential election in determining the winner. Johnson said the committee left out the fact that he was quoting the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the clip.

This committee, I think the country understands, is purely partisan, Jordan said. And theyre frankly not paying much attention to whats being said.

Continued here:

Jordan blasts Jan. 6 testimony he discussed pardon as 'fake news' - Washington Examiner

Houston The long, hot summer of 2022 drags on. NFL training camps are still over a month away from opening, pre-season football is even longer in the future, and it is well over 2 months before there is NFL football for real. For the Houston Texans fan, with a team seemingly a long way off from competing for the Super Bowl, it can be a struggle to keep motivated to read-up and following the fortunes of their favorite team.

Man, this is as dead an off-season as I have seen in years for this team. Noted one fan. It is so tough that I am eagerly scouring the Texans official webpage to read up on the latest PR moves. Been doom-scrolling Twitter, just looking for the next Easterby tweet to ratio. It is hard, hard, hard to find anything worth reading about the team.

We at Totally Not Fake News understand the challenges that the standard acme Texans fan (however many of them are still left) face this off-season, especially when it comes to following your favorite team. For frame of reference, consider what the off-season headlines could have been for the team:

That is a lot of potential football-y news denied the Texans fans. There are some optionsmaybe.

There are other possibilities. Maybe some Texans player will do something silly and make some headlines. Maybe one of the Bible Study debates will spill out over on social media, and we can get a social media war between player debating just what is meant by the 7 horns and 7 seals? Maybe someone new will take over John McClains beat for training camp and learn the virtues of wearing sunscreen, especially on the face?

Until then, we at Totally Not Fake News will continue to watch...and probably have some good streaming series on the side. Have you seen Kenobi, and the awesomeness that was the...oh, oh, sorry. Yes, uh, Texans...YES, TEXANS NEWS!!! We will keep vigilant watch...with plenty of coffee and Dr. Pepper in tow.

More here:

Totally Not Fake News: The Off-Season Dead Zone...Now What? - Battle Red Blog

The word unsocial introverts who dont wish to mingle with fellow humans has mostly lost its significance since the onset of social media. After all, socialising virtually isnt quite like interacting in person something that introverts anyway find boggling -- and has its own charm and benefits. The world got the taste of this new way of socialising when in 1997 with the launch of Six Degrees was launched. While the platform refused to create much buzz, it did lead to more successful entrants in the market such as Orkut and Facebook (now Meta).

Today, of course, such is the influence and presence of social media in our lives that we have a day June 30 -- to celebrate that. Its difficult to imagine a day without checking your WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. In fact, we now also have several home-grown social media platforms who are giving the global leaders a stiff competition.

Koo, is one such social networking and microblogging site that lets people converse in several languages. In a recent conversation with Outlook Business, Aparmeya Radhakrishna, CEO, Koo talked about social media in general and its relevance for a diverse country like India. Edited Excerpts:

1. What significance does social media day holds for you?

Social media has redefined communication in todays digital world. It has enabled people from all walks of life, different cultures, and linguistic backgrounds to come together, interact and have conversations on multiple topics. Likewise, it has also enabled eminent personalities to engage with their followers, build a true connection, and gain feedback -- all in real-time.

As an innovation in the world of multi-lingual social media, Koo has been empowering every voice to express their thoughts

and opinions in their native language, and thereby experience digital freedom of expression, often for the very first time in their lives. People are not dependent on publishers for news or knowledge sharing its now happening peer-to-peer, either through friends, family or social circle. Social media truly puts the power back in the hands of the users and is the most powerful tool for a democratic world.

2. As a young founder of a social media app, what is your learning about social media across the Indian landscape?

India is a country with thousands of languages and dialects. No other country has the kind of language diversity that we have here. A multi-lingual country like India needs a multi-lingual social media experience. 90% of the population in India does not speak English. Non-English speakers seek experiences where they can freely express in their native language, find their own linguistic communities and hold conversations with like-minded people on a topic of their choice something that they find in Koo.

Like India, much of the world - almost 80% - comprises non-English speakers. Thus, a platform which drives digital inclusion by enabling every voice to come on to social media and freely

express in their mother tongue is what will transform the global social media landscape.

3. Between privacy and security, how do you balance the existence of social media users on your platform?

As a transparent platform, Koo stands committed to ensure the privacy and safety of all users and provide them with a secure online environment to exchange thoughts and opinions.

Global platforms keep getting hacked but that has never happened with Koo. We have employed every best practice required to ensure this level of security.

You can refer to our detailed privacy policy on the website which adheres to prevailing laws and lists out everything related to user rights, information shared at the time of registration, disclosure of information, etc.

4. Globally, social media platforms have been accused of exploiting the privacy of users to make money. Do you think its a valid criticism?

Most media houses either monetise through subscription or advertising. Since media plays the role of a public good, in that it helps the spread of information, its important to be as inclusive as possible. And the only way to do that is through advertising rather than subscription. Of course, a lot of the users may find these ads intrusive or annoying. However, its the only inclusive way to deliver such a public good sustainably.

