Category Archives: Fake News

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has dominated the medias attention for almost two weeks now. Russian media has been no exception. However, it has taken a unique approach, not shying away from manipulating the truth and spreading outright lies in order to show President Vladimir Putins regime in the best light possible.

Russian television channels at first reacted to the violent Hamas attack with indignation and disgust. But criticism of Israel soon began to dominate their talking points. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallants remark that his country was fighting against "humanoid animals" gave Putins propagandists the opportunity to get on their high horse and condemn all sides of the conflict. "Israel has abolished all the rules of war. The Israeli army continues to level neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip," said presenter Olesya Loseva during a talk show on Channel One on Oct. 11.

A week later, the anti-Israeli rhetoric from Moscow intensified. The explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza is still under investigation. But Russian propagandists did not hesitate to blame Israel, claiming Hamas lacked shells that were powerful enough.

During the first week of the war, Russian propagandists latched onto confusion in the Western media to discredit their past reports of Russian atrocities in the war in Ukraine. On Oct. 10, journalist Nicole Zedek from the Israeli outlet i24NEWS said IDF officers told her about 40 babies beheaded by militants in a massacre in Kfar Aza. The story spread all over the world, even though the information was not fully verified. According to other journalists present at the scene, the exact number of civilian deaths is unknown. Despite the general confirmation of the crime from soldiers and other journalists on the spot, Russian propagandists clung to the "40 beheaded babies" claim, attempting to accuse the Western media of creating fake news with the account.

"Just one day after the start of the IDF operation, the Western media began to spin stories of another bloody rampage where Hamas militants allegedly killed dozens of babies," Loseva said. Comparisons with the massacre of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine were repeated on Russian TV with clumsy persistence. According to pro-Kremlin spin doctors, if the Western media told a lie once, then everything else they say about the Russian armys actions in Ukraine can be discredited.

Just like they have done with Ukraine, Russian propagandists are using lies and manipulation to distort the words of a country that they do not like. During an interview with Sky News, a journalist asked former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about the fate that would befall Palestinian civilians. Bennett responded sharply, asking "What is wrong with you? Are you seriously asking about Palestinian civilians?"

Russian propagandist Dmitry Drozdenko distorted Bennetts words, first claiming that Bennett was asked about the babies who are going to die in Gaza. Drozdenko then said Bennett responded "Youre kidding me! So they die. What's the big deal?" Anyone who watched Drozdenkos segment would be left with the impression that Israel had openly adopted a cannibalistic policy against peaceful Palestinians. There was no mention of babies in the original interview.

Another fabrication emerged at the very beginning of the conflict in the Middle East. In the conditions of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the looming end of the Ukrainian Armed Forces summer counteroffensive, propagandists rejoiced at the possibility of putting an end to Western support for Ukraines war effort. "One way or another, this conflict is still reflected in what is happening in Ukraine. Many have begun to understand that Ukraine is like gangrene for Europe. In order to avoid infection, the affected area must be removed," Loseva told viewers on Oct. 10.

On the same day, Meeting Place host Andrei Norkin tried to promote another false narrative that Hamas uses Ukrainian weapons bought on the black market. "Hamas has a huge amount of weapons, which they should not have. They have Javelins and some old samples of Soviet weapons," he said. The propagandist reinforced his assertion with a tweet from far-right U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote that weapons could have come to Hamas from Afghanistan or Ukraine. Russian propagandists presented this statement as the official position of the United States, even though the White House has not commented on these rumors and Taylor Greene is a notorious supporter of conspiracy theories.

The second piece of supposed evidence used by propagandists was the claim that Western media reported grenade launchers with Ukrainian markings being found near the Israeli city of Ashkelon. However, the BBC quickly said they never reported that. The Ukrainian Defense Ministrys press center warned that "Russian propagandists are distributing a video in which representatives of the Hamas terrorist group allegedly show off Ukrainian weapons. In particular, it is claimed in Arabic that Ukraine sold Western weapons to terrorists. The video lasts only 12 seconds and raises many doubts."

