Category Archives: Fake News

TikTok is surely the worst social network to find out about the latest news, according to the new study by NewsGuard. Indeed, the number of fake news on the platform is particularly high there, on several different current topics. An alarming observation when the application now serves as a search engine for many teenagers.

If we cannot deny the terrible efficiency of its algorithm to make us spend hours in front of our screen nor the considerable increase in the quality of videos in recent years, we must recognize that TikTok has a long list of flaws of size. Sometimes singled out for its use of personal data, sometimes for its stupid and dangerous challenges, the application is far from unanimous among Internet users.

Newsguards new study may not improve its public image. According to the company committed against misinformation, the Chinese social network gives pride of place to fake news. The latter are indeed much more present on TikTok than among its competitors: according to the organization, it is almost one in five videos that share false information.

To achieve this result, Newsguard searched for various news stories within the app, from the war in Ukraine to Covid vaccines. This method was not chosen at random, as teenagers increasingly use TikTok as a real search engine, gradually replacing Google. Regarding health, for example, Newsguard evokes the case of an influencer highlighting chloroquine to treat all her ailments, when even its effectiveness against Covid has never been proven.

On the same subject TikTok: you can now activate or deactivate subtitles on all videos

TikTok toxicity is now a significant danger because Google research suggests that TikTok is increasingly used by young people () to find informationis alarmed NewsGuard, which also specifies that the subjects sought by young people are very often controversial online, such as the American elections. For its part, TikTok replied that its Rules make it clear that we do not allow harmful misinformation, including medical misinformation, and we are removing content that falls within it from the platform.

Source: NewsGuard

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TikTok is infested with fake news, according to this study - Gearrice

In early September, the Ukrainian army launched an offensive on the countrys Kharkiv region, causing occupying Russian troops to retreat for the first time since the start of the full-scale war. According to independent analyses, Ukrainian forces have regained control of thousands of square kilometers. While the Russian Defense Ministry has technically confirmed the withdrawal, it claims the goal of this new operation is to consolidate its troops in the Donbas, not to flee a Ukrainian attack. Heres what Russias TV personalities had to say about the retreat on September 11.

TV pundit Dmitry Kiselyov brought up the retreat at the very start of his show. He noted that the past week had been one of the most difficult since the start of the war, and that it was particularly difficult in the Kharkiv area, where, amidst an onslaught of superior enemy forces, were forced to abandon previously-liberated settlements.

Kiselyov also claimed that the Ukrainian army had suffered heavy losses and that Russian forces managed to stabilize the situation and avoid getting surrounded. In a segment about Ukraines offensive on Kupyansk, a correspondent claimed that Ukrainian forces fired on residential areas and that their units are run predominantly by Western mercenaries.

Viewers were also told that Ukrainian troops in the Kherson region were unable to secure gains that appeared attainable at the start of the offensive, and that this was the reason why Ukainian soldiers began terrorizing civilians. Russian troops, said the correspondent, continue to gain ground in the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic.

Kiselyov also claimed that Ukrainians are carrying out filtration operations in their newly conquered territories, and that neo-Nazis have threatened to kill civilians especially those who managed to get Russian passports. Its all very sad, he concluded.

A digest of Russias investigative reports and news analysis. If it matters, we summarize it.

Weekly Review host Irada Zeinalova didnt go into detail about the Russian army's retreat on Sunday, but the episode did include a press briefing from Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry representative. Konashenkov announced an operation to curtail and organize the transfer of troops from the Izyum-Balakliya direction to scale up efforts in the Donetsk area.

A segment filmed on the ground in Ukraine claimed that fighting in the Kharkiv region was ongoing, but that the worst case scenario the encirclement of union forces that Ukraine so desires didnt come to pass. In addition, said the correspondent, the Ukrainian-American-European forces are in a weak position because theyre spread so thin along the front line.

Nonetheless, he continued, Ukraine continues to spread fake reports of a victory.

Sunday Time, the final show of the week from Russias flagship news channel, Channel One, contained almost no mention of the Russian army's retreat.

Fierce fighting in recent days: the elimination of remaining militants, who suffered huge losses as they tried to break through to Kherson; the liberation of strategically important parts of the DNR; and the regrouping of troops, the host said at the top of the episode.

The network aired excerpts from Konashenkovs briefing that included his claims about Ukrainian losses, but didnt show his announcement about the operation to curtail and organize the transfer of troops from the Kharkiv region.

Next, there was a segment on the feats of soldiers and commanders during the course of the regrouping that was mentioned earlier. The correspondent didnt give any details about the regrouping other than by repeating the Defense Ministrys statement about the operation to curtail and organize the transfer of troops out of the Izyum-Balakliya area.

