New researches

Thursday, September 22, 2022

DJ Screw, Google Privacy, TikTok, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, September 22, 2022

DJ Screw, Google Privacy, TikTok, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, September 22, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

University of Houston Libraries: New Online Exhibit Features DJ Screw Recordings. “From Coast to Coast: A Tour of DJ Screw’s Record Collection was created by Jenna Goodrich as part of a Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH) project…. Goodrich, who is interested in archival and librarian work, selected items from the archives of UH Libraries Special Collections’ Houston Hip Hop Research Collection, particularly from the DJ Screw Sound Recordings comprising over 1600 of the artist’s personal albums and singles.” DJ Screw created a hip hop music genre called “chopped and screwed.” You can read more about it with a list of recommended songs here.

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

9to5 Google: Google app starts rolling out ‘Results about you’ to help remove personal information. “At I/O 2022 in May, Google announced a new tool to streamline the process of removing Search results that contain your contact and other personal identifiable information (PII), and it’s now starting to go live.”

The Verge: TikTok plans to ban all political fundraising on its platform. “Starting Wednesday, TikTok is expanding its elections rules to make it harder for politicians and political groups to fundraise using the platform — and plans to ban all fundraising activity soon. The changes come only six weeks before the November midterm elections.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Washington Post: YouTube targets TikTok with a better deal for creators. “YouTube on Tuesday rolled out new revenue-sharing tools for content creators on its YouTube Shorts video product in its latest effort to counter TikTok’s unequaled growth.”

India Today: A pothole gets listed as a ‘historical Landmark’ in Bengaluru on Google Maps. “A Bengaluru citizen named Nimo Tai brought netizens’ attraction to a new landmark of Bengaluru city aka a pothole. Tagged as the ‘historical landmark’, the pothole is named ‘Abizer’s Pothole’ and is situated in the Bellandur area of Bengaluru. The pothole even got 5-star ratings and reviews by residents on Google.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

NBC News: QAnon videos are getting millions of views on TikTok as Trump embraces conspiracy theory. “QAnon conspiracy theory videos with thinly veiled hashtags are bringing in millions of views on TikTok ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. In a review conducted by NBC News, users were found posting videos with emojis and slight wording variations in hashtags to evade QAnon hashtag bans, bringing attention to the conspiracy theory that helped fuel the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.”

CNBC: Trump-linked SPAC faces new pressure from investors as merger hangs in the balance. “Digital World Acquisition Corp., the company planning to take Trump Media and Technology Group public, is facing investor concerns about a potential failed merger with former President Donald Trump’s company. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that DWAC Chief Executive Patrick Orlando is negotiating with investors who said they would back the company through a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, deal.”

BBC: Twitter sued by Dutch town Bodegraven-Reeuwijk over paedophilia rumour. “A Dutch town has taken Twitter to court over the spread of a conspiracy theory claiming it was once home to a ring of Satan-worshipping paedophiles. False reports that Bodegraven-Reeuwijk was the site of the abuse and murder of multiple children in the 1980s were first circulated by three men in 2020.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Oxford University: Online arts and culture engagement can have a positive impact on young people’s mental health: Oxford study. “Researchers found a link between engaging in online arts and culture and mental health, with participants in both trial groups reporting a reduction in psychological distress at the end of the pilot study, despite the pilot study being conducted at a time of increased Covid restrictions.”

WIRED: How I Learned Confidence From Online Posers. “I learned that quite a few dating app users ignore posted filters and explicit preferences. They insist that if you just meet them, you’ll love them…. I, on the other hand, was looking for a connection. I’d never once considered misrepresenting myself. I know that I’m not perfect, but I felt dejected after wasting my time and energy (as well as theirs). Ultimately, I decided to do some research to find out what I was missing.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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September 23, 2022 at 12:40AM
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South Carolina Wildlife, Nova Scotia Gaelic Recordings, Virginia Tax Rebates, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, September 22, 2022

South Carolina Wildlife, Nova Scotia Gaelic Recordings, Virginia Tax Rebates, More: Thursday ResearchBuzz, September 22, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: South Carolina Wildlife magazine goes digital!. “South Carolina Wildlife magazine, in partnership with the South Carolina State Library, is proud to announce that many of its almost seventy years’ worth of magazines are available to the public in digital form at no cost.”

