Carl Sullivan
Carl Sullivan  ·  last week
I joined Twitter in 2008, making 7,500 posts through the years. I deactivated my X account today.

I greatly curtailed my usage of the platform since November 2023, when my employer @Flipboard pulled back from engagement. And I haven't posted since April but kept it open for work reasons (to monitor news, etc.).

Why today? The U.S. election made clear how many of my fellow Americans live entirely in "alternative facts" ecosystems. I no longer wish to participate in such a platform — so rife with unchecked misinformation and disinformation ... basically an outrage machine where the algorithm rewards lies and conspiracy theories.

If you're still on X, why?

I screenshot my profile for posterity. And here's also Flipboard's 2023 announcement.

#Goodbye#X#Twitter#SocialMedia#Mastodon#MastodonMigration#Misinformation#Facts

The Conversation U.S.
The Conversation U.S.  ·  last month
Here's a secret: People who spew online lies may not actually believe they're true. You could even call it a conspiracy among conspiracy theorists.

Social psychologist H. Colleen Sinclair and her colleagues highlight a few subgroups of these people. They include straight-up #trolls just trying to promote conflict and harass others, along with people who are making money from the lies they tell and extremists fishing for new recruits.
https://theconversation.com/some-online-conspiracy-spreaders-dont-even-believe-the-lies-theyre-spewing-237730
#socialmedia #misinformation

Nonilex
Nonilex  ·  3 months ago
Secretaries of state are grappling w/an onslaught of #AI-driven election #misinformation, incl’g #deepfakes, ahead of the #2024election. Simon testified on the subject before the Senate Rules & Administration Cmte last yr.
Many of them are also still beating back the ramifications of widespread [by #Trump, #MAGA#Republicans &#ElonMusk] false #ConspiracyTheories that plagued the last presidential election.

#disinformation#FarRight #propaganda#SocialMedia#Moderation #law#ElectionInterference

Nonilex
Nonilex  ·  3 months ago
…“It’s important that #SocialMedia companies, especially those w/ #global reach, correct mistakes of their own making — as in the case of the #Grok#AI #chatbot simply getting the rules wrong,” Simon added. “Speaking out now will hopefully reduce the risk that any social media company will decline or delay correction of its own mistakes between now & the November #election.”

#ElonMusk#ElectionInterference #law#X #disinformation #misinformation#FarRight #propaganda#Online#Moderation

Nonilex
Nonilex  ·  3 months ago
#Grok is available only to #X Premium & Premium+ subscribers, but the #disinformation about #ballot deadlines was “shared repeatedly in multiple posts — reaching millions of people,” the letter read. Grok repeated #misinformation for more than a week until it was corrected on July 31.
Simon expressed disappointment in the way X initially responded. He said the response was “the equivalent of a shoulder shrug. Dismissive & detached.”

#ElonMusk#ElectionInterference #law#SocialMedia#Moderation

Nonilex
Nonilex  ·  3 months ago
Simon reached out to his counterparts in all 9 states mentioned in the #Grok msgs, but only 4 others agreed to sign the letter. All the signatories are #Democrats, except for Schmidt of Pennsylvania, a Republican who is an appointee of Gov #JoshShapiro, a Democrat & a top candidate to be #Harris’s running mate.
#ElonMusk#ElectionInterference #law#X #disinformation #misinformation#FarRight #propaganda#SocialMedia#Moderation#AI
Nonilex
Nonilex  ·  3 months ago
5 #SecretariesOfState plan to send an open letter to #ElonMusk on Mon, urging him to “immediately implement changes” to #X’s #AI #chatbot#Grok, after it shared w/millions of users #misinformation suggesting that #KamalaHarris was not eligible to appear on the #ballot for the 2024 presidential #election in multiple states.
#disinformation#InternetManipulation#Security#SocialMedia#Online#Moderation#FarRight
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/04/secretaries-state-urge-musk-fix-ai-chatbot-spreading-false-election-info/
Erlend Sogge Heggen
Erlend Sogge Heggen  ·  4 months ago
I no longer feel comfortable boosting posts from pure meme accounts unless they’re exceptionally well known or have authenticated themselves somehow, e.g. with a two-way link to the memer’s personal account.

In this day and age it’s just too easy fully automate this type of account as a bad actor with the intention of posting misinformation somewhere down the line, once the account looks legit enough.

#meme #misinformation #bot #safety