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Category Archives: Fake News

RAND finds that Republicans are more prone to misinformation – Fast Company

Posted: April 11, 2022 at 6:04 am

A RAND study released this week offers more evidence that both-sidesism does not belong in an honest discussion of fake news and propaganda in the U.S. People on the Right are simply more apt to fall for it than those on the Left, the research shows, and for a number or reasons.

Susceptibility to conspiracy theories and fake news has already been linked by researchers to people in minority groups and lower income brackets. And higher income, higher education levels, and whiteness have been linked to greater resistance to such beliefs. But linking the appetite for, and susceptibility to, fake news and propaganda to Republicanism has until now been elusive.

We found some of it on both sides, on the left and the right, says RAND researcher and report author Luke Matthews. But we found more of it on the Trump voting Republican side.

The researchers surveyed 1,333 Americans from a carefully balanced set of demographic groups from February 26 through March 13, 2019. Respondents who had internet access took an online survey; those who didnt were provided a tablet computer on which to respond to questions.

RAND sat out to find what kinds of cognitive bias and reasoning functionality were most reliably associated with susceptibility to misinformation in different kinds of people.

Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment, says the Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. RAND screened for a number of bias types, including ingroup bias, which refers to tendencies to lean toward beliefs favored by groups that share a language, religion, or nationality.

The researchers also looked for connections between peoples comfort level with numbers, or science, or magical thinking and the propensity for believing misinformation. As it turned out, Matthews tells me, it was the presence or absence of these reasoning abilities that provided the best predictors of peoples susceptibility to misinformation.

It foundnot surprisinglythat people who demonstrated more numeric and scientific literacy, and less magical reasoning, were less likely to swallow misinformation and disinformation. And it found these people collected in certain demographic and political groups.

Resistance to Truth Decay . . . was associated with having a higher income, identifying as White, voting for Clinton in 2016, and being less religious, the report states. By truth decay RAND means, broadly, a willingness to believe falsehoods, and a resistance to authoritative sources of information such as scientists and other experts.

The reasoning processes that are predictive of belief in things like birtherism, plandemic, and trutherism are not gained or lost suddenly with the support of a particular candidate or cause, the report stresses, but rather are developed over an individuals lifetime and are all at least somewhat adaptive . . . This, of course, points to the role of the education system to teach things like critical thinking and media literacy to children and adolescents early and often.

Society needs to be better at developing informed and critically thinking citizens who can appropriately process the rapid media environments in which information consumers must now operate, the report authors write.

RANDs GOP-misinformation connection is made even more credible because the RAND researchers didnt go out looking for that specifically. Thats not what we set out to study but thats what we found, Matthews tells Fast Company. He said his team had to study all possible connections between demographic and political groups to make sure the connections they found could not be undercut by claims that truth decay is actually caused by some factor the group didnt study.

The report is part of RANDs Countering Truth Decay initiative, which considers the diminishing role of facts and analysis in political and civil discourse and the policymaking process. The original report in the series was published in January 2018 and laid out a research agenda for studying and developing solutions to the Truth Decay challenge.

We need to have these political conversations and debates, Matthews says. We can have the debate about politics and policy, we can have political disagreements and disagreements over values, but we need to have a basic agreement about what the facts actually are.

This aspect of American life, the capacity for citizens to argue well and respectfully, is arguably what has made American democracy work. That public trust has been badly diminished.

Politics has gotten so hyperpartisan, Matthews says. Its gotten people detached from what facts actually are.

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‘Fake news’: Clive Palmer backtracks on his suggestion United Australia Party will preference Greens over the Coalition and Labor – Campbelltown…

Posted: at 6:04 am

news, federal-election, clive palmer, UAP, united Australia party, greens, preferences, election 2022, labor, the coalition