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Heavy losses for Ukraine, the feats of Russian soldiers, and fake news from Kyiv - Meduza

Denny Hamlin was the first NASCAR athlete to be sponsored by the Jordan brand, and thats how his relationship with Michael Jordan started. However, once Hamlin supposedly read an article that speculated that the two could be moving towards creating their own NASCAR team, and that piqued Hamlins interest in talking to the NBA legend about the idea.

Hamlin stated, Ill never forget, I was on the ninth hole of my home golf course and I was like, Should I send Michael this article? Let me get his temperature here. And I sent it to him and he responded immediately, says Haha, obviously fake news, not real, but if you want to make it real news let me know?'

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That was how 23XI Racing, a 150 million dollar team, was born. A simple fake news report got the two athletes to come together and make it a reality.

Following the Pocono qualification incident with Kurt Busch, it has been quite a few races since he was last seen racing. As he heals from his brain injury following the impact, 23XI Racings co-owner, Denny Hamlin thinks that Busch might return to racing next season.

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23XI has stated that they will be ready in case Kurt Busch decides to return in 2023. In a statement, Hamlin said, We still feel like Kurts going to run next year and if he doesnt, weve already got contingency plans for the 45 car.

WATCH THIS STORY:Bubba Wallace contemplates calling Daniel Ricciardo for sensational F1-NASCAR swap amidst ongoing Project91

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While Kyle Busch made the jump to RCR, taking over Tyler Reddicks car, uncertainty hovers over Reddicks future. There could be a chance that if Kurt Busch decided to retire, 23XI Racing could perhaps get Tyler Reddick a year early.

However, as there has been no news to indicate which car Reddick would be driving, it would be in everyones best interest to wait for an official statement from RCR.

Link:

NASCAR & NBA Arent the Sports Responsible for Michael Jordan & Denny Hamlins $150 Million Fake News Collaboration - EssentiallySports

It is often said that history is a story told by the winners. It might be more accurate to say that those who tell their story as history and get others to believe it thereby make themselves the winners. That happened on a grand scale in the United States from the late 19th century into the 1960s. That fact is essential for us to understand as right-wing extremists again seek to dictate that a fraudulent version of the American past be taught in schools.

Within a few decades after the Civil War, it came to be the losers' stories of "a land of Cavaliers and cotton fields," moonlight and magnolias, kindly masters and happy slaves, a glorious "Lost Cause" and a horrible period of "Black Reconstruction" that were widely accepted as accurate history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the nation was reunited on the basis of a tacit armistice in which the South accepted that the Union was indissoluble and white Americans outside the South accepted the Southern doctrine that people of African ancestry were innately inferior. That acceptance was facilitated by the popularity of the pseudoscience of social Darwinism and a fabricated story that Reconstruction had been a monstrous time of rule by ignorant black people, rather than the largely successful period of progressive and democratic reform that it actually was.

This inverted history had an enormous impact on the lives of at least three generations of Americans that, though diminished, continues down to the present. The most consequential telling of it is found in D.W. Griffith's 1915 film, "Birth of a Nation," a landmark work both of cinema and white supremacist propaganda. The movie represents enslavers as benevolent caretakers for a lower life form. Enslaved people are shown singing and dancing during the "two-hour interval given for dinner." Reconstruction is painted as a time in which the "natural order" of white superiority was turned upside down. Griffith presents a frightening picture of "crazed negroes," with the necessary restraints of slavery removed, making "helpless whites" their "victims." One of the title cards in the silent movie depicts the restoring of white man's rule as a glorious event and describes it as "the former enemies of North and South are united again in common defence of their Aryan birthright."

The view that Reconstruction was a period of terrifying "black domination," and Restoration the rightful reaffirmation of the United States as "a white man's country," was prevalent throughout the nation from the 1890s into the early 1960s. Pushed by followers of early 20th-century Columbia University historian William Dunning, this interpretation was routinely taught in schools. It was also reflected in popular culture, notably in Margaret Mitchell's hugely successful 1936 novel "Gone With the Wind" and its 1939 film adaptation.

* * *

The 1950s the time when Republicans today say America was "great" lasted well into the early 1960s. Though it is often referred to as an "age of innocence," in fact it was an age of ignorance of guilt. Restoring that ignorance is a major component of the authoritarians' plan to "Take America Back."

The view that Reconstruction was a period of terrifying "black domination," and Restoration the rightful reaffirmation of the United States as "a white man's country," was prevalent from the 1890s into the early 1960s.

In 1964, songwriter and folk singer Tom Paxton recorded"What Did You Learn in School Today?" It is a biting satirical attack on the misinformation that was still being taught about the American past. The son in the song responds to his father's question by saying he learned that everyone in the United States is free, our country is always right and just, the police are always our friends, the wars America fights are always good and so on. Paxton's lyrics again seem tailor-made for the "guilt-free" mythology that Republicans today are seeking to impose on school curricula while calling it history.

