The Foundations of Disinformation and Misinformation

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Foundations of Disinformation and Misinformation Commission on Information The Foundations of Disorder Knowledge Center Disinformation and Misinformation Selected Experts The term Information disorder was coined by researcher on the Topic: Dr. Claire Wardle to describe the broad societal challenges associated danah boyd with misinformation and disinformation, generally on the digital partner researcher at Microsoft Research, landscape, that contribute to the pollution of our evolving informa- founder and president tion ecosystem. Misinformation is the unintentional spread of false or of Data & Society Research Institute misleading information, shared by mistake, or under a presumption @zephoria of truth. Disinformation—false or misleading information that is delib- Renee DiResta erately spread with an intent to cause harm or damage—is neither technical research new nor unique to the modern day. manager at Stanford Internet Observatory @noUpside From Octavian’s propaganda campaign against Antony in Ancient Rome to ‘The Great Moon Hoax’ of 1835, disinformation has been Kolina Koltai postdoctoral researcher a favored weapon of politicians, civic leaders and mischief makers at the Center for an around the world. Yet the rise of the internet and the exponential Informed Public at the University of Washington growth of social media use across cultures and communities has @KolinaKoltai dramatically increased the speed and impact of false narratives. The Meghna Mahadevan tactics behind disinformation vary widely and further complicates disinformation defense strategist with our understanding around source motivation and intention. Knowing United We Dream how it’s done is just as important when trying to understand why. Thomas Rid professor of Strategic Reading Resources: The Future of Truth and Digital Democracy: Studies, Johns Hopkins Misinformation Online Accelerating A New University Information Disorder: (Janna Anderson And Field Of Knowledge @RidT Toward An Interdisciplinary Lee Rainie, Pew Research (Knight Foundation) Framework For Research Center) Claire Wardle And Policy Making Facebook: From Election co-founder of First Draft (First Draft) The Misinformation to Insurrection @cward1e Campaign Was Distinctly (Avaaz report) A short guide to the One-Sided Tackling misinformation: history of ’fake news’ (Renee DiResta, What researchers could do and disinformation The Atlantic) (International Center for with social media data (HKS Journalists) The long fuse: Misinformation Misinformation Review) and the 2020 election Addressing false information Video: A Brief History (Election Integrity during the 2020 election Of Disinformation, And Partnership report) What To Do About It and lessons for the future (Matt Tait, University of 20/20 Vision: Lessons (American Press Institute) Texas) learned about the challenges of disrupting The Long and Brutal misinformation in 2020 History of Fake News (First Draft article series) (Jacob Soll, Politico) Combatting Digital Podcast: Thomas Rid on Disinformation An Evaluation active measures and digital Of The William And Flora disinformation Hewlett Foundation’s (Brookings) Disinformation Strategy (Hewlett) 1 Commission on Information Regulation Models Disorder Knowledge Center from Other Parts of the World Selected Experts E!orts by various European countries to address distrust and on the Topic: disinformation vary across the continent. Regulating big technolo!y Victoria De Posson companies and social media platforms is an approach the U.S. has yet Disruptive Competition Project to e"ectively take, presenting opportunities for the American govern- Evelyn Douek ment to learn, adapt and act. lecturer at Harvard Law School @evelyndouek Reading Resources: Digital Services Act: Southeast Asia’s Ensuring a trustworthy and Disinformation Crisis: Where Dr. Aleksandra Social media: How do other safe online environment the State is the Biggest Bad Kuczerawy governments regulate it? while allowing freedom Actor and Regulation is a Senior Fellow and (BBC) of expression Bad Word Researcher at KU Leuven (Victoria De Posson, (Jonathan Corpus Ong, @AlexandraQu The United States Disruptive Competition Insights from the Social Needs a BBC Christoph Schmon Project) Sciences) (Foreign Policy, 2021) International Policy Twitter, Trump, and Tough Government Responses to director, Electronic How the EU’s new digital Decisions: EU Freedom of Disinformation on Social Frontier Foundation services act can help Expression and the Digital Media Platforms: France @EFF build trust and tackle Services Act (Library of Congress) illegal content (Christoph Schmon, (Victoria De Posson, Government Responses to Electronic Frontier Disruptive Competition Disinformation on Social Foundation) Project) Media Platforms EU Code of Practice on (Library of Congress) Disinformation: Briefing Note for the New European Commission (Carnegie Endowment) Law prohibiting election misinformation struck down (CBC) 2 Commission on Information First Amendment Disorder Knowledge