As far as privacy is concerned, users should be given the choice to opt out of sharing certain data or being shown ads on the platform through a premium version that may have a paywall attached to it. Its the lack of transparency that can lead to an erosion of trust. This is something we will ensure when we monetise our platform.

5. Social Media has democratised information for sure, but it has also led to the menace of fake news, which is leading to riots across social platforms across the world. Do you think it can be controlled ever?

Controlling fake news on the internet is like trying to control rumours in the offline world. Having said that, its a problem that needs to be solved and many efforts are being made globally to address it.

Broadly, the interventions are around using machine learning methods, community reporting processes, legal take down requests and working with professional third-party services that do this for a fee.

At Koo, we continue to comply with the social media intermediary guidelines in India. The platforms Community Guidelines empower creators to build more wholesome and engaging content, while detailing out what constitutes responsible online behavior. The guidelines carry specific references to fake news and misinformation, and sensitize users on the importance of verifying information before posting, while refraining from calling out information as fake, without adequate proof.

We have a dedicated content moderation team comprising, Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Officer -- as required by the IT Guidelines. It is our endeavour to ensure fast redressal of complaints raised. We have the ability to act almost in real-time if there is reported content in violation of our guidelines.

Additionally, we have also enabled users with access to prominent third-party fact-checkers for the purpose of authenticating information. Being a social media intermediary, Koo itself does not assess the accuracy or interfere with content, unless required by the law; thus by enabling access to fact-checkers, reiterates its commitment to building safety and transparency online.

6. Lately, India has been witnessing linguistic debates. Your app offers services across different languages. How do you think Koo balances out this long-standing linguistic debate?

It is a well-known fact that more than 90 percent of Indians communicate and express themselves in their mother tongue. Indians are thus likely to feel alienated on English-first

platforms. Koo drives multi-lingual expression on social media, enabling people, who would otherwise express themselves in the offline world, to come online and express freely on the platform. 95% of users on Koo are first-time social media users who now express, interact with their communities, and also interact with users from diverse linguistic backgrounds by leveraging a breakthrough feature like Multi-lingual Koo (MLK) -- which enables real-time translation of a message across the slew of languages on the platform. Other key features such as talk-to-type further democratise expression on social media by enabling users to express by merely speaking aloud and not having to type.

Continue reading here:

Why India Needs Its Own Twitters, Facebooks, Instagrams - Outlook India

Before the Internet became widely available in Brazil, the bangs and whistles of fireworks were a source of fear among residents of the favelas, or slum communities, in Rio de Janeiro. Lit by olheiros, teenagers who watched over a favelas entrances, they signaled that either the police or a rival gang was about to start a raid. Once heard, there would be little time to find a safe place to hide from the gunfire that usually began shortly afterward; workers returning to their homes on the citys hilltops were often the most at risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

The rise of social mediaWhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegramended the era of using fireworks as a means of protection for Rios poor. Now, the roughly 1,074 favelas that exist in the city (including some formalized settlements), which house around 22 percent of Rios population, are able to instantly exchange information when a dangerous situation is about to occur. These platforms have increased safety in the city while having the added benefit of producing far less noise.

The rise of social media ended the era of using fireworks as a means of protection for Rios poor.

Josi Oliveira, a forty-year-old carpet seller, was born and raised in Jacarezinho, one of Rios most violent favelas. Oliveira pays close attention to three different WhatsApp groups that are based in her community; she uses them to find out which areas are under threat and where to seek shelter.

Before, it was just the fireworks, Oliveria says. We didnt know what to do. Sometimes we missed work. Today, we know where we should go or avoid going.

Since it launched in Brazil in 2009, WhatsApp has become the most popular social network in the country, with 165 million active usersmore than 75 percent of the countrys total population. The Meta-owned mobile messaging service, in terms of users, is followed by YouTube (138 million), Instagram (119 million), and Facebook (116 million). Telegram, a relatively newer app, is installed on 60 percent of smartphones in Brazil.

While messaging apps are frequently used to avoid daily violence, Facebook pages have become a sort of impromptu warning system when an area is imperiled by landslides, flooding, and power outages, among other disasters. In Brazil, Facebook, like in many countries in the Global South, is also a vital platform for business transactions. In October 2021, a worldwide outage of Facebook and its applications that lasted more than five hours led to concern and harm for those who use social networks to advertise their servicesin addition to a feeling of social isolation from not being able to communicate with family and friends.

Paula Fidlis, thirty-three, has lived in Rocinha, the citys largest favela, for five years. She is a stylist who works with hair extensions and advertises her services on a Facebook page dedicated exclusively to Rocinha residents. Facebook is important to Fidlis because it helped her gain clients both within Rocinha and from the outside her community. I have had positive feedback, and I think it is important to use them for work and some even get famous through social media," she said.

Fake news can be particularly dangerous for favela residents who are looking for accurate information to protect themselves from the risk of violence.

Aline Rodrigues, thirty-three, also lives in Rocinha and relies on Facebook as a way to drum up business selling modest skirts and dresses for Evangelical women. I have been selling Gospel clothes for two years on social networks, she says. Sometimes the customers from outside are afraid to come to my store in Rocinha, but we can reach them through [these apps].

