Category Archives: Fake News

The risks associated with misleading information can have a profoundly negative impact. A new study from Elsevier Group of Economics Journals looks into ways to respond to the new digital age challenges.

Dr. Pythagoras N. Petratos, of Coventry University of Business School, says misleading information has emerged as one of the leading cyber risks in our society, affecting political leaders, nations, and peoples lives, with the COVID-19 pandemic having only made it worse.

"Industry 4.0 has brought about a metamorphosis in the world of business. The new revolution demands the integration of physical, biological and digital systems under one roof," he says.

"Such a transformation however, comes with its own set of risks. Misleading information, including misinformation, disinformation and fake news, often has damaging effects on the public image of political leaders and, as the COVID-19 crisis has clearly shown, on the general public and the economy," he says.

However, Petratos says the consequences of misinformation on business organisations have been far less explored.

"Information has always played an irrefutable role in economics. We need to pay attention to the quality of information disseminated into the world, now more than ever, as spreading misinformation has become a lot easier with the advent of digital transformation," he says.

"My research attempts to bridge the divide between academic research and real-world practice of cyber risk management."

Petratos says the fake news infodemic that spread alongside the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the finance sector.

"For instance, during the lockdown period of 2020, there was a huge surge in fake news and illegal activity related to the financial and other markets. Financial firms had to train their staff to deal with fraudulent online schemes and reports."

Deliberate spreading of disinformation has also been responsible for swaying the outcome of elections. Cyber attackers have used misleading information on social media for procuring campaign finances as well as personal and financial information of people and corporations. These actions undermine a nation's security and make them vulnerable to geopolitical risks.

"To deal with these cyber risks, businesses and authorities need to establish cybersecurity practices and policies that can evolve and adapt to the multifaceted cyberthreats," says Petratos.

"Executives and leaders should be trained to recognise cyber threats when they see one. To enable faster recognition, firms need to embrace modern computing software that fits their work criteria and can detect, report, and effectively manage cyber threats."

Anti-misinformation strategies such as having human fact-checkers for websites or artificial intelligence for bot detection on social media could be used to prevent the damage caused by propagation of misleading information. Partnerships between private and public sectors can also mitigate cyber risks by forming a united front with better cyber defences and funds to invest in cyber security technologies.

All in all, the study provides a primer on the risks associated with misleading information in the sphere of business and the ways to avoid them, highlighting the fact that businesses are not immune to them either.

"Fake news is not a new phenomenon, but the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing digital transformations, and advances in big data have exacerbated it," says Petratos.

"Business executives and leaders across an array of industries, organisations, and nations, as well as the public, need to become aware of such risks and find innovative ways to manage them."

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The three horsemen of cyber risks: misinformation, disinformation, and fake news - IT Brief New Zealand

THIS week marks the Journalism Matters campaign for 2021,a week-long drive aimed at highlighting the importance of trusted reporting more important than ever during the past 20 months.

Asurvey released today (Tuesday)byNewsworksreveals theUKs news brands are playing a vital role in informing and educating the population about the threat posed by human caused climate change.

The research, conducted byOnePoll, revealsmore thantwo thirds of the UK are relying on news brands to inform them about climate change.Nearly eight in10said the established media news brands, radio and TV weredriving awareness of climate change, well ahead of environmentalorganisations, government and social media.

Infactmore thanhalf of the UK public agreethere is a worrying amount of misinformation about climate change on social media,with69per centsayingthey looked to UK news brands to tackle this misleading information.

Jo Allan,chiefexecutive atNewsworks, said: With rigorous, professional and science-based journalism, the UKs established media brands are leading the fight against the misinformation and fake news that cloud the debate.

News brands have a unique relationship of trust with their consumers and thats vital in helping to cut through the noise and create a reliable voice in this most important of discussions.

News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith, said: News media is the perfect platform for the robust public debate and scrutiny required to find innovative solutions to the immense challenges that the climate crisis presents.

Combating fake news and misinformation is the biggest challenge we face as journalists on a daily basis to separate the facts from fiction.

Times have changedand we know you get your news in a variety of ways from our family of titles, from a quick skimon your phoneandclicking on a link on social media to reading oure-edition or the paper itself.

But our commitment to trusted, local news, delivered withoutbias and telling the stories in your community has not and will not change.

As the towns and cities we are proud to serve along with the rest of the country continues to emerge from the worst of the pandemic, delivering you the news has never been more important.

We want to be where you want to be so we can deliver you the latest and most pressing news from across our areaas a trusted local source of information in an increasingly uncertain world.

