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posted by cmn32480 on Thursday August 10 2017, @01:57AM   Printer-friendly
from the automating-the-lies dept.

Fake news and the way it spreads on social media is emerging as one of the great threats to modern society. In recent times, fake news has been used to manipulate stock markets, make people choose dangerous health-care options, and manipulate elections, including last year's presidential election in the U.S