"La pandemia de la COVID-19 ha generado una crisis sanitaria y comunicativa sin precedentes. A través de las plataformas digitales, se ha producido una ingente circulación de información falsa, inexacta o descontextualizada so-bre el coronavirus. Entre ella, cabe destacar los rumores, bulos y teo
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rías conspirativas sobre (1) el origen, expansión y letalidad del virus; (2) las re-comendaciones y prácticas curativas; y (3) la gestión de la pandemia por parte de las administraciones públicas y organismos internacionales. En el actual escenario de infodemia, esta investigación aborda de qué forma 8 organizaciones de fact-checking han empleado Twitter como herramienta para combatir la desinformación en tiempos de la COVID-19: Agência Lupa (Brasil), Chequeado (Argentina), Maldita.es y Newtral (España), Colombia-Check (Colombia), Ecuador Chequea (Ecuador), El Sabueso – Animal Político (México) y Cotejo (Venezuela). Entre los meses de marzo y junio de 2020 estas organizaciones han publicado de forma sostenida en Twitter, obteniendo elevadas cifras de engagement en forma de retuits y favoritos. Se han incluido múltiples hashtags sobre la COVID-19, incluyendo aquellas etiquetas promovidas por LATAM Chequea y la IFCN (#CoronaVirusFacts y #DatosCoronaVirus) y otros hashtags genéricos dirigidos al gran público. Los contenidos relacionados con la COVID-19 han sido los más viralizados por los usuarios." (Resumen)
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"Desinformation ist eine Konstante der politischen Kommunikation. Doch mit der Wahl Donald Trumps zum Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten und der Brexit-Abstimmung in Großbritannien erhielten bewusst lancierte Falschnachrichten eine neue gesellschaftliche Bedeutung. Denn nun wurde sichtbar, welche
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Wirkungen Falschmeldungen für demokratische Systeme haben. Der Band geht diesem Phänomen auf den Grund, indem er herausarbeitet, was “Fake News” sind. Er geht der Frage nach, wie, warum und von wem sie eingesetzt werden und reflektiert, was man gesellschaftlich und persönlich dagegen tun kann. Das Buch gibt zu diesem Zweck einen Überblick über den aktuellen Stand der empirischen Forschung zu Fake News und Desinformation, besonders mit Blick auf deren Verbreitung, Erkennbarkeit und Wirksamkeit. Zugleich diskutiert er in einer Mischung aus Essays, theoretischen Erörterungen und empirischen Studien die Herausforderungen von Desinformation für unsere Gesellschaft und beleuchtet so das Thema von allen Seiten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Recent reports indicate that over 20,000 Arab fighters traveled to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria and another 5-15 percent of millennials across seven Arab countries consider some violent extremist groups to be on the right path. In response, Arab countries have experimented with entertainment-educati
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on (E-E) by using anti-extremism narratives in popular culture to address radicalization at the societal level. This study explores whether those narratives can elicit viewers’ parasocial interaction (PSI)—pseudo friendships with or animosity toward mediated personas that can catalyze persuasion—with fictional characters. Using qualitative and quantitative content analyses of more than 8,600 YouTube comments, this study explores Arab viewers’ responses to a recent E-E project, al-Siham al-Marika (The Piercing Arrows) drama series, that portrays life under ISIS’s control. The findings identify recurrent themes in the pool of comments, such as show debates, religious contestations, political disputes, empathy for victims, and engagement with plotline/characters. More importantly, they reveal at least one out of six comments (n=1477) exhibits PSI with fictional characters, addressing them as part of their social milieu. The study further traces the variations in the nature of PSI in relation to mediated positive role models, negative role models, and transitional characters in the narrative. It concludes with a discussion of E-E’s potentials as an anti-extremism messaging strategy and PSI’s role as a useful metric in assessing such narratives." (Abstract)
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"This research project contributes to the CVE (countering violent extremism) literature by studying narratives as tools of reflections on self-identity designed intentionally within gaming exercises to help contextualize and account for as much environmental complexity as possible. This paper provid
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es theoretical understandings of narratives (and their role in our lives), discusses narratives as they relate to violent extremist ideologies, and proposes how narrative reflections may serve as a deradicalization tool within cooperative games. Additionally, this article highlights elements of narrative reflection within current CVE resources and provides a list of exercises (games) that can be used in the field to promote narrative reflections." (Abstract)
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"This brief sets out practical considerations relating to flows of information, misinformation and disinformation though online media, particularly social media networks, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It details various types of online media, key players and influencers on social media, a
