DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

They’ve pressed forward even though a majority of Americans still see the Capitol rioters as responsible for an attack against democracy, according to the most recent polling. The most pressing concerns are for convicted rioters required to report to prison before Trump’s inauguration in January, and for rioters with sentencing hearings coming up, according to a source familiar with the discussions. “They’re thrilled with the election, but there’s a lot of uncertainty from their perspective,” the source told CNN. For convicted rioters already serving prison sentences, there’s even less hope to get them out based on Trump’s campaign rhetoric, the source said. She later told CNN that her strategy guide has already been sent to Trump and the Republican National Committee.

Persons: Trump, Micki Witthoeft, Ashli Babbitt, Donald Trump, They’ve, MAGA, “ We’re, hasn’t, ”, John Pierce, “, “ He’s, Jeffrey Crouch, insurrectionists, ‘, ” Zachary Alam, Joseph McBride, ” McBride, Savannah Huntington, Rachel Powell, Powell, she’s, “ They’re, they’re, Suzzanne Monk, Monk, ” Monk, Charlie Kirk, Glenn Beck, Kirk, It’s, can’t, Crouch, Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden, ” Crouch, Trump’s, Clinton, Bush, Tom Cotton, Markwayne Mullin, ” Marcus Childress, don’t, it’s, Aquilino Gonell, Biden, Kamala Harris, Harry Dunn, Sean R, Clark, Emily R, Condon Organizations: Washington CNN, Air Force, Capitol, GOP, “, Trump, American University, CNN, Trump –, DC, Defense, Justice Department, American Patriot Relief, American, J6, Republican National Committee, Glenn Beck Program, FBI, Trump Republicans, Former US Capitol Police, US Capitol Police Locations: Savannah, West Virginia, DC, pardoning, Vietnam

“I have a plan and strategy,” Ivan Raiklin, a former Green Beret and political operative who has close ties to associates of Trump, told a group of Pennsylvania activists earlier this month. Four years ago, Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden didn’t truly materialize until after the election. Brian Snyder/ReutersBut this time around, MAGA activists have been planning to undermine a potential Harris victory well in advance of the election, with some even arguing that state legislators should simply ignore the election results and award electoral votes to Trump by default. “Those looking to overturn the election are way ahead of where they were in 2020,” said Harris. Trump himself has echoed some of the conspiracy theories pushed by his supporters, suggesting that election fraud is rampant in 2024.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, –, Kamala Harris, “, Ivan Raiklin, Trump, Ford Fischer, News2Share, Harris, Joe Biden didn’t, Brian Snyder, MAGA, ” Marc Harris, CNN he’s, ”, Emerald Robinson, ” Patrick Byrne, Greg Locke, Kamala, ” Locke, ” Joe Hoft, Steve Bannon, They’ve, Jamie Raskin, Axios, Raskin, Marjorie Taylor Greene, ” Greene, ” Lara Trump, ” Karoline Leavitt, Andy Harris, Hurricane Helene, disenfranchise, Mike Pence, Raiklin, Mark Finchem, ” Noel Fritsch, ” Fritsch, Fritsch, Karen Brinson Bell, Derek Muller, “ It’s, ” Muller, there’s, Michael Flynn, Flynn, Donald Trump, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Donald ”, denialism, Devin Burghart, Pastor Mark Burns of, ” Burns, Burns Organizations: CNN, Green Beret, Trump, Freedom, Reuters, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, Capitol, Democratic, Democratic Maryland Rep, GOP Georgia, Capitol Police, Republican National Committee, Team Trump, RNC, White, Caucus, Republican, University of Notre Dame, Washington DC, Getty, Colorado’s Department of Public Safety, Property, Global, Institute for Research, Human Rights, America Locations: America, Greeley , Pennsylvania, Tennessee, United States of America, North Carolina, Hurricane, Arizona, Florida, Raiklin, Washington, AFP, Pastor Mark Burns of South Carolina, United States

☆ The chemtrail conspiracy theory has its moment in the sun amid hurricanes Milton and Helene
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

As myths about Milton and Helene spread, interest in chemtrails increased too on Google search and social media. Despite the lack of evidence to support it, the so-called chemtrail conspiracy theory has endured for decades. Some of the promotion of the conspiracy theory has taken on a distinctively antisemitic tone. Peters previously promoted the unhinged conspiracy theory that ballots were flown from Asia as part of a plot to steal the 2020 election from President Trump. Friedrich suggested the conspiracy theories blaming weather manipulation for the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton is a way to distract from the real effects of climate change.