In addition to pushing outright fakes, Russian television is playing a more subtle rhetorical game, dubbing the war between Israel and Hamas a personal defeat for the United States and its allies. "This is certainly the collapse of today's unipolar world order. The fear of the United States has simply disappeared!" said Ruslan Kurbanov, a Russian political scientist and a regular guest on propaganda talk shows.

Some of the guests and presenters even began to build conspiracy theories around the idea that the conflict is beneficial to Britain. However, there is no coherence to their claims. Their theories are built on hatred of the Western world and the exaltation of Putin and Russia. According to these propagandists, Russia and China will create a new world on the wreckage of Washingtons international reputation. But until that world comes, it will be necessary to continue spitting bile at the United States.

The mood was summed up by Channel Ones Ruslan Ostashko at the start of Time Will Tell:

"No conflict in the world is without Washingtons involvement now, he declared, adding that the United States had long tried to achieve its objectives by encouraging divisions between peoples and nations. Having failed to get quick results from fomenting the conflict in Ukraine, they have ignited the conflict in the Middle East as well.

The views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moscow Times.

More here:

Russian Propagandists Are Dancing on the Bones of Israel-Hamas ... - The Moscow Times

The Health Ministry rebukes Twitter chief Elon Musk for fake news about COVID-19.

Musk tweets zero inresponse to an article saying Israeli data found that zero young healthy individuals died of COVID-19,

The Health Ministry responds with an English statement.

Elon, unfortunately this is not what the whole data shows. Fake news is dangerous, the Health Ministry says. Israel Ministry of Health was asked on chronic disease data and explained that we dont have access to clinical records.

We provided the limited data available if something was shared during epidemiological investigation this data was available for only 27 people 7.5% of the 356 young people who died of COVID In Israel.

We know from clinicians that young healthy people did die from COVID and hopefully data on that will be available on the near future from our HMOs.

The exchange is the latest in several between Musk and Israels government on Twitter.

Earlier this month, the Foreign Ministry accused Musk of stoking antisemitism after he compared George Soros to a comic book villain.

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli then came to Musks defense, saying Israelis saw him as a role model.

Late last year, Musk complimented Israels Twitter prowess, after the countrys official channel responded to a Kanye West post with a Taylor Swift joke.

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Health Ministry rebukes Elon Musk for 'fake news' about COVID-19 - The Times of Israel

Walshs career at this point is mainly dedicated to whipping up vicious conspiracy theories about LGBTQ people. Hes so far deep that in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a Colorado gay nightclub last year, which left five people dead and another 25 injured, Walsh didnt express much concern at all for the actual victims of the hate crime. He instead threw a fit about some fictitious liberal agenda to use the mass shooting to force people to accept the sexualization of children (the logic, supposedly: Being gay means sexualizing children).

Earlier this week, Walsh menacingly said hes excited for Pride Month, saying, We have big plans.

The plush toy sale, and Walshs eagerness for Pride Month, comes as the far right has increased its attacks on LGBTQ people and culture. This week, its new target has been Target, for selling clothes with rainbows on them. Its issue is that one specific brand also makes a shirt that says, Satan respects pronounssomething not sold in Target. Nevertheless, figures like Walsh, Benny Johnson, Ben Shapiro, and others have targeted Target (and their minimum-wage workers) anyhow.

Read more from the original source:

Elon Musk Is Flirting With a Fake AOC Twitter Account - The New Republic

Its been several months since Ive discussed Fake News, not because its gone away. It hasnt. With President Trump out of the White House, fake news (FN) has gotten worse. At least Trump highlighted the omnipresent fake news.

