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Daily Archives: May 1, 2022

Neutral bots probe political bias on social media

Chen, W., Pacheco, D., Yang, KC. et al. Neutral bots probe political bias on social media. Nat Commun 12, 5580 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25738-6 [Open Access]

“Social media platforms attempting to curb abuse and misinformation have been accused of political bias. We deploy neutral social bots who start following different news sources on Twitter, and track them to probe distinct biases emerging from platform mechanisms versus user interactions. We find no strong or consistent evidence of political bias in the news feed. Despite this, the news and information to which U.S. Twitter users are exposed depend strongly on the political leaning of their early connections. The interactions of conservative accounts are skewed toward the right, whereas liberal accounts are exposed to moderate content shifting their experience toward the political center. Partisan accounts, especially conservative ones, tend to receive more followers and follow more automated accounts. Conservative accounts also find themselves in denser communities and are exposed to more low-credibility content.”

Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 30, 2022

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 30, 2022 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex… Continue Reading

Citizens’ Images of Potential War Crimes in Ukraine Flood the Internet, but Might Not Hold Up in Court

WSJ – Open-source data offers a trove of possible evidence, but it is untested at the International Criminal Court – “Each morning as he sips his coffee, Giancarlo Fiorella opens Telegram, a social-media app popular in Ukraine, and starts scanning for videos of potential war crimes—attacks on schools, or use of cluster munitions. When he… Continue Reading

The Power of Big Oil

“FRONTLINE examines the fossil fuel industry’s history of casting doubt and delaying action on climate change. This three-part series traces decades of missed opportunities and the ongoing attempts to hold Big Oil to account.” See also – The Guardian – ‘”In a powerful new three-part docuseries, the oil industry is put on trial as the… Continue Reading

This Job Description Heatmap Shows You What Candidates Really Care About (and What They Ignore)

LinkedIn study (published in 2018 – very relevant now): “You’ve spent forever crafting that job description—and you’d like to think candidates are poring over every single word of your masterpiece. But, they’re not. There are whole sections of your job description that candidates pretty much ignore, and other parts where they’re hungry for more details.… Continue Reading

How Elon Musk might shift Twitter content moderation

Brookings: “…So, what is Musk likely to do with Twitter? He presents himself as a philanthropic custodian of a public resource. In an onstage interview at the TED2022 conference, Musk said, “this isn’t a way to make money. My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive… Continue Reading

Are We in the Middle of an Invisible COVID Wave?

The Atlantic – No one’s actually sure….”At least so far, the official numbers in the U.S. don’t seem to show that a similar wave has made it stateside. But those numbers aren’t exactly reliable these days. In recent months, testing practices have changed across the country, as at-home rapid tests have gone fully mainstream. These… Continue Reading

As Polaroid’s SX-70 turns 50, instant photography is booming

Fast Company: “Fifty years ago today, photography changed forever. The 3,000-something people assembled at a Polaroid warehouse in Needham, Massachusetts were the first to hear the news from Polaroid founder/president/resident genius Edwin H. Land himself, who declared it to be a turning point for the medium. Land was presiding over Polaroid’s annual meeting on April… Continue Reading