This week…
The weather is getting cooler. I don’t like what’s coming next.
Anyway, here’s a selection of top stories on my radar, a few personal recommendations, and the chart of the week.
Doxxed, threatened, and arrested: Russia’s war on Wikipedia editors
Masha Borak for Nieman Lab:
[Mark] Bernstein’s arrest and the threats to individual Wikipedia editors are part of a broader campaign to stifle the platform as the Russian government pushes a pro-war propaganda drive, including banning Western social media platforms and cracking down on independent reporting. Although local media has linked the Mrakoborec group to the Russian government, observers say that the connection is difficult to prove, as groups such as these are created to provide the government with plausible deniability.
The organization that runs Wikipedia has also found itself targeted by Russia’s propaganda drive. In March, Russia passed a law that criminalized the publishing of any information about the military that the state considers to be false information. Under the new law, a Russian court fined the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, 5 million rubles (USD $88,000) for failing to remove what a Russian court claimed was disinformation about the war in Ukraine. The organization launched an appeal in June.
Meta, TikTok, Youtube and Twitter dodge questions on social media and national security
Taylor Hatmaker for TechCrunch:
Committee Chair Sen. Gary Peters pressed each company to disclose the number of employees they have working full-time on trust and safety and each company in turn refused to answer — even though they received the question prior to the hearing. Twitter General Manager of Consumer and Revenue Jay Sullivan chipped in the only numerical response, noting that the company has 2,200 people working on trust and safety “across Twitter,” though it wasn’t clear if those employees also did other kinds of work.
It’s no secret that social media moderation is patchy, reactive and uneven, largely because these companies refuse to invest more deeply in the teams that protect people on their platforms. “We’ve been trying to get this information for a long time,” Peters said. “This is why we get so frustrated.”
The Follower
Surveillance artist Dries Depoorter uses AI and open cameras to search how Instagram photos are taken. Find out more about The Follower here.
What I read, listen, and watch…
I’m reading about predatory conferences by Matthieu Chartier on Eos.
I’m listening to CBC’s At Issue panel discuss Pierre Poillievre’s first few days as leader of the Conservative Party.
I’m watching House of Hammer. Not very tightly put together, but if you’re interested in the Armie Hammer saga, it’s only a short three-parter to get you caught up.
Reviews, opinion pieces and other stray links:
How Twitter’s edit button could fuel misinformation by Jake Lloyd for Poynter.
Data sharing should not be an afterthought in digital health innovation by Soyean Kim, William Hsiao, and Nancy Olewiler for Policy Option.
Inside the world of leg lengthening by Chris Gayomali for GQ.
Her dad’s killing made headlines; now she creates content about it by Jessica Lucas for Input.
Chart of the week
Do you feel like the world has become less democratic? You’re probably right. Bastian Herre’s piece for Our World in Data shows that regardless of how we measure it, democracy is in decline.
And one more thing
I will be a tabulator officer at the Toronto Elections on October 24th. I’m not a Canadian citizen but I still get to play a role in the election process! Did you know the Toronto Elections is the fourth largest municipal election in North America? There are more than 1.89 million eligible voters, 15,000 elections staff, and approximately 1,500 voting places planned for this year’s election.
Voter information is available here.