"Internet subcultures take advantage of the current media ecosystem to manipulate news frames, set agendas, and propagate ideas. Far-right groups have developed techniques of 'attention hacking' to increase the visibility of their ideas through the strategic use of social media, memes, and bots - as
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well as by targeting journalists, bloggers, and influencers to help spread content. The media's dependence on social media, analytics and metrics, sensationalism, novelty over newsworthiness, and clickbait makes them vulnerable to such media manipulation. While trolls, white nationalists, men's rights activists, gamergaters, the 'altright,' and conspiracy theorists may diverge deeply in their beliefs, they share tactics and converge on common issues. The far-right exploits young men's rebellion and dislike of 'political correctness' to spread white supremacist thought, Islamophobia, and misogyny through irony and knowledge of internet culture. Media manipulation may contribute to decreased trust of mainstream media, increased misinformation, and further radicalization." (Executive summary)
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"What were Soviet influence and disinformation campaigns? What did the West do about them? This study answers these questions, explaining the Cold War strategies followed by the USSR, as well as the Western response. Eleven case studies follow, each one examining a counter-disinformation tactic in d
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epth, with comments on the relevance of that tactic today. The first seven case studies focus on defensive tactics aimed at stopping Soviet propaganda in the West, while the latter four focus on offensive tactics used to promote accurate information and democratic messages to the USSR and beyond. The conclusion features a deeper examination of the difference between modern Russian propaganda and its Soviet antecedents." (Abstract)
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"[...] this book aims to draw from the experience of Arab journalists and experts in the Arab World to help journalists enhance their news verification and social newsgathering skills. We hope the publication contributes to the ongoing debate on techniques and ethics that surrounds user-generated co
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ntents (UGC) and the use of digital platforms in the news production process." (Page 13)
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"These are the latest findings from the Ipsos Perils of Perception survey. The results highlight how wrong people across 38 countries are about some key issues and features of the population in their country. Perceptions are not reality … Things are not as bad as they seem ... Only a small minorit
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y of people in most countries think the murder rate has declined in their country since 2000, despite that being true in most countries, and the overall rate across these countries having declined by 29% [...] Very few people in most countries think deaths from terrorist attacks are lower in recent years, despite that being the case in most countries [...] Most countries greatly overestimate the proportion of prisoners in their country that are immigrants, with the Netherlands, South Africa, France and the USA particularly likely to guess too high [...] All countries overestimate teenage births, and many are hugely wrong, particularly in Latin America and South Africa. But even countries with very low levels of teenage births overestimate significantly. For example, actual rates are under 1% in Canada and France but the average guess is that one in five teenagers get pregnant each year [...] Nearly six in ten people across the countries as a whole say they are unsure or believe that there is a link between vaccines and autism in healthy children, despite the claim being widely discredited. Some countries, particularly Montenegro and India, have very high levels of belief in the claim [...] (Slides 2-12)
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"La question des « fakes news » ou de la désinformation - on ne peut plus actuelle - se pose avec d’autant plus de légitimité et d’acuité que les mass media et les réseaux sociaux sont devenus incontournables. Le champ d’action de cette théorie de la désinformation ne relève plus seu
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lement de l’académie militaire comme alors. On la voit à l’oeuvre dans le domaine socio-politico-économique où elle peut accompagner et entretenir des conflits, surtout à travers les médias, aussi bien entre les individus qu’entre les sociétés, peuples et nations, pour des visées non seulement politiques, mais également économiques. Cet essai se veut une analyse critico-politologique de cette « arme de guerre » ou de conflits, et offre quelques techniques pour s’en préserver, surtout en Afrique où le pourcentage d’analphabètes est très élevé et le sens critique ou l’esprit de tamisage des informations peut s’épanouir." (Dos de couverture)
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"It is becoming increasingly apparent that fundamental principles underlying democracy—trust, informed dialogue, a shared sense of reality, mutual consent, and participation—are being put to the test by certain features and attributes of social media. As technology companies increasingly achieve