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Journalism Matters in the fight against 'fake news' - Bromsgrove Standard

Algorithmically speaking, Im what you would think would be a prototypical Glenn Youngkin voter: a white male around 40 with a near-perfect voting frequency and obvious signs that throughout my voting life, Ive been a Republican. That is the kind of publicly accessible information that can be hoovered up by anyone building databases for advertising campaigns.

Much less readily available, though, is the kind of information that would distinguish a Trump-supporting Republican from a longtime Republican now critical of the party and of Trump.

Which is why I wasnt surprised to get this advertisement yesterday on Facebook:

The promoted Facebook ad was for a supposed publication with a Plain Jane logo, the Old Dominion News. Its a page that had fewer than 20 likes as of Sunday nightwhich is to say, it was little-read and obscure. It is clearly a fake publication trying to push people like me to turn out to vote.

Despite the publication having such little influence, the ad has 840 comments and 209 shares.

It turns out that Old Dominion News is an example of what the Columbia Journalism Review calls a pink slime outlet, one among hundreds. The sites

can be traced back to conservative businessman Brian Timpone. In 2012, Timpones company Journatic, an outlet known for its low-cost automated story generation (which became known as pink slime journalism), attracted national attention and outrage for faking bylines and quotes, and for plagiarism. Journatic rebranded as Locality Labs in 2013; Locality Labs is behind many of the publications we discovered that mimic the appearance and output of traditional news organizations. These sites do not bear much information about their political use or funding, but some of them have been funded by political candidates and lobbying campaigns. Metric Media, Locality Labs (or LocalLabs), Franklin Archer, the Record Inc., and Local Government Information Services (LGIS) are the main organizations involved in operating these networks of publications, and Timpone is associated in one way or another with each of them. Michigan Daily has detailed the convoluted relationship between these organizations.

When I clicked through the Facebook ad, I was brought to an (obviously fake) article about a new website:

Affording [sic] to its website, VoteRef.com is dedicated to ensuring transparent, accurate and fair election by providing public access to official government data pertaining to elections, including voter registration rolls, with a goal of encouraging greater voter participation in all fifty states.

Our system of government is based upon citizen participation. We believe the people, in effect, own this data and have a legal right to see it in an understandable and transparent form, the site says.

VRFs executive director is Gina Swoboda, formerly an executive with the Arizona Secretary of State.

There are a few things to unpack here.

First, the website that the news article points to, VoteRef.com, resembles the mailers that political parties and organizations have used in previous election years and again this year. The idea of these mailerstargeting algorithmically selected votersis to try to shame the recipients into voting. Maybe the guilt over seeing your own past voting record would get to you; maybe the fear that your neighbors can see that you havent voted will get to you; either way, the idea is for you to hie yourself to the voting booth.

Second, keeping in mind that this astroturfing fake news site exists only as a way of taking advantage of Facebooks algorithms, its hilarious that two of the top trending stories on the site are attacking . . . Facebook:

Third, check out the entity behind that VoteRef website: the Voter Reference Foundation and its executive director, Gina Swoboda. This new organization has reportedly been spreading lies about the 2020 election. And Swoboda, who served as the director of elections for the Trump campaign in Arizona, is herself apparently a devotee of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election:

Finally, one cant read too much into either the Youngkin or McAuliffe campaigns (or their allies) in Virginia based on the use of this sort of eleventh-hour Facebook advertising and astroturfed news outlet. This fake publicationand the hundreds of other such fakes out there, and the ads promoting themare reminders of just how much money is mysteriously sloshing around on the hidden, fake-news, data-driven side of our politics.

As McKay Coppins reported in the Atlantic last year:

According to one longtime strategist, candidates looking to plant a negative story about an opponent can pay to have their desired headlines posted on some of these Potemkin news sites. By working through a third-party consulting firminstead of paying the sites directlycandidates are able to obscure their involvement in the scheme when they file expenditures to the Federal Election Commission. Even if the stories dont fool savvy readers, the headlines are convincing enough to be flashed across the screen in a campaign commercial or slipped into fundraising emails.

Cambridge Analytica may be dead and gone, but its successors are still clunking along.

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Fake News from Fake Sites to Guilt Real Voters to Go Vote - The Bulwark

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe has spent nearly $100,000 advertising "fake news" websites on Facebook during the Virginia gubernatorial campaign, Fox News can reveal.

