Fogdog
Well-Known Member
Hydroxycloroquine and "what do you have to lose?"
"A vaccine will be available by the end of the year"
"Lockdowns don't work"
"Its just like the flue
The virus causes fear and somebody or bodies are exploiting those emotions. In a recent survey Carnegie Mellon U researcher find that almost half of the 200 million Twitter posts came from bots. The hysteria-driven propaganda has certainly made its way into recent posts by people who post here.
www.huffpost.com
Nearly half of some 200 million tweets about COVID-19 likely came from bots, with many of them plugging false cures, peddling conspiracy theories and clamoring for the U.S. to drop safety measures in order to re-open America, researchers have found.
Ongoing research by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University indicates that a significant portion of the social media conversation about COVID-19 is likely automated amplifications of political perspectives and do not represent individual human authors.
The study has reached no conclusion about which interests may be primarily responsible for the bots, but many of the messages are repeating information from Russian and Chinese state media. During the 2016 presidential election, computer operations linked to the Kremlin were found to be responsible for campaign tweets and other messages that further divided the American electorate by amplifying controversy.
With coronavirus, “We do know that it looks like it’s a propaganda machine, and it definitely matches the Russian and Chinese playbooks, but it would take a tremendous amount of resources to substantiate that,” lead researcher Kathleen Carley, a computer science professor and head of the university’s Center for Informed Democracy and Social Cybersecurity, said in a Carnegie Mellon report last week about the research.
“We do see that a lot of bots are acting in ways that are consistent with the story lines that are coming out of Russia or China,” Carley told VICE.
A European Union study concluded that the Kremlin and pro-Kremlin groups have launched a “significant disinformation campaign” about COVID-19 to sow panic in the West, Reuters reported earlier this year.
The study is ongoing and is now also examining messages on Facebook, Reddit and YouTube.
Jevin West, who runs the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, told Vice last month that
the “real goal” of COVID-19 disinformation campaigns is “about creating distrust in the overall ecosystem and institutions. It’s not so much about picking a side as it is about creating confusion and doubt and distrust of authority.”
This isn't just about tax breaks. It's serious. People are dying and the economy is in recession over this epidemic. A healthy dose of skepticism would go a long way to damping down the corrosive effects of this attack on our people.
"A vaccine will be available by the end of the year"
"Lockdowns don't work"
"Its just like the flue
The virus causes fear and somebody or bodies are exploiting those emotions. In a recent survey Carnegie Mellon U researcher find that almost half of the 200 million Twitter posts came from bots. The hysteria-driven propaganda has certainly made its way into recent posts by people who post here.
Bots Are Likely Responsible For Nearly Half Of COVID-19 Tweets, Say Researchers
Many of them are promoting fake cures, spreading conspiracy theories and pushing to "re-open America."
Nearly half of some 200 million tweets about COVID-19 likely came from bots, with many of them plugging false cures, peddling conspiracy theories and clamoring for the U.S. to drop safety measures in order to re-open America, researchers have found.
Ongoing research by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University indicates that a significant portion of the social media conversation about COVID-19 is likely automated amplifications of political perspectives and do not represent individual human authors.
The study has reached no conclusion about which interests may be primarily responsible for the bots, but many of the messages are repeating information from Russian and Chinese state media. During the 2016 presidential election, computer operations linked to the Kremlin were found to be responsible for campaign tweets and other messages that further divided the American electorate by amplifying controversy.
With coronavirus, “We do know that it looks like it’s a propaganda machine, and it definitely matches the Russian and Chinese playbooks, but it would take a tremendous amount of resources to substantiate that,” lead researcher Kathleen Carley, a computer science professor and head of the university’s Center for Informed Democracy and Social Cybersecurity, said in a Carnegie Mellon report last week about the research.
“We do see that a lot of bots are acting in ways that are consistent with the story lines that are coming out of Russia or China,” Carley told VICE.
A European Union study concluded that the Kremlin and pro-Kremlin groups have launched a “significant disinformation campaign” about COVID-19 to sow panic in the West, Reuters reported earlier this year.
The study is ongoing and is now also examining messages on Facebook, Reddit and YouTube.
Jevin West, who runs the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, told Vice last month that
the “real goal” of COVID-19 disinformation campaigns is “about creating distrust in the overall ecosystem and institutions. It’s not so much about picking a side as it is about creating confusion and doubt and distrust of authority.”
This isn't just about tax breaks. It's serious. People are dying and the economy is in recession over this epidemic. A healthy dose of skepticism would go a long way to damping down the corrosive effects of this attack on our people.