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financial success by monetizing public attention, it is worth examining some of the key issues and unintended consequences arising as a result. Six key issues: Echo chambers, polarization, and hyper-partisanship [...]; Spread of false and/or misleading information [...]; Conversion of popularity into legitimacy [...]; Manipulation by “populist” leaders, governments, and fringe actors [...]; Personal data capture and targeted messaging/advertising [...]; Disruption of the public square [...]" (Executive summary)
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"Revelations around Russian efforts to shape the 2016 US presidential election through the use of disinformation, bots, and hacking have thrust the problems of “fake news” and social media manipulation into the public spotlight. This primer is an introduction to this phenomenon, laying out the k
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ey terms, major actors, and potential legislative actions that might be taken." (Introduction)
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"This report provides a new framework for policy-makers, legislators, researchers, technologists and practitioners working on the theoretical and practical challenges related to mis-, dis- and mal-information — the three elements of information disorder. While the historical impact of rumours and
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fabricated content have been well documented, the complexity and scale of information pollution in our digitally-connected, increasingly polarised world presents an unprecedented challenge. There is an immediate need to work collaboratively on workable solutions and this report provides a framework for the different stakeholders involved in research, policy discussions, and technical innovations connected to this phenomenon of information disorder." (Back cover)
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"These are the latest findings from the Ipsos Perils of Perception survey. The results highlight how wrong people across 40 countries are about some key issues and features of the population in their country. Perceptions are not reality… Nearly all countries overestimate their Muslim population, a
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nd many are extraordinarily wrong [...] Nearly every country thinks their Muslim population will grow much more than is projected [...] Every country thinks people are much less happy than they say they are [...] People are often very wrong on how acceptable their fellow citizens find homosexuality [...] Countries are also often very wrong on how acceptable people find sex before marriage [...] (Slides 2-12)
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"Als Russland die Krim annektierte und den Krieg in der Ostukraine führte, setzte es gleichzeitig eine Propagandakampagne in Gang. Zur Bekämpfung von Desinformation und Falschmeldungen gründeten Dozenten und Studenten der Mohyla-Journalistenschule in Kiew im März 2014 das Informationsportal Stop
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.Fake. Über 1000 Fälle von Manipulation und Lüge aus russischen Quellen hat Stop.Fake aufgedeckt. Etwa 130 000 Leserinnen und Leser besuchen täglich das Portal, das unterdessen nicht mehr nur Fakes entlarvt, sondern für Qualitätsjournalismus steht. Es sieht seine Perspektive darin, das Spannungsfeld von Politik, Propaganda und Publizistik zu erforschen." (Abstract)
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"Only 8% of respondents stated that the media in Moldova exhibit, to a very large extent, a responsible behavior toward their audiences. The majority of respondents or 56% stated they were dissatisfied with the lack of responsibility of the national media. One in ten respondents considered him/herse
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lf very informed; another five in ten respondents are quite satisfied in terms of perceived level of information. Television is still the main source of social and political news in Moldova, with 65% of respondents citing it as the preferred source, followed by the Internet (websites) (24%), and the social networking sites and radio stations with 5% each. According to the study “Measuring the perceptions of sociopolitical news by the media audience in the Republic of Moldova”, realized in October 2015, information sources have their specific audiences. Television is preferred mostly by occupationally inactive people, aged over 45 years, with secondary and low levels of education. Young people, with higher levels of education, who are occupationally active, and live in municipalities show preference for getting information online." (Page 5)
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"In this issue we discuss some of the arguments and debates related to the highly charged and topical issue of Russia’s strategic narrative and how it is disseminated. Propaganda, in numerous forms, creates a barrier to more constructive engagement and dialogue. This issue’s contributors find th
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at Russia’s narrative is based on notions of encirclement by the West as part of a deliberate containment strategy that Russia feels duty bound to resist if it is to remain a great power. The West, for its part, acknowledges Russia’s power status and its legitimate right to seek such status, but questions the means it uses to that end. Propaganda constructs an artificial information reality and sows doubt by questioning the very existence of objective, reliable and credible facts. It can mobilize popular support against an external threat, as well as toward a positive goal. Propaganda thrives when notions of journalistic objectivity are sacrificed. The notion that there must be two sides to any given issue or event can undermine rational conclusions when one side relies on the power of implausible denials and direct lies. “You have your truth, and I have mine” is the mantra and motto of contemporary Russian information warfare." (Director's letter, page 4)