The Democrat's advertisements, which have been viewed up to 3.5 million times so far, are hidden on a Facebook page with a similar name to a local news website. The ads link to third-party websites that ostensibly publish local news, but exist to promote Democratic candidates. The websites have been widely described as disinformation and "partisan propaganda."

The revelation comes less than a week before election day, and as the candidates fight for every last vote, with polls showing McAuliffe and rival Republican Glenn Youngkin locked in a tight battle.

MCAULIFFES DISINFORMATION ADS

The McAuliffe campaigns advertisements are sophisticated and opaque.

Like most candidates, McAuliffe operates a Facebook page under his own name to promote his campaign. But the former governor also operates another Facebook page that blurs the lines between a political campaign and disinformation.

The page is called "The Download Virginia," and it was quietly launched by McAuliffe in June. While the name of the page sounds similar to that of a news organization, the page has not published any posts or photos, and only 67 people have "liked" the page (a term Facebook uses to describe followers).

Instead, most voters who have encountered "The Download" have done so through paid advertising. The ads do not appear on the page itself but can be obtained through a Facebook Ad Library Report, a tool used by journalists and researchers. The McAuliffe campaign has spent $471,044 on ads distributed by this page since June. With several ads running at time of publication, that number is likely to rise before election day.

The advertisements generally contain a comment and a link to a mainstream news article that covers the campaign favorably. But sprinkled among the links to legitimate media are seven separate advertisements (and dozens of variations) that promote websites widely considered to be "fake news".

In a July advertisement, The Download writes about McAuliffes views on small business. The ad includes a link to an article published by a third party website called The Virginia Dogwood.

The Dogwood presents itself as a local news website, with daily articles about local issues in Virginia, dedicated sections for key topics, and a newsletter to give Virginians "all the news you need." The Dogwood says on a page describing its publication that it delivers "credible, fact-based reporting."

The website notes it is owned and operated by Courier Newsroom, which according to the Dogwood, is a "civic media company." But Courier Newsroom was founded and initially funded by the liberal dark money group ACRONYM. According to the Wall Street Journal, early backers included multibillionaire Democratic donor George Soros, as well as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and a group of movie producers. Axios reported yesterday that the "newsroom" has since been acquired by influential Democrat Tara McGowans "Good Information Project," which is backed by many of the same investors.

The Dogwood says the editor-in-chief of Courier Newsroom, as well as its own managing editor, have control over the editorial process.

MCAULIFFE SUPPORTERS SHORT ON SUBSTANCE WHEN ASKED WHY THEY PLAN TO VOTE FOR DEM CANDIDATE

In an October advertisement, The Download writes that Youngkin has a "very concerning" policy on vaccination, and includes a link to an article published by a third party website called the American Independent.

The Independent is also designed to look like a news website. In an "About" section, the website says it is a platform for "progressive news," and elaborates that it reports "with honesty and integrity, shining a light on those in power and the progressive politics movement," suggesting to readers that it offers an objective assessment of the movement. The website says it is funded by The American Bridge 21st Century Foundation (it does not disclose how much of its funding comes from the foundation, but it is the only investor listed on its "Company" page).

According to the Independent, the foundation is on a mission to "compare and contrast progressive and conservative solutions." It is actually a well-known liberal "dark money" organization, founded by David Brock, a wealthy and influential Democratic donor who is also a close ally of the Clinton family. The group spent $59.7 million to oppose Republican candidates in the 2020 election cycle, according to the campaign finance tracking organization OpenSecrets, though it is not clear how much of that money flowed to the Independent.

The websites editors say that the foundation has no editorial influence.

Both websites are widely considered to be forms of political disinformation. Media ethics experts who spoke to Politico, which reported on the existence of Courier Newsroom in 2020, called sites like the Dogwood political tools that are "pouring gasoline on a raging fire of consumer trust and online disinformation." In a February 2020 editorial for the Washington Post, a correspondent for a fact checking organization said that Courier was creating "hyperlocal partisan propaganda." OpenSecrets labeled both websites as "fake news."

The McAuliffe campaign has spent a total of between $90,200 to $106,398 on advertisements linking to the Independent and the Dogwood. Those advertisements have garnered the campaign a total of between 3,290,000 and 3,470,000 "impressions," a term that Facebook uses to describe the number of screens that an advertisement has reached.

Each ad contains a disclaimer that it was paid for by "Terry for Virginia" and authorized by the candidate himself (Facebook requires candidates to add disclaimers like these to all political ads). But none of the advertisements disclose that the websites are considered to be "fake news" or that their information may be misleading.