Center and Section 230 Selected Experts Section 230 has become a political football in terms of platform on the Topic: accountability and responsibility regarding the spread of online mis Dr. Mary Anne Franks and disinformation. “One highly in!uential piece of misinformation President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and is that the tech industry is biased against conservative "gures and Professor of Law at the conservative content,” shared Dr. Mary Anne Franks, president of University of Miami @ma_franks the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative as part of a question for Facebook, Twitter and Google CEOs. “Conservative "gures and content actu- Eric Goldman internet law professor, ally perform very well on social media sites such as Facebook, even Santa Clara University though they disproportionately violate companies’ policies against Law School @ericgoldman misinformation and other abuse.” With members of Congress intro- Jeff Kosseff ducing the SAFE TECH Act to address Section 230 concerns, ques- assistant professor of tions are being raised about how this could a#ect rights protected by cybersecurity law at the United States the First Amendment. Naval Academy, author of “The Twenty-Six Words That Created Reading Resources: Section 230: Everything You Six Constitutional Hurdles the Internet” Need to Know—Tweets, For Platform Speech @jkosseff The history of Section 230 Free Speech, Beyond Regulation (60 Minutes, with Jeff (Mike Masnick, podcast) (Daphne Keller, Center Mike Masnick Kosseff) for Internet and Society) founder and CEO of Hello! You’ve Been Referred the Copia Institute Speech on the internet: Here Because You’re Mapping Worldwide @mmasnick The First Amendment and Wrong About Section 230 Initiatives to Counter Section 230 are different Of The Communications Influence Operations (Marketplace) Decency Act (Carnegie Endowment for (Mike Masnick, Techdirt International Peace) blog) How Section 230 Enhances the First Amendment (Eric Goldman, American Constitution Society) 3 Commission on Information Cognitive Science Disorder Knowledge Center and Behavioral Economics Selected Experts Social media may have provided a space for mis and disinformation on the Topic: to spread, but questions around why people believe and share false Meredith Broussard content and how they became radicalized must be addressed as well. research director at the NYU Alliance for Public What roles do cognitive biases and mental shortcuts, as described by Interest Technology behavioral economics, and the development of algorithms affect or @merbroussard even degrade our information ecosystem? Panayiota (Pani) Kendeou Educational Psychology, Reading Resources: Political psychology in the Fake News and co-author of the digital (mis)information age: Anthropology: A Debunking Handbook ‘Exit Counselors’ Strain To A model of news belief Conversation on Technology, @Kendeou Pull Americans Out Of A and sharing Trust, and Publics in an Age Eric Saund Web Of False Conspiracies (Preprint) of Mass Disinformation Research scientist (Tovia Smith, NPR) (Journal of the Association How Cybersecurity Experts in Cognitive Science for Political and Legal COVID lies, conspiracy Can Nudge Users To Make and AI Anthropology) theories build on boredom, Safer Choices Jason Stanley beliefs (Kathrin Wesolowski, (Perry Carpenter, Forbes) philosophy Deutsche Welle) How Facebook got @jasonintrator addicted to spreading misinformation (Karen Hao, Tech Review) 4 Commission on Information Platform Response Disorder Knowledge Center and Accountability Selected Experts Social media platforms and Big Tech play a pivotal role in both on the Topic: the spread and response to online mis and disinformation. Questions Emily Bell regarding transparency, responsibility and accountability have risen founder, director, Tow Center for Digital as independent researchers and technologists work to understand Journalism at Columbia how to approach studying platform impact when data and access University @Emilybell are restricted. Platform-led efforts, policies and research have been developed internally and with nonprofit organizations, but questions Erin Gallagher social media researcher still remain over their effectiveness. @3r1nG Timnit Gebru computer scientist and Reading Resources: Can “Inoculation” Build Platform Interventions: How co-founder, Black in AI Broad-Based Resistance to Social Media Counters All Change No Fix: How Big @timnitGebru Misinformation? Influence Operations Tech’s “Self regulation” fails (Jigsaw) (Partnership for Countering Ifeoma Ozoma our democracy Influence Operations,
Recommended publications
  • Rescuing American History from Revisionists and Race Hustlers