University of Glasgow: University Of Glasgow Launches New Collection Of Gaelic Recordings From Nova Scotia. “The recordings by Professor Calum Iain N. MacLeod (Calum Iain M. MacLeòid, 1913–1977) will be held in British Academy recognised project, Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG), led by the University of Glasgow. The collection includes interviews, conversations, music, hymns and psalms, and songs largely from people in Nova Scotia. Most of the material is in Scottish Gaelic but some recordings also feature English and French.”

WAVY: Virginia tax rebates: See if you’re eligible with new tool. “The Virginia Department of Taxation’s rebate lookup tool just needs your Social Security number or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) and your zip code to see if you’ll get the rebate (up to $250 for individuals and $500 for joint filers). Around 3.2 million Virginians are eligible.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: New US company owner database ‘taking way too long’ to implement, experts warn. “After ICIJ’s FinCEN Files investigation, transparency advocates cheered a new law mandating a beneficial ownership register in the U.S. Two years later, experts are expressing serious concerns.”

The Verge: Google is finally making its to-do list and reminder tools work together. “Google is working on a big update to Google Tasks, the company said today. It’s bringing a couple of new features to the app, making it easier to add tasks, and finally integrating its reminder system across Google Assistant, Calendar, and the rest of the Google suite of apps.”

USEFUL STUFF

Lifehacker: You Should Be Filtering Your iMessages. “iOS 16 is filled with plenty of major features, but there are smaller changes as well—like the return of your battery percentage, and an option to enable haptic feedback on the stock iPhone keyboard for the first time. But one thing lost in all the news is the addition to Messages’ Filters feature.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Washington Post: Trump’s ‘big lie’ fueled a new generation of social media influencers. “The 2020 election and its turbulent aftermath fueled a powerful generation of online influencers, a Washington Post data analysis has found, producing sky-high follower counts for an array of conservatives who echoed Trump’s false claims of election fraud, known as the ‘big lie.’ … These accounts amassed followers despite vows by Big Tech companies to police election disinformation, The Post found.”

Rappler: Not over: Young generations continue the fight to protect Martial Law memories. “Project Gunita is a network of volunteers and members of various civil society organizations that aim to defend historical truth. They particularly push back against historical denialism and protect truths about the Martial Law years. Through the project, the three founders and their members created a digital archive of all materials that contain information about Marcos’ Martial Law to preserve them.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Google’s $100 Million Privacy Settlement: How to Claim Your Money Before Time Runs Out. “There’s less than a week to file a claim in a class action lawsuit claiming Google illicitly uses a facial-recognition program to sort pictures in Google Photos. The search giant agreed to a $100 million settlement this spring and Individuals whose likenesses appeared in a Photos album could be eligible for up to $400.”

Radio New Zealand: PM Jacinda Ardern announces initiative to research social media algorithms. “Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced an initiative to research social media algorithms, but does not yet appear to have buy-in from some key tech players. Ardern made the announcement in New York after co-hosting a summit with French president Emmanuel Macron.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Cornell Chronicle: Do trucks mean Trump? AI shows how humans misjudge images. “Researchers from Cornell and partner institutions analyzed more than 16 million human predictions of whether a neighborhood voted for Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election based on a single Google Street View image. They found that humans as a group performed well at the task, but a computer algorithm was better at distinguishing between Trump and Biden country. The study also classified common ways that people mess up, and identified objects – such as pickup trucks and American flags – that led people astray.”

AFP: Social media greenwashing by fossil fuel interests ‘rampant’: study. “A commercial plane photoshopped with the tail of a shark, hashtags that misleadingly evoke sustainability, tokenistic use of minorities to distract and to signal virtue: a Harvard report published Tuesday highlights rampant greenwashing by leading companies on social media.” Good morning, Internet…

September 22, 2022 at 05:31PM
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Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Kentucky Archaeology, School Models, Coronavirus Research, More: Wednesday ResearchBuzz, September 21, 2022

Kentucky Archaeology, School Models, Coronavirus Research, More: Wednesday ResearchBuzz, September 21, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

State of Kentucky: New Discover KY Archaeology Website Profiles Archaeological Sites and Research Across the Commonwealth. ” A new website highlighting more than 100 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites across 64 counties has been launched by the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office (KHC) in partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC).”

