In The News

Adventure Journal: American GIs Revealing Sensitive Military Locations on Strava

Steve Casimiro January 30, 2018
Strava is a social media site that aims to connect and motivate athletes around the globe: “Strava works with your mobile home or favorite GPS device to track your activities and share your efforts with friends.” An Australian student studying Middle East security, Nathan Ruser, studied Strava’s map and soon “discovered pockets of activity in Iraq and Syria. Unlike in the U.S., where the terrain...

Washington Post: “Here Is What My #S---hole Looks Like”

Paul Schemm and Eli Rosenberg January 12, 2018
The United States is a country of immigrants. Ancestors of many citizens arrived destitute – from Europe, Asia and Africa – in search of opportunity and thrived. In a meeting, Donald Trump was reported to have rejected a legislative deal on immigration and asked, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” before suggesting that immigration policies focus on places...

Politico: How Facebook Changed the Spy Game

Asha Rangappa December 19, 2017
Law enforcement agencies strive to thwart propaganda and disinformation campaigns, but social media has opened up a new frontier in shaping public opinion. Facebook reported deleting hundreds of accounts based in Russia and paid to promote polarizing material during the 2016 US presidential campaign. “The rise of social media platforms makes the pervasiveness and impact of these operations today...

The Guardian: Russia Tried to Co-opt a Leader of Occupy Wall Street

Micah White November 2, 2017
Social movements can expect infiltration by undercover domestic or foreign intelligence agents. Micah White, an Occupy Wall Street organizer, describes an interviewer who asked questions about an online group, later learning that the phony group was “run by the nefarious Internet Research Agency, a Russian private intelligence and propaganda firm.” Such troll groups target both conservatives and...

CNN: "Kill Them All" – Russian-Linked Facebook Accounts Called for Violence

Curt Devine October 31, 2017
Representatives of social media companies are testifying to US Congress about Russian meddling in the US election through fake accounts and provocative posts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Prior to the hearing, Facebook admitted that more than 100 million Americans may have viewed Russian-made posts. At least 25 messages from a small number of accounts called for violence against...

TechCrunch: WeChat Censors Users Ahead of China’s National Party Congress

Jon Russell October 18, 2017
China’s leaders are convening for the National Congress, held every five years for outlining policy priorities, and government censors are taking no risks. The goal is to prevent internal protests or external disruptions from outside trolls who used social-media messages to influence the 2016 US election. Posting anonymous content is banned in China, and social-media platforms WeChat and Weibo...

Financial Times: Is Facebook Spinning Out of Control Over Russian Revelations?

Hannah Kuchler and Barney Jopson October 10, 2017
Russia used social media to disrupt the 2016 US presidential election and under-cut some of the world’s most innovative companies in the process – “weaponization” in the words of the Financial Times. Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter encourage political comment and gather personal data, then sell targeted, automated advertising. The social-media firms can expect more regulations from Europe...