    American Enterprise Institute Web event — Rescuing American history from revisionists and race hustlers Welcome and introduction: Robert Doar, President, AEI Panel discussion Panelists: Stephanie Deutsch, Author Wilfred Reilly, Assistant Professor, Kentucky State University Robert L. Woodson Sr., President, Woodson Center Moderator: Ian Rowe, Resident Fellow, AEI Thursday, May 20, 2021 7:00–8:00 p.m. Event page: https://www.aei.org/events/rescuing-american-history-from- revisionists-and-race-hustlers/ Robert Doar: Good evening everyone. I’m Robert Doar, president of AEI, and I’m very pleased to welcome you to tonight’s event celebrating the release of a new book, “Red, White, and Black: Rescuing American History from Revisionists and Race Hustlers.” This volume, produced by the Woodson Center’s 1776 Unites campaign and edited by Robert Woodson, features essays that seek to offer a more complete picture of the African American experience by acknowledging struggles but also recognizing successes. The current narrative on race and American history in the popular media and in many of our schools tells a narrow story focused increasingly on oppression and discrimination. “Red, White, and Black,” tells a more complete story of black American history. And in so doing, it demonstrates the rich variety of perspectives and achievements in the black American community. These essays show that although there is a need to be honest about our nation’s shortcomings, progress has been built on courage, work, creativity, intelligence and on aspiration, faith, and hope. These are the same lessons that have underpinned 40 years of work at the Woodson Center in finding local solutions to poverty in low-income neighborhoods across the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Additional Resources
    Resource Guide to Communication Scholarship on Social Justice Activism Lawrence R. Frey, Kellie Brownlee, Jeanette Musselwhite Additional Resources Conceptual/Theoretical Scholarship on Communication and Social Justice Activism A. Communication Aldás, E. N., & Pinazo, D. (2013). “Communication and engagement for social justice.” Peace Review, 25, 343–348. doi:10.1080/10402659.2013.816552 Andersen, P. A. (1993). “Beyond criticism: The activist turn in the ideological debate.” Western Journal of Communication, 57, 247–256. doi:10.1080/10570319309374447 Barge, J. K. (Ed.). (1996). “Dialogue: Communication and social justice [Special section].” Communication Studies, 47, 110–151. Contains the essays: Frey, L. R., Pearce, W. B., Pollock, M. A., Artz, L., & Murphy, B. A. O. “Looking for justice in all the wrong places: On a communication approach to social justice.” 110–127. doi:10.1080/10510979609368467 Wood, J. T. “Social justice research: Alive and well in the field of communication.” 128–134. doi:10.1080/10510979609368468 Makau, J. M. “Notes on communication education and social justice.” 135–141. doi:10.1080/10510979609368469 Pollock, M. A., Artz, L., Frey, L. R., Pearce, W. B., & Murphy, B. A. O. “Navigating between Scylla and Charybdis: Continuing the dialogue on communication and social justice.” 142–151. doi:10.1080/10510979609368470 Broome, B. J., Carey, C., De La Garza, S. A., Martin, J., & Morris, R. (2005). “In the thick of things: A dialogue about the activist turn in intercultural communication.” In W. J. Starosta & G.-M. Chen (Eds.), Taking stock in intercultural communication: Where to now? (pp. 145–175). Washington, DC: National Communication Association. Carragee, K. M., & Frey, L.
    [Show full text]
  • Memetics of Deception: Spreading Local Meme Hoaxes During COVID-19 1St Year
    future internet Article Memetics of Deception: Spreading Local Meme Hoaxes during COVID-19 1st Year Raúl Rodríguez-Ferrándiz 1,* , Cande Sánchez-Olmos 1,* , Tatiana Hidalgo-Marí 1 and Estela Saquete-Boro 2 1 Department of Communication and Social Psychology, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; [email protected] 2 Department of Software and Computing Systems, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] (R.R.-F.); [email protected] (C.S.-O.) Abstract: The central thesis of this paper is that memetic practices can be crucial to understanding deception at present when hoaxes have increased globally due to COVID-19. Therefore, we employ existing memetic theory to describe the qualities and characteristics of meme hoaxes in terms of the way they are replicated by altering some aspects of the original, and then shared on social media platforms in order to connect global and local issues. Criteria for selecting the sample were hoaxes retrieved from and related to the local territory in the province of Alicante (Spain) during the first year of the pandemic (n = 35). Once typology, hoax topics and their memetic qualities were identified, we analysed their characteristics according to form in terms of Shifman (2014) and, secondly, their content and stance concordances both within and outside our sample (Spain and abroad). The results show, firstly, that hoaxes are mainly disinformation and they are related to the pandemic. Secondly, despite the notion that local hoaxes are linked to local circumstances that are difficult to extrapolate, our conclusions demonstrate their extraordinary memetic and “glocal” capacity: they rapidly adapt Citation: Rodríguez-Ferrándiz, R.; other hoaxes from other places to local areas, very often supplanting reliable sources, and thereby Sánchez-Olmos, C.; Hidalgo-Marí, T.; demonstrating consistency and opportunism.