EdSurge: New Directory of Innovative School Models Aims to Encourage Experimentation. “There’s a greater appetite to try new educational models as schools try to adjust to the social and emotional needs of students returning from periods of pandemic lockdowns and other disruptions of the past few years. But before schools can try out new models, schools have to know what’s out there. A new online library called the ‘Innovative Models Exchange,’ unveiled Monday, hopes to give educators an easy place to quickly consider some possibilities.”

PR Newswire: Arizona State University Launches Evidence Commons, the Only Comprehensive Repository of COVID-19 Tests and Testing Practices Publications (PRESS RELEASE). “Arizona State University (ASU) College of Health Solutions with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, has launched Evidence Commons, the first and only comprehensive repository of published COVID-19 research focused on diagnostic tests and testing practices. With more than 3,000 published papers, Evidence Commons provides access to the diagnostic-related research critical to enhanced scientific collaboration and pandemic mitigation and prevention.”

FTC: FTC issues illuminating report on digital dark patterns. “As the FTC’s 2021 workshop, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light, and recent academic literature establish, dark patterns take on a variety of nefarious guises – for example, hiding the full cost of a transaction behind nondescript dropdown arrows or small icons, sending people on a digital scavenger hunt just to cancel a subscription, using default settings to subvert their privacy choices, or even sneaking stuff into customers’ shopping carts without their knowledge.”

Iowa Attorney General: IowaOpioidHelp. com provides resources for Iowans with Opioid Use Disorder. “IowaOpioidHelp.com provides a pathway to recovery for Iowans with Opioid Use Disorder and their loved ones. Visitors to the website will learn about Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT), a proven method of using FDA-approved drugs to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms for people with opioid use disorder…. An interactive map at IowaOpioidHelp.com shows a list of MAT and OUD clinics contracted with the State of Iowa.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

How-To Geek: Wikipedia Wants a Sound Logo, and it Needs Your Help. “Wikipedia is a resource many of us go to when we need information, and its globe puzzle logo is almost universally recognized. Now, the Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a sound that can be associated with it and be just as recognizable.”

New York Times: This Ad’s for You (Not Your Neighbor). “Although millions of American voters may not be aware of it, the powerful data-mining techniques that campaigns routinely use to tailor political ads to consumers on sites and apps are making the leap to streaming video. The targeting has become so precise that next door neighbors streaming the same true crime show on the same streaming service may now be shown different political ads — based on data about their voting record, party affiliation, age, gender, race or ethnicity, estimated home value, shopping habits or views on gun control.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: New malware bundle self-spreads through YouTube gaming videos. “The self-spreading malware bundle has been promoted in YouTube videos targeting fans playing FIFA, Final Fantasy, Forza Horizon, Lego Star Wars, and Spider-Man. These uploaded videos contain links to download the fake cracks and cheats, but in reality, they install the same self-spreading malware bundle that infected the uploader.”

Reuters: Exclusive-Google faces pressure in India to help curb illegal lending apps -sources. “Alphabet Inc’s Google has been asked by the Indian government and the central bank to introduce more stringent checks to help curb the use of illegal digital lending applications in India, according to sources.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Harvard Gazette: Solemn stewardship. “Report recommends policies, mechanisms for return, ethical uses for research of human remains in museums.”

Cornell Chronicle: Fairer ranking system diversifies search results. “Cornell researchers have developed a fairer system for recommendations – from hotels to jobs to videos – so a few top hits don’t get all the exposure. The new ranking system still provides relevant options, but divides user attention more equitably across search results. It can be applied to online markets such as travel sites, hiring platforms and news aggregators.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

CNET: Astronomy Photographer of the Year Captures Rare, Dazzling Comet Photo. “Gerald Rhemann of Austria has won the 2022 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, for his astonishing and rare photograph of a piece of Comet Leonard’s gas tail being disconnected and carried away by the solar wind.” Good morning, Internet…

September 21, 2022 at 05:25PM
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Tuesday, September 20, 2022

New Jersey Holocaust Survivors, Falls Free Checkup, Android Flash Card Apps, More: Tuesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, September 20, 2022

New Jersey Holocaust Survivors, Falls Free Checkup, Android Flash Card Apps, More: Tuesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, September 20, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

New Jersey 101.5: Digital archive catalogs thousands of Holocaust survivors in NJ. “When Stockton University professor Michael Hayse and some students started working in 2019 on a project to catalog South Jersey Holocaust survivors, they thought it would take about a year, and net a few hundred names. But three years later, the project continues, and now hundreds of involved students have found the names of 1,500 Holocaust survivors who live or lived in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties.”