It was in 1964 that the dam holding back the truth about the American past cracked. "A Shadow Stretched Across Our History for a Hundred Years," read a New York Times Book Review headline on Sept. 13, 1964. That shadow, cast by the acceptance of the losers' false history, which continued its pernicious effects through the Jim Crow era of segregation, was finally being lifted. Newer scholarship and some older but largely ignored works, notably W.E.B. Du Bois' 1936 "Black Reconstruction in America" that presented a very different view of Reconstruction was brought to a wider public attention.

Even more important in overturning the whitewashed history that had held sway for so long was the impact of the civil rights movement in awakening many Americans, particularly the young, to the fact that they had been spoon-fed a distorted version of the nation's past.

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Particularly significant in that regard were the Freedom Schools set up during the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. "Education in Mississippi is an institution which must be reconstructed from the bottom up," said Charles Cobb, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee field secretary who pushed the idea of Freedom Schools. The prospectus that was sent to volunteers who would teach in the schools, "Notes on Teaching in Mississippi," explained that Black students "have been denied free expression and free thought. Most of all ... they have been denied the right to question." Students were encouraged to bring their own experiences with the institutions and practices of Mississippi into the discussion.

Among the innovations of the Freedom Schools was the teaching of African American history. It was a revelation to many of the students that people like them had a history. The rise of Black history, as well as other areas of ethnic history and women's history, as the '60s blossomed was in part the result of what began in the Mississippi Freedom Schools in the summer of 1964.

* * *

Today's right-wing extremists seek to "Take Back America" in two senses: back from those who are not white or not male and back to the time when straight white males were in charge. An essential part of their overall quest to effect a second "Restoration" of white man's rule is an attempt to restore the ignorance of American history that had prevailed before 1964.

States under right-wing control have been passing laws restricting what may be taught in their schools, especially about racism. The Republican-controlled Texas state legislature enacted a law in 2021 specifying what should and should not be taught to students about their nation's and state's past. Excluded were the 15th Amendment, which prohibits the federal government and states from denying or abridging the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," the 1965 Voting Rights Act, "the history of Native Americans" and documents on the separation of church and state and the women's, Chicano and labor movements. Existing standards calling for teaching about the ways in which white supremacy, slavery, eugenics and the Ku Klux Klan are "morally wrong" were removed. The law is unmistakably a formula for again making Texas, where non-Hispanic whites are already a minority, what it was before 1964: a white man's state.

At its state convention in June of this year, the Texas Republican Party adopted a platform requiring that lies be taught as history and insisting that the traitors who led the Enslavers' Rebellion (aka the Civil War) be venerated.

Not to be outdone in the Orwellian project of reconstructing the past to promote nefarious objectives in the present, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had the state Department of Education hold training sessions for teachers this summer, as part of a "civics excellence" program. Teachers who attended reported that they were instructed to teach students that American slavery wasn't really that bad, that the Founders didn't want the separation of church and state, that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, and other flat-out lies.

* * *

Mississippi racists in 1964 feared that knowing the truth would set people free. Across red-state America in 2022, zealous right-wingers who share that fear are conducting search-and-destroy missions against books and teachers that dare to tell the truth about the nation's past.

At the Freedom School in Canton, Mississippi, a small city just north of Jackson, an incident in July 1964 perfectly symbolized the views and purposes of opponents of truth and freedom, both then and now. Local white people broke into the building housing the school and its small library collection and urinated on the books.

Directives to Florida teachers ordering that books about LGBTQ people be put "in the closet" speaks volumes about where the red-state suppression of truth and free inquiry is going.

Freedom Schools were the antidote to unfree schools in 1964. In 2022, making schools and history unfree is intended to reinstate the ignorance of the past that prevailed six decades ago. A July story in the Washington Post reported on directives to schools and teachers in Florida to take all books on a list of those not "in compliance" with state laws and hide them "in a classroom closet" or elsewhere where students cannot see them. That's a step above urinating on books, but still outrageous. (Some of the books on the no-read lists are about LGBTQ+ people; ordering them put "in the closet" speaks volumes about where red-state suppression of truth and free inquiry is going.)

There is much about the history of the United States in which we can rightly take pride. But to pretend that there are not also dark and difficult truths in our past constitutes a Big Lie that serves the interests only of those who want to destroy the American experiment.

Among the reasons why the times they were a-changin' in 1964 and "the losers now will be later to win," as Bob Dylan said in a song released that January, was the displacement of a whitewashed version of the American past with a more truthful one. The authoritarians who seek to undermine democracy and freedom today understand that their success depends not only on disseminating fake news, but also on sowing "fake olds." The rest of us must understand that, too.