That stands in contrast to the Democratic National Committees own stance against misleading information on social media platforms, issued as part of its plan for "combating online disinformation." A recent report issued by the DNC declares that "opacity in political ads" is an issue that social media companies need to address. It also admonishes Facebook for failing to "actively prioritize authoritative sources of news over non-trustworthy ones."

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR'S RACE: HOW TO VOTE

DEMOCRATS STAY SILENT

The DNC twice declined to comment about the McAuliffe campaigns pattern of promoting misleading news sites or whether it endorses the advertising strategy that the former governor and DNC chairman is using. Similarly, the DNC declined to confirm if it continues to believe that opacity in political advertising is an issue.

The McAuliffe campaign also twice declined to comment about the page, the editorial stance of the misleading websites, or whether the campaign had coordinated with either of the misleading publications during this election. The campaign was running two advertisements that linked to the American Independent as recently as last week but disabled both ads three days after Fox News made inquiries.

Meanwhile, a Youngkin spokesperson told Fox News that "disinformation practices are standard for McAuliffe,whose lies go into overdrive when hes desperate," adding, "not a single left-wing propaganda arm disguised as a news organization will turn the tide" for his opponent.

DIRTY TACTICS FROM BOTH CAMPAIGNS

McAuliffes advertising strategy has repeatedly raised ethical questions. Earlier in the campaign, the Washington Examiner reported that the former governor had authorized a deceptively branded mail advertisement. The ads tried to link Youngkin more closely to former President Trump, who has a relatively low favorability rating in the state. Similarly, the Washington Post reported last week that McAuliffe is using Google ads to promote mainstream news articles that have covered him favorably.

The Youngkin campaign has also employed ethically dubious tactics. The Huffington Post reported in September that a person who called in to a right-wing radio show to heavily praise Youngkin was not a listener of the program, but a staffer for the former businessmans campaign.

More broadly, Democratic and Republican operatives and other people associated with the parties have a history of funding partisan media operations that obscure their purpose. While the Democrats benefit from the biased reporting of "Courier Newsroom," Republicans benefit from a similar effort called "Metric Media," which partners extensively with conservative operatives and advocacy groups. The Republican Governors Association also ran a "pseudo-news" site as recently as 2019.

Even so, Fox News could not find any evidence that Youngkin, or the Republican Party of Virginia, were promoting "fake news" websites in any Facebook advertising during this election. The investigation did not uncover a hidden page like "The Download," nor did Youngkin or the GOP link to any websites that are considered to be misinformation.

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DAYS REMAIN IN THE RACE

Voters in Virginia will wade through a deluge of political advertising in the final days of the campaign, as polling shows that neither candidate has a clear advantage.

Most recently, a Monmouth University poll of registered voters had both candidates tied at 46% support, but with 7% of voters still undecided. A recent Fox News Poll revealed that 51% of likely voters support McAuliffe and 46% support Youngkin, which puts both candidates within the +/- 3.5 point margin of error.

In an effort to win as many votes as possible, the campaigns are spending millions in the final stages of the campaign. Recent campaign finance disclosures show that the McAuliffe campaign spent $17.5 million during the month of September, while Youngkin spent just over $9.5 million total over the same period. A significant portion of that spending will be devoted to persuading voters with print, television, and digital advertising.

With several advertisements still running on "The Download" at time of publication, more Virginia voters can expect to be exposed to its messaging as well.

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McAuliffe buys 'fake news' ads in effort to sway voters, Fox News investigation finds - Fox News

Fake news has been one of the most pressing challenges of modern-day consumers lives, across all geographies and categories. The Drum speaks to Australian Associated Press and Facebook about a major campaign to help Australians spot fake news.

Brands and publishers are trying to make sense of a tsunami of information (and misinformation) to make consumers lives a bit easier. Australian Associated Press (AAP), known as Australias only independent national news agency for over 85 years, has launched its maiden brand campaign to boost media literacy among Australian adults and to help them avoid misinformation.

The campaign, supported by Facebook, has been launched to coincide with Unescos global media and information literacy week (October 24-31).

Peter Bodkin, AAP FactCheck editor, says: The campaign is not designed to transform people into professional fact-checkers, but we do hope they will try to Check the Facts by asking some simple questions.

Anyone can be part of the solution to the misinformation problem if they can make good decisions about what information to trust and share, he adds.

While many adults in Australia (68%), as per a study, rated knowing how to recognize and prevent the flow of misinformation as important, only 39% of the respondents were confident they could recognize misinformation. The fact is that there are very few media literacy education resources available to help Australian adults sift through, recognize and avoid misinformation.