Persons: Milton, Donald Trump, Helene, ” Trump, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, ” Daniel Swain, ”, Harris, Hurricanes Helene, Alex Jones, “, ” Jones, Stew Peters, X, Hurricane Milton, ” Peters, Peters, Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rothschild, Greene, Katja Friedrich, Friedrich, Joshua Horton Organizations: CNN, Hurricanes, Trump, Google, Harvard University, University of California, Biden, Pentagon, NOAA, Republican, University of Colorado Locations: Tennessee, University of California Los Angeles, Hurricane, United States, Asia, Arizona, California, University of Colorado Boulder

☆ Georgia group that pushes election misinformation gains influence
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Curt Devine | Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

As an example, he cited his inability to review ballots from the 2020 election. If the system is secure, they would have produced the paper ballots,” Favorito said. Favorito has also made connections with election officials around Georgia, some in Republican-leaning districts. Still, after Donald Trump lost the presidency, VoterGA began peddling claims that “significant evidence of fraud” existed in Georgia’s 2020 election. Favorito and VoterGA have made connections with others in the national movement that has cast doubt on the 2020 election.

Persons: Garland Favorito, VoterGA, they’ve, Favorito, Michael Flynn, ” Gabriel Sterling, ” Favorito, John F, Favorito’s, US Sen, David Perdue, Garland, Matt Hamilton, Holden, ”, ” Holden, “, David Hancock, ” Megan Bellamy, “ We’re, Joseph Kirk, Travis Doss Jr, Doss, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Israel, President Kennedy, Robert, Israel’s, CNN “, ” Garland, Donald Trump, Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com, Doug Logan, Cleta Mitchell, Flynn, Sterling, ” Sterling, Trump, ” CNN’s Sean Clark Organizations: CNN, Peach State, Republican, Trump, “, CIA, Georgia Capitol, US, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Facebook, Georgia, The Atlanta, ”, America, JFK Jr, Southern Poverty Law Center, Nazi, Favorito, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, FBI, The America, American Locations: Georgia, Peach, ”, Ringgold , Georgia, Paulding County, Atlanta, Gwinnett, “ Georgia, Bartow County, Washington, Georgia’s, Fulton County, Maricopa County

☆ 'I agonized over it': Behind the scenes with the reporter who uncovered the RFK Jr./Olivia Nuzzi story
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

After you put out your story and New York magazine put out a statement, Nuzzi put out her own statement, which might change the way people perceive the story. And as New York magazine said, I think they're taking this pretty seriously. Since we're having a media business conversation now: I was surprised when you launched that you made this a subscription product. There is lots of media journalism out there that is for free. So this stuff is expensive, and if you want to support good journalism, I think you should pay for it.

Persons: —, Olivia Nuzzi, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump, Nuzzi, Oliver Darcy, Darcy, Olivia, Joe Biden, It's, She's, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, Tasos Katopodis, it's, I've, there's Organizations: Service, RFK Jr, Business, CNN, Vox Media, New York, RFK, White, York, Getty Images Locations: Olivia Nuzzi , New York, Donald Trump ., York, New York, America

☆ Elon Musk’s attacks on Kamala Harris become more unhinged, with help from AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-03 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, Musk posted an AI-generated image on his social media platform that depicted Harris as a communist, wearing a red uniform complete with hammer and sickle emblazoned hat. ?”The image, which appeared to violate X’s policy on manipulated content, resembled an AI-generated image posted by Trump last month during the Democratic National Convention, envisioning Harris addressing a crowd under communist symbols. Musk’s post came a day after he shared another post with a screenshot suggesting that only “high status males” should be able to participate in government because women (and men with “low testosterone”) are not capable of critical thought. Musk posted it to his 196 million followers with the comment, “interesting observation.”An AI-generated image of Kamala Harris posted by Elon Musk on his social media platform, X. Since taking over the platform, Musk has touted X’s “community notes” feature as a way of transparently allowing crowd-sourced fact-checking misinformation on his platform.

