Thread by @thewalrus

We’re about to start live tweeting @Facebook presents The #WalrusTalks The Future of Speech Online. Kara Brisson-Boivin of @MediaSmarts, @CaraZwibel, @CaulfieldTim, and Tamara A. Small from @GuelphPOLS discussing the balance of free expression and navigation of harmful content!

“Our online experiences shape our capacity to develop empathy and to act ethically.” says Kara Brisson-Boivin, director of research of @MediaSmarts #WalrusTalks

Kara Brisson-Boivin of @MediaSmarts “A community’s norms are largely set by the most committed 10% of Members, the connections between network means that small groups of powerfully committed individuals can have a significant impact on the values of much larger communities."

“When hate online goes unchallenged, users may believe that intervention is overreaction. When cultures of hatred are masked as consensus ... the majority of witnesses may not believe that intervention is worth the risk of social exclusion.” - Kara Brisson-Boivin of @MediaSmarts

"When we're using the same screen to talk to our friends that we might use to kill aliens, or when we can't see the person we're hurting, it's easy to forget that what we do online matters." - Kara Brisson-Boivin of @MediaSmarts

“One of the early questions that scholars like myself were thinking about in this field [digital politics], which is now 25 years old, is whether digital technologies have the ability to support or threaten democratic practice.” Tamara Small of @GuelphPOLS

“Digital technologies can be a tool of transparency in terms of the viral video, but they also can be a tool that allows marginalized groups to participate more fully in society.” says Tamara Small of @GuelphPOLS

“Many see the Capitol Hill riots as the worst of digital technologies. They argue that it creates a post-truth environment in which echo chambers allow people to avoid topics, arguments, and people in which they disagree.” says Tamara Small of @GuelphPOLS

Tamara Small of @GuelphPOLS says “I'm saying that those political choices will be structured by technology but they'll also be structured by the social, political and economic context in which they operate.“

"How do we address the very worst of digital technologies without cannibalizing the very best of them?" - Tamara Small of @GuelphPOLS

@CaraZwibel: "I believe that trying to regulate this [harms from online speech] in a way that complies with the charter is the most significant and challenging issues."

"I'm skeptical of the government's ability to regulate this space without overshooting the mark and undermining some of the general benefits that arise from freedom of expression online." @CaraZwibel

"Misinformation and disinformation give rise to some of the most significant harms we're seeing today. I don't believe the government will be attempting to address that category with new legislation." @CaraZwibel

"A takedown model is a concerning approach from the perspective of freedom. Because it will result in over removal of content." - @CaraZwibel

"It surprises many people to know that in the last Supreme Court case that dealt with the hate speech law, the court made it quite clear that hate speech is not aimed at discouraging repugnant or offensive ideas." @CaraZwibel

"We need to call for greater transparency and accountability from online platforms. We need to recognize the limits of the law when it comes to attempts to regulate expression." @CaraZwibel

"This term "infodemic" came from the world health organization over a year ago. They were very, very right." - @CaulfieldTim

"96% of Canadians recognize that they're seeing misinformation on the daily." @CaulfieldTim

"This is largely a social media phenomenon," says @CaulfieldTim, "A study at McGill found that if you get your information from a social media platform, you are more like to believe misinformation, more like to spread misinformation."

@CaulfieldTim says "This is such a complex problem that we need to come at it from every direction."

"We need evidence-based strategies for the social media platforms. In addition to that, we got to get out there and we got to debunk." says @CaulfieldTim

"Debunking works. What does that mean? Listen first. What are people worried about? And then providing good science, highlight the gaps in the logic. Be nice. Use engaging content. Creativity wins." @CaulfieldTim

Our Q&A portion of @Facebook presents The #WalrusTalks The Future of Speech Online is underway and our speakers are discussing the binary of the public's view of the internet... it's good or bad.

“There are affordances in digital technologies that don’t exist on television, radio, newspapers. It was easy for people to link those democratic values to those affordances.” - Tamara A. Small @GuelphPOLS

@CaulfieldTim points out there is a continuum to the misinformation and disinformation stream. There may be different interventions you want to use depending on the intent of the person spreading the misinformation.

Kara of @MediaSmarts points out that a small group of a community sets the tone, norms, and values in the space. And that the challenge of the online environment is that it's a much larger group of people than it is.

@CaraZwibel "you need not just the law to keep up. You need police services to have the resources, and the technology to deal with issues."

@CaraZwibel "Because our laws work in a particular jurisdictional context, Canadian law or Ontario law, the internet doesn't work like that. There are no borders."

Kara of @MediaSmarts on AI as a means for identifying content that should be removed: "There's value in that. But it's not a full stop. The challenge is that the environment is changing... and for lack of transparency we don't understand how the algorithms are working."

@CaulfieldTim holds up a sign that reads "28%" and points out that at one time 28% of Americans believed the Bill Gats conspiracy theory.

Tamara of @GuelphPOLS "AI is not good with race. AI is a black box, once you put the garbage in it, what it does we have no idea. We have to be careful about how we allow AI to determine what is truth."

@CaraZwibel on the use of AI in algorithms: "Hate speech is very contextual. You need to consider the full context in which it's happening to understand on what side of the line it falls. The same is true for terrorist propaganda."

Kara of @MediaSmarts on the role of media literacy and who's responsibility that is "We can't regulate ourselves out of a social problem entirely. That is the role of public education. In Canada, we do not have a national digital media literacy strategy framework."

@CaulfieldTim says that there is a robust body of evidence that suggests that debunking works. He focuses on having a reliable content that is shareable.

@CaulfieldTim suggests not to focus on the hard-core deniers, when trying to debunk a myth, but on the general public. That you want to give someone a path to the truth.

Thank you for following along with our live tweeting of @Facebook presents The #WalrusTalks The Future of Speech Online! Thank you also to Kara Brisson-Boivin of @MediaSmarts, @CaraZwibel, @CaulfieldTim, and Tamara A. Small from @GuelphPOLS!

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