Interestingly, with the federal election looming in Australia, misinformation can have real-world consequences, hence the timing of this campaign, says Bodkin. With recent research showing Australian adults have low confidence in their ability to identify misinformation, AAP wanted to offer some practical tips to support them, he adds, so the Check the Facts campaign was born.

This campaign simplifies and shares some of the knowledge and skills we have acquired as a way to help Australians who may be struggling to decide what information they can trust, says Bodkin.

AAP has been around for more than 85 years, and AAP FactCheck has been actively addressing misinformation since 2019.

Covid-19 film

Beer film

Winged spider film

The campaign provides tips for assessing information and promotes AAP FactChecks website, where qualified journalists publish the results of their investigations into various claims, including the three real-world examples of misinformation featured in the campaign in a fun-laden and quirky way.

Bodkin says: At its most basic, the framework of our fact-checking process relies on the questions we share in our campaign: who made the claim? Whats the evidence? And what do trusted sources say? The very act of pausing and considering those questions can help build the critical thinking skills needed to recognize and avoid misinformation.

This campaign is part of Facebooks initiative to look at partnerships, products and programs to support the provision of authoritative, credible information on its platforms.

It builds on the measures were taking to help to tackle misinformation in Australia, says Josh Machin, head of public policy for Facebook in Australia. The campaign aims to provide people with new skills to make informed decisions on what to read, trust and share, he adds.

Facebook has been working on its policies to remove harmful misinformation, and launched new products to connect people to credible health information at its Covid-19 Information Centre. As per the data, more than 6.2 million Australians accessed the Information Centre last year, and it also partnered with the Australian government to amplify information on the vaccine rollout.

The campaign talks about how to debunk false claims using examples of misinformation about beer, Covid-19 vaccines and winged spiders. About making humor the underlying theme for a serious topic such as fake news, Bodkin says: Australians have a great sense of humor and generally people respond better to the serious message if it is delivered with a light touch. The campaign has been conceptualized by AAPs strategy and creative partner Momentum.

Sharing the broad creative platform, executive creative director of Momentum Matt Batten says: We reverse-briefed the AAP team to provide us with a selection of misinformative memes that have had high traction and would be topical, provocative and culturally relevant to Aussies.

Therefore the three themes arrived: Covid-19, the most prominent event to have hit current consumers and also one with no shortage of misinformation concerning the virus and the vaccines; the winged spider, because Australia is well known to have a variety of frightening species and the last thing needed is a flying spider, making this a provocative topic; and finally, the meme regarding beer taps into Aussie culture, shares Batten.

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Australian Associated Press on how it's helping Aussies decipher fake news - The Drum

HOUSTON, TX The Houston Texans spent this week re-acclimating themselves back to their home field. Almost forgot we played here, noted one player. The team is coming off two straight road games and three of its last four on the road. This week, they play what feels like a rare home game, preparing to host the LA Rams.

Wait, the LA Rams? opined Head Coach David Culley. I thought they were in St. Louis. Well, that is going to change up all of my game plan documents. Hopefully my guys didnt get all screwed up when I emphasized that the St. Louis Rams are a dangerous team, with their veteran quarterback Kurt Warner and his high-flying squadwait, why are you shaking your head and giving me that quizzical look?

Our reporter noted, Coach, you might just have your veteran quarterbacks mixed up. I think you meant Matthew Stafford.

Stafford? Wasnt he that hotshot prospect from Georgia? Theres a kid with a great future, Culley offered with a high degree of admiration and praise.

Our reporter was having issues with all of this out-of-date information, but quickly remembered that David Culley is an old-school coach, one who cut his coaching chops and play execution from the 1990s and early 2000s.

Nothing wrong with being old-school. Hey, I bring over 40 years of coaching experience. I cant imagine a scenario that would be beyond my experience on the football field. Just like my leadership hero from history: good ol Edward J. Smith, Culley boasted.

After that speaking session, an unnamed player who just so happened to hear that exchange noted, Oh [Easterby], he told you about Smith as well? Man, when he first told us that, we were all like who?. Showed us a picture of the man and all, and it didnt initially register, but then Mills actually ran a Google Kids search on the name. After thatwell, I guess everyone is different in heroes and inspiration.

See, the culture of the team is responding. We have good character here. Once I told them about my hero, even some of the guys took that as a sign of admiration. I like the new nickname, EJ.

Hey, EJ!!! shouted team leader and top Twitter swearer Brandin Cooks You gonna get us out of here?

Brandin, practice ended already. You are free to go.

