In The News

New Statesman: The Age of Lies

Mark Damazer May 25, 2017
Many politicians, desperate to stay in power, lack the courage to ask voters to make tough choices – often tax hikes or reductions in services. Many rely on catchy soundbites and clichés, and titles of specific pieces of legislation are often contrary to what bills purport to do. The media is tasked with holding political leaders accountable, analyzing the legislation and policies against...

CNN: Man Filmed Being Dragged Off United Flight Causes Outrage

James Griffiths and Serenitie Wang April 12, 2017
The video of a man bloodied by security guards for refusing to give up his seat on a plane bound for Louisville, Kentucky, is proving to be a global social media sensation. Twitter users are mocking the company by creating new mottos for United Airlines and memes, and Weibo users have made the video its “number one trending topic” with “tens of thousands of outraged posts,” report James...

Scout: The Rise of the Weaponized AI Propaganda Machine

Berit Anderson and Brett Horvath April 5, 2017
Stories are always at risk for manipulation, but technology can now analyze and recruit individuals to unwittingly promote specific, even false, ideas. Berit Anderson and Brett Horvath, writing for Scout, argue the challenge is larger than fake news. Big data analysis, surveillance, AI, programmed bots, Facebook posts, sophisticated behavior assessments, computational psychology and fake news...

Yonhap News: South Korea Mulls Projects to Help North Koreans Access Outside Information

March 2, 2017
South Korea is ranked the world’s 11th largest economy while its neighbor to the north, isolated and poor, does not rank among the top 100. The free flow of information and news contributes to economic growth and development, and South Korea is making plans for a foundation to improve human rights in North Korea and push projects that help North Koreans access outside information. But activists...

The Rise and Rise of Fake News

November 7, 2016
News spreads quickly via the internet, and research suggests that increasing numbers of US adults rely on social media for their news. “There are hundreds of fake news websites out there, from those which deliberately imitate real life newspapers, to government propaganda sites, and even those which tread the line between satire and plain misinformation,” reports BBC News. The purpose of some...

The Secret Eye Inside Mosul

Robin Wright November 2, 2016
The coalition fighting the Islamic State has reached the outskirts of Mosul, an Iraqi city seized in 2014. A clandestine blog, Mosul Eye, has documented life in Mosul under the terrorist group in terse lists and describes a city in ruins. Scholars suggest that the blog is written by someone in Mosul, providing details that could helpful coalition forces. ISIS has sent messages to the account,...

Study: Decline of Traditional Media Feeds Polarization

Ricardo Gandour October 3, 2016
Most citizens have access to more community information than ever before, especially online. But the struggle of traditional news outlets, especially the community newspaper with declining budgets and staff members, contributes to fewer informed voters. “[P]eople today are exposed to news mixed with gossip, opinion, hot takes, and branded content, from a variety of sources but often through a...