"This paper describes an infodemic management system workflow based on digital data collection, qualitative methodology, and human-centered systems to support the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Ghana with examples of system implementation. Methods: The infodemic management system was developed by the H
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ealth Promotion Division of the GHS and the UNICEF Country Office. It uses Talkwalker, a social listening software platform, to collect misinformation on the web. The methodology relies on qualitative data analysis and interpretation as well as knowledge cocreation to verify the findings. A multi-sectoral National Misinformation Task Force was established to implement and oversee the misinformation management system. Two members of the task force were responsible for carrying out the analysis. They used Talkwalker to find posts that include the keywords related to COVID-19 vaccine–related discussions. They then assessed the significance of the posts on the basis of the engagement rate and potential reach of the posts, negative sentiments, and contextual factors. The process continues by identifying misinformation within the posts, rating the risk of identified misinformation posts, and developing proposed responses to address them. The results of the analysis are shared weekly with the Misinformation Task Force for their review and verification to ensure that the risk assessment and responses are feasible, practical, and acceptable in the context of Ghana." (Abstract)
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"Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 Filipino reporters and editors from three influential media outlets that then President Rodrigo Duterte targeted as enemies – the broadcaster ABS-CBN, the newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer, and the website Rappler – this paper offers novel i
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nsights on journalists’ counterstrategies with appeals to their strengthened roles as watchdogs, interpreters and disseminators of populist communication. Findings indicate that journalists discard practices like false equivalence and shift roles including from being detached observers to media freedom advocates and truth activists to respond to institutional attacks, rising disinformation, and perceived democratic erosion as they seek to speak truth to a populist in power. The study provides theoretical and empirical contributions by combining paradigm repair and role perceptions as tools in analyzing journalists’ responses to legitimacy threats, and by presenting an understudied case of anti-media populism in the Global South." (Abstract)
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"While social media companies dress their content moderation policies in the language of human rights, their actions are largely driven by business priorities, the threat of government regulation, and outside pressure from the public and the mainstream media. This report demonstrates the impact of c
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ontent moderation by analyzing the policies and practices of three platforms: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Our evaluation compares platform policies regarding terrorist content (which often constrict Muslims' speech) to those on hate speech and harassment (which can affect the speech of powerful constituencies), along with publicly available information about enforcement of those policies." (Introduction, page 3)
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"This research identifies an Indonesian-language Twitter disinformation campaign posting pro-government materials on Indonesian governance in Papua, site of a protracted ethno-nationalist, pro-independence insurgency. Curiously, the campaign does not employ common disinformation tactics such as hash
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tag flooding or the posting of clickbait with high engagement potential, nor does it seek to build user profiles that would make the accounts posting this material appear as important participants in a debate over Papua’s status. The campaign simply employs synchronous, duplicate posts by ostensibly distinct authors to ensure that a significant proportion of posts mentioning contentious special autonomy arrangements are pro-government. Despite lacking sophistication, the scale of this information campaign in overall Twitter discussion of special autonomy adds to concerns about the ability of pro-government actors to employ disinformation to constrict political discourse in Southeast Asia." (Abstract)
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"A wealth of interventions have been devised to reduce belief in fake news or the tendency to share such news. By contrast, interventions aimed at increasing trust in reliable news sources have received less attention. In this article, we show that, given the very limited prevalence of misinformatio
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n (including fake news), interventions aimed at reducing acceptance or spread of such news are bound to have very small effects on the overall quality of the information environment, especially compared to interventions aimed at increasing trust in reliable news sources. To make this argument, we simulate the effect that such interventions have on a global information score, which increases when people accept reliable information and decreases when people accept misinformation." (Abstract)
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"Using survey data from 154,195 respondents in 142 countries, we investigate internet user perceptions of the risks associated with being exposed to misinformation. We find that: 1) The majority of regular internet users globally (58.5%) worry about misinformation, and young and low-income groups ar