Most FN is not flat out bogus information (though thats getting more common) such as giving wrong numbers/figures that information is easily proven false. Most FN is when the media omits critical information that results in a false idea of the truth thats fake news by omission. Dan Bongino says the most powerful tool the media has is the power to omit - as in omitting key information such as conveniently neglecting Bidens lies about Covid, neglecting to report the inflation rate, neglecting to report the crime rate in Democrat controlled cities the result being the reader doesnt know the actual truth about Covid, inflation or crime. Such omission is intentional. Dems need the public to have a false idea of reality, and their media complies.

On May 10, we had the perfect example of multiple networks engaging in FN by omission. What happened? Before I answer that question, answer this one. Whats a bigger scandal, a lone congressman getting arrested for election crimes or the president of the United States, along with his entire family, engaging in bribery, influence peddling, conspiracy and other high crimes? Think of it this way, if the Dems and their media had documented proof that President Trump, and his children, sold access and influence to China, Russia, Romania, and Ukraine, would major news networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, etc.) and major newspapers (the NY Times and Washington Post) report on that corruption? Of course they would. If the media had bank records proving Trumps children received $$$Millions transferred from foreign corporations, and additional documents showing $$$Millions more distributed to other Trump relatives, all while hes president; the networks would broadcast such corruption continuously for weeks and months as they should. Trump wouldnt be able to do anything without being hounded by reporters asking about money transfers from Russia or Ukraine to his children, and asking how his children managed to secure high paying corporate positions on foreign businesses they know nothing about.

Thats precisely what happened on May 10. Rep. Comer (R-KY) held a press conference, with other Congressmen, and laid out proof of Biden family corruption exactly as described above. Rep. Mace (R-SC) said the evidence against Biden is the tip of the iceberg. Comers committee has documents that prove foreign corporations (such as Burisma) hired Biden family members (son Hunter and brother James) for no-show jobs for which they have NO qualifications other than being related to Joe; documents proving million$ in bank transfers, for the sole purpose of buying influence with Joe Biden. Also, Tony Bobulinski, a business associate of Hunter Biden, has verified every part of this Biden influence peddling. Bobulinski confirmed million$ were paid by foreign corporations to the Bidens. Actually, Bobulinski first came forward in October 2020 about Biden corruption, but his testimony was buried by the FBI and ignored by media (fake news by omission). May 10, I watched network news and NO network bothered to report Comers proof of Bidens influence peddling scandal. Its almost like major media conspired to omit a valid news story. Instead, the networks covered the arrest of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) for wire fraud and money laundering.

I go back to my questions. On May 10, Fake News by omission was committed by Democrat media networks by failing to report anything about the Biden family scandal while giving endless coverage to the arrest of a lone Republican representative. For full coverage of the Biden crime scandal, go to Breitbart, Newsmax or any other conservative website.

Another example of FN by omission is the medias refusal to cover the crisis at the southern border. Simply put the southern border no longer exists. Biden lies about it; his press secretary lies about it; and Democrat Congress members lie when they say the border is secure. Democrat media (ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, etc.) lies by refusing to cover the situation. Democrat media refuses to hold Bidens regime accountable. Remember when that same media screamed about how Trump separated families and locked kids in cages when there were around 20,000 illegals entering every month. Now, under Biden, were pushing 200,000+ illegals every month (10X higher than under Trump) and the media, for the most part, is silent. Just as bad is the percent of illegals expelled. When Trump was president, roughly 90% of illegals were expelled; under Biden the expulsion rate is around 35%. Again, FN by omitting key information.

I could give endless other examples of FN. Heres one more that occurred during CNNs May 11 townhall with President Trump. At the townhall, Trump said the November 2020 election was rigged. The host immediately said Trumps accusation of a rigged election had been debunked. Thats a lie. The 2020 election was rigged. How so? The Constitution clearly says that election procedures are made by state legislatures period. Well, for the 2020 election, in almost every state, the election procedures were changed by some bureaucratic official who claimed Covid made voting in person too dangerous. In Georgia, the Secretary of State (SofS) allowed Stacey Abrams to put unsupervised ballot drop boxes in Democratic districts. That violated Georgia election law (and the Constitution) but the SofS allowed it to happen. Almost every state did something similar. During the same townhall, the uninformed host continued the debunked claim that the Jan. 6 protest in Washington DC was an insurrection. That insurrection claim is a lie. The FBI concluded that January 6th was not an insurrection. It was a protest that got out of hand. However, the major media wants us viewers to stay uninformed. Its working; most democrat voters are woefully ignorant.