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from Salon on the battle over history

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A short history of fake history: Why fighting for the truth is critical - Salon

Fake news is an inaccurate, sometimes sensationalistic report that is created to gain attention, mislead, deceive or damage a reputation. Unlike misinformation, which is inaccurate because a reporter has confused facts, fake news is created with the intent to manipulate someone or something. Fake news can spread quickly when it provides disinformation that is aligned with the audience's point of view because such content is not likely to be questioned or discounted.

In recent years, the internet has provided a low-cost distribution channel for fake news. Posting fake news in discussion forums, website comment fields, blogs and social media websites requires little, if any, technical know-how. Social media websites in particular have proved to be an easy venue for distributing fake news. Bogus stories can be tweeted or posted from a mobile smartphone and quickly distributed to a large audience through retweets and sharing.

Although some creators and distributors of fake news have political or social agendas, others are more entrepreneurial, using fake news that appeals to recipients on an emotional level to make money from digital advertising placed around the content. When fake news is used to spread propaganda, it can be dangerous. In addition to shaping public opinion and behavior, it can also cause mistrust, encourage dissent and deflect attention from real news.

In response to criticism about failing to curb the distribution of fake news during the 2016 presidential election in the United States, Facebook and Google have taken steps to crack down on disinformation. They have formed a coalition called First Draft and are working with major media outlets to educate Internet users about how to spot fake news. They are also working with third parties to create independent fact-checking websites and are exploring ways to identify and label news stories that can not be verified, much like the way Wikipedia editors label entries they feel should be questioned.

On the internet, news that is created with the intent to deceive often has poor grammar and misspelled words; it may use racial language or have an excessive number of capital letters and exclamation points. To verify the accuracy of a news story, it can be useful to query a search engine in order to confirm that legitimate, traditional news sources are also covering the story; fake news stories often have only one source. Another strategy for identifying fake news is to check the host site's domain name and URL. Often, fake news will appear to have a legitimate-sounding domain name, but will have a URL that ends in .com.co or another unusual suffix.

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What is fake news? - Definition from WhatIs.com

FAKE NEWS!, That is misinformation! Often-used terms. But what is it exactly, where does it come from, and how to stop it?

I always thought that fake news was something recent, and inextricably linked to the internet. While digging into this topic, I realized that I couldnt have been more wrong. For as long as there were people to create and spread fake news, such false rumours, inaccurate reporting, and conspiracy theories have been with us. And since the invention of the printing press, such false and distorted news has been a part of media history. All this happened long before the arrival of social media. Lets face it, it is what gets attention, and in the media, it is what sells tabloids. But it was the development and widespread use of the internet which greatly increased the ability to write and quickly spread such misleading content all over the world, with the push of a button.

And the rise of the internet that has greatly exacerbated the problem. Just to illustrate: did you know that the share of people in the EU who read online newspapers and news magazines nearly doubled over the past 10 years, with 65 per cent of individuals aged 16 to 75 consuming news online in 2020? Also, more specifically on health advice, the internet has become an important source. In the EU in 2020, 49 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women aged 16-75 sought health information online.

A recent Eurobarometer survey showed that 37 per cent of EU respondents felt they were exposed to fake news every day or almost every day, while four in five respondents indicated that they were exposed to such news at least several times a month.

By now we have seen numerous examples of propaganda, political polarisation, and loss of public trust in democratic institutions, due to fake news. We have seen dangerous precedents where false news led to national uprisings, trying to topple democratically elected people. Similarly, in the field of public health, incl. COVID, misinformation and disinformation have caused the unnecessary deaths of thousands if not more. Untruths particularly propaganda and disinformation played an important role in the lead up to the Russian Federations invasion of Ukraine, and they continue to circulate strongly in both countries. If we wish to reduce that, it is crucial that we put a halt to the creation and spreading of such untruths.

What needs to be done? Reducing fake news will only work if we all work together you, me, companies and policy makers. We all have a role to play. First to identify and remove fake news from the internet. And secondly, to make sure we think twice before putting something on the internet in the first place.

To be clear, were not good at identifying fake news. We rely on our prehistoric brain and over thousands of years, have learned to favour negative news over positive news [for website, here hyperlink to (5)]. There is often a high emotional content in fake news, which seeks to provoke shock or anger. And as a result, people active on social media often share fake news unintentionally because they believe it, and therefore the problem of inaccurate and misleading information is so widespread.

So, an important way to stop fake news online is to promote digital media literacy among adults and children, including in schools. As a first line of defence, schools play a crucial role. Teachers will need to reflect hard on what exactly it is they teach, and make sure the information they share with children is based on peer reviewed science, and not on a teachers gut feeling or coming from their information bubbles. I have had my fair share of run-ins with teachers who erroneously believe GMOs are bad, organic is pesticide free, and all seed companies are evil. And continue to believe this even after having been explained the scientific facts behind it all.