Clive Palmer has backtracked on comments he made suggesting he would rather preference the Greens over the Coalition and Labor, claiming the statement was "tongue-in-cheek". The United Australia Party chairman, who is pumping around $40 million into his election campaign, last week told the National Press Club the party would place the three at the bottom of its preference list. Mr Palmer suggested the UAP could punish incumbency by listing the Greens above the major parties, who he blamed for wracking up unprecedented debt. But in a statement on Monday, he claimed the comments were "tongue-in-cheek" and labelled reporting on them "fake news". "The notion that United Australia Party would preference The Greens is as ludicrous as them giving preferences to us," he said. "I made a tongue-in-cheek remark because I was responding to an ABC journalist that, like the ABC, I may preference the Greens before the others. "The fact of the matter is the party executive has unanimously agreed that The Greens will be last." Mr Palmer did indeed make the aside to ABC political editor Andrew Probyn, having initially dodged multiple questions over where the UAP's preferences would flow. But the magnate, who has railed against COVID-19 vaccines and government debt, explained in detail his reasons for preferring the Greens. "From my personal perspective, I think I'd put the Greens ahead of Liberal and Labor," he said. "That's my personal perspective, because they haven't been in government and they haven't been responsible for this debt. The debt we see is causing the main problem in Australia. "So, like the ABC, I'll be putting the Greens ahead of Liberal and Labor." READ MORE: But Mr Palmer muddied the waters by accepting a handful of Liberal senators were more sympathetic to the UAP, in an apparent reference to Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic, who both threatened to withdraw their vote over vaccine mandates. "There are Liberal members of parliament who have crossed the floor with [UAP leader] Craig Kelly. That's on the record," he said. "There are other Liberals who have supported him and people who have sponsored some of our bills that we put up like, George Christensen. Those people will be favourable when it comes to us." The UAP chairman had initially claimed the party could not confirm its preferences, within days of an election being called, because "we don't know who's standing". "We haven't determined that because not only in a political party. Even though I'm the money bags, it doesn't mean I make all the decisions," he said.

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Clive Palmer has backtracked on comments he made suggesting he would rather preference the Greens over the Coalition and Labor, claiming the statement was "tongue-in-cheek".

The United Australia Party chairman, who is pumping around $40 million into his election campaign, last week told the National Press Club the party would place the three at the bottom of its preference list.

But in a statement on Monday, he claimed the comments were "tongue-in-cheek" and labelled reporting on them "fake news".

"The notion that United Australia Party would preference The Greens is as ludicrous as them giving preferences to us," he said.

"I made a tongue-in-cheek remark because I was responding to an ABC journalist that, like the ABC, I may preference the Greens before the others.

"The fact of the matter is the party executive has unanimously agreed that The Greens will be last."

UAP chairman Clive Palmer has walked back comments on referencing the Greens. Picture: James Croucher

Mr Palmer did indeed make the aside to ABC political editor Andrew Probyn, having initially dodged multiple questions over where the UAP's preferences would flow.

But the magnate, who has railed against COVID-19 vaccines and government debt, explained in detail his reasons for preferring the Greens.

"From my personal perspective, I think I'd put the Greens ahead of Liberal and Labor," he said.

"That's my personal perspective, because they haven't been in government and they haven't been responsible for this debt. The debt we see is causing the main problem in Australia.

"So, like the ABC, I'll be putting the Greens ahead of Liberal and Labor."

But Mr Palmer muddied the waters by accepting a handful of Liberal senators were more sympathetic to the UAP, in an apparent reference to Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic, who both threatened to withdraw their vote over vaccine mandates.

"There are Liberal members of parliament who have crossed the floor with [UAP leader] Craig Kelly. That's on the record," he said.

"There are other Liberals who have supported him and people who have sponsored some of our bills that we put up like, George Christensen. Those people will be favourable when it comes to us."

The UAP chairman had initially claimed the party could not confirm its preferences, within days of an election being called, because "we don't know who's standing".

"We haven't determined that because not only in a political party. Even though I'm the money bags, it doesn't mean I make all the decisions," he said.

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Law to help news industry and combat fake news to be tabled today – National Post

Posted: at 6:04 am

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Online news law to create a framework for media outlets to collectively negotiate compensation deals with online platforms

Author of the article:

Publishing date:

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez will introduce legislation today to make digital giants compensate Canadian media outlets for reusing their news content.

The bill is expected to be modelled on an Australian law making tech companies such as Google pay for news content on their platforms.

Rodriguez has previously said the bill is a priority, and that it will help support Canadas media industry and combat fake news circulating on the internet.

The online news law will create a framework for professional media outlets to collectively negotiate compensation deals with online platforms.

Rodriguez said in the last 15 years, about 450 Canadian news outlets have closed, with the vast chunk of advertising revenues going to big digital companies.