Final Thought: I know a retired Mercer professor who smugly brags how informed he is because he watches MSNBC, listens to NPR, and reads the NY Times. I laughed to his face and told him hes receiving the same fake news three different ways, making him 3Xs more ignorant. He wasnt happy.

Sloan Oliver of Bolingbroke is a retired Army officer who writes a weekly column in the Reporter.

Originally posted here:

Fake news is only getting worse | News | mymcr.net - Monroe County Reporter

Same results across the political spectrum

The researchers conducted two experiments.

The first compared the two frameworks to see if they could predict behaviour based on profile and brain activity when exposed to news headlines.

Thirty participants were shown 80 headlines in a style consistent with those seen on Facebook. Twenty were easily determined to be either true or false and another 20 pertained to current events or pop culture but were not politically divisive. The remaining 40 were politically polarizing, with 15 Liberal-consistent, 15 Conservative-consistent and 10 deemed general. Half the headlines were true; half were false across all categories. The headlines were all approximately eight words long, give or take two words.

Participants were asked questions to identify their political ideology and equipped with an EEG headset to measure brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. They were then asked to identify the headlines as true or false.

We found that people who actually spent cognitive effort, measured by the EEGs brain activity recording, were more likely to have a better performance independent of their political beliefs, Mirhoseini says. This suggests that classical reasoning is more powerful than motivated reasoning.

The second study investigated whether people could be motivated to think critically and therefore improve their performance.

We know from the literature and from our own studies that people are very overconfident about their ability to identify misinformation, he notes. If you ask them, they will say they are correct 90 per cent of the time. But in fact, it is closer to 50 per cent basically random.

The researchers believed that if the participants could measure their performance when identifying fake headlines, they would increase their cognitive effort to improve their performance.

Halfway through the headline test, the researchers displayed their performance score up to that point. Their actual score was often well below what was expected, triggering a reduction in confidence in their own ability to identify fake headlines.

That triggered an increase in critical thinking, and we saw a 14 per cent increase in performance immediately following the intervention.

Mirhoseini suggests that social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and others could create automated interventions alerting users to the frequency with which they interact with fake news, but more studies are needed to find the most effective way of providing feedback.

The context here is very important, Mirhoseini adds. People generally go onto social media to have fun. If we did the study in another context, the results may be different.

Read the cited paper: Actively open-minded thinking is key to combating fake news: A multimethod study"

Read more:

Identifying fake news requires actively open-minded thinking, new ... - Concordia University News

Appearing on aMay 29 episode of the Bankless Podcast, CEO of Binance Changpeng CZ Zhao spoke on various topics in the digital asset space, from the controversies of 2022 to privacy, regulation, and banking.

During the hour-long podcast episode, CZ extolled the financial access virtues of digital assets, spoke on the FTX collapse, market downturns, and spent a significant portion of the discussion railing against fake news and negative propaganda campaigns.

The Binance chief was keen to reassure listeners who may have been influenced by these so-called FUD campaigns (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), which he claimed were excessively targeted against Binance and Tether due to their relative size and importance.

If you write a negative article about a small exchange nobody cares, you dont get clicks. Whatever article, if you put Binances name in the title and something negative, people click more, he said.

This is, of course, a variation of the old people hate successful people schtick and a very convenient way to dismiss stories such as thecommingling of customer funds with operating capital,being probed for helping Russia dodge economic sanctions, andfacilitating transactions by Islamic terror groups.