Persons: CNN — Elon, Kamala Harris, Musk, Harris, Donald Trump, “ Kamala, Elon Musk, shouldn’t, ” Organizations: CNN, Democratic Party, Republican, Trump, Democratic National Convention, 4Chan, South, Twitter

CNN —Within minutes of President Joe Biden endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the Democratic Party’s ticket on Sunday, the internet crackled with lies, altered photos and other misleading claims about Harris. Some supporters of former President Donald Trump – the Republican nominee in the November election – even suggested Biden was the victim of a coup. Meanwhile, a slew of slickly edited pro-Harris videos quickly proliferated on social media as her backers tried to capitalize on the moment. Biden’s likeness was also exploited in the aftermath of his announcement, which came via a post on social media and not televised address. Harris’ team has also embraced a viral post from British pop singer Charli XCX that referred to Harris as “brat,” a concept that includes women and queer empowerment.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Harris, Donald Trump –, –, Biden, slickly, ” Erik Nisbet, Elon Musk, Alexander Soros, megadonor George Soros, Soros, Musk, Jeffrey Epstein, people’s, Harris ’, Charli, Kremlin mouthpieces, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, “, ” Joseph Bodnar, they’re, Shane Huntley Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Republican, Democratic Party, Northwestern University’s School of Communication, Trump, PBS, Kremlin, Biden, Google Locations: India, Jamaica, British

☆ Ear bandages are trending at the Republican National Convention
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

How relevant is this ad to you? Video player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues

At the same time, the social media industry has broadly retreated from efforts to clamp down on misinformation. The ease at which false rumors and conspiracy theories rapidly spread on social media threatens the public’s ability to sort truth from fiction. The deluge of disinformation surrounding the Trump shooting shows, once again, that this problem isn’t going away anytime soon. With less than four months until Election Day, the leading social media platforms appear resigned to let the status quo fester. Others get in on the act for social media clout – viral posts can translate into dollars for some online influencers.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, retrenchment, Trump, “, ”, Evan Vucci, Joe Biden, ” –, Biden, Elon Musk, Musk, Laura Edelson, ” Edelson, TikTok, Edelson, Don’t, ’, Sean Lyngaas Organizations: CNN, Trump, Service, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Associated, Republican, CIA, Social, Meta, YouTube, Facebook, Northeastern University, Democracy, Twitter, FBI Locations: America, Butler , Pennsylvania

☆ Fake Tom Cruise documentary is part of a Russian influence campaign aimed at Paris Olympics, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The IOC has placed restrictions on Russian athletes’ participation in the Paris Olympics because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to rule out the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine has infuriated the Russian government. Hany Farid, a digital forensic expert and professor at UC Berkley, said the video had hallmarks of being manipulate using AI. But Lee Foster, another information operations expert, expressed skepticism that the imagery in the video was made using AI. Officials at the Paris Olympics are bracing for a similar threat next month.

Persons: denigrate, Tom Cruise’s, Gavin Wilde, irrelevance, ” Wilde, Emmanuel Macron’s, Matthew Miller, Miller, Hany Farid, Farid, ” Farid, Lee Foster, ” Foster, Russia’s, ”, John Hultquist, ” Hultquist Organizations: CNN —, Ukraine, CNN, International Olympic Committee, IOC, National Security Council, “, Netflix, New York Times, Microsoft, Telegram, Paris Olympics, CIA, Russian Embassy, US State Department, State Department, BBC, UC Berkley, US Justice Department, Paris, Olympics, Google, Olympic Locations: Ukraine, Paris, Russia, Russian, Washington , DC, ”, South Africa, deepfakes, South Korea, France