But EJ, what about getting OUT. OF. HERE!!!!

Brandin, as I told you, practice is over. You are free to leave and go home.

EJ, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE, I AM

Annnnyyyyyywwwwaaayyyyy, moving along. I have to get back to the office to do some more work. Quite a lot of paperwork on the desk.

We at Totally Not Fake News Suspect that much of that paperwork will involve reading the bios of potential new players, as the Texans are suddenly in a new wave of player upheavals. Over the past couple of weeks, the Texans released longtime LB Whitney Mercilus and veteran return man Andre Roberts. Just in the past couple of days, Mark Ingram found himself traded back to the franchise where his NFL career started. There is even talk of a massive deal involving a back-up training camp safety/4th string QB.

It is kinda crazy around here, observed one unnamed veteran player. Thought this would be a good gig. Yet, I dont know, it is almost as if the team is changing course mid-direction. It is throwing us old guys for a loop. Okay, some of the older guys werent buying what EJ was selling. He was going on about sailing though adversity, and that only those of the right mindset and culture could drive through the icy waters of the NFL season. Mercilus and Roberts were like, Coach, we just got our [Easterbys] kicked the last few weeks. Oh, and some of the on-field stuffthat barely worked in 2005. It aint working in 2021. Initially, Culley was fine with that, but when a couple of them dared to question the Executive Vice President of Football Operationswell, they had to go.

We are Totally Not Fake News wanted to hear from the man who would sign off on those trades and deals. We tried to contact the Texans front office about Nick Caserios whereabouts, but they indicated that he had business in New York and would not be able to contact us for a few days.

We did possibly catch up with the Texans CEO Cal McNair to get his thoughts on things.

Well, you know, I have been kinda busy, especially trying to perfect overseeing the NFL franchise and improving my hand-eye coordination for MineCraft. I guess that makes me more of a hands-off owner, but when you have a great Executive Vice President of Football Operations, well, you can just turn it over to him and let him take care of business. Mr. Easterby is always giving me good reports and very nice pats on the head.

Still, to be fair to other personnel, I did talk with the head coach. Noticed that he was talking about one of his leadership idols. So, I listened, but then I did a little extra research. Turns out, Coach Culleys leadership idol worked for an owner. One who inherited the family business from his father, a business that made lots and lots of money, and then, when the Dad went on to glory, the son took over. Even managed to help headline a marquee event.

I think that is quite the parallel. I feel like I can and will run the Texans just like this guy did, my new idol for leadership. I mean, it made such an impression that I changed my video game player name and avatar.

While the Texans continue to explore their leadership models and try to figure, who, if anyone, will remain to play the rest of the games this season, we at Totally Not Fake News will continue to watch and report all of the news that is fit to print. And even if it is not, we will print it anyway.

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Totally Not Fake News: Full Speed Ahead - Battle Red Blog

Local and regional elected representatives throughout Europe have been faced with the rise of fake news and hate speech in recent years, particularly on the Internet and social networks. What responses and what tools should be developed to tackle this challenge? This is the backdrop for a thematic debate organised by the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Council of Europe's Congress on 27 October 2021 as part of the 41st session.

Site blocking or content filtering are not enough to stop fake news and hate speech, which can have powerful repercussions on the work of local and regional authorities and the functioning of democracy, especially during election or referendum campaigns. The debate also highlighted the impact of artificial intelligence and anonymity on their proliferation.

To help tackle the challenge, the Congress has launched an innovative cooperation project in collaboration with several European universities and academic centres. The aim is to analyse the damaging effects of fake news and hate speech, as well as the way in which they affect local political debate and to explore means of detecting these phenomena and possible legal and technical action against them.

The members of the Congress local and regional elected representatives of the Council of Europe's 47 member States will respond to a questionnaire, reporting back their own experiences of the Internet. This survey will provide, for the first time, a scientific basis for a policy for combating fake news and hate speech on the Internet in the local and regional context.

Video of the debate

*** 41st Session of the Congress***

Agenda - Documents : ENG | FRA | DEU | ITA | RUSFile 41st Session : live webcast, photos, videos and useful links

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Fake news and hate speech against elected representatives: Congress responds with a project to devise effective responses - Council of Europe

Journalism matters. That's the theme of this week's national campaign to celebrate the role a free press plays in British society, and it's a powerful statement of fact. But why?

It's not just so we can have something entertaining to read with our morning bowl of corn flakes.

Our democracy relies on it. Good journalism exposes wrongdoing and injustice, it scrutinises people in power and it champions and celebrates good causes.

