The Guardian’s Misleading Fundraising Plea
Chief Justice John Roberts defends judiciary from 'illegitimate' attacks
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday blasted what he called "illegitimate activity" aimed at undermining the independence of the judiciary.
While facing criticism of contentious court rulings is part of the job for judges, some recent actions have crossed the line, Roberts said in his annual end-of-year report.
John Kerry says First Amendment is ‘major block’ to censoring ‘disinformation’
At the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Meetings in New York City Wednesday, John Kerry, the Biden-Harris administration climate czar and former secretary of state, claimed the First Amendment is not so much about protecting free speech but about putting “disinformation… out of existence.” "If people go to only one source and the source they go to is sick and has an agenda and they’re putting out disinformation," he said, "our First Amendment stands as a major block to the ability to be able to just hammer it out...
Russia’s RT is waging covert information warfare around the world, Biden admin says
The Biden administration accused Russia’s global TV network RT on Friday of carrying out covert information warfare operations around the world as an arm of Moscow’s spy agencies, including raising funds to buy weapons for Russian forces waging war against Ukraine. Citing declassified intelligence, U.S.
Trump Promotes A.I. Images to Suggest That Taylor Swift Endorsed Him
Former President Donald J. Trump, who has notably harbored a grudge against the pop music megastar Taylor Swift, set the internet ablaze on Sunday when he shared social media posts suggesting that she had endorsed him and that her fans could help him win the November election. In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, Mr. Trump drew attention to a group of images that were created using artificial intelligence. One showed Ms. Swift dressed up as Uncle Sam with the headline: “Taylor Wants You to Vote for...
Russian disinformation slams Paris and amplifies Khelif claims to undermine the Olympics
The actor in the viral music video denouncing the 2024 Olympics looks a lot like French President Emmanuel Macron. The images of rats, trash and the sewage, however, were dreamed up by artificial intelligence.
Portraying Paris as a crime-ridden cesspool, the video mocking the Games spread quickly on social media platforms like YouTube and X, helped on its way by 30,000 social media bots linked to a notorious Russian disinformation group that has set its sights on France before. Within days, the video was available in 13 languages, thanks to quick translation by AI.
Are social media companies doing enough to tackle disinformation online? Join The Independent Debate
Separating the truth from the lies on social media is harder than ever, with last week’s headlines providing a pointed example of how quickly platforms can be used to spread disinformation.
As families mourned the death of three young girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, riots broke out stoked by disinformation about the suspect’s identity.
EU Accuses Elon Musk’s X of Using Deceptive ‘Dark Patterns’ With Blue Checks
European Union (EU) officials have issued preliminary findings of an investigation into Elon Musk’s X Corp., accusing the social media giant of restricting data access for researchers, lack of advertising transparency, and the design of its “blue check” verified account system leaving users open to deception.
EU says X’s blue tick accounts deceive users
Elon Musk's social media site X has been accused by the European Union of breaching its online content rules, with its "verified" blue tick accounts having the potential to "deceive" users.
The bloc's tech regulator said users could be duped into thinking the identity of those with blue tick marks was verified, when in fact anybody can pay for a blue tick. It said it had found evidence of "malicious actors" abusing the system.
The investigation began under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).
EU takes Elon Musk's X to court over blue checks and ads
The European Union brought its first charges under a new social media law on Friday, accusing Elon Musk’s X of violating the regulation by deceiving users and not living up to transparency requirements.
European regulators say when Musk relaunched the blue check “verification” system after he purchased Twitter in late 2022, he allowed anyone to pay for the once-coveted badge. That led to the platform becoming flooded with spoof accounts, impersonators and a glut of misleading information.