What can you do? Well, be on the lookout. But how, I hear you say. Perhaps one way of arming yourself, your children and others, is by playing a few educational games. I have played them myself, and they are great fun, real eye-openers, and very informative at the same time. I guarantee, you wont be looking at news in the same way after that. Here are some websites to try: https://www.getbadnews.com/en/ and https://www.goviralgame.com/en .

When reading news and browsing the internet, always be aware, and make sure you are well equipped to distinguish fake from real. You may want to check if your organization, and perhaps even the school of your kids, has some sort of program in place to increase online awareness, and help your colleagues and children to better assess and verify the accuracy of online information. The gravity of fake news is often myth-understood.

Editors Note: This piece originally appeared on our sister publications site,European Seed.

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Fake News is All Around Us - Seed World

Houston - As August moves into September, so to does the NFL calendar move from preseason to regular season. The last of the preseason games are done, and now, coaches, and those players that survived the cuts now gear themselves for the real competition. Yet, while many are more than eager to move forward, there is something to be said for reviewing the past couple of weeks.

For the Houston Texans, that would mean reliving the second undefeated preseason in team history (4-0 in 2016), as they logged a sterling 3-0 record, to include two last-minute fourth quarter comebacks. While a number of fans and players might not place a whole lot of credence on preseason records, there were those within the Texans organization who felt differently.

Were number 1! Were number 1! Were number 1, number 1, number 1,1,1! Yeah baby! Easterby be, er, I mean, God be praised!!! exalted the Texans Executive Vice President of Football Operations. I know that we set a goal to win the preseason last year, and while we didnt quite make it then, we, under the Blessed Guidance of the Most High and Holy, and His awesome messenger (who may or may not be me), made it now!!! I even got back to work and made up the 2022 NFL preseason championship design.

The EVPFO continued As you know, preseason performance can be a significant indicator of future regular season performance. I think it is safe to say that an undefeated preseason will almost assuredly auger a near equal result in the regular season. Oh, you know what, I need to run these championship shirts to Lovie and Nick. Be right back

The EVPFO sprinted out of the door, but our Totally Not Fake News reporter did not hear from him for a long while. Our sources would later learn that the EVPFO did indeed get to both mens offices to deliver their swag, but the reception was apparently not reciprocated.

Apparently, [Head Coach] Lovie [Smith] cordially received the visit, but when presented with the shirt, calmed looked up at [the EVPFO], looked down at the shirt, back up at [the EVPFO], and launched the shirt with such velocity that it nearly broke the office window. When [the EVPFO] attempted to object, Lovie looked over and calmly stated: Shut up, Jack. Before another protest, it was Shut up, Jack, and please close the door after you leave.

Our sources continued: The meeting with [GM] Nick [Caserio], well, we didnt quite catch the dialogue, but there was an awful lot of screaming/screeching. Apparently some major clawing of cloth took place and the EVPFO was so distraught that he immediately ran to the CEOs office. Well, [CEO] Cal [McNair] warmly greeted him. Yet, before the EVPFO could get too many words of complaint, Cal encouraged him to try one of his latest cooking confections: blackened hot dogs.

Totally Not Fake News can confirm that the EVPFO tried a couple of the hot dogs. Apparently, a lot of people also later reported that the EVPFO was spending the rest of the afternoon and a good bit of next day gulping down large quantities of water to try to get the vile taste of ash and charcoal out of his mouth, so that the Divine Message wouldnt be corrupted by the work of Satans kitchen.

While the Front Office had its own way of dealing with the pre-season, the emotions of the players also varied. While some, such as Brandin Cooks and Laremy Tunsil logged no snaps in the preseason, many of the other players on the roster were fighting for their professional lives.

Look, the last week of preseason is perhaps the most difficult and hardest week of the year for anyone in the personnel business. Anyone who has one small sliver of emotion or soul loathes this week. The reason being, this is the week where you get to tell some young man that his lifelong hopes and dreams are dead and buried. [Easterby] sucks, I tell you.

The Texans organization is as cognizant as any of the impact of training camp cuts. While some players have a rough idea of where they stand ,the Texans implemented a new program to offer manuals and books to help prospective players know where they stood and offer tips to what to expect in the future.

NOTE: These books were tailored to individual players. This was in addition to the playbooks and other coaching material all players received in camp. Totally Not Fake News did receive word that the ever-present EVPFO did offer his inputs for mandatory team books, but was rebuffed by an unidentified leadership figure with a long white beard, penetrating eyes, and a master of the subtle phrase Shut up, Jack.

For some of the promising rookies, they might find a book like this:

For others, the literary selections could vary based on position and standing.

For Ross Blacklock, he found this book in his locker:

For Max Scharping, there was some initial confusion when he saw this book:

Hey, wait a minute, I am a second round pick.

Max, dont worry. This book will really, really help you out. Trust me noted Texans offensive line coach George Warhop.