☆ Trump fans turn US flags upside down to protest former president’s conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hanging the United States flag upside down, a move that is supposed to signal distress and that has ensnared Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in controversy, is now being practiced by supporters of Donald Trump to protest the former president’s conviction in his hush money trial. Prominent Trump supporters such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and former national security adviser Michael Flynn posted pictures of upside-down flags on social media soon after a New York jury found Trump guilty Thursday. By Friday, pro-Trump social media accounts were awash with images of inverted flags hanging on porches and lawns across the country. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, posted an image appearing to show the flag hanging upside down above its Washington, DC, headquarters. “The city was very surprised to learn someone inverted the flags, which were set up in honor of our community’s veterans.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Michael Flynn, Trump, Flynn, ” Dylan Feik, Alito, Jason Aldean –, –, Instagram, “ Organizations: CNN, United, Trump, New, Heritage Foundation, KTLA, New York Times Locations: United States, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, California, Monrovia, Los Angeles County, Monrovia’s

☆ After Trump’s guilty verdict, threats and attempts to dox Trump jurors proliferate online
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —On online forums that have previously been linked to mass shootings, people are threatening violence and attempting to publicly identify the 12 New York jurors who on Thursday decided to convict former President Donald Trump. The calls for retribution began immediately after the verdict was announced. “Hope these jurors face some street justice,” one anonymous user on a pro-Trump forum wrote. The judge in the Trump New York trial issued an order in March agreeing with prosecutors that most information about the jurors would be sealed. Last summer, purported names, photographs and home addresses of grand jurors in Fulton County, Georgia, circulated on the far-right internet after the grand jury voted to indict Trump.

Persons: Donald Trump, suggestively, “, ” Ben Decker, Daniel Jones, Trump Organizations: New, New York CNN, Trump, Trump New, CNN, Advance Democracy Locations: New York, Trump New York, Fulton County , Georgia, Lago, Florida

☆ Kristi Noem’s dog: The internet wants you to believe this is the dog she shot. It isn’t.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Indeed, when I Googled “Kristi Noem’s dog” this morning, it was one of the first pictures that popped up. It was on the “Puppy” subreddit where user “LukeWarm273” posted a photo of their dog “Blue” last year. “He’s a cutie,” one Reddit user responded. “Please join me in wishing Cricket (the dog Kristi Noem shot to death) a blessed journey to the land of beautiful puppy dog souls. The story shows a photo of Reddit user LukeWarm273's dog, Blue, next to Noem.

Persons: Kristi Noem, It’s, Kristi Noem’s, LukeWarm273 ”, NewsGuard, LukeWarm273, “, ”, Noem, Donald Trump’s, haring, lear, ince, taff, ike, rove, ake, hotos, hough, uppy) Organizations: CNN, South Dakota Gov, United Kingdom’s, Cricket, GOP Locations: Washington, DC, ”, South Dakota

☆ How election lies fuel Taylor Swift conspiracy theories
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ How the Baltimore bridge collapse spawned a torrent of instant conspiracy theories
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It is entirely possibly that millions of Americans encountered false claims about the bridge collapse when they woke up Tuesday morning before ever seeing the facts. Politics is everythingWhat is perhaps most notable about how quickly and widely conspiracy theories about a breaking news story spread is just how normal this all is right now. Jewish space lasersAs news unfolded on Tuesday, the conspiracy theories continued. Greene has not weighed in on the cause of the bridge collapse. Jewish space lasers were not responsible for the wildfires, nor the Baltimore bridge collapse.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Israel, ”, Ben Decker, Andrew Tate, Tate, Tate’s, Elon Musk, meekly, Sandy Hook, Alex Jones, “, ” Jones, Jones, Baltimore’s, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, it’s, Biden, Taylor Swift, Joe Biden, Trump, X, David Simon, Simon, –, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Maryland State Police, Coast Guard, Baltimore Mayor, Equity, FBI, Republicans, Netflix, HBO, Georgia Republican Locations: Baltimore, Covid, USA, Romania, United Kingdom, Florida, Texas, California, Georgia

The recordings immediately went viral on social media, and the candidate, who is pro-NATO and aligned with Western interests, was defeated in September by an opponent who supported closer ties to Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AI images that falsely depicted former President Donald Trump sitting with teenage girls on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane circulated on social media last month. And once a deepfake appears on social media, it can be nearly impossible to stop its spread. Šimečka said his team and others complained to social media platforms and law enforcement. He said social media platforms need to “put measures in place” to prevent attempts to meddle with an election.

