Tag: disinformation

Yes, it’s time to act against Facebook – just don’t put the government in charge

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Oct. 6, Jared Schroeder, associate professor of journalism at SMU Dallas, for a commentary about Facebook and ways to mitigate social media bad practices. Published in USA Today under the heading Yes, it’s time to act against Facebook – just don’t put the government in charge: https://bit.ly/3oFMioR

What did we really learn from the whistleblower about Facebook this week?

Not much. We were reminded Facebook has privileged profit over the well-being of democracy. Our suspicions that Facebook prioritized revenue and new users over the mental health of young women on Instagram were confirmed.

This week was a lot like an hour spent on Facebook. It seemed like we were learning new information, but at the same time, we came away with nothing of value. The best we can say is we were reminded Facebook is not good for us, or the flow of information in democracy.

Continue reading “Yes, it’s time to act against Facebook – just don’t put the government in charge”

Government efforts to ‘fix’ social media bias overlooks the destruction of our discourse

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Oct. 15, Jared Schroeder, associate professor of Journalism specializing in Free Press/Free Speech at SMU Dallas, for a piece warning about the damage Big-Tech is inflicting upon our democratic discourse — and making a handsome profit in the bargain. Published in The Hill under the heading Government efforts to ‘fix’ social media bias overlooks the destruction of our discourse: https://bit.ly/3j03LBV

Enough with the bad CDA 230 takes and revisions. Just stop. Each week we seem to see another attempt to revise, do away with, or chip away at Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that protects online platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, from liability for how people use their services.

Nearly every attack is aimed at the wrong problem – limiting political bias and censorship on the part of big-tech firms.

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Untangling the web we weave when Twitter tags elicit Trump threats

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May 28, Jared Schroeder, associate professor of Journalism specializing in Free Press/Free Speech at SMU Dallas, for a piece identifying what’s at stake – and what is not – in the “Freedom of Speech” tiff between President Trump and Twitter. Published in the Orange County Register and Southern California News Group: https://bit.ly/36DpdrX

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The First Amendment, social media, and the president became tangled up again Tuesday when Twitter for the first time tagged one of President Trump’s tweets as false and misleading.

Twitter added a link beneath a set of tweets about mail-in voting. The company urged users to “get the facts about mail-in ballots.” The link indicates there is no evidence of a correlation between voter fraud and mail-in ballots.

The president offered a variety of responses, including that the tag violated his free speech and that he might “shut down” or regulate Twitter.

Let me untangle this mess for you, one string at a time. . .

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Time to vote and rehearse our disinformation drills

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Feb. 27, Jared Schroeder, assistant professor of journalism at SMU Dallas specializing in Free Speech/First Amendment topics, for a piece warning Texas voters to beware of disinformation on social media channels. Published in the Dallas Morning News: http://bit.ly/32x3zn7

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Our social media feeds will have more lies in them than normal this week.

While many Texans cast ballots in early voting, be assured the pipeline of misinformation and disinformation is saturating the channels ahead of Super Tuesday and the massive state and national primaries. Foreign and domestic bad actors live to tamper with our election process.

These floods of false and misleading information on election days have become as much a part of casting a ballot as getting an “I voted” sticker. We should expect and prepare for them. . .

Continue reading “Time to vote and rehearse our disinformation drills”