PR Newswire: CDC Foundation and National Council on Aging Launch New Online Tool to Help Older Adults Prevent Falls and Fall Injuries (PRESS RELEASE). “Each year, 1 in 10 older adults will experience a fall that results in injury, such as a broken bone or head injury, according to CDC. Fall prevention is very important because these injuries can be life-altering and difficult to recover from. The Falls Free CheckUp asks 13 simple questions and only takes a few minutes to complete. It can be completed by either the individual or by a family member on their behalf.”

USEFUL STUFF

MakeUseOf: The 9 Best Flash Card Apps for Android. “Flash cards are an incredibly useful tool for helping you memorize anything. You should use them whether you’re learning to code, studying for an exam, or even doing some public speaking…. But you don’t need to have an actual set of cards and a pen; your phone can do the job just as well. Let’s take a look at the best flash card apps for Android.”

Mainichi: Unique 2-in-1 calculator app adds up to surprise hit for retired engineer in Japan . “The double calculator app allows users to move the computation results of one calculator onto the other by tapping arrow keys displayed on the middle of the screen. For example, if a user calculates ’89 x 15 = 1335′ on one calculator and taps the arrow key, the result ‘1335’ will be displayed on the other calculator, allowing the user to continue a problem while the previous equations are still shown on the screen. This makes it easy to notice errors. It is also possible to perform different computations on each calculator.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

The Whiskey Wash: Frazier History Museum Launching An Online Bourbon Subscription Service. “Frazier History Museum, in its role as a keeper of all things history in Kentucky, already has a heavy relationship with the world of bourbon, including being the ‘Official Starting Point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.’ Now, in a move that takes things ever deeper, it is launching its own ‘online bourbon subscription membership service offering exclusive bottlings and expressions from the greatest names in American whisky.’”

Mountain Xpress: Bobby McMillon Legacy Project at Mars Hill University will continue ballad singer and storyteller’s work. “[Bobby] McMillon was a ballad singer and storyteller in Yancey County with encyclopedic knowledge of all things Appalachian. He left behind a rich and valuable collection of song and story transcriptions and recordings, ephemera from old-time musicians and festivals, and a desire that his friends ‘keep it going.’ Through the $10,000 South Arts grant, the Ramsey Center will help keep it going.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: New malware bundle self-spreads through YouTube gaming videos. “A new malware bundle uses victims’ YouTube channels to upload malicious video tutorials advertising fake cheats and cracks for popular video games to spread the malicious package further. The self-spreading malware bundle has been promoted in YouTube videos targeting fans playing FIFA, Final Fantasy, Forza Horizon, Lego Star Wars, and Spider-Man.”

New York Times: Clearview AI, Used by Police to Find Criminals, Now in Public Defenders’ Hands. “After a Florida man was accused of vehicular homicide, his lawyer used Clearview AI’s facial recognition software to prove his innocence. But other defense lawyers say Clearview’s offer rings hollow.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

New Indian Express: Environment ministry creating genetic database of captive elephants to curb illegal trade: Officials. “The Union environment ministry is creating a central genetic database of captive elephants in the country to help curb illegal trade of the animal, officials have said.”