Persons: he’d, Vladimir Putin, ”, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein’s, Trump, “, Subrahmanian, Alex Curtas, Curtas, Jared DeMarinis, ’, ” DeMarinis, Chelsea Carattini, Ilana Beller, haven’t, ” Beller, Paul Vallas, Sean R, Clark, ” Vallas, Vallas, Brandon Johnson, ” “ We’ll, Slovakia Michal Šimečka, ” Šimečka, Šimečka, ” Daniel Milo, Milo, it’s, ” Milo, Janis Sarts, ” Sarts Organizations: CNN, NATO, Northwestern University, Senior, Twitter, Democratic, Chicago, Political, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Public Citizen, State’s, Republican Party, Commission, Progressive, YouTube, Facebook, Slovakia’s Ministry, Meta, NATO Strategic Communications, of Excellence, Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Intelligence Locations: Slovakia, Moscow, Europe, States, New Hampshire, Russia, China, Russian, Northwestern, American, California , Michigan, Minnesota , Texas, Washington, New Mexico, Idaho, Chicago, Progressive Slovakia, Slovakia’s, Latvia

☆ Former Harvard disinformation scholar says she was pushed out of her job after college faced pressure from Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A nationally recognized online disinformation researcher has accused Harvard University of shutting the project she led to protect its relationship with mega-donor and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The allegations, made by Dr. Joan Donovan, raise questions about the influence the tech giant might have over seemingly independent research. Beginning in 2018, Dr. Donovan worked for the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and ran its Technology and Social Change Research Project, where she led studies of media manipulation campaigns. But last year Harvard informed Dr. Donovan it was shutting the project down, Donovan claims. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is the philanthropy run by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, who both attended Harvard.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Joan Donovan, Donovan, Harvard University’s John F, Dr, Miguel Cardona, Chan, Chan Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, ” Libby Liu, Frances Haugen, “ We’ve, ” Liu Organizations: CNN, Harvard University, Meta, Shorenstein, Harvard University’s, Kennedy School of Government, Technology, Research, Harvard, US Education, University, Initiative, The Washington Post, Post, Big Energy, Big Pharma

☆ 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

The lies and taunts, which Musk engaged with on social media, turned his life upside down, Brody said. Brody filed a defamation lawsuit last month against Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. Online conspiracy theorists soon jumped into the fray. Somehow, someone on social media had found a photo of Brody online and decided he looked like one of the people involved in the clash. The suit alleges that in August after Musk was made aware through his lawyers about Brody’s case for defamation, Musk refused to delete his tweets.

Persons: Ben Brody, Elon Musk, Brody, Musk, —, Alex Jones, Mark Bankston, who’ve, ”, CNN “, ‘ You’re, “ You’re, “, ” Brody, ‘, ” Musk, ’ ” Brody, wouldn’t, Alex Jones Bankston, Sandy Hook, Bankston, Jones, Musk’s, Ben, “ Musk, Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, “ It’s, I’m, It’s Organizations: CNN, Nazi, Twitter, Sandy, Elementary, University of California Locations: California, Nazi, United States, Riverside , California, Portland , Oregon, Riverside, Oregon, Travis County , Texas

CNN —Dozens of young Americans have posted videos on TikTok this week expressing sympathy with Osama bin Laden, the notorious terrorist who orchestrated the September 11 attacks, for a two-decade-old letter he wrote critiquing the United States, including its government and support of Israel. TikTok is hugely popular with young Americans, with a majority of Americans under 30 using the app at least once a week, according to a KFF survey. The attack was orchestrated by Bin Laden, the former leader of the al Qaeda terrorist group who was killed in a US special forces raid in 2011. “There’s no proof it was written by bin Laden and some of the things that he focuses on are inconsistent with his other writings,” he told CNN. New data from the Pew Research Center released Wednesday shows TikTok is rapidly becoming a place where more and more young Americans get their news.