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e most likely to be concerned. 2) Risk perception among internet users varies starkly across regions whereby concern is highest in Latin America and the Caribbean (74.2%), and lowest in South Asia (31.2%). 3) Differences are unrelated to the prevalence of misinformation, yet concern is highest in countries with liberal democratic governments. We discuss implications for successful policy and platform interventions." (Abstract)
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"During the monitoring period (February 24 – April 24) the following tendencies have been identified: Out of the 160 false information and manipulative content, mainly disseminated in Russian and Georgian sources, the largest share (49.4%) was directed against Ukraine, followed by disinformation a
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gainst the West (28.1%). Part of the false and manipulative content was aimed at justifying Russia’s actions (16.3%). In order to evade Russia’s responsibility for human casualties, the Kremlin’s propaganda has resorted to the tactic of “whataboutism” – in response to accusations, the Russian side has been arguing that the Ukrainian side was the one killing the civilian population and that the population was endangered not by Russian troops but by the actions of the Azov Battalion and other so-called ‘Nazi groups.’ The denial of Russian responsibility for the military intervention in Ukraine was also bolstered by deliberate disinformation, reinforcing the idea that Ukraine was fabricating information about the victims (Mariupol blogger story, Bucha Massacre). Visual manipulations, including those related to the pandemic, were often used for this purpose [...]" (Key findings)
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"The aim of this research was to study media consumption habits among different age groups and geographical areas, as well as the public's vulnerability to various disinformation and manipulative narratives disseminated in Georgia. The first part of the research concerns media literacy competencies,
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namely media consumption habits, the ability to identify and verify false information, while the second part deals with perceptions of disinformation in relation to 3 thematic areas (Russian intervention in Ukraine, current events/ identity-related issues in Georgia and health). The research was conducted in 7 Georgian cities throughout the month of September, namely Akhalkalaki, Batumi, Gardabani, Zugdidi, Tbilisi, Telavi, and Kutaisi, conducting face-to-face interviews with 140 respondents." (Introduction, page 3)
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"This report takes stock of the early behavioural sciences literature on COVID-19 misinformation. Specifically, it addresses the following three main questions: (1) Who was most likely to believe or share COVID-19 misinformation? (2) What were the consequences of being exposed to or believing COVID-
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19 misinformation? (3) Which behavioural policy interventions were effective in countering COVID-19 misinformation? In addition to addressing these core questions, the report also provides a snapshot of the narratives of COVID-19 misinformation and the prevalence and spread of this misinformation. The report provides insights into policies that can help foster societal resilience against misinformation beyond the specific case of COVID-19, thereby contributing to policy preparation for future crises." (Abstract, page 1)
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"In Thailand, determining what news is true or fake appears to be a political matter. The Thai authorities associate "fake news" with public harm and as a national threat, giving rise to stringent regulatory responses. Official hostility toward "fake news" is influenced by virulent political conflic
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ts that have been played out in off- and online spaces. Since the 2006 coup, various laws to punish those sharing false information and bureaucratic agencies to surveil social media content, have been created. Built on existing legal-bureaucratic tools, the latest anti-fake news regulations will potentially streamline national responses to "fake news" by establishing anti-fake news agencies in every ministry and across 76 governor offices. Such legal-bureaucratic instruments are subject to political misuse through biased identification of false and true information, and discriminatory lawsuits. These are exemplified by the Anti-Fake News Centre whose fact-check system is skewed toward official interpretation of political events, therewith at times dismissing criticisms of the government as false news. In addition, the record of charges against purveyors of "fake news" reveals that opposition politicians and civil society critics are primary targets of the regulatory measures. In contrast, regime-backed cyber troopers who weaponise disinformation against government critics have rarely met the same legal consequences. Political misuse of regulatory measures not only reinforce censorship and autocratic propensities, but also sow public mistrust in official mechanisms to curb disinformation. This sentiment potentially undermines fact-check systems at large, making the public even more vulnerable to disinformation campaigns which genuinely do exist." (Executive summary)
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"This paper is the summary of the results of a research project lasting over six months, covering domestic and foreign hidden malign influence activities pursued through the so-called "grey zone" media in three countries - the Czech Republic, Serbia and Hungary -, during a period of heightened inter