Read more:

And at the heart of our news industry are local newspapers, powered by the reported, copy editors, photographers and publishers working 24-7 to bring us trusted news and information.

Their papers - like the Bedford Times and Citizen, in my own constituency - are the pillars of their communities. They keep us in the loop with the stories that impact our day-to-day lives - from council or court decisions to the rise and fall of local team sports.

I want to pay tribute to the people who keep those papers in print. They work incredibly hard - not always in the easiest of circumstances - to keep us informed and entertained.

Their work has become even more important in the internet age. Every day we all go online and check our Facebook feeds, or scroll through Twitter or Instagram. Each time we do so, we can be exposed to worrying misinformation such as COVID vaccine conspiracy theories.

Now more than ever we need properly sourced, robustly researched journalism. According to Ofcom, around two-thirds of people feel that the news they consume from print newspapers is just that: trustworthy, high-quality, and accurate. Journalists are our first line of defence in the fight against fake news.

We backed news publishers last year with a 35 million public information campaign during the pandemic, pumping vital advertising revenue into publishing.

We issued guidance to local authorities to allow newspaper deliveries to continue, zero-rated VAT on e-newspapers to make it easier for people staying at home to read their daily paper, and have extended business rated relief for local newspaper offices in Englan for an additional five years so that they can keep more of their hard-earned income.

All of that has helped out papers get through COVID. But we've got to look forward to the future.

We're living in a digital age, and one of the biggest issues in my in-tray as Culture Secreatary is making sure big social media platforms protect their users from danger online, including misinformation.

We've introduced a trailblazing Online Safety Bill that will make us one o the first countries in the world to force tech companies to clean up their sites. But, crucially for journalists, that Bill will also prevent social media firms from arbitrarily taking down content from respected news organisations.

And, even better, it includes extremely important protection and exemptions for journalists, so that we can protect their free speech while forcing social media platforms to police their sites properly.

We've also got to make sure news publishers and big tech compete on an even playing field - and we've set up a new competition until charged with making sure the most powerful tech giants do not abuse their dominance to disadvantage businesses that rely on them.

In government, we're doing all we can to help back our brilliant journalists to go about their jobs without fear or favour. This week you can do the same - by picking up a paper or visiting the websites of our world-renowned news industry.

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Why journalism matters and why it is crucial we support it - Manchester Evening News

A day after campaigning ended for the Huzurabad bye-election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) with complaints against each other, alleging spreading of fake news to spoil their chances.

On the other hand, the Congress party approached the poll body seeking cancellation of the bye-election saying the BJP and TRS, which are in power at the Centre and in Telangana respectively, were allegedly resorting to brazen abuse of power and obstructing the conduct of a free and fair election.

The BJP also sought strict implementation of Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that prohibits the assembly of four or more people, and requested the ECI to order checking of private hospital ambulances by central forces. Polling for the bye-election is scheduled on October 30.

Congress leader Dasoju Sravan, after calling on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra in Delhi, said the Huzurabad bye-election is considered the most expensive election in the history of Indian democracy. Both TRS and BJP are splurging money earned through corruption. As the campaigning ended on Wednesday, TRS and BJP leaders are now distributing money in covers, with each cover containing Rs 6,000 to 10,000, he alleged.

The bye-election was necessitated after former health minister Eatala Rajender resigned on June 4 from the TRS party and his MLA post after he was dropped unceremoniously from the Cabinet on May 1 over allegations of land grabbing by a company owned by his family. Rajender, a four-term MLA who has been with TRS since 2003, is now BJPs candidate. The bye-election is being seen as a political battle of one-upmanship between Eatala Rajender and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Several tall leaders from all three major political parties have campaigned and camped at Huzurabad in the last five months making it one of the longest election campaigns. Alcohol is flowing and wreaking havoc in local families as both the ruling parties are distributing it freely to unduly influence male voters. Despite all these illicit practices and chaos, officials are not taking any action, Sravan alleged.

The BJP alleged that TRS activists were roaming around the villages and towns in groups with the help of the local police despite orders from the district collector prohibiting the gathering of four or more persons in the entire constituency. BJPs state general secretary G Premender Reddy, in his letter to CEC Chandra, Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey, and the Chief Electoral Officer for Telangana, Shashank Goel, alleged TRS activists were sending money through private hospital ambulances and that the local police were mute spectators. The ruling government, TRS party, and its activists have arranged a cocktail party/cocktail dinner with the presiding officers of the polling station, who have to work in Huzurabad constituency, he alleged.