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"The crisis in Ukraine has accentuated the position of Russian television as the government’s strongest asset in its information warfare. The internet, however, allows other players to challenge the Kremlin’s narrative by providing counter-narratives and debunking distorted information and fake
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images. Accounting for the new media ecology—through which strategic narratives are created and interpreted, this article scrutinizes the narratives of allegedly fake news on Channel One, perceiving the fabricated stories as extreme projections of Russia’s strategic narratives, and the attempts of the Ukrainian fact-checking website Stopfake.org to counter the Russian narrative by refuting misinformation and exposing misleading images about Ukraine. Secondly, it analyses how Twitter users judged the veracity of these news stories and contributed to the perpetuation of strategic narratives." (Abstract)
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"This paper sets out how Russia built up its disinformation campaign, by analyzing what was said and comparing it with what was done. Using open source and social media intelligence (OSSMINT), it exposes the false claims that Russia targeted ISIS or defeated international terrorism. It reveals that,
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far from being a partner in the fight against ISIS, Russia in fact acted as a party to the civil war in Syria, fighting for Assad and against the armed groups—especially those backed by the United States—that oppose both the Syrian leader and ISIS. This study concludes that Putin’s policy was to distract, deceive, and destroy. The buildup to the Russian air strikes distracted Western and Russian attention from Putin’s Ukrainian operations and the buildup of his forces in Syria. The official campaign reports deceived the world about the mission’s true targets and goals. The operation destroyed the capabilities of the only credible non-jihadist alternative to Assad’s regime, including those elements directly backed by the West. This fits a pattern of behavior already played out in Ukraine. It can be used as a template to predict, examine, and judge his future actions." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"Six in 10 respondents (62%) access news media daily. Radio remains the leading source of news but is declining in importance as television and the Internet build their audiences. A solid majority (57%) of Africans demand press freedom, endorsing the media’s right to publish what it wants without
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government interference. Africans also support an active “watchdog” role for the press: On average, 69% believe that the media should exercise this role. Similarly, a majority (64%) believe the media is effective in exposing government mistakes and corruption. More than one-third (36%) of respondents say the media “often” or “always” publishes things it knows are not true. In some countries, this perception is shared by large majorities of citizens." (Key findings, page 2)
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"These are the latest findings from the Ipsos Perils of Perception survey. The results highlight how wrong people across 33 countries are about some key issues and features of the population in their country. Perceptions are not reality… People generally overestimate the total household wealth tha
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t the wealthiest 1% in their country own. This is particularly true for developed countries [...] People tend to think the wealthiest 1% should own a lower proportion of their country’s total household wealth than they currently do [...] The public generally underestimate the proportion of overweight or obese people in their country [...] Across the world, people tend to overestimate the level of non-religious people in their country [...] People generally overestimate the level of immigration in their country. This is particularly true in Latin America [...] In every country across the study, people overestimate the average age within their country [...] (Slides 2-16)
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"Seit Januar 2014 bietet Russlands Fernsehen einen besonderen Blick auf die Ukraine. In ihrer Aggressivität und Demagogie ist die Berichterstattung beispiellos. Sender rücken vermeintliche „Konzentrationslager für prorussische Aktivisten“ ins Bild, sprechen von einem „Genozid“ an den russ
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ischsprachigen Menschen in der Ukraine und diffamieren die Protestbewegung des Euromajdan als „Faschismus“. Keine Diffamierung ist zu abwegig, um sie nicht zu senden. Polittechnologen stehen hinter dieser Desinformationskampagne. Doch um sie durchzuführen, bedarf es willfähriger Journalisten. Redakteure, Reporter und Moderatoren geben sich dazu her – aus Zynismus und politischer Überzeugung. Dass dabei ihr Berufsethos und die professionellen Standards verloren gehen, ficht sie nicht an. Sie sehen sich in einem Informationskrieg mit dem Westen." (Abstract)
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