Ironically, this discussion of fake news was used as a springboard for CZ to pitch Binance as a transparent platform, noting the proof of reserves that the company has instituted in the past yearnofake newshere.

He went on to explain that a commitment to privacy prevents the company from being more transparent: As a private company we need to make sure our privacy is protected, if we publish all of our wallet addresses that we use and make it very clear which vendors we use, those vendors may be attacked by hackers.

Outside of his noble concerns for vendor security, another key topic of discussion for CZ was banking.

The subject came up when hosts David Hoffman and Ryan Sean Adams asked him the listener question, Can you please, buy a bank and make it crypto-friendly? To which the Binance chief responded, we did look at that.

A backdoor into banks

This question came from the tech bank collapses of early 2023, notably Signature, Silvergate, and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The failures of some of the few crypto-friendly banks in the U.S. market precipitated discussions around the future of banking in the digital asset industry, with some suggesting it wouldpush companies further into the arms of the less regulated Shadow Banking space.

Hence, the idea of Binance setting up or buying its own crypto-friendly bank might appeal to some market participants. However, while CZ did admit the thought had crossed his mind, he indicated it was not really a practical solution:

The reality is much more complex than the concept. You buy one bank, it only works in one country, and you still have to deal with the banking regulators of that country. It doesnt mean you can buy a bank and do whatever you wanna do. If the banking regulators say, look you cant work with crypto then they can take your license away if you do. So buying a bank doesnt prevent regulators from telling you no you cant touch crypto.'

This sentiment seems to echo complaints aired in the light of the tech-bank collapses, which pinned the blame on increased regulatory scrutiny, particularly from the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and a weaponizing of FTX and the 2022 crypto winter to squeeze digital assets out.

CZ also argued that running a bank would not be financially viable or profitable, stating:

Banks are not cheap. Banks are very expensive for very little business revenueThe amount of capital required is quite high, and the regulatory approval for buying a bank is the same or more as setting up a new bank, which is very onerous.

An alternative route that does seem to be in Binances thoughts is becoming minority investors in banks.

We may make small investments into banks, become minority investors, so hopefully that influences them to be more crypto-friendly, CZ remarked.

This possible way around the onerous regulatory approvals of setting up or buying outright a bank would make a lot of sense for the regulation-shy CEO, who elaborated on his opinions around current regulatory regimes in another section of the podcast episode.

On regulation

Discussing which jurisdictions are doing regulation well, CZ pointed to the Middle East and Europe, specifically mentioning the EUs Markets in Crypto Asset (MiCA) regulation, whichpassed its final vote this April and should come into force in 2024.

Were working quite closely with France, CZ said, MiCA is still restrictive, but its not too bad, its pretty good.

The inference here is that for CZ, restrictive is a byword for bad. In this vein, he also complimented an easing of regulation in Japan, but did not reserve any praise for the U.S. current regulatory efforts.

This is perhaps unsurprising, as the SEC has recently ramped up its enforcement actions, and Binance iscurrently being suedby the other major financial market regulator, like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), for a calculated, phased approach to violating U.S. commodities regulations.

FollowCoinGeeks Crypto Crime Cartelseries, which delves into the stream of groupsfromBitMEXtoBinance,Bitcoin.com,Blockstream,ShapeShift,Coinbase,Ripple, Ethereum,FTXandTetherwho have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for nave (and even experienced) players in the market.

New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeeksBitcoin for Beginnerssection, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoinas originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamotoand blockchain.

The rest is here:

Binance's Changpeng Zhao complains of fake news and hints at ... - CoinGeek

MEDIA literacy has never been more important in an era where anyone and everyone can share their voice online.

The Internet is a double-edged sword; knowledge and information has never been so easily and readily accessed, but with that ease comes malicious individuals looking to create discord.

Misinformation is rampant and anyone can be susceptible to it, especially if the news is sensational and emotionally charged.

