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Month: June 2018

Reporter resigns after falsely saying shooter wore a political hat

Reporter resigns after falsely saying shooter wore a political hat

Berry’s apology came after his earlier controversial tweet, in which he posted an image of the president’s “Make America Great Again” hat and implied that Jarrod Ramos dropped one on The Capital Gazette’s newsroom floor before gunning down five people Thursday. The tweet has been removed. … Berry lamented that his tweet “feeds the warped minds of people who think we wake up every day and try to push an agenda.” Source: Springfield Republican reporter resigns after tweet about Maryland…

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Facebook, Google accused of tricking users on privacy settings, making privacy difficult

Facebook, Google accused of tricking users on privacy settings, making privacy difficult

According to the BBC, the Norwegian Consumer Council use several tricks to push users away from selecting privacy enhancing options, and instead, trick users or force users into sharing more information than they may want. The social media companies make selecting appropriate privacy options difficult, provide options that give only an “illusion” of privacy, make selecting enhanced privacy a more difficult process than selecting little privacy, and leave out information so that users are unable to make informed decisions –…

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Another explanation for why propaganda works so well

Another explanation for why propaganda works so well

If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.   Bertrand Russell The most effective propaganda generally leverages and works off of…

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The main purpose of social media is to spread disinformation?

The main purpose of social media is to spread disinformation?

Is the main purpose of social media to spread disinformation? Sure seems so, whether intentional or unintentional. Yesterday, our local Sheriff’s Office spread disinformation on Twitter with a goal of encouraging safe driving (definitely approve that!) But they did so by using a logical fallacy linking bike and pedestrian accidents to cellular phone usage, a conclusion that is false per the reference they cited in their tweet. Because viewers of the tweet learned something that was not true, viewers became…

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