Page 337 - First Draft News Today

Politicians in the UK and across the rest of the world have been warned to “take heed” of the impact of their words after a crowd of Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, leaving four dead. Right-wing supporters of the president invaded the historic centre of US democracy on Wednesday, driven by his false claims that November’s election had been illegally stolen from Mr Trump by opponents. The events were no surprise to experts who have studied the spread of false information on...

Jan 6, 2021 CINCINNATI — The Bengals have plenty of needs heading into the offseason, but none bigger than their issues in the trenches.  Cincinnatis offensive line is desperate for a talent infusion. They need to find a way to keep star quarterback Joe Burrow upright. He took way too many hits this season, which ended [for him] in Week 11 when he suffered a torn ACL, MCL and other damage to his left knee.  Protecting Burrow has to be the Bengals No. 1 priority and ESPN draft analyst Mel K...

If there’s anything that everyone across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that misinformation is widespread. It’s easy to feel powerless, but there are ways that ordinary people can play a role in the solution. As tech companies and researchers continue working to thwart a range of “information disorder,” experts say that ordinary citizens can also play important roles in combating online untruths. Consider it a cyber civic duty. Why We Wrote This Nobody likes being wrong. Bu...

At the beginning of 2021, millions of Americans appear to disagree about one of the most basic facts of their democracy: that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The consequences of Donald Trump’s repeated, baseless claims of voter fraud will come in several waves, researchers who study disinformation say , even if Trump ultimately hands over power and leaves the White House. And there is no quick or easy way to fix this crisis , they...

Local collaboration is key to slowing misinformation “Again and again, we found that the most damaging misinformation narratives started as local rumors, memes, and misleading photos — repackaged and reshared across the country.” There are no miraculous buttons you can press that will stop the spread of dangerous misinformation online. No sophisticated tech tools or algorithms transparent enough on their face to save humanity. No fact-checks that are so perfectly constructed they get arou...

kgw.com |Dec 18, 2020 Many of these false narratives can be found on the Oregonians for Medical Freedom Facebook page. The group started five years ago and has 12,000 members on Facebook. The organization is against vaccines, but board member Bob Snee said he doesn’t like the anti-vaxxer title. “There are many members of our organization who vaccinate their children,” Snee said. “Some have completely vaccinated their children, others do it on an alter...

© Getty Images / skynesher FILE PHOTO.The BBC has released a guide on talking to conspiracy theorists during Christmas festivities - lecturing readers on how to dismiss alternative views instead of questioning and discussing them. In a highly embarrassing yet entirely predictable U-turn, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has effectively cancelled Christmas for an untold number of Britons, less than four weeks after announcing plans to recklessly relax coronavirus restrictions significantly from ...

As churches prove fertile ground for conspiracy theories, some pastors are taking a stand TueTuesday 22 updated TueTuesday 22 DecDecember 2020 at 8:28pm Reverend Bill Crews has noticed greater interest in conspiracy theories among his church members this year. ( Share Print text only Cancel During the whirlwind of 2020, Sydney reverend and radio host Bill Crews has noticed a surge in an old foe within his flock — conspiracy theories. Christian groups have long been susceptible to conspiracy t...

Coronavirus, conspiracies and cries of election fraud marked 2020 as the year of the infodemic. But the worst may be yet to come RMIT ABC Fact Check TueTuesday 22 updated WedWednesday 23 Misinformation has spread like wildfire in 2020. ( Share Print text only Cancel Bill Gates became a supervillain, arson was blamed for catastrophic bushfires and dead people were said to have cast votes in the US presidential election: never before has there been a year so polluted by misinformation as has 2020...

Combating misinformation in under-resourced languages: Lessons from around the world 21 December, 2020 - 22:50 Perspectives from Ethiopia, India, and Burkina Faso Illustration by First Draft News and used with permission. Editors note: The following article written by Ali Abbas Ahmadi was originally published on the First Draft website. It is being republished as part of a partnership for the webinar on December 10.  The languages we speak greatly determine our access to reliable information ...