Eventually, Max Scharping did take the book, but would just a quickly receive this work to help him out in his new job.

Reading is good. Helps make me the most incredibalist CEO in all of the NFL. Most incredibablistical beamed Cal McNair while he waved his hand frantically back and forth across a very smokey grill. We did wonder if all of this grilling explained the special perfume that Hannah McNair wore at the recent Texans gala.

Oh no, that wasnt any deliberately special effort on her part. What happened was that Cal is so in to his grilling that he had one placed in the bedroom and was working on a recipe while Hannah was getting ready for the ball. Well, you remember those Blackened Hot Dogs

While Totally Not Fake News tries to avoid editorializing within its stories and reporting the straight facts, as our readers expect, we will break with tradition and say that it is not a good idea to practice grilling inside your own bedroom.

All that being said, Totally Not Fake News will close the book on the 2022 Texans preseason and is gearing up for the regular season. As the Texans march towards their first date on the 2022 calendar with Indianapolis, we at Totally Not Fake News will continue to follow the march with them, and you.

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Totally Not Fake News: For the Texans, the End of the Beginning? - Battle Red Blog

Among the news items of the past week or so, the biggest impact has come from an attempt on the life of one woman at the start of this month and the end of the long life of another woman last Tuesday (taking a more global perspective, we could also throw in a third woman, Britains new prime minister Liz Truss, but all politics is local, as they say).

Those two items are, of course, the bizarre attack on Vice-President Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner and the death of iconic journalist Magdalena Ruiz Guiaz.

Not in the same order of magnitude but precisely because so much has been written about the former in the past 10 days that this column has little to add especially from its special standpoint of comparing past and present, quite simply because there is no precedent to serve as a reminder (nor in the years preceding my personal memory either). This is the first such attack in this century. There were several attempts at magnicide in the 19th and 20th centuries (especially during the peak of anarchist activity in the last quarter of the former century and the first quarter of the latter) but all of them misfired, usually literally thus Victorino de la Plaza (attacked on the centenary of Independence Day in 1916) commented that his assailant deserved his prison sentence for being such a bad shot. Justo Jos Urquiza was assassinated in his palatial Entre Ros home in 1870 (at the instigation of the ferocious Ricardo Lpez Jordn who also tried to kill Domingo Faustino Sarmiento) but he was already an ex-president by then.

Ditto for Ral Alfonsn in 1991, the only comparable episode in my 34 years of Buenos Aires Herald newsroom experience between 1983 and 2017. At a political rally in the Delta city of San Nicols a former Border Guard named Ismael Abdal fired his service weapon at Alfonsn from the crowd but on that occasion the bodyguard reflexes were exemplary one threw Alfonsn to the ground, covering him, while another disarmed the assailant almost immediately. Strangely enough, Abdal was not kept out of harms way but was in and out of custody before committing suicide in 1994.

But the most important comparison arising out of this episode is the zero self-victimisation of Alfonsn, who made no attempt to squeeze political capital out of his trauma. What a contrast with Alberto Fernndez, whose petty opportunism has blown a splendid chance to become the president he always wanted to be and was supposed to be (and was during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic in the second quarter of 2020). When Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner was under an entirely different spotlight with the presentation of the charges in the highways corruption trial, comparisons were rife between that trial and the 1985 juntas trial raising the hope that the former could match the latter as a milestone breaking with a negative past. Today the same comparison could be made with a different spin just as the trial of the junta dictators served as a catalyst to unify a newly democratic society (as reflected by the film Argentina, 1985 now bidding for a Golden Lion in Venice), so the shock of the assassination attempt could have been a golden opportunity to consign grieta polarisation to the past. Peace is so much more than the absence of war, calling for some real statesmanship instead of petty political opportunism.

Among other things, that opportunism has taken the form of a determined bid to pin a hate speech tag on the opposition as the origin of the attack. The legislation of other countries is cited in an obtuse confusion of any criticism with the incitement to violence, neo-Nazism and other extremes which these laws seek to control. The government is also wrong to blame the media alongside the opposition the social networks are the domain of hate speech, not the mainstream media. But at the risk of being a devils advocate (an exceptionally diabolical one in many eyes), this columnist would like to ask if we can live without hate. Not that it is a good thing but just as there is no day without night, there is no love without hate. At a more concrete level, these hateful expressions often ventilate negative feelings which can lead to real damage if bottled up.

Not much space left for Magdalena Ruiz Guiaz but some tribute is in order for that exemplary journalist. The two women belong to different generations while there was female suffrage when Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner was born nearly seven decades ago, Magdalena was inordinately proud of having voted in every election in which a woman could vote. But that was not the only difference. Other virtues have been highlighted by her colleagues but this columnist is especially impressed by how she overcame the disadvantages of her upbringing to shine in her profession. When her father was foreign minister (1941-1943) and her mother from the Ortiz Basualdo family owning that splendid Mar del Plata mansion, how can she be in line for praise normally reserved for the likes of Nicols Monzn (the mathematically gifted slum kid who grew up scavenging and has been picked one of the worlds top 10 students)? But privilege can also be a barrier it takes character to turn aside a soft life for a demanding profession (including a daily 6am radio show) and Magdalena Ruiz Guiaz had that character.