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nd strategies for ensuring good information and disrupting mis- and disinformation. It is important to analyse different types of information across different channels, how it is spread and to whom, in order to determine how social media can be harnessed in both positive and negative ways. The WHO recommends proactive communication during a public health emergency that, “encourages the public to adopt protective behaviours, facilitates heightened disease surveillance, reduces confusion and allows for better allocation of resources – all of which are necessary for an effective response”. With its global influence, social media requires particular consideration during times of public health emergencies and was highlighted as a key issue by the Social Science Working Group of WHO’s Global Research Roadmap for COVID-19. Timely, accurate communication through all media sources is a critical component of ensuring trust in response activities." (Page 1)
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"Misinformation is false or inaccurate information deliberately intended to deceive. In the context of the current pandemic, it can greatly affect all aspects of life, especifically people’s mental health, since searching for COVID-19 updates on the Internet has jumped 50% –70% across all genera
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tions. Misinformation in a pandemic can negatively affect human health. Many false or misleading stories are fabricated and shared without any background or quality checking. Much of this misinformation is based on conspiracy theories, some introducing elements of these into seemingly mainstream discourse. Inaccurate and false information has been circulating about all aspects of the disease." (Page 1)
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"The authors engage with a range of cross-disciplinary perspectives in order to explore the actions of a vigilant digital audience — denunciation, shaming, doxing — and to consider the role of the press and other public figures in supporting or contesting these activities. In turn, the volume il
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luminates several tensions underlying these justice seeking activities — from their capacity to reproduce categorical forms of discrimination, to the diverse motivations of the wider audiences who participate in vigilant denunciations. This timely volume presents thoughtful case studies drawn both from high-profile Anglo-American contexts, and from developments in regions that have received less coverage in English-language scholarship [China, Morocco, Russia and Slovenia]. It is distinctive in its focus on the contested boundary between policing and entertainment, and on the various contexts in which the desire to seek retribution converges with the desire to consume entertainment." (Back cover)
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"In Lateinamerika haben Politiker wie Bolsonaro in Brasilien oder Bukele in El Salvador die Präsidentschaftswahlen nicht zuletzt durch ihre Abgrenzung vom politischen Establishment gewonnen, ungeachtet dessen, dass auch sie schon lange zu diesem von ihnen so diskreditierten Politikbetrieb gehören.
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Einmal im Amt, kämpfen sie mit allen Mitteln darum, ihr Anti-Establishment-Image aufrechtzuerhalten. Dazu gehören auch gezielte Desinformationskampagnen. Mit Verschwörungserzählungen, Fake News, Propaganda, Hasskampagnen oder auch Zensur schaffen sie Feindbilder und schweißen durch Abgrenzung und Ausgrenzung «der anderen» die eigene Basis zusammen. Sie polarisieren und spalten die Gesellschaft, erschüttern das Vertrauen in die staatlichen Institutionen und sichern sich so ihre Macht. Aber nicht nur die Politik weiß sich solcher Desinformationsstrategien zu bedienen. Auch andere Interessengruppen, z.B. aus dem fundamentalistischen religiösen Spektrum, Klimaleugner/innen und Menschen mit sexistischen, homophoben und rassistischen Ansichten, nutzen diese Mechanismen. Auch Schweigen kann ein Mittel der Desinformation sein, trägt es doch zur gesellschaftlichen Normalisierung von Unrecht bei, wie z.B. beim Thema Gewalt gegen Frauen. Unsere lateinamerikanischen Autorinnen – diesmal ausschließlich Frauen – analysieren in der sechsten Ausgabe von Perspectivas, wie solche Mechanismen in Lateinamerika funktionieren und zeigen Gegenmaßnahmen auf. Aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln berichten sie über Desinformation, fehlende Transparenz, bewusst vorenthaltene Information und Wissenschaftsleugnung." (Vorwort, Seite 2)
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"Was macht Desinformation im deutschsprachigen Internet aus? Wie wirkt Desinformation? Wie kann sie mithilfe technischer Mittel erkannt werden? Was kann und könnte mit regulatorischen und rechtlichen Maßnahmen gegen Desinformation getan werden? Aus den Erkenntnissen von Journalistik, Medienpsychol