    [Show full text]
  • Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States: Report of the Comm
    IN THE SENATEOF THEUNITED STATES Sitting as a Court of Impeachment Inre IMPEACHMENTOF PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP TRIAL MEMORANDUM OF THEUNITEDSTATES HOUSEOF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE IMPEACHMENTTRIALOF PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP United States House of Representatives AdamB.Schiff JerroldNadler Zoe Lofgren HakeemS.Jeffries Val ButlerDemings Jason Crow Sylvia R.Garcia U.S. House of RepresentativesManagers TABLEOF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................1 BACKGROUND..............................................................................................................................................9 I. C ONSTITUTIONALG ROUNDSFORP RESIDENTIALI MPEACHMENT....................................................9 II. THE HOUSE’SIMPEACHMENTOF PRESIDENTDONALDJ. TRUMPANDPRESENTATIONOF T HISM ATTERTO THE S ENATE..............................................................................................................12 ARGUMENT...................................................................................................................................................16 I. T HE S ENATES HOULDC ONVICT P RESIDENTT RUMPOF A BUSEOF P OWER..................................16 A. PresidentTrumpExercisedHis OfficialPowerto PressureUkraineintoAidingHis Reelection....................................................................................................................................16 B. PresidentTrumpExercisedOfficialPowerto
    [Show full text]
  • The Great White Hoax
    THE GREAT WHITE HOAX Featuring Tim Wise [Transcript] INTRODUCTION Text on screen Charlottesville, Virginia August 11, 2017 Protesters [chanting] You will not replace us! News reporter A major American college campus transformed into a battlefield. Hundreds of white nationalists storming the University of Virginia. Protesters [chanting] Whose streets? Our streets! News reporter White nationalists protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. The setting a powder keg ready to blow. Protesters [chanting] White lives matter! Counter-protesters [chanting] Black lives matter! Protesters [chanting] White lives matter! News reporter The march spiraling out of control. So-called Alt-Right demonstrators clashing with counter- protesters some swinging torches. Text on screen August 12, 2017 News reporter (continued) The overnight violence spilling into this morning when march-goers and counter-protesters clash again. © 2017 Media Education Foundation | mediaed.org 1 David Duke This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back. We're going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That's what we believed in. That's why we voted for Donald Trump. Because he said he's going to take our country back. And that's what we gotta do. News reporter A horrifying scene in Charlottesville, as this car plowed into a crowd of people. The driver then backing up and, witnesses say, dragging at least one person. Donald Trump We're closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia. We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides. On many sides.
    [Show full text]
  • The Civilian Impact of Drone Strikes
    THE CIVILIAN IMPACT OF DRONES: UNEXAMINED COSTS, UNANSWERED QUESTIONS Acknowledgements This report is the product of a collaboration between the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School and the Center for Civilians in Conflict. At the Columbia Human Rights Clinic, research and authorship includes: Naureen Shah, Acting Director of the Human Rights Clinic and Associate Director of the Counterterrorism and Human Rights Project, Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, Rashmi Chopra, J.D. ‘13, Janine Morna, J.D. ‘12, Chantal Grut, L.L.M. ‘12, Emily Howie, L.L.M. ‘12, Daniel Mule, J.D. ‘13, Zoe Hutchinson, L.L.M. ‘12, Max Abbott, J.D. ‘12. Sarah Holewinski, Executive Director of Center for Civilians in Conflict, led staff from the Center in conceptualization of the report, and additional research and writing, including with Golzar Kheiltash, Erin Osterhaus and Lara Berlin. The report was designed by Marla Keenan of Center for Civilians in Conflict. Liz Lucas of Center for Civilians in Conflict led media outreach with Greta Moseson, pro- gram coordinator at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School. The Columbia Human Rights Clinic and the Columbia Human Rights Institute are grateful to the Open Society Foundations and Bullitt Foundation for their financial support of the Institute’s Counterterrorism and Human Rights Project, and to Columbia Law School for its ongoing support. Copyright © 2012 Center for Civilians in Conflict (formerly CIVIC) and Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America. Copies of this report are available for download at: www.civiliansinconflict.org Cover: Shakeel Khan lost his home and members of his family to a drone missile in 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Activism in Asia: Good, Bad, and Banal Politics Online