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Fake news and the real thing - Buenos Aires Times

The more widespread the news, the more scams and hoaxes youll see. The pandemic gave rise to countless scams involving fake news, fake testing kits, and dangerous misinformation disguised as legitimate research. We saw similar tactics when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Celebrities are also a common ingredient in a scammers bag of tricks the more well-known, the better. Recently, a video of Elon Musk surfaced in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO promoted cryptocurrency. Guess what? The footage was phony. Tap or click here for tips on spotting deepfake videos.

With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the potential for new scams is enormous. People worldwide are sharing news of the Queens passing, and youre bound to find false and dangerous information. Heres what to watch out for.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, 2022, at 96 years old. But rumors of her death have been circulating for some time. This is nothing new. Countless public figures have been the victims of death hoaxes, especially with the rise of social media.

Name a superstar, and theres a post about their death somewhere out there. Some celebrities even expire on an annual basis. While false news of celebrity deaths seems harmless, its part of a more significant problem of misinformation.

Learn the tech tips and tricks only the pros know.

Celebrity death hoaxes work because they tug at peoples emotions. And the urge to share correlates with that. You may think this cant hurt anyone, but it helps to keep the fake news train rolling.

Not to mention that families, friends and the hoax victim can suffer severe emotional distress over whats considered a harmless prank.

RELATED: Watch out for the nine most creative scams from Kims inbox theyre scarily deceptive

When a famous person dies, scammers come out of the woodwork. Now that the Queen has passed, therell be even more to watch out for. Youre going to see scams involving everything from cryptocurrency to commemorative merchandise. Also, look for posts promising videos or photos of her final moments gruesome stuff.

Several scammy tokens such as Queen Elizabeth Inu, God Save the Queen, Queen, QueenDoge, London Bridge is Down and Rip Queen Elizabeth has already been launched. Stay far, far away.

Dont be surprised if you see a post about some crown jewels being released to the first 10,000 people to give their financial information. Or a post about Queen Elizabeth II gift cards. How about a Tweet from 2017 that predicted the Queens death? We came up with these examples ourselves, but its all been done before under similar circumstances.

Some Australian groups are using the Queens death as a segue into discussing the end of the British monarchys influence on Australian politics. Australia is a constitutional monarchy, meaning the Queen was the head of state.

Fake news will follow this political movement, as well. Watch for sensational headlines and posts declaring Australia is breaking ties with the U.K. Unless you see it on a trustworthy news source, dont buy into it.

Theres a good chance youll receive emails claiming to have details on this significant event. In reality, its a phishing message with malicious links looking to infect your device with malware or steal your personal information. Links on social media shouldnt be trusted, either.

If you see a scammy or fake post, report it. Dont share it, and definitely dont click on it. Youll just be giving the crooks more ammunition.

Here are some more tips to stay safe:

Watch out for this tricky new Instagram scam

Dont fall for this tech support email scam

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The death of Queen Elizabeth II is giving rise to scams and fake news - Komando

The police register cases under Section 505 of IPC for circulation of fake/false news or rumours with an intent to promote or create enmity, hatred etc. Data from the NCRBs CII reports indicate that the number of cases registered under Sec. 505 of IPC reduced by 42% in 2021 while pendency of these cases has increased both with the police & courts. The conviction rate in these cases has also reduced.

Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code deals with statements conducing to public mischief. Subsection 2 of this Section reads, Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement or report containing rumour or alarming news with intent to create or promote, or which is likely to create or promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. In simpler terms, the circulation of rumours and fake news with an intent to promote or create enmity, hatred etc. is a punishable offence. The punishment can extend to 3 years of prison term and/or penalty.

NCRB provides data on cases registered under Section 505 of IPC

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, provides detailed statistics about the state of crimes, and law & order in the country in its annual Crime in India (CII) publication. Since 2017, statistics pertaining to cases registered for circulation of false/ fake news, and rumours under Section 505 of IPC were separately provided in the report. Under IPC Crimes, state-wise and metropolitan city-wise data on cases registered under the aforesaid IPC section has been provided in the report under Miscellaneous IPC Crimes. It must be noted that like with all other data provided in NCRB reports, even the data for cases under Sec. 505 of the IPC represents only those registered by the police and not the true extent of the crime.