At a virtual conference in February, the minister said the bill being prepared would help preserve Canadas independent media, which he said is in crisis.

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Official clarity on Fake News of Salaar in circulation – Tollywood

Posted: at 6:04 am

Official clarity on Fake News of Salaar in circulation

Recently there was a strong buzz in the film industry that the glimpse of Salaar will be attached with the upcoming Pan India film KGF: Chapter 2 which is releasing on 14th April 2022. It was heard that the teaser will give a glimpse of the world of Salaar to the audiences. But today morning the makers of Salaar gave official clarity on this fake news by saying that the rumor of Salaar glimpse along with KGF: Chapter 2 is false. Makers are waiting for the right time to announce about Salaar. This news has disappointed the Prabhas fans who were eagerly waiting for the glimpse of their favorite actor.

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Helmed by Prashanth Neel, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner Hombale Films, KGF : Chapter 2 starring Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon and Prakash Raj, is a sequel to the 2018 blockbuster action drama KGF: Chapter 1.

Coming to Salaar, it is helmed by Prashanth Neel and has Prabhas and Shruti Haasan, is backed by KGFs producer Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. Prithviraj Sukumaran will be seen in a pivotal role.

KGF : Chapter 2 will compete with Vijay Starrer Beast and Shahid Kapoor starrer Jersey at the box office.

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Pilots threatened on flood fake news – manilastandard.net

Posted: at 6:04 am

SydneyAn Australian aviation company says it has received more than 100 threats following an online conspiracy theory that its pilots unleashed a flooding disaster by cloud seeding.

Conspiracy theorists spread the false claims after weeks of torrential rains led to deadly east coast floods over the past two months, engulfing homes and sweeping cars from the roads.

Posts shared online alleged aerial survey pilots from Handel Aviation caused a second deluge in the flood-ravaged New South Wales town of Lismore on March 31 by cloud seedingdispersing a substance into the clouds to prompt rain.

A pilot from Handel Aviation in Cessna 210N Centurion VH-JIL did a breakfast time cloud seeding run over Lismore South & Ballina today while sightseeing the massive flood below him, one widely shared post reads.

The flight path of the Handel Aviation aircraft VH-JIL crisscrossing over flooded areas was also shared online by Australian fashion designer Alice McCall alongside claims it was dropping chemicals to activate rain.

Handel Aviation operator Mark Handel told AFP on Thursday that the company does not seed clouds.

The flight was collecting images for aerial maps provided to Australian mapping company, NearMap, he said.

Handel Aviation operates aerial photography aircraft only. Our recent flights over flooded areas of NSW and QLD are in response to the floods, a statement on the Handel Aviation website reads.

NearMap confirmed to AFP the photos taken by Handel Aviation were commissioned to map disaster-affected areas for insurers and emergency services.

These aerial captures are commissioned after major weather catastrophes and natural disasters, including following the recent east coast flooding, the NearMap spokesman said.

Threatening stuff

The claims circulating online led to more than 100 threats being sent to Handel Aviation, despite it explaining the purpose of the flights on the contact page of the companys website.

We had really violent threatening stuff coming through. Like: we have the pilots names, we know where you live, youre going to pay for this, kind of stuff, Handel told AFP.

Handel said he tasked his operations manager, Anthony Berko, with responding to each email and calling people who provided their phone numbers.

Some of those he contacted were surprised or angry, Berko said.

But others were distressed, telling the experienced pilot they had lost everything during the floods and thought the company was responsible.

They needed a shoulder to cry on and hear their story. Theyve basically lost everything and then someone has then said heres your answer, Berko said.

Despite the online claims, cloud seeding is not responsible for any of the east coast floods, said weather modification expert Simon Siems.

Siems, a professor who leads a Monash University team studying clouds and precipitation, said the practice is not conducted in the Northern Rivers region and it cannot cause flooding.

Cloud seeding is not that effective, people do it only under very special circumstances, he said.