    Asiascape: Digital Asia 7 (2020) 5-19 brill.com/dias Digital Activism in Asia: Good, Bad, and Banal Politics Online Bart Barendregt Leiden Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Sociology, Leiden, the Netherlands [email protected] Florian Schneider Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, Leiden, the Netherlands [email protected] Abstract This article introduces the special issue on ‘Digital Activism’ by exploring some of the trends in social media activism and scholarship thereof. The authors ask to what extent this literature helps us understand Asian forms of online activism, which forms of activism have relatively done well, and whether Asian activism requires its own the- orizing. Most of all, it is a plea for a careful and ethnographically informed approach to digital activism. Although outwardly they look similar and use the same templates, manuals, or even similar media strategies, not all forms of online activism promote democratic values. Furthermore, we argue that much of what happens under the ban- ner of digital activism is not necessarily politics with a capital P but, rather, consists of everyday forms of engagement, with sometimes seemingly vulgar contents and often familiar routines and natural forms, yet in their impact such ‘banal activism’ may have political implications. Keywords Asia – civic engagement – digital activism – mediatization – online community – social media © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/22142312-bja10004Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 02:48:27AM via free access 6 Barendregt and Schneider 1 Hopes and Hoaxes New media have always held not just the promise of compressing space/time but also, and inherently, of spreading the values of transparency and democ- racy and of serving as a potential means of better and just governance.
    [Show full text]
  • DAILY FAVORITES from 2020: Note the Dates Are in Reverse Order with the Most Recent at the Top of the Page
    DAILY FAVORITES from 2020: Note the dates are in reverse order with the most recent at the top of the page. [December 25-31, 2020] My Daily Favorites will restart on Jan 1, 2021. [December 24, 2020] The American Mind: 1. Professor John Eastman’s Response to the Latest Manifestation of Chapman Cancel Culture - https://americanmind.org/salvo/professor-john-eastmans-response-to-the-latest- manifestation-of-chapman-cancel-culture/ 2. In Defense of Stigma - https://americanmind.org/salvo/in-defense-of-stigma/ [December 23, 2020] Gatestone Institute: 1. Drug Trafficking: The Dirtiest Little Secret - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16874/mexico-border-drug-trafficking 2. The EU Needs to Stand Up for the Human Rights It Proclaims - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16871/eu-human-rights-china [December 22, 2020] Manhattan Contrarian: 1. Your Christmas Present: Our Political Leaders Are Killing Off New York City - https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2020-12-21-christmas-present-our-political- leaders-are-killing-off-new-york-city 2. Our Meaningless Measure of Poverty - https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/annals-of- poverty/ [December 21, 2020] George Shultz: 1. The 10 most important things I’ve learned about trust over my 100 years - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/11/10-most-important-things-ive- learned-about-trust-over-my-100-years/ 2. George Shultz: A Century of Wisdom - https://www.hoover.org/research/george-shultz- century-wisdom [December 20, 2020] Gatestone Institute: 1. China: The Conquest of Hollywood - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16842/china- films-hollywood-censorship 2. To Europe with Love: "Diplomats" or Terrorists from Iran's Mullahs? - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16867/iran-diplomats-terrorists-europe [December 19, 2020] The American Prospect: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Cyber-Terrorism
    Cyber-Terrorism: Finding a Common Starting Point By Jeffrey Thomas Biller B.A., March 1998, University of Washington M.H.R., June 2004, University of Oklahoma J.D., May 2007, University of Kansas A Thesis submitted to The Faculty of The George Washington University Law School in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws May 20, 2012 Thesis directed by Gregory E. Maggs Professor of Law, Co-director, National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law Program UMI Number: 1515265 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 1515265 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 Acknowledgements The author appreciates the generous support of the United States Air Force Jag Corps, for the opportunity to study; Professor Gregory Maggs, for the excellent feedback and guidance; and the author’s family, for the time and occasional solitude to complete this paper. ii Disclaimer Major Jeffrey T. Biller serves in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. This paper was submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws in National Security and Foreign Relations at The George Washington University Law School.
