Thread by @operaqueenie

There's a lot swimming in my head these days about good, evil, and the internet. Lately, I've been reading about morality and human nature, as well as misinformation and radicalization online.

I want to share a few things related to our current situation in America...

I spent some time this weekend skimming through "Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics" and I highly recommend it.

You can read it for free via Google Books: books.google.com/books/about/Ne…

The book discusses the history of propaganda in the media and online, and does an in-depth analysis of the major sources of misinformation on the internet today, and how it spreads.

I encourage y'all to at least skim through it. After a detailed analysis, they conclude (I’m paraphrasing) that while factors like social platforms, bad actors, and shitty business models *are* highly problematic, they themselves aren’t the root cause of our current problems.

This issue has so many tentacles. I’ve been exploring some since joining the efforts of @buildtechtrust. Including:
(1) social media, news, and their business models
(2) radicalization, extremism, and mass violence
(3) tech and algorithmic bias
(4) data rights as human rights

@buildtechtrust There's more than what I just listed, but these are a few tentacles that touch the stories of our current news cycle, and influence the potential impeachment of our current president. 🤞

@buildtechtrust According to the authors of "Network Propaganda", the root cause of our troubles is that technology is being used as a(n incredibly effective) tool to pursue the mission of certain ideologies and institutions.

@buildtechtrust Namely, right-wing ideologies and institutions. Now, I know this is the part where some folks stop being able to read and comprehend reality, because they want to draw a false equivalence to the the beliefs and process of the left and the right. Try to stay with me.

@buildtechtrust This is why I encourage you to check out the book, because they actually map out the feedback loop and dynamics of the disorder caused by the current state of right-wing beliefs. It's not just someone's gut feel.

@buildtechtrust They put it side by side with leftist politics and disinformation. *The left is not scott-free.* But the the data is very clear where harmful and extremist views are made possible.

@buildtechtrust If you check out this book, make your way to page 351, and spend some time with that final chapter.

They ask what we can do against such reckless hate — and they acknowledge that there is no silver bullet.

@buildtechtrust Their recommendations are broken down into 3 parts:
(1) political-institutional change and journalism
(2) tech the platforms and regulation
(3) what we as individuals can do to reduce the spread of misinformation and bias-confirming propaganda

@buildtechtrust I’m going to call out a few things that stuck out to me, because our current times have even the smartest people feeling like the truth may be unknowable.

We are allowing technology to usher in an age of nihilism.

@buildtechtrust I'm summarizing what I took away:
(1) Fact-checking resources can help anchor us in reality, and know that there is not *actually* a true equivalence between right-wing ideologies and pushing to improve our country and world… whatever that means to you, personally.

@buildtechtrust They mention Politifact as useful tool, though again, it's not a silver bullet.

politifact.com

@buildtechtrust (2) “Media literacy” is a buzzy word, that can feel patronizing to some, but this book points out that many people are still “shockingly poor” at evaluating the accuracy of news reporting.

@buildtechtrust There's also an article by @cward1e in the Scientific American's September issue, "A New World Disorder", which highlighted some things that I found valuable
(In fact, I discovered the aforementioned book via this article.)...

scientificamerican.com

@buildtechtrust @cward1e She suggested that just like applying sunscreen was a habit that people had to form over time, building up our resilience to a disordered information environment should be thought of the same way.

This resonated with me.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e The article encourages each person to learn HOW the social platforms we use actually work and how the algorithms surface what we see. It suggests that one effective way to do this is to create a Facebook ad at least one time.

I think this is a brilliant idea.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e In her words, “setting up a campaign helps drive awareness of the granularity of information available."

I don't know what percentage of people who use Facebook have ever created an ad, but you can use surgical precision to target folks and show them more/less whatever you want.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e Also, being aware that social platform's EVENT features like on Facebook can be easily used for manipulation.

Bad actors can set up different events scheduled at the same time and place, and invite two opposing groups without the other side knowing.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e The article also calls out "astroturfing" which has evolved in recent years. It can involve the sophisticated coordination of bots, passionate supporters, and/or paid trolls to make certain issues and/or support for it seem larger than it actually is.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e The last thing from the "Network Propaganda" book that I want to call out:
(3) The present practice of "demonstrative neutrality", or “objectivity as neutrality” in journalism.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e We need professional journalism that doesn’t try to perform objectivity like an actor on the stage. Giving both sides equal weight and credibility is currently doing the masses a great disservice. It legitimizes arguments from the right that are not grounded in reality or TRUTH.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e The authors recommend a shift from “demonstrative neutrality” to “accountable verifiability".

@buildtechtrust @cward1e I would add that the complexities of the spread of hate, disinformation, and manipulation online are not even completely known to us today.

Most of us know it’s bad, but don’t know how far reaching this is into our daily lives, and the lives of people we care about.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e Many of us live most of our lives online today. I think we often forget that the internet is a sphere *completely* created, managed, and used by humans.

We created it, and we are the only ones who can change it.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e The internet is a world unto itself, and this moment represents an opportunity for humans to test how we can effectively work together toward common good, without the physical constraints present with other challenges, like climate change.

@buildtechtrust @cward1e This moment in time will ultimately test our willingness to save each other and ourselves.