ABC News: TikTok search results riddled with misinformation: Report. “TikTok may be the platform of choice for catchy videos, but anyone using it to learn about COVID-19, climate change or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to encounter misleading information, according to a research report published Wednesday. Researchers at NewsGuard searched for content about prominent news topics on TikTok and say they found that nearly 1 in 5 of the videos automatically suggested by the platform contained misinformation.” And remember, this is, according to the New York Times, the new search engine of Gen Z! Good afternoon, Internet…

September 21, 2022 at 12:47AM
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LGBTQ Eastern Europe, Global Registry of Fossil Fuels, Jazz Backstory, More: Tuesday ResearchBuzz, September 20, 2022

LGBTQ Eastern Europe, Global Registry of Fossil Fuels, Jazz Backstory, More: Tuesday ResearchBuzz, September 20, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation: IPLC Launches the LGBTQ+ Communities of the Former Soviet Union & Eastern Europe Web Archive. “The collection archives a broad range of websites maintained by and for the benefit of LGBTQ+ communities in the independent countries of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. These websites document news, events, and issues within these diverse communities, and often provide helpful information about where to seek health, legal, and other assistance in their countries of origin.”

ABC News: First public global database of fossil fuels launches. “A first-of-its-kind database for tracking the world’s fossil fuel production, reserves and emissions launches on Monday to coincide with climate talks taking place at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The Global Registry of Fossil Fuels includes data from over 50,000 oil, gas and coal fields in 89 countries. That covers 75% of global reserves, production and emissions, and is available for public use, a first for a collection of this size.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Oneida Daily Dispatch: Hamilton College releases new ‘Jazz Backstory’ podcast. “Hamilton College Jazz Archive Director Monk Rowe has helped collect over 400 video and audio recordings of jazz greats, their band members, critics, writers, and composers who tell their personal histories in the world of jazz for the Hamilton College Jazz Archive. Rowe, who conducted the majority of these original interviews, combed through the interviews to focus on topics inherent to the creative life – inspiration, improvisation, training, back-stage dramas and touring challenges. The result was his creation of a new podcast series.”

Rolling Stone: Trump’s Social Media Company Is Trying to Hide Its Struggles From the Public. “Like Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, Truth Social used to allow users to endlessly scroll through an account’s followers and the accounts who amplified or engaged with its posts. That data is helpful in assessing the site’s overall health and legitimate growth rate. But now, Truth Social is guarding access to that information more closely.”

USEFUL STUFF

Boing Boing: Scream your grievances into the void, online. “Simply type out what you need to get off your chest and click the ‘scream’ button. Repeat as many times as necessary. You’ll hear someone let out a blood-curdling scream as your text disappears into the void.”

WIRED: How to Create an Augmented Reality Filter for TikTok. “From Paris to Dubai, I spoke with designers around the world about the process of creating AR effects for social media.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

TechCrunch: Google cancels half the projects at its internal R&D group Area 120. “Google CEO Sundar Pichai, speaking at the Code Conference last week, suggested the tech company needed to become 20% more efficient — a comment some in the industry took to mean headcount reductions could soon be on the table. Now, it seems that prediction may be coming true. TechCrunch has learned, and Google confirmed, the company is slashing projects at its in-house R&D division known as Area 120.”

The Straits Times: NLB to launch new website for submission of heritage material in digital formats . “The National Library Board (NLB) will be expanding its Citizen Archivist project next year with the launch of a new website that will allow people to submit materials about Singapore in digital formats such as images and videos.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

New York Times: At eBay, Lurid Crimes and the Search for Punishment. “‘If you are ever going to take her down .. now is the time.’ Devin Wenig, the chief executive of the e-commerce company eBay, texted those words to a deputy one summer afternoon three years ago. He was upset about a story he had just read. Within days, the writer who was the subject of Mr. Wenig’s wrath and her husband were inundated with offensive material, including live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath, a Halloween mask of a bloody pig face and a manual on surviving the death of a spouse.”

Android Police: Microsoft Teams deemed unsafe to use by security researchers. “Microsoft’s workplace-oriented messaging app, Teams, has gone through a number of controversies that you wouldn’t expect other chat apps to deal with, including last year when the Android app was considered responsible for breaking the ability to place 911 calls on devices last year. Well, the Teams app — not the Android one this time, at least — is in the news again and it’s not for the right reasons.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Stanford Medicine: Training physicians and algorithms in dermatology diversity. “There’s a long-standing challenge in dermatology: Textbooks, databases, journals and lectures are largely bereft of images that feature darker skin. Their absence can cause gaps in clinical expertise and in diagnosis, as symptoms of a disease don’t necessarily appear the same on all skin tones. Physicians trained to identify signs of illness on lighter shades can overlook them in people with a darker complexion, and algorithms trained on a sea of beige pictures may miss signs of disease when evaluating images from a patient with brown skin.”

