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Author: Edward MS

Facebook tracks everything; I downloaded my FB dossier

Facebook tracks everything; I downloaded my FB dossier

I downloaded the dossier that Facebook created on me. The dossier contains a list of all Android apps I had on my devices. I deleted the FB app a long time ago so it is a snapshot “in time”, in my case. Their dossier shows that Facebook has shared my contact information with hundreds of organizations, many of which I have never heard of. The dossier includes every personal message sent and received – ever – using Facebook messaging services,…

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Interesting example of how propaganda messaging lives forever and is recycled

Interesting example of how propaganda messaging lives forever and is recycled

The senator [Sanders] from Vermont says 40 percent of guns are sold without a background check. The Washington Post notes the figure came from a small survey in 1993/1994 before major changes in gun laws. The latest data indicate it is 13%, not 40%. But remember, the first propaganda message someone hears is the one that sticks – undoubtedly this figure has stuck with Sanders for a quarter century. Source: Bernie Sanders resurrects a ‘zombie’ claim on gun sales without…

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Double Double Double Cross propaganda

Double Double Double Cross propaganda

A UCLA student journalist reported a story using a photo of a sign in front of a student housing home that said “No Blacks Allowed”. Russian trolls picked up the photo, extensively edited, and then posted it on a Russia run propaganda group called Blacktivist, to emotionally target members of the group. The FB group had 360,000 “Likes”, which was more than the Black Lives Matter group itself. But Blacktivist was a fake group designed by Russian trolls to racially…

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Culture of outrage promotes idiocy

Culture of outrage promotes idiocy

Or as a friend points out, a culture of idiocy promotes outrage! Face palm. A U.S. flag is flying above the flag of Norway. In our political climate, a Norwegian flag, with its blue-and-white cross, was mistaken for a Confederate flag. Questions ensued in the Greenwood neighborhood. Rebecca Morris is a well known author of crime novels that have been on the New York Times Bestseller list. She reported the flying of the “Confederate Flag” to the newspaper and because…

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State of Oregon begins censoring historical re-enactments, largely due to social media propaganda efforts

State of Oregon begins censoring historical re-enactments, largely due to social media propaganda efforts

Civil War re-enactment will relocate from Fort Stevens State Park after 27 years from The Daily Astorian Fort Stevens is the site of an actual Civil War fortress, whose construction began in 1863 to protect the Columbia River from a feared attack by the Confederacy. For 27 years, this fortress was the site of an annual (and very large) Civil War history and education program held every Labor Day weekend. As the news report explains, Oregon State Parks is taking…

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China: Your social media posts have wrong “opinion orientation”

China: Your social media posts have wrong “opinion orientation”

Welcome to our Western social media future! China’s popular, social-media platform Sina Weibo reintroduced key elements of its service a week ago after they were suspended in January by the country’s Internet regulator for failing to halt the spread of “harmful content.”In January, the Beijing office of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) declared that, “obscenity, low taste, and ethnic discrimination continued to spread on Sina Weibo,” along with content containing “wrong public opinion orientation.” Source: China boosts censorship of…

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Propaganda is inherent in the platform

Propaganda is inherent in the platform

The spin on this article, like 99% of such articles, is that propaganda is primarily used by government and state-like organizations and actors. That isn’t true of course, but the article does recognize that the problem is inherent to the social media platform and business model itself: The more people that use a platform designed to connect as many as users as possible — even if they spread propaganda or hate speech — the more successful it is. Tech companies…

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“Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda”

“Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda”

Everyone participates in the process of persuasion, which is the use of words and other symbols to influence people. People use persuasion to gain social power. But the term propaganda is generally used when someone is aiming to reach a large group of people, not just a few. If you are an activist, you may have created propaganda yourself. People who create propaganda have a specific goal and design a communication message that is intended to circulate among a large…

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Could you throw a U.S. Presidential election for just a few dollars per day?

Could you throw a U.S. Presidential election for just a few dollars per day?

Parties in Russia bought ads on U.S. social media regarding candidates for U.S. President in 2016. About $100,000 was spent on Facebook ads, of which 44% was spent prior to the election. Additional actions took place on Twitter and Instagram. “Fake posts” were also created on social media for the purpose of being Liked, Shared and Commented on. It is claimed that about $2 million total was spent by the “American” department of the Internet Research Agency in Russia. The…

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