But social networks have their dark side. The spread of fake news online (especially on Facebook and WhatsApp) affects Brazilian society as a whole. In the lead-up to the 2018 presidential election that brought Brazils far-right leader Jair Bolsanaro to power, for example, misinformation was widely circulated on WhatsApp. The vast majority of these messages were spread by rightwing sources, likely tipping public debate in his favor.

Fake news can be particularly dangerous for favela residents who are looking for accurate information to protect themselves from the risk of violence. But despite social medias ability to influence or enforce peoples opinions through individually tailored algorithms, in general, many of those who live in favelas say they have a good sense of discerning what is true or false.

In a country with high social and economic inequality, the main concern of the residents of Brazil's poor communities is their survival. For many people from less privileged social classes, social networks go beyond leisure; they are a livelihood.

Read more:

The Promise and Peril of Social Media in Brazil - Progressive.org

How often do you receive photoshoped political images, doctored clips or manipulated screenshots on the campaigns? What implication does this have on the polls?

Well, experts are warming that fake news and disinformation could lead to potentially greater electoral violence across the world, including Kenya.

Kenya's upcoming election featured at the DW Global Media Forum during the panel discussion on "The false fight against fake news: Anti-disinformation laws and press freedom as well as America's in 2020 polls.

Jodie Ginsberg of Committee to Protect Journalists warned that unless companies like Meta address disinformation and misinformation on their platforms, "we'll likely see much greater violence during elections around the world".

"What we see is that these companies react when there is political capital. For instance, they moved to changing things around in the US following the January 6 assault on the capital. But we don't see similar actions around other countries and we are worried about coming elections," Ginsberg said in a panel discussion.

Debunk Media's Asha Mwilu said a situation where there is elite media capture and without independent media to counter disinformation is a recipe for disaster.

Mwilu said hate speech messaging in the August 2022 election was similar to that of the 2007 polls, which resulted in violence that claimed more than 1,000 people and displaced about 600,000 others.

"Mozilla have a brilliant fellow in Nairobi who has been monitoring disinformation campaigns online. Tik Tok, which is becoming very popular among young people in Kenya, and I think in many developing countries, had some 300 accounts posting hate speech videos around Kenyan election," Mwilu said.

"We are seeing the same messaging as was in 2007 on TikTok. Research showed the videos from the 300 accounts had been viewed by more than four million people. When the study came out, Tik Tok pulled down the accounts but it was a little too late. So it is not just a problem with Facebook but the various platforms," she added.

The Debunk Media founder said pulling down videos cannot be a solution and there is need to discuss algorithms and content moderation.

Fake news the false information that is spread deliberately to deceive people and misinformationfalse information, regardless of whether or not it's intended to mislead or deceive people is rampant in this election, with the Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Azimio coalition and their leaders falling victim during the campaigns.

Does fact checking help? It often comes too late when the fake news has spread. The distribution of the fact check is also unusually slow.

Rebuilding enthusiasm for facts, Ralf Bester from the German Federal Office opined, was a better guard against fake news and disinformation.

"That is the question of media and or scientific literacy needs to be addressed, differentiate facts, opinions, impressions and reality and this goes into the field of education," Bester said.

Alphonce Shiundu, Africa Check Kenya editor, told the Starfalse information during elections poses two major threats.

It makes it difficult for voters to make informed decisions because they do not have the facts and the long-term danger of basing decisions on manufactured reality is spending years ruing voting decision for a candidate or a party.

"And even the politicians who manufacture a political reality to win elections have a hard time governing. Simply because they built castles in the sky, trying to fulfil their campaign promises becomes much harderthe reality is different, and doesnt match the expectations. Development suffers. Democracy too," Shiundu said.

Secondly, when hate speech and false information are used to build misleading narratives about candidates and political parties, it escalates political polarisation, he said.

"In a country like Kenya, where political mobilisation is ethnic-based, and at this time when political rhetoric has elements of a classwar (hustler-dynasty dichotomy, high prices of basic commodities, unemployment), it is a risky environment. In such cases, hopeless politicians can pollute the information terrain and incite violence just to get to power," Shiundu said on Saturday.

The spread of fake news has also been boosted by high quality information being behind a paywall, while a lot of low-quality information is free and in abundant supply, which was not the case before social media.

Shiundu, however, noted that electoral violence is dependent on multiple variables such as the incentive for peaceful campaigns and elections, and on the responsibility on authorities to maintain law and order.

"The last one is on the transparent, verifiable and credible execution of the elections. As you can see, if all these go wrong, false information will be the least of your worries. But mis-dis-information can be used to make it difficult to achieve all three," he said.

He noted that fact-checking initiatives such as Africa Check, Pigafirimbi, AFP Fact-check, Pesacheck, and Fumbua (the collaborative journalism project at Baraza Media Lab) have helped to reduce the cycle of misinformation and disinformation from public figures, regarding the current political realities.

The fact-checkers are collaborating with platforms and media houses to sort fact from fiction, he said.

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Fake news, disinformation risk causing violent elections, warn experts - The Star, Kenya