The Conversation: From curry nights to ‘coal kills’ dresses: how social media drives politicians to behave like influencers. “Why do politicians often post content that seems awkward, outrageous or strange? The answer could be an appeal to authenticity – something that has become a valuable currency in the world of politicians, influencers and social media.” Good morning, Internet…

September 20, 2022 at 05:28PM
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Monday, September 19, 2022

Black Wealth Data Center, Zymology Datasets, Snapchat, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, September 19, 2022

Black Wealth Data Center, Zymology Datasets, Snapchat, More: Monday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, September 19, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Route Fifty: New Data Resource Focuses on Racial Wealth Gap. “A tool launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative Thursday aims to provide better access to data about racial wealth inequities in the United States. With interactive maps and graphs, the Black Wealth Data Center, or BWDC, allows users to compare data across race, sex, education and location and explore topics including employment, homeownership, assets and debt.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Wolfram Blog: Cheers! A Computational Exploration of Alcoholic Beverages with the Wolfram Language . “The science of fermentation—known as zymology (or zymurgy)—is a fascinating blend of chemistry, biology, history and geography. The Wolfram Language now brings a new dimension to the study of alcoholic beverages through an extensive dataset ready to be explored and analyzed.”

Engadget: Snapchat for Web is now available for everyone. “Snapchat’s messaging and video chat features first made their way to browsers back in July, but only in select markets and for Snapchat+ subscribers. Now, Snapchat for Web is finally available for all the messaging app’s users worldwide. It could be the better choice for users who have a lot of typing to do and messages to send, since they’ll be looking at a bigger screen and have access to a real keyboard.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

New York Times: How LinkedIn Became a Place to Overshare. “Since the start of the pandemic, as office workers missed in-person interactions with colleagues, many people turned to LinkedIn to help make up for what they had lost. They started talking about more than just work. The boundaries between office and home lives became blurrier than ever. As personal circumstances bled into workdays, people felt emboldened to share with their professional peers — and found interested audiences both in and beyond their networks.”

New Yorker: The Search for Dirt on the Twitter Whistle-Blower. “The dozens of e-mails and LinkedIn messages received by people in Zatko’s professional orbit appeared to be mostly from research-and-advisory companies, part of a burgeoning industry whose clients include investment firms and individuals jockeying for financial advantage through information.”

CNN: Extreme California heat knocks key Twitter data center offline. “Extreme heat in California has left Twitter without one of its key data centers, and a company executive warned in an internal memo obtained by CNN that another outage elsewhere could result in the service going dark for some of its users.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

NBC News: Satanic panic is making a comeback, fueled by QAnon believers and GOP influencers. “While the current obsession with Satan was boosted in part by the QAnon community, partisan media and conservative politicians have been instrumental in spreading newfound fears over the so-called ritualistic abuse of children that the devil supposedly inspires, sometimes weaving the allegations together with other culture war issues such as LGBTQ rights. Those fears are powering fresh accusations of ritual abuse online, which are amplified on social media and by partisan media, and can mobilize mobs to seek vigilante justice.”

Tubefilter: YouTube’s Chief Product Officer testified before Congress. Then he announced a new approach to extremist content.. “Neal Mohan has had a busy week. On Wednesday, YouTube‘s Chief Product Officer was one of the tech execs who was called to testify before Congress. A day later, after attending a White House summit, he took to Twitter to announce an updated content moderation policy that aims to curb violent extremist content — even when that content is not affiliated with a known terrorist organization.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Mike Shouts: Metaphysic Pulled Off Deepfake Elvis Performance At America’s Got Talent. “I am sure most of us are familiar with what deepfake is by now but what some of us may not know is that deepfaking has gone real-time. At the season finale of the seventeenth season of America’s Got Talent, Metaphysic, a tech company that uses AI to create hyperreal content, pulled an incredible ‘real-time deepfake’ onstage.”