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national tensions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Political Capital has assessed in numerous studies how the Kremlin or the Hungarian hybrid political regime has used their extensive media empire to conduct active measures or political smear-campaigns in service of political or geopolitical goals. In this study, we set out to understand the inner workings of clandestine disinformation campaigns carried out by mostly anonymous media actors to conduct or influence political campaigns, specifically in the run-up to the Czech, Serbian and Hungarian elections, and destabilise the region in general after the outbreak of the war." (Page 2)
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"Structured along two broad themes and providing empirical examples for how socio-technical changes and political responses interact, the first part of the book looks at the current use of cyberspace in conflictual settings, while the second focuses on political responses by state and non-state acto
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rs in an environment defined by uncertainties. Within this, it highlights four key debates that encapsulate the complexities and paradoxes of cyber security politics from a Western perspective – how much political influence states can achieve via cyber operations and what context factors condition the (limited) strategic utility of such operations; the role of emerging digital technologies and how the dynamics of the tech innovation process reinforce the fragmentation of the governance space; how states attempt to uphold stability in cyberspace and, more generally, in their strategic relations; and how the shared responsibility of state, economy, and society for cyber security continues to be re-negotiated in an increasingly trans-sectoral and transnational governance space." (Publisher description)
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"To summarise, three factors define information manipulation today in the observed countries. First, there is continuous enhancement of disinformation technical abilities to overcome the measures taken by IT platforms and make disinformation look more trustworthy, especially using AI. Second, grand
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strategies and narratives for disinformation become more complex, as the narratives and tactics are used for an amplified psychological effect, such as creating mistrust, raising doubt, etc. They are used similarly to pre-propaganda and propaganda itself. The third factor remains the underlying traits of human nature, as in lazy thinking, the tendency to consume more emotional content, etc. There are two main streams of discussion that look into the future of tackling disinformation. The first one suggests that the most promising tool for fighting disinformation is empowering societies through continuous media literacy and overall improvement of the media environment quality. Incentivising high-quality journalism and supporting civil society are a few primary things. Another debate comes with working towards the growing quality of the content circulated on platforms, including social media. Adding to continuous investment in content moderation, another recommendation is to prioritise authentic and high-quality content." (Analysis and Conclusion, page 17)
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"Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Beiträge in russischen staatlichen Medien über Impfkampagnen im Westen haben eine negative Konnotation. Die Übertreibung der negativen Folgen einer Impfung mit Präparaten von BionTech/Pfizer und Moderna sowie die Überzeichnung der angeblich massenhaften Unzufried
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enheit sind dabei die wichtigsten Narrative der russischen regierungsfreundlichen Medien. Die russische Medienpolitik hinsichtlich der Berichterstattung über westliche Impfstoffe entspricht der allgemeinen staatlichen Linie des Kreml, Russlands herausragende Stellung in der Welt und die Unzulänglichkeiten des Westens hervorzuheben." (Schlussfolgerungen, Seite 4)
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"This report details the legal framework / rule of law tools in place, and responses by the government, social media companies, and civil society to address illegal harmful content and potentially harmful content online in Kenya. This research draws from 13 interviews with people active in Kenya's g
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overnment and civil society, along with four workshops held in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa counties. The workshops attracted the participation of 105 actors and stakeholders from civil society, community-based organizations, technology companies, and representatives from line ministries and agencies in government. It also draws from trends gathered from Build Up' social media listening process, along with existing research, legislation, policies, and current events. The social media listening process focused on Twitter and Facebook, from 2017 to 2022, focusing on ethnic, political, and gender-based hateful narratives and peace messaging in the run-up to the next election cycle in August 2022. The literature review and interviews focused on existing legislation or company policies that address hate speech and misinformation, along with actions taken by government agencies, civil society, and technology companies to address related hate speech and misinformation narratives." (Introduction, page 1 & Methodology, page 5)
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"This situation report herein analyses media and information literacy (MIL), disinformation, and trust in news across the Caribbean. It contains country reports from eight researchers, covering eight Caribbean nations: the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Su
