To cut through online noise and potentially false information surrounding the U.S. elections and ensure that voters go to the polls armed with verified facts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation last week announced it will put nearly $7 million toward fighting misinformation in states crucial to determining the results in November.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday it had uncovered and dismantled a Russian propaganda network with nearly 1,000 accounts pushing pro-Russia posts on the social media platform X.
NBC News
Researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate tested six of the most popular AI voice-cloning tools to see if they would generate audio clips of five false statements about elections in the voices of eight prominent American and European politicians.
The Associated Press
The agency is providing updated recommendations to empower industry seeking to voluntarily address misinformation about or related to their approved/cleared medical products.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media correspondent Marianna Spring has some top tips and talks through the deceptive misinformation tactics she’s spotted on the social media feeds of ‘Undercover Voter’ accounts she created.
British Broadcasting Corporation
Half the global population are voting in elections in 2024. Many already have. This has prompted concerns about fairness and electoral integrity, particularly with the growth of generative AI.
The Conversation
The Philadelphia City Commissioner’s office is spending $1.4 million to hire an outside marketing firm to connect with voters and combat misinformation ahead of the November election.
Axios
Steven Brill writes in his new book that bad information online is eroding trust in institutions and polarizing the world. It’s an argument that has birthed cottage industries of think tanks, nonprofits and media fact-checking operations that seek to counter disinformation.
The Washington Post
Latino voters will be one of the most decisive demographics in the 2024 presidential election. But many are being bombarded with misleading information about politics.
National Public Radio
A historic lunar mission has demonstrated China's growing scientific prowess, but the feat has set off a torrent of misinformation targeting the United States that researchers say reflects their bitter competition in space.
Phys.org / Agence France-Presse
A majority — 78% — of school communication professionals say they have faced challenges with false information in school communities this year, up from 62% in 2020, according to a survey released this month by the National School Public Relations Association.
K-12 Dive
Chances are if you like something you'd like the world to know! Yet, beginning this week on X—the social media platform formerly known as Twitter—likes are now private, at least to everyone but the one getting liked and the user doing the liking.
Forbes
Artificial intelligence tools can create lifelike faces and realistic photographs — and they are getting better all the time. The phony images now appear regularly on social media, with many users seeming to believe that the images are real.
The New York Times
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI may continue to urge social media platforms to take down content the government views as misinformation, handing the Biden administration a technical if important election-year victory.
CNN
Fake websites masquerading as news now outnumber legitimate local news websites, with Russia playing a leading role in their proliferation, say media analysts.
Voice of America
The United Nations has launched recommendations for urgent actions against mis- and disinformation and hate speech.
United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe
Stem cells have long fascinated researchers because of their ability to reproduce and, in some cases, transform into other cell types. Because of this, they are thought to hold the potential for treating many diseases and injuries.
The Associated Press
This year’s college graduates are getting ready to start their new lives! It’s a big transition that includes important changes. Grads may be moving to a new city, finding a new place to live, or searching for a new job. Graduation also often means new financial responsibilities, such as starting payments on student loans.
Better Business Bureau News
Russia has ramped up its disinformation operations targeting the Paris Olympics, this time with a new video that makes it appear as if the CIA is warning Americans about traveling in the city's metro.
CBS News
The first of its kind, independent evaluation of Common Sense Media's media literacy education curriculum shows that it has had a positive impact on students in a United Kingdom study and that the process works.
Common Sense Media / London School of Economics