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Examples of Fake News – Fact Check: How to decipher online …

Posted: April 2, 2022 at 5:57 am

These are two examples of satirical and fake news sites that deliver news with distorted or false information, biased viewpoints and fabricated facts:

To confuse and add to the misleading of readers, World News Daily Report mixes some true stories with their fake ones. Their disclaimer starts with a large headline reading "NEWS YOU CAN TRUST," however, when you scroll to the bottom of the page, it reads:

WNDRshall not be responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this website or by any technical or human error which may occur. WNDR assumes however all responsibility for thesatiricalnature of its articles and for the fictional nature oftheir content. All characters appearing in the articlesin this website even those based on real people areentirely fictionalandany resemblance between them and any persons, living, dead, or undead is purelya miracle. (http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/disclaimer_/)

https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Your help is needed to save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus from extinction! Visit the official site to learn more about this elusive species, what you can do help, and sharesitghingsofthis temperate rainforestcephalopods.

It is pretty obvious that this clever and entertaining website is fake. It is not intended to be misleading, but asatirical site for a fictional animal that gained a surprise following.

These internet links are provided to you as a courtesy. Walden University, LLC. (Walden) does not own or operate and is in no way responsible for the content of the web sites to which you will be directed upon accessing the links. Walden makes no representations or warranties as to the sites content, does not attest to the accuracy or propriety of any information located there and does not endorse the sites or information on the sites in any way.

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How to tell fake news from real news – TED-Ed Blog

Posted: at 5:57 am

In November 2016, Stanford University researchers made an alarming discovery: across the US, many students cant tell the difference between a reported news article, a persuasive opinion piece, and a corporate ad. This lack of media literacy makes young people vulnerable to getting duped by fake news which can have real consequences.

Want tostrengthen your own ability to tell real news from fake news? Start by asking these five questions of any news item:

Who wrote it? Real news contains the real byline of a real journalist dedicated to the truth. Fake news (including sponsored content and traditional corporate ads) does not. Once you find the byline, look at the writers bio. This can help you identify whether the item youre reading is a reported news article (written by a journalist with the intent to inform), a persuasive opinion piece (written by an industry expert with a point of view), or something else entirely.

What claims does it make? Real news like these Pulitzer Prize winning articles will include multiple primary sources when discussing a controversial claim. Fake news may include fake sources, false urls, and/or alternative facts that can be disproven through further research. When in doubt, dig deeper. Facts can be verified.

When was it published? Look at the publication date. If its breakingnews, be extra careful.Use this tipsheet to decode breaking news.

Where was it published? Real news is published by trustworthy media outlets with a strong factchecking record, such as the BBC, NPR,ProPublica, Mother Jones, and Wired. (To learn more about any media outlet, look at their About page and examine their published body of work.) If you get your news primarily via social media, try to verify that the information is accurate before you share it. (On Twitter, for example, you might look for the blue verified checkmark next to a media outlet name to doublecheck a publication source before sharing a link.)

How does it make you feel? Fake news, like all propaganda, is designed to make you feel strong emotions. So if you read a news item that makes you feel super angry, pause and take a deep breath. Then, doublecheck the items claims by comparing it to the news on any three of the media outlets listed above and decide for yourself if the item is real news or fake news. Bottom line: Dont believe everything you read. There is no substitute for critical thinking.

If you get in the habit of asking all 5 of these questions whenever you read a news article, then your basic news literacy skills will start to grow stronger. However, these are just the basics! To dive deeper into news and media literacy, watch the TED-Ed Lesson: How to choose your news.To find out more about what students need, read the Stanford University report,published here.

Laura McClureis an award-winning journalist and the TED-Ed Editor.To learn something new every week, sign up here for the TED-Ed Newsletter.

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Lies, propaganda and fake news: A challenge for our age – BBC

Posted: at 5:57 am

For Rohit Chandra, vice president of engineering at Yahoo, more humans in the loop would help. I see a need in the market to develop standards, he says. "We cant fact-check every story, but there must be enough eyes on the content that we know the quality bar stays high.

Google is also helping fact-checking organisations like Full Fact, which is developing new technologies that can identify and even correct false claims. Full Fact is creating an automated fact-checker that will monitor claims made on TV, in newspapers, in parliament or on the internet.

Initially it will be targeting claims that have already been fact-checked by humans and send out corrections automatically in an attempt to shut down rumours before they get started. As artificial intelligence gets smarter, the system will also do some fact-checking of its own.

For a claim like crime is rising, it is relatively easy for a computer to check, says Moy. We know where to get the crime figures and we can write an algorithm that can make a judgement about whether crime is rising. We did a demonstration project last summer to prove we can automate the checking of claims like that. The challenge is going to be writing tools that can check specific types of claims, but over time it will become more powerful.