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ogie, Informatik und Recht werden Handlungsempfehlungen an die relevanten Adressaten hergeleitet: An den Gesetzgeber, Presserat, Medienschaffende, Betreiber von Social Networks, Einrichtungen der Forschungsförderung und nicht zuletzt Mediennutzende. Dieser Band endet nicht bei der Analyse, sondern zeigt auf, wie die Verbreitung von Desinformationen über das Internet wirkungsvoll eingedämmt werden kann." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This article explores the challenges and opportunities presented by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of information operations. The article first examines the ways in which AI can be used to counter disinformation online. It then dives into some of the limitations of AI solut
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ions and threats associated with AI techniques, namely user profiling, micro-targeting, and deep fakes. Finally, the paper reviews a number of solutions that could help address the spread of AI-powered disinformation and improve the online environment. The article recognises that in the fight against disinformation, there is no single fix. The next wave of disinformation calls first and foremost for societal resilience." (Abstract)
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"Disinformation is an endemic and ubiquitous part of politics throughout the Western Balkans, without exception. A mapping of the disinformation and counter-dis in for mation landscapes in the region in the period from 2018 through 2020 reveals three key disinformation challenges: external challenge
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s to EU credibility; disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the impact of disinformation on elections and referenda. While foreign actors feature prominently – chiefly Russia, but also China, Turkey, and other countries in and near the region – the bulk of disinformation in the Western Balkans is produced and disseminated by domestic actors for domestic purposes. Further, disinformation (and information disorder more broadly) is a symptom of social and political disorder, rather than the cause. As a result, the European Union should focus on the role that it can play in bolstering the quality of democracy and governance in the Western Balkans, as the most powerful potential bulwark against disinformation." (Abstract)
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"The Hewlett Foundation’s decision to add a focus on disinformation to its 2017 US Democracy strategy was motivated by a desire to figure out how best to encourage social media platforms to reduce polarization exacerbated by disinformation.1 The foundation invested in two major efforts to support
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this ambition: a multi-funder partnership with Facebook to create data access for independent researchers to study the impact of social media on democracy and elections; and a grant making portfolio conceived to build an academic field to deepen the understanding of disinformation and identify policy solutions that mitigate its spread and impact on society . We found compelling the suggestion that disinformation is better considered a topic than a coherent field, and that multi-disciplinarity brings richness in framing, methods, and applications. Among Hewlett grantees, scholars self-identify as members of different fields that carry with them important epistemological and philosophical differences. We found evidence that there are perceived gaps between researchers, platforms, journalists, policy makers, civil society and others that obstruct the development of policy solutions. The missing competency among many academics to translate research findings for use, and of the need for tighter connections between scholars and decision makers were additional insights we gained about important gaps in the current landscape. During the two-year grantmaking period, the disinformation portfolio invested in varied policy and academic institutions and supported a diverse group of principal investigators. This is in contrast to the perceptions we heard about the foundation’s lack of a diverse grantee portfolio and approach. We learned from key informants and secondary research that there is an inextricable link between disinformation, racial and social equity and justice. A stronger communication strategy about the foundation team’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is warranted, as is a deliberate effort to showcase the work of all their grantees and their distinct perspectives. The foundation’s significant role in creating momentum for this body of work was widely noted, as was the need for continued leadership and support." (Executive summary, page 2-3)
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"Partiendo de la premisa de que se puede y se debe empoderar a la ciudadanía si se mejora la producción, el consumo y la circulación de la información, este informe analiza en profundidad dos cuestiones: ¿Qué instrumentos, iniciativas y políticas actuales ayudan a la ciudadanía a formarse un
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mejor criterio a la hora de consumir información? ¿Cómo transmitir mejor a los responsables de formulación de políticas y los profesionales enfoques sistémicos que les permitan hacer frente a largo plazo a la desinformación? Para responder a estas preguntas, la investigación se centra en el análisis de cinco casos de iniciativas puestas en marcha por diversos actores que tratan de hacer frente al problema de la desinformación desde una perspectiva multidimensional." (Resumen ejecutivo, página 9)