How many times have you seen an article or news piece shared on social media that you thought was true at that moment only to later discover it contained falsities or even outdated information.

And while both disinformation and misinformation can mislead audiences or readers, the key difference is that disinformation is intentionally and maliciously deceptive.

In a report by The Star (Oct 11, 2020), the top five most prevalent fake news topics cover areas of governance, crime, health, consumerism and security.

Whats the difference?

Understanding the various ways in which false information is spread, as well as the motivations and appeal behind them, is critical for avoiding and combating it.

Heres a quick breakdown of the definitions on the type of false information:

> Misinformation is false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.

> Disinformation is deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.

> Fake news is purposefully crafted, sensational, emotionally charged, misleading or totally fabricated information that mimics the form of mainstream news.

Whether or not the person sharing is aware of the inaccuracies, all forms frequently involve widespread dissemination.

For instance, there was a slew of conspiracy theories claiming that 5G networks cause cancer and even Covid-19. The false claim was based on the idea that the radio waves cause health problems despite the lack of scientific evidence.

MCMC commission member and professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysias School of Electrical Engineering Dr Tharek Abd Rahman had debunked this, saying that the assumption that headaches, depression, anxiety and fatigue are caused by exposure to low-level EMF (electromagnetic field) is inaccurate.

EMF is categorised as non-ionising radiation which is different from harmful ionising radiation. In actuality, the only effect is heat and it isnt enough to cause long-term damage to human tissues.

This example presents incorrect and out-of-context information as fact so in this case, this is an example of misinformation.

At the same time, misinformation can become disinformation when it is shared by individuals or groups who are aware that the info is inaccurate or false but intentionally spread it to cast doubt or cause division.

Disinformation can be classified into four types:

> Clickbait

> Hate speech

> Political interference

> Foreign interference

Research institute Asia Centre which also holds a special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council identified five types of political information that would feature in our GE15 in their latest 2022 report Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity.

Disinformation becomes more prominent during political seasons. For instance, Asia Centre found that the main initiators of disinformation are government agencies, political parties or campaign managers who use local content companies, private contractors and civil society organisations to downstream disinformation campaigns by producing text, graphics and videos which are pushed out by bots as well as by paid or volunteer cybertroopers and diehard supporters.

Truth matters

In an age when spreading fake news is common, its critical to rely on trustworthy and tenacious fact-checking services to vet information, which is where fact-checking websites like Sebenarnya.my come into play.

First introduced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on March 14, 2017, the portal was designed as a one-stop centre for Malaysians to verify authenticity of news shared online.

The website is a proactive strategy to curb the spread of false news and ensure that netizens receive genuine content. You can also report any fake news on Sebenarnya.my so that the relevant authorities can take action.

There are a number of things every digital citizen should consider on suspicious information:

> Its too good to be true.

> It invokes extreme positive or negative emotions.

> Its not properly sourced or citations are out of date.

The best way to verify a source for yourself is to check the author, organisation, publish date and what the evidence says. Then crosscheck with other sources to see if there are any discrepancies.

Recognising fake news is part of being a responsible digital citizen. Slowing down to do a quick search to see if you can find other sources that might verify sensationalised news goes a long way. Remember, if youre not sure, dont share it.

Original post:

DISINFORMATION, MISINFORMATION AND FAKE NEWS - The Star Online

A couple of weeks ago, millions of Brazilians received a text from messaging application Telegram saying thatBrazil was about to pass a law that would "end freedom of expression."

The app also claimed thatthe bill would give the government "censorship powers without prior judicial oversight."

The legislation requires internet companies, search engines and social messaging services to find and report illegal material themselves, or face heavy fines.

Brazils Congress is debating the proposed law, which if passed, would be one of the worlds harshest laws against fake news. The bill has already been approved by the Senate and its now awaiting a vote in the lower house. But the Fake News Bill, as its being called, is extremely controversial.

Congressional leaders attacked the Telegram message on the floor of the lower house.