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riname, and Trinidad & Tobago. In each country, research was undertaken over a period of five months. The methods varied across the countries, and included surveys, desk research, and expert interviews. Separately, research was undertaken to determine the feasibility of a regional trusted news network." (Executive summary)
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"This study investigated the effect of media and information literacy (MIL) on the ability to identify fake news, disinformation and misinformation, and sharing intentions. The experimental approach was selected to study both the control group and experimental group made up of a total of 187 respond
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ents. Comparative analysis of the two groups revealed that although more respondents in the experimental group were able to identify the inauthenticity of information presented to them, some of the respondents in the control group were also able to do the same, even though they did not receive MIL training. Conversely, some respondents in the experimental group, even though they were trained in MIL, could not determine the inauthenticity of information, possibly because the one-off training given to them did not allow them to assimilate all the information in one sitting. Nonetheless, the results of the bivariate correlation computation showed that MIL trained respondents were more likely to determine authenticity or otherwise of information and less likely to share inaccurate stories. This means that when MIL increases, sharing of fake news decreases. This is yet another evidence that MIL enables information consumers to make informed judgments about quality information. It is recommended that MIL is incorporated into mainstream educational modules and consistently revised to reflect the demands of the times. MIL programs must also consider how to effectively reach those without formal education. Actors within the information, communications, and media ecology must contribute to their quota in making information consumers more discerning with the right MIL sensitisation." (Abstract)
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"This study employed three machine learning algorithms, Naïve Bayes, SVM, and a Balanced Random Forest to build a sentiment model that can detect Muslim sentiment about Muslim clerics’ anti-misinformation campaign on YouTube. Overall, 9701 comments were collected. An LDA-based topic model was als
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o employed to understand the most expressed topics in the YouTube comments. Results: The confusion matrix and accuracy score assessment revealed that the balanced random forest-based model demonstrated the best performance. Overall, the sentiment analysis discovered that 74 percent of the comments were negative, and 26 percent were positive. An LDA-based topic model also revealed the eight most discussed topics associated with ten keywords in those YouTube comments. Practical implications: The sentiment and topic model from this study will particularly help public health professionals and researchers to better understand the nature of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy in the Muslim communities." (Abstract)
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"This work examines more closely the standardizing and the customizing aspects of active factchecking outlets in Portuguese-speaking countries, focusing on the verification methods and organizational models in use. Based on Content Analysis, we collected manually 318 posts during June 2019 from each
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fact-checking outlets website and then examined each post according to six general concepts: discourse, sources, context, classification, graphic representation, and financing. There were 15 active fact-checking outlets in Brazil (13) and Portugal (2). No active outlets were found in the African countries. Findings: Although there is room for inventiveness in fact-checking practices, it is restricted to the classification models adopted and the graphic representation demanded by them. Only two largest Portuguese-speaking countries (Brazil and Portugal) have active fact-checking initiatives during the study period. In Mozambique, we found the outlet named Mozcheck that was inactive with no published content during the research period. From our analysis, we detected a pattern between the type of misinformation and the media to which it is most often linked: false information was circulated mainly in texts, while false contexts were mainly circulated in videos and images led to more manipulated content." (Abstract)
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"This article is aligned with the recommendations of the main international organizations that fight against disinformation and infodemic, providing a review work that can be useful for researchers, professionals and scholars of the subject. Review articles like this one also help to establish futur
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e interdisciplinary developments, as they put the status quo of the question on the table, from which interdisciplinary research teams have a common basis. It was found that in the period studied, the most productive authors at a quantitative level were Magallón-Rosa with 6 papers, Ufarte-Ruiz with 4 and García-M arín with 3 papers. Likewise, studies by Palau-Sampio (2018), Vizoso and Vázquez-Herrero (2019) and Rodríguez-Pérez (2020) are noteworthy for their analysis of disinformation in the Ibero-American area; the work of Salaverría et al. (2020) is fundamental for its analysis of the typologies of hoaxes; and the work of López-Borrull with collaborators is noteworthy for its proposals on curation." (Conclusion, page 662)
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