Number of cases registered for circulation of fake/false news and rumours down by 42% in 2021

As per the NCRBs CII reports, from less than 300 cases each reported in 2017 and 2018, and less than 500 in 2019, the number of cases registered under Section 505, IPC increased by 3.2 times in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Close to 45% of the cases registered under this head in the five years between 2017 and 2021 were registered in 2020 alone. In 2021, the number of cases registered dropped to 882 registering a 42.2% decline as compared to 2020. In both 2020 and 2021, the crime rate of the cases under Sec. 505 of IPC was 0.1.

9 states account for nearly 84% of the cases registered between 2017 and 2021

A total of 3,422 cases were registered under Sec. 505 of IPC between 2017 and 2021, out of which 592 were registered in Telangana alone. That is, Telangana alone registered 17.3% of the cases registered across the country in these five years. Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh were next in line with 475 cases registered each. Uttar Pradesh registered 357 cases. These four states together accounted for 55.5% of all the cases. Maharashtra, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh registered more than 200 cases each while West Bengal and Gujarat registered more than 100 cases each. Altogether, these 9 states accounted for nearly 84% of the cases registered under this section between 2017 & 2021. On the other side, the states of Goa, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram, along with union territories except for Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, registered zero to 6 cases each.

4 out of 10 cases under Section 505 have been registered in the Southern states

Data indicates that the south Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala) accounted for 40% of the cases registered under Sec. 505 between 2017 & 2021. The North Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, and Chandigarh accounted for 21.8% of the registered cases. Central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh accounted for 14.9%, less than what is registered in Telangana alone. Western Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa accounted for 11.1% whereas the Eastern states of Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal accounted for less than 6%. Northeastern states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram accounted for less than 4%.

A higher number of cases registered closer to election years & during the COVID-19 pandemic

Across states, the trends reveal that a higher number of cases was registered around the time of elections. For instance, in Tamil Nadu where the state legislative assembly elections took place in 2021, about two-thirds of the cases registered in the state since 2017 were in 2020 and 2021. Madhya Pradesh registered 29% of the cases in 2017 and 27% cases in 2021. Madhya Pradeshs state legislative assembly elections were held in 2018 and the next is scheduled for 2023. In West Bengal where the elections were held in 2021, 87% of cases were registered in 2020 and 2021. Likewise, in Bihar, about 63% of the cases were registered in 2020, the year when the elections were held. Another major reason for an increase in cases during 2020 could be the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemic could have contributed to the increase in cases in 2020

Many states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana have also reported an increase in the number of registered cases under Sec. 505 in the year 2020 and a drop in 2021. Since these states did not have an election, the only other reason that explains an increase is the COVID-19 pandemic & the related misinformation.

According to a study on Prevalence and source analysis of COVID-19 misinformation in 138 countries published in Sages International Federation of Library Associations, India(18%) was the biggest source of misinformation, followed by Brazil (9%) and USA (8.6%). It also noted that the amount of misinformation was also the highest in India (16%) followed by the USA (10%) and Brazil (9%). The data used in the study included 9518 pieces of misinformation from 138 countries collected from Poynters International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) website.

Polices chargesheeting rate has dropped over the years while pendency with police has doubled

A chargesheet is prepared by police as a final report naming the accused persons against whom charges can be framed. It is an indicator of the disposal of crimes by the police.The charge sheeting rate of cases booked under Section 505 of IPC has been between 65 to 83% during 2017 & 2021. It was the highest in 2017 at 83%, dropped to the lowest at 65.6% in 2018, and has been above 70% since then. Simultaneously, the pendency of these cases with the police has increased from 27% to 54.6% between 2017 & 2021.

On the other hand, the conviction rate is an indicator of the disposal of cases by courts and is defined as the share of convicted cases out of the total cases in which the trial was complete in a particular year. The conviction rate of these cases has dropped considerably over the years, from 72.6% in 2017 to 43.4% in 2021. Simultaneously, the pendency of cases with the Courts has increased from 48.3% in 2017 to more than 90% since 2018.

The poor disposal rates by both police and courts indicate a growing problem of pendency. This coupled with the poor conviction rate in courts does not serve as a deterrent to those who spread & circulate fake news. Addressing a global & growing problem like the spread of fake news is very important, the police & the courts have an important role to play in this.

Fact-checking unit has been set up under PIB

The central government has set up a Fact Checking Unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) which takes cognizance of fake news both suo motu and by way of queries sent by citizens on its portal or through e-mail and WhatsApp and responds to the relevant queries with correct information. The PIBs fact-check unit address claims related to the government only.

A website, Portal https://factcheck.pib.gov.in/ for reporting of fake news and for fact-checking information by the citizens has also been launched. The Unit also maintains a Twitter account @PIBFactcheck and tweets about false claims.

Featured Image: Circulation of Fake News

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Data: Cases booked for 'Circulation of Fake News' down 42% in 2021; Pendency increases while Conviction rate comes down - Factly