"They are spreading lies saying that the Brazilian parliament wants to approve censorship. That [it wants] to end democracy. This is scandalous, saidOrlando Silva, the sponsor of Bill 2630. "Its a scandal that a multinational corporation wants to push the national Congress onto its knees.

Silva added that lawmakers had specifically invited Telegram many times to participate in the debate over the legislation, but the company had declined.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes then threatened to take Telegram offlinefor 72 hours if it didnt delete the message.

The platform finally complied. But it was a sign of just how heated the debate over this bill has become in recent weeks.

Analyst Alan Ghani, of theconservative news outlet Jovem Pan, has called the forced removal of the Telegram message: Censorship, pure and simple.

He added: Would we punish a newspaper editorial, when many outlets have come out against the fake news bill in their editorials? Its the same thing.

But the head of the government coalition in the Senate, Randolfe Rodrigues,told the media that the platforms are very different. He said there are government regulations for TV and news outlets, and that the same is needed for social media firms.

To the heads of the big tech companies and their shareholders anywhere in the world, Brazil will not be no-mans-land, he said. You will not be permitted to do what you want here without punishment.

David Nemer, a Brazilian media studies professor at the University of Virginia, has researched social media platforms for years.

"These platforms are not neutral, he said."These platforms are not just publishers. They are part of the message. And they curate the message."

Fake news has been a major issue for Brazil in recent years.

"[Fake news] has harmed public debate, saidLuciana Santana, a political scientist at the Federal University of Alagoas. "[Its] gotten in the way of serious discussions over public policies, and influenced political races in Brazil.

Experts say it played a decisive role in the 2018 election of former President Jair Bolsonaro. During the pandemic, he told Brazilians that getting COVID-19 vaccines could turn them into crocodiles.

But, this bill isn't just about fake news.

"Its more about bringing transparency, from the big techs in terms of access to the algorithm, access to reports about the algorithm, understanding how these platforms behave, so we have a more transparent way of understanding the role of these platforms in everyday life, Nemer said.

Brazilian journalism professorRogerio Christofoletti said this bill is also about holding social media firms accountable when dangerous, hateful or misleading content is shared on their platforms.

"These digital platforms have the means to reduce the reach, to adjust their algorithms, to not promote specific content, Christofoletti said. "The platforms can do more than they have. And a law like this can force these platforms to use their technical power to combat disinformation.

Nemer added that these companies are pushing back for a reason.

This is why the big techs are playing hardball in Brazil, Nemer said. Because they know that if Brazil passes this bill, then it sets the precedent and the other countries will follow as well. So, they're trying to close the gate as much as they can so other countries will not follow suit and pass their own internet laws.

Nemer is concerned that the bill may not find the votes it needs to pass, in part, because many politicians elected to Congress ran campaigns based on disinformation, and actually benefited from an unregulated social media.

And although the bill has already been approved by the Senate, the vote in the lower house has been postponed several times in recent weeks, as the governing coalition pushes to shore up more votes.

Related:The future of Bolsonaro in Brazil remains uncertain

More here:

Will Brazil's 'Fake News Bill' regulate disinformation or stifle free ... - The World

Security forces have been working round the clock to bring normalcy in Manipur

The Manipur government has warned people against spreading fake news and misinformation on social media amid the sensitive law and order situation in the state. In an order today, the Manipur government said "generation or spreading of wrong information will amount to sedition."

The government said no one will be "immune to prosecution under the laws of the country" if found spreading or generating fake news, lies, rumours or misinformation.

The government's warning comes as Home Minister Amit Shah reached state capital Imphal tonight to review the situation and hold peace talks with all communities.

"A number of individuals in responsible positions having many followers on social media have been observed to be directly involved in generating and/or sharing information in connection with the ongoing law and order situation in Manipur... Many such information has been found to be fake news, lies, rumours or misinformation," Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi said in an order today, allowing the government to act against those who spread misinformation.