York University: Study: Even smartest AI models don’t match human visual processing. “Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) don’t see objects the way humans do – using configural shape perception – and that could be dangerous in real-world AI applications, says Professor James Elder, co-author of a York University study published today.” Good afternoon, Internet…

September 20, 2022 at 12:30AM
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Facebook Roundup, September 19, 2022

Facebook Roundup, September 19, 2022
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Ars Technica: Facebook reverses permanent ban on Holocaust movie after outcry. “Facebook moderators told Newton that his film was banned because the company’s ad policy restricts content that ‘includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race.’ Because Newton’s movie in the US is titled Beautiful Blue Eyes, Facebook moderators banned its promotion in Facebook ads, seemingly reading the title as hinting at race.” Sometimes in the course of doing ResearchBuzz I end up yelling at the monitor. This is one of those times.

Wall Street Journal: Instagram Stumbles in Push to Mimic TikTok, Internal Documents Show. “The document, titled ‘Creators x Reels State of the Union 2022,’ was published internally in August. It said that Reels engagement had been falling—down 13.6% over the previous four weeks—and that ‘most Reels users have no engagement whatsoever.’ One reason is that Instagram has struggled to recruit people to make content. Roughly 11 million creators are on the platform in the U.S., but only about 2.3 million of them, or 20.7%, post on that platform each month, the document said.”

CNET: Facebook Shutters Its Community-Connecting Nextdoor Clone. “Meta is winding down its Nextdoor-like Facebook expansion Neighborhoods, which sought to connect users who lived near each other, but never exited the testing phase.”

NBC News: FBI responds to Mark Zuckerberg claims in Joe Rogan show . “The day after Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook limited a polarizing story ahead of the 2020 election because of an FBI warning, the federal agency said it can only alert a private entity of a potential threat, not require it to take action.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Axios: Scoop: Meta merging content moderation teams for ads and user posts. “Meta is merging its business integrity unit, the team that moderates ad content, with its central integrity team, which moderates users’ posts, according to an internal memo obtained by Axios.”

ProPublica: Real Money, Fake Musicians: Inside a Million-Dollar Instagram Verification Scheme. “A jeweler. A plastic surgeon. An OnlyFans Model. They and others received a blue check in likely the biggest Instagram verification scheme revealed to date. After ProPublica started asking questions, Meta removed badges from over 300 accounts.”

TechCrunch: Meta just erased a Proud Boys network stealthily organizing on Facebook and Instagram. “Meta disclosed Thursday that it recently removed a network of activity affiliated with the violent extremist group after it detected members making inroads back onto Facebook and Instagram. The company says it removed around 480 Proud Boys accounts, pages, groups and events through a strategy it calls ‘strategic network disruption’ — basically neutralizing a network of activity linked to a banned group in a targeted, simultaneous sweep.”

CNET: Facebook Parent Meta Shares Details About Newsworthy Posts It Leaves Up . “Facebook parent company Meta said that from June 2021 to June 2022 it made 68 ‘newsworthiness allowances’ for pieces of content that might violate its rules. It’s the first time Meta has revealed how many times it’s applied an exemption under which it leaves up newsworthy content that could break its rules.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

International Business Times: Irish Data Watchdog Fines Instagram 405 Mn Euros Over Children. “Ireland’s Data Protection Commission on Monday said it had fined Instagram a record 405 million euros ($402 million) for breaching regulations on the handling of children’s data…. The DPC launched an investigation in late 2020 into concerns about how the image-sharing social media platform handles children’s personal data.”

Washington Post: Washington state judge rules Facebook violated campaign finance rules. “A Washington state judge ruled Friday that Facebook repeatedly violated campaign finance rules requiring platforms to release information about political advertisers on their sites.”

CNET: Facebook Parent Meta to Settle Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit. “Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to settle a privacy lawsuit tied to 2018’s headline-grabbing Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to court papers filed Friday. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ex-Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and current COO Javier Olivan had been scheduled to provide testimony in the case sometime during the next month.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Schneier on Security: Facebook Has No Idea What Data It Has. “Facebook’s stonewalling has been revealing on its own, providing variations on the same theme: It has amassed so much data on so many billions of people and organized it so confusingly that full transparency is impossible on a technical level.”

September 19, 2022 at 10:00PM
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