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"Data, including information collected by the MERIT project, demonstrates that social media and social messaging are powerful tools in Mali, and have the potential to both positively and negatively impact society, particularly in relation to violent extremism. Malian youth use social media and messa
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ging as a means of communication and information sharing on various topics. According to the youth respondents, confirmed by external information sources, violent extremist groups use the same types of social media both to collect and spread information, as well as to attract attention and support (including financial resources). Social media channels enable violent extremist groups to quickly and cheaply spread their propaganda among young people, who may be a vulnerable target because of their age, socio-economic situation and other contingent vulnerabilities. Because social media platforms are used by both the youth community and violent extremists, social media is a key means to either fuel or reduce violence in the country. It is therefore paramount for all users, from authorities to communities, to be aware of the risks and benefits that modern digital technologies can yield in preventing and countering violent extremism, and to be trained on the best ways to use these channels in a positive manner while preserving their security. The data collected and analysed provide valuable insight for future initiatives in Mali aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism. Further attention should be paid to the key role that youth can play as the main user community and, at the same time, as a potential target of extremist and terrorist groups. In this regard, training efforts should strengthen youth’s media literacy, by focusing on the risks implied in the use of media and by respecting and reflecting the specificities of the local contexts in which the different tools and platforms are used. Innovative approaches should be explored and enhanced in the attempt to develop effective alternatives and counter narratives, based on the fundamentals of media literacy." (Conclusions, page 13)
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"This Issue Paper examines nearly 1,500 news articles from four EU member states (Germany, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic) published between May 2019 and July 2020. It shows that disinformation narratives about migration seek to exploit readers’ fears to polarise public opinion, manufacture d
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iscontent, sow divisions and set the political agenda. Disinformation actors link migration to existing insecurities, depicting it as a threat to three partly-overlapping areas: Health (migrants as violent criminals, potential terrorists, or a COVID-19 infection risk); Wealth (migrants as social benefits cheats, unfair competition for jobs, or a drain on community resources); Identity (migrants as a hostile invasion force, a threat to European or Christian traditions, or the subject of a conspiracy to replace white Europeans). An effective communication strategy based on alternative narratives should take account of the following recommendations: The message should aim to reframe the debate. It should resonate with the target audience’s lived experience, acknowledging their values and concerns, but avoid amplifying anxieties [...] The medium should aim to restore trust among groups. Institutions, which are often subject to discrediting campaigns, should prioritise communication through trusted intermediaries who can get messages to the hard-to-reach [...] The selection of the audience should aim to reclaim readers from the fringes. Audiences should be targeted based on their values and what they feel is important." (Executive summary)
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"Given the size and scope of the Russian propaganda campaign that targeted the U.S. electorate in 2016, it is critical to understand both the impact of that campaign and the mechanisms that can reduce the impact of future campaigns. This report, the third in a four-part series, describes a study con
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ducted by RAND researchers to assess how people react to and engage with Russia’s online propaganda and to determine whether the negative effects of that engagement can be mitigated by brief media literacy advisories or by labeling the source of the propaganda. Russia targets the extremes on both sides of the political divide, and a short media literacy video and labeling intervention were both shown to reduce willingness among particular categories of participants (defined by news consumption habits) to “like” the propaganda. This is one of the first studies to show that Russian propaganda content works, at least partially, as it is intended to—that is, it successfully elicits strong partisan responses that may help it exacerbate divisions in American society. For certain audiences, the content is also likeable and sharable. This study is among the first to use actual Russian propaganda in a randomized controlled trial." (Back cover)
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