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☆ Biden campaign prepares legal fight against election deepfakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In recent months, the campaign has spun up the internal task force, dubbed the “Social Media, AI, Mis/Disinformation (SAID) Legal Advisory Group,” part of a broader effort across the campaign to counter all forms of disinformation, TJ Ducklo, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, told CNN. It aims to have enough prepared to be able to run a campaign-wide tabletop exercise in the first half of 2024. Existing US election law prohibits campaigns from “fraudulently misrepresenting other candidates or political parties,” but whether this prohibition extends to AI-generated content is an open question. Any political advertiser that uses deepfakes in ads on Facebook or Instagram will need to disclose that fact, it said. The Meta report details how some social media platforms are grappling with how to handle deceptive uses of AI.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, ”, Arpit Garg, TJ Ducklo, Garg, Maury Riggan, “, Chuck Schumer, Schumer, Hany Farid, —, Meta, Darren Linvill Organizations: CNN, Department of Homeland, Social Media, European Union, Digital Services, Republicans, Federal, Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee, University of California, Facebook, Clemson University’s, RNC Locations: European, Florida, Berkeley, United States

CNN —The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found. Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China.

Persons: –, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Chen Pokong, ”, Chen, “, Spamouflage’s, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Jiayang, Darren Linvill, hasn’t, Fan, Communist Party playbook, Mandiant, Nancy Pelosi, ” Ben Nimmo, George Floyd’s, Ben Nimmo, Lindsay Gorman, Gorman, ” Linvill, Linvill, Spamouflage, Jiajun Qiu, Qiu, ” Qiu Organizations: CNN, US State Department, FBI, Communist Party, Meta, Google, ”, CCP, US Department of Justice, Department, DOJ, China’s Ministry of Public Security, Group, New Yorker, telltale, Media, Clemson University, Capitol, Department of Homeland Security, Marshall Fund’s Alliance, Securing Democracy, YouTube Locations: United States, Beijing, San Francisco, China “, New York, China, New York City, America, Washington, Hong Kong, US, Texas, Virginia, Manassas , Virginia

☆ How a real Trump supporter unknowingly became the face of a fake liberal Twitter account
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jaide Timm-Garcia | Isabel Rosales | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Erica Marsh quickly rose to fame earlier this year as a viral left-wing voice on social media. But the face behind the account is real— and belongs to a Republican Trump voter from Florida. Ballesteros first heard about Erica Marsh in March, when her friends brought it to her attention. Mystery remains behind fake accountIt’s unclear exactly who, or what, was behind the Erica Marsh account, or for what purpose it was created. For Ballesteros, even though the Erica Marsh account is no longer active, she worries about the impact it could have on her personal life, particularly if someone recognizes her in public.

Persons: Erica Marsh, Matt Gaetz, “, Erica Marsh’s, Courtney Ballesteros, Ballesteros, ”, Darren Linvill, Hany Farid, Farid, ” Ballesteros, isn’t, CNN she’s, Donald Trump, Biden’s, Linvill, ” Linvill, ” Farid, “ We’re, we’ve, that’s Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Republican Trump, Republican, Media, Clemson University, UC Berkeley, Obama Foundation . Representatives, Russian Internet Research Agency, Facebook Locations: Florida, Ruskin , Florida, Tampa, spurts, United States

A Meta spokesperson did not specify, when asked, how many staffers had been cut from its teams working on elections. Instead, Meta said the social media giant had invested $16 billion in technology and teams since 2016 to protect its users. For years, the social media giant has invested heavily in teams of personnel to root out sophisticated and coordinated networks of fake accounts. In addition to its in-house team, Meta and other social media companies rely on tips from academics and other researchers who specialize in monitoring covert disinformation networks. The launch of Threads even as Meta trims its disinformation-focused personnel comes at a turbulent and transformative time for those tasked with writing and implementing rules on social media platforms.

Persons: Meta, “, –, ”, Darren Linvill, Elon Musk, Katie Harbath, Nick Clegg, ’ ” Harbath Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Meta, Clemson University’s, Sputnik, Elon, Twitter, YouTube, Republican, Biden, GOP, Meta Global Locations: United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, India, Myanmar, Africa, Louisiana

☆ Kanye West’s biggest challenge with owning Parler may come from Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

After being banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6 insurrection, former President Donald Trump backed Truth Social, an alternative to Twitter. Perhaps the biggest wild card of all comes from West’s friend and fellow erratic rich guy, Elon Musk. The billionaire Tesla CEO appears closer than ever to taking over an already established platform, Twitter, with plans to cut back on its content restrictions. Conservative users uninterested in politics may also avoid the alternative platforms because of other objectionable content they host, according to experts who study the space. “Elon Musk could buy Twitter and say, ‘Trump, you’re back, Kanye, you’re back,’ and then Kanye is stuck owning a relatively defunct, somewhat irrelevant platform,” said Decker.

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