The government said misinformation and fake news can - even as the authorities try to bring peace and normalcy - worsen the situation by "misguiding public opinion, instigating violence and rebelling against the authority of the state with or without use of arms."

"... Such generation or spreading of wrong information will amount to sedition... and is sought to be curtailed," the government said in the order. "Every person, acting individually or on behalf of any group of people, based in Manipur or outside, shall verify any information before sharing or publishing..." the government said.

A Manipur MLA's home was vandalised by a mob yesterday after they got upset for not being allowed them to meet him as they wanted to submit a memorandum over the law and order problem. The group had been submitting memorandums to every MLA they could meet. The authorities have said fake information on social media gave the incident a religious angle. They said this was one example of the kind of misinformation that has been doing the rounds on social media on the Manipur crisis.

Manipur has been without internet for nearly a month. The ethnic violence between the Meiteis, who live in and around Imphal valley, and the Kuki tribe, who are settled in the hills, over the Meiteis' demand to be included under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category has claimed over 80 lives since clashed started on May 3.

The authorities have identified several social media accounts from both the communities that have been spreading misinformation, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV, asking not to be identified.

"We are aware that many social media accounts based abroad and in India have been spreading fake news and misinformation on the Manipur crisis. Some of them are verified handles. We are not taking it lightly. If not now because of the law and order problem, action will happen sooner than anyone would expect. We are certain about that," the person told NDTV.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh told reporters yesterday they have got reports that "40 terrorists" have been shot dead.

The Chief Minister said the spurt in violent attacks on civilians on the outskirts of Imphal valley in the past two days seemed well-planned and is strongly condemnable, especially when Minister of State Nityanand Rai is in Manipur on a peace mission.

Over 25 Kuki insurgent groups have signed the tripartite "suspension of operations" (SoO) agreement with the centre and the state government. Under the SoO rules, the insurgents are to be confined in designated camps identified by the government and the weapons kept under locks, regularly monitored.

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Sedition Not Ruled Out For Spreading Fake News, Misinformation On Manipur - NDTV

KUALA LUMPUR: Journalists play a superhero-like role in combating the spread of fake news in cyberspace, which is becoming more rampant with the advancement of technology, says Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said the importance of journalists as a source of reliable information will remain unchanged despite shifts in information delivery following the digital revolution, which includes artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Journalists are on the front lines of disseminating accurate information, she said when flagging off the National Journalists Day (Hawana) 2023 Media Hunt participants at Wisma Bernama here yesterday.

According to Teo, 49 cases of fake news recorded by the Communications and Digital Ministry between January and April this year were investigated.

Bernama reported that she expressed her gratitude to journalists for their contributions to ensuring the continued progress of Malaysia Madani development plans, including through their constructive criticism, so that the government can provide the best service to the people.

On the Hawana 2023 celebration, Teo expressed her appreciation to the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), as the implementing agency, for working hard to ensure the events success with the support of local and international media organisations and sponsors.

Earlier, Teo flagged off 30 vehicles carrying 120 participants from media agencies, who will be taken to heritage sites in Perak.

The three-day Hawana 2023 celebration, with the theme Media Bebas, Tunjang Demokrasi (Free Media, Pillar of Democracy), which aims to re-emphasise the issue of media freedom for journalists, began yesterday.

Anwar is scheduled to grace the highlight of the celebration today.

The date May 29 was gazetted as National Journalists Day in conjunction with the publication of the first edition of the Malay newspaper, Utusan Melayu, on May 29, 1939.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is expected to make several important announcements regarding the direction of the countrys media industry in Ipoh today.

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government has been discussing the direction of the media industry, which is currently facing pressures including in terms of business and the impact of technology that are driving changes.

Economic pressure and this development have affected the sustainability of the media industry, and the welfare of media practitioners, and all these aspects are being given attention by the government, he said.

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Journalists at the front lines battling fake news - The Star Online