Meanwhile, a video has gone viral on social media where a woman is receiving an envelope with photos of BJPs election symbol and its candidate Rajender. Inside the envelope are five currency notes of Rs 2,000 each. Several such videos are doing the rounds. Regarding these videos, Premender Reddy shot another letter to the Election Commission and called for an investigation. This is to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party and its candidate and it should be seriously investigated. Take necessary criminal action against the person circulating and preparing such videos, he wrote, seeking serious and immediate action against the people creating such videos and circulating the same.

The TRS, in its complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer Telangana against a private news channel, said the channel was spreading false news that claimed Finance Minister T Harish Rao was in favour of his former colleague and now BJP candidate Eatala Rajender. This news clipping was a deliberate attempt to damage the prospects of TRS candidate Gellu Srinivas Yadav, said M Sreenivas Reddy, state general secretary of TRS, in his letter.

Taking action on one of the complaints regarding a fake letter, the CEC directed Telangana DGP to register an FIR and initiate legal action. A letter, purportedly from the ECI and widely circulated on social media, had claimed that the implementation of the Dalit Bandhu scheme, where a Dalit family was given cash assistance of Rs 10 lakh via direct benefit transfer, was deferred in Huzurabad on account of the Model Code of Conduct based on a letter from BJP candidate Eatala Rajender. The ECI later clarified to the Chief Electoral Officer that the letter was fake.

The Huzurabad constituency has 2.37 lakh voters, of which 1.19 lakh are women. As many as 30 candidates are in the fray. As of date, the ECI through its flying squads, static surveillance teams, and police checkpoints, has seized Rs 3.31 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 7.30 lakh, marijuana worth Rs 69,750, gold worth Rs 10.6 lakh, and freebies such as sarees and shirts worth Rs 2.21 lakh, taking the cumulative seizure to Rs 3.52 crore.

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Huzurabad bypolls: Allegations fly thick and fast on fake news, cash distribution - The Indian Express

The Army Spokesperson, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, made the accusation in a statement titled, Conspiracy Pretext Employed by IPOB/ESN, a Hoax on Saturday in Abuja.

Nwachukwu denied a recent allegation that the Department of State Services (DSS) created and funded Biafra National Guard (BNG) to enforce the sit-at-home Order in a bid to discredit IPOB.

The Army spokesman stated that such fake news was part of the plans of the outlawed group to whip up sentiments and galvanise support in the region.

He stated that the spurious allegation by the outlawed group was unfounded and could be absolutely described as a hoax.

He, however, stated that the activities of IPOB have undoubtedly assumed a violent dimension in recent times following the killings in Imo, Anambra and other parts of the region.

The statement reads: Though the NA would not like to elevate such purveyors of disinformation and propaganda, it is expedient to put on record that in recent times, the activities of IPOB/ESN have undoubtedly assumed a violent dimension. This unimaginable level of violence is oiled with propaganda and disinformation to whip-up sentiments and draw sympathy from unsuspecting citizens in the region.

For the records, the proscribed organisation has in recent times foisted a sit-at-home order to show sympathy for their self-acclaimed leader.

This was greeted with violence, orchestrated destruction of public installations and facilities, arson, as well as looting of shops and malls in the region, to demonstrate their criminal potency. They defiled the sanctity of the highly revered traditional institution of Ndigbos by recklessly murdering their traditional leaders.

These spineless and irresponsible actions targeted at the very people they claim they want to liberate, clearly unmask their heinous and directionless agenda for Ndigbo.

Realising the futility, hollowness and public rejection of their violent agitation, they resorted to twisting the narrative in the region to galvanize local support. Their wild allegation that BNG and UGN were an overt operation by the DMI and DSS is not only laughable but remains largely illusive and a ploy to diminish the public support the NA is savouring in the ongoing exercises.

These criminal elements with their cohorts must come to terms with the reality of the ongoing Exercise GOLDEN DAWN and turn themselves into security agencies or be ready to face the consequences of their lawlessness.

More grotesque is the narrative peddled by these merchants of propaganda, in respect of IPOB/ESN gunmen recently eliminated by troops in a shootout at Ekwulobia Roundout in Aguata LGA. These unscrupulous elements insinuated that those taken out were Fulanis.

An outrageous claim that should be disregarded in its entirety. This is another failed attempt in their usual mannerism, to attribute their criminal activities to a third party and feign innocence; an indication of a visionless group devoid of integrity.

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Army Accuses IPOB Of Spreading Fake News To Gather Support - Naija News