What would Watson do?

It is an approach being attempted by a number of different groups around the world. Researchers at the University of Mississippi and Indiana University are both working on an automated fact-checking system. One of the worlds most advanced AIs has also had a crack at tackling this problem. IBM has spent several years working on ways that its Watson AI could help internet users distinguish fact from fiction. They built a fact-checker app that could sit in a browser and use Watsons language skills to scan the page and give a percentage likelihood of whether it was true. But according to Ben Fletcher, senior software engineer at IBM Watson Research who built the system, it was unsuccessful in tests - but not because it couldnt spot a lie.

We got a lot of feedback that people did not want to be told what was true or not, he says. At the heart of what they want, was actually the ability to see all sides and make the decision for themselves. A major issue most people face without knowing it is the bubble they live in. If they were shown views outside that bubble they would be much more open to talking about them.

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Deepfakes and Fake News Pose a Growing Threat to Democracy – Northeastern University

Posted: at 5:57 am

This report is part of ongoing coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.Visit our dedicated pagefor more on this topic.

In mid-March, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine crept into its third week, an unusual video started making the rounds on social media and was even broadcast on the television channel Ukraine 24 due to the efforts of hackers.

The video appeared to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stilted with his head moving and his body largely motionless, calling on the citizens of his country to stop fighting Russian soldiers and to surrender their weapons. He had already fled Kyiv, the video claimed.

Except, those werent the words of the real Zelenskyy. The video was a deepfake, or content constructed using artificial intelligence. In a deepfake, individuals train computers to mimic real people to make what appears to be an authentic video. Shortly after the deepfake was broadcast, it was debunked by Zelenskyy himself, removed from prominent online sources like Facebook and YouTube, and ridiculed by Ukrainians for its poor quality, according to the Atlantic Council.

However, just because the video was quickly discredited doesnt mean it didnt cause harm. In a world increasingly politically polarized, in which consumers of media may believe information that reinforces their biases, regardless of the contents apparent legitimacy, deepfakes pose a significant threat, warns Northeastern University computer science and philosophy professor Don Fallis.

Left to right: Don Fallis, Northeastern University computer science and philosophy professor; and David Lazer, distinguished professor of political science and computer and information science. Courtesy photo and Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Its sort of interesting the respect in which it wasnt a particularly high-quality deepfake. There were all sorts of indicators that the individual consumer of information might think, This doesnt look right, Fallis says about the deepfake of Zelenskyy. That being said, with all of these sources of misinformation, no matter how credible the information looks, if you have a strong leaning toward a particular viewpoint, if you receive information confirming that pre-existing bias, the source of that informationand the plausibility of that informationmay not matter.

In his research, Falliswho studies epistemology, or the theory of knowledgetries to put modern issues, like deepfakes and fake news, into the larger philosophical context of how individuals acquire and digest true knowledge, as well as misinformation.

In 2018, he co-authored an article, titled, Fake news is counterfeit news, with Northeastern philosophy professor Kay Mathiesen. The article looked at the threat to democracy and knowledge that fake news poses and sought to define the concept. Two years later, he wrote an article about deepfakes, The Epistemic Threat of Deepfakes, in which he concluded that deepfakes can lead to false beliefs, undermine the justification for true beliefs, and prevent people from acquiring true beliefs.

Fallis argues both fake news and deepfakes have the negative effect of delegitimizing real news. He says they decrease the amount of true information available, reduce consumers trust in authentic media, and put an added burden on fact-checkers to authenticate the vast amount of content online.

In the case of fake news, youre creating this online presence thats supposed to look like a legitimate news site, Fallis says. Similarly, in the case of deepfakes, youre creating video and audio that are also supposed to look like legit media.

Additionally, in combination with tools used to collect individual users personal information en masse, deepfakes also can be used maliciously to target large audiences and manipulate them by playing on their ingrained biases, Fallis says.

It may not just be this one killer technology, he says. Its not like deepfakes are going to be the one thing that takes us over the cliff. Its a whole suite of potentially problematic technology.

Increased political division has a similar impact on the way in which people interpret fake news, where users are clearly seeking out and accepting information thats compatible with their prior biases, notes Northeastern political science and computer sciences professor David Lazer. However, its unclear just how much one drops their critical-thinking skills when encountering media that reinforces their worldview.