Persons: Osama bin Laden, TikTok, Bin Laden, influencer, ”, al, Andrew Bates, “, ” Bates, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Peter Bergen, Bergen, bin Laden, Pew Organizations: CNN, Israel, Hamas, Center, CNN National Security, Guardian, Pew Research Center Locations: United States, Israel, New York City , Washington, Pennsylvania, America, New York, American, al Qaeda, Palestine, TikTok

☆ Hate groups leverage advances in artificial intelligence to stoke antisemitism amid tensions surrounding Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan Curt Devine Allison Gordon | Donie O'Sullivan | Curt Devine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Hate groups and far-right internet trolls have seized on the tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, while leveraging advances in artificial intelligence to further stoke antisemitism in the United States. “We’ve seen a real concerning ideological convergence between far-right communities online and pro-Hamas sentiment,” said Ben Decker, CEO of Memetica, a threat analysis company that monitors online hate. Karen Dunn, an attorney who sued the people responsible for the violence at the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, told CNN the hate groups “hate everybody, but they hate the Jews the most.”Antisemitism is a commonality that can unite multiple different and competing hate groups, which can then metastasize into hate directed at others, she said. Minadeo, the hate group’s leader, was sentenced this month to 30 days behind bars in Florida, after distributing the antisemitic fliers. Since the October 7 attack on Israel, hate groups also have attempted to latch onto the pro-Palestinian movement to push their own antisemitism-promoting agenda.

Persons: “ We’ve, ”, Ben Decker, Christopher Wray, Memetica, Decker, Karen Dunn, “, ” Dunn, ” Decker, “ It’s, I’m Jon Greenblatt, Jonathan Greenblatt, Greenblatt, ” Jon Minadeo, David Shapiro, “ Heil, Carla Hill, – Organizations: CNN, Defamation, Hamas, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Capitol, DHS, National Justice Party, 4chan, Meta, YouTube, Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon, ADL, Goyim Defense, Third, “, Extremism, CNN Center, Minadeo, Palestine Locations: Israel, stoke, United States, Charlottesville , Virginia, Charlottesville, Calabasas , California, Calabasas, council, Covid, California, Iowa , Massachusetts, Oregon, Fairfax , Virginia, Atlanta, Florida, Palm Beach, Missoula , Montana, Arizona

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 Microsoft’s AI is making a mess of the news
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | Allison Gordon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But the apparent role of AI in Microsoft’s recent amplification of bogus stories raises questions about the company’s public adoption of the nascent technology and for the journalism industry as a whole. The poll prompted criticism from Microsoft’s readers, “This has to be the most pathetic, disgusting poll I’ve ever seen,” one person wrote. “We had a really tight knit, super talented editorial team and we had all worked together for a long time,” Pfeuffer told CNN. “I don’t think people realize how many people use [MSN],” she told CNN. “It felt like I was standing in line at the grocery store reading a National Enquirer front page,” Kawar told CNN.

Persons: Joe Biden, Britain’s, Lilie James, James ’, Anna Bateson, “, ” Bateson, Brad Smith, Bateson, ”, Brandon Hunter, “ Brandon Hunter, Dean Preston, Elon Musk, Pfeuffer, ” Pfeuffer, Biden, Joe Biden ”, Ferris, ” Kawar, he’s Organizations: CNN, Democratic Party, NBA, Microsoft, Guardian, MSN, Guardian Media Group, San Francisco, Microsoft Edge, Enquirer, Microsoft Microsoft, Google Locations: OpenAI, Sydney, Australia, Santa Monica , California

CNN —When Google Maps users navigated to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday, they might have seen placenames that included, “F**k Israel,” and “May god curse Israel’s Jerusalem.”Cyber activists appeared to have targeted the service to post anti-Israel messages, likely by taking advantage of a feature on Google Maps that allows people to create and contribute information about businesses and landmarks that appear on the service. The company did not say if the action was at the request of the Israel Defense Forces. Google took the same action at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year after online researchers used live traffic data to track the movements of Russian troops. It is unclear if the targeting of Google Maps with anti-Israeli messages was the result of the company’s decision to disable live traffic data. After CNN shared several examples of fake anti-Israel placenames with Google on Tuesday, a company spokesperson said, “On Google Maps, we strive to strike the right balance of helping people find reliable information about local places, and reducing inaccurate or misleading content.

Persons: ”, Ben Decker, ” Decker, “, Memetica’s Decker Organizations: CNN, Google, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine

Search resuls for: "Donie O'Sullivan"

25 mentions found