    [Show full text]
  • DIVERSE EQUITABLE INCLUSIVE K-12 Public Schools a New Call for Philanthropic Support
    DIVERSE EQUITABLE INCLUSIVE K-12 Public Schools A New Call for Philanthropic Support the Sillerman Center FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF PHILANTHROPY Acknowledgements This report was written by Dr. Susan Eaton and Dr. Suchi Saxena. This report grows out of a long-running project of the Sillerman Center that engages grantmakers who want to better understand the causes, myriad harms and potential cures for racial and socioeconomic segregation in our nation's K-12 public schools. This report was informed by interviews with a wide variety of educators and other practitioners working towards diverse, equitable and inclusive schools, by numerous convenings and conferences, by research and by the authors' experience in this field. We wish to thank our project collabora- tors and sponsors, The Ford Foundation and the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust. We deeply appreciate all the people who reviewed this report for us, who participated in interviews and who attended meetings that we hosted in 2017. Special thanks to Sheryl Seller, Stacey King, Amber Abernathy and Victoria St. Jean at the Sillerman Center, to Mary Pettigrew, who designed this report and our beloved proofreader, Kelly Garvin. We especially appreciate the thorough reviews from Gina Chirichigno, Itai Dinour, Sanjiv Rao and Melissa Johnson Hewitt, whose suggestions greatly improved this report. Susan E. Eaton Director, The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy Professor of Practice in Social Policy The Heller School for Social Policy and Management Brandeis University Table of
    [Show full text]
  • FAKE NEWS!”: President Trump’S Campaign Against the Media on @Realdonaldtrump and Reactions to It on Twitter
    “FAKE NEWS!”: President Trump’s Campaign Against the Media on @realdonaldtrump and Reactions To It on Twitter A PEORIA Project White Paper Michael Cornfield GWU Graduate School of Political Management [email protected] April 10, 2019 This report was made possible by a generous grant from William Madway. SUMMARY: This white paper examines President Trump’s campaign to fan distrust of the news media (Fox News excepted) through his tweeting of the phrase “Fake News (Media).” The report identifies and illustrates eight delegitimation techniques found in the twenty-five most retweeted Trump tweets containing that phrase between January 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018. The report also looks at direct responses and public reactions to those tweets, as found respectively on the comment thread at @realdonaldtrump and in random samples (N = 2500) of US computer-based tweets containing the term on the days in that time period of his most retweeted “Fake News” tweets. Along with the high percentage of retweets built into this search, the sample exhibits techniques and patterns of response which are identified and illustrated. The main findings: ● The term “fake news” emerged in public usage in October 2016 to describe hoaxes, rumors, and false alarms, primarily in connection with the Trump-Clinton presidential contest and its electoral result. ● President-elect Trump adopted the term, intensified it into “Fake News,” and directed it at “Fake News Media” starting in December 2016-January 2017. 1 ● Subsequently, the term has been used on Twitter largely in relation to Trump tweets that deploy it. In other words, “Fake News” rarely appears on Twitter referring to something other than what Trump is tweeting about.
    [Show full text]
  • School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina Provides Outstanding Education, Research and Service
    Social Justice and the Media 2021 WE ARE SOUTH CAROLINA The School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina provides outstanding education, research and service. South Carolina is one of only a few universities to combine its communications and information science programs – two rapidly evolving and converging fields united by a shared belief that information accessibility and integrity is the cornerstone of a strong democracy. OUR GRADUATE PROGRAMS School of Journalism and Mass Communications • Master of Mass Communication • Master of Arts • Mass Communication + Law • Ph.D. LEARN MORE AT SC.EDU/CIC WELCOME Tom Reichert, CIC Dean Kenneth Campbell, MCRHS Chairman It is with great pleasure that we offer you a big virtual welcome to the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina. We are excited to engage with you during our biennial Media & Civil Rights History Symposium. Similar to past years, this symposium promises to offer another wonderful discussion and scholarly conversation. This year’s keynote is a joint effort with the College of Information and Communications Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Research Symposium. Our speaker is Nikole Hannah-Jones, a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for the introduction to her 1619 Project. Her work has shaped recent national conversations about race in America while garnering a great deal of praise. You can watch her Friday at noon. On behalf of everyone here at the SJMC and the CIC, we want to thank you for joining us for this special event that brings together scholars from a spectrum of disciplines to examine the intersection of civil rights and public communication.
    [Show full text]