Certainly, weve seen an increased polarization in the publics opinions, and thats clearly one of the factors that may be at play with the spread of misinformation, Lazer says. Its quite plausible that the political polarization and spread of misinformation are going hand in hand, but thats an area of needed research.

Director of Northeasterns Lazer Lab, which conducts research on social influence and networks, Lazers studies focus primarily on the proliferation of misinformation on social media. In 2019, he co-authored a study on the prevalence of fake news on Twitter during the 2016 presidential election cycle.

Deepfake technology is also quite relevant to his studies, Lazer says, but there needs to be more research on the different types of misinformation, how they spread, and their psychological impact on consumers of media. The rise in political polarization and its impact on the consumption of media is also a high-priority area of study, he adds.

We can certainly say over the last 40 years there has been increased polarization of many kinds, and thats concerning, Lazer says.

Beyond the issue of users failing to question the deepfakes they come across if the content confirms their existing worldview, the technology poses other significant concerns.

One of the most problematic uses of the technology is when an individuals likeness, typically a womans, is manipulated and put on a sexually explicit video, making it appear as if the individual they are targeting is participating in the sexual activity, says Marc Berkman, the executive director of the Organization for Social Media Safety, a nonprofit dedicated to making social media safe through advocacy and education.

Additionally, as in the case of the deepfake of Zelenskyy, the world is witnessing the technologys political impact, Berkman says. Deepfakes can potentially interfere with democratic elections and be used as propaganda to sow division and doubt, he says.

Fallis and Berkman emphasize the importance of users cultivating critical-thinking skills when venturing online. One way for people to protect themselves against deepfakes is to engage in safe social-media use: Approach content, particularly news, with a critical eye.

The Organization for Social Media Safety is currently supporting media training in public schools, helping children understand news sources so they can take a non-partisan approach to evaluating and understanding the credibility of content.

Its incredibly important for our democracy to understand what is real and what is not, Berkman says. Limiting time on social media to healthy amounts is also important, so people can avoid deepfakes used for propaganda purposes.

However, Fallis and Berkman note, individual efforts cant replace structural change in businesses and governments aimed at combating the proliferation of this potentially dangerous technology.

Social-media giants, like Facebook, have adopted policies vowing to remove deepfakes from their platforms if they meet certain criteria, and some state governments, like Californias, have adopted laws imposing civil liability on creators of intentionally harmful deepfakes.

In California, Berkman says, his organization is working on getting a state law passed that would also impose criminal punishment on the creators of malicious pornographic deepfakes, with the hope that this kind of law expands to other states and that the federal government adopts similar legislation.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Buccaneers cant buy fake news on star wide receiver target – The Pewter Plank

Posted: at 5:57 am

The Buccaneers are seeing that April 1st is the worst day for sports news ever.

Unfortunately, the childish game of pranking people on April 1st is not only tied to schools. Professional athletes and reporters also get in on the fun every year, and this often leads to plenty of misinformation as they report wild trades or signings are happening.

This is exactly what happened today for Buccaneers fans today with a hot name this offseason.

While the initial photo looked exciting for a team that already has a lot of former Patriots players on the roster, Julian Edelmans report from earlier today is not true. He is not joining the Buccaneers. Yet.

Edelman wouldnt be the first player to follow Tom Brady to the Bucs. Rob Gronkowski and Logan Ryan show that Bradys reach goes far beyond what rational moves look like, and this offseason has done plenty to fan the rumor flames about Edelman rejoining his former quarterback.

Workout videos of Brady and Edelman started these rumors weeks ago, and an announcement like this really makes sense against that backdrop. Still, today is April Fools Day. No announcements make sense on a day like this.

This report would have a lot more credibility if the Bucs were the ones to put the information out there. The absence of any legitimate acknowledgment from the Buccaneers or their writers tells a clear story about the lack of fire associated with this smoke.

Still, the idea that Edelman could still join the Bucs is not far-fetched. Brady could always use more hands after the lack of depth we saw at the end of last season, and even time out of the NFL and apart wont be enough to slow this duo down.

The Buccaneers and Brady would be more than happy to have this report come true, but it isnt happening today.

Want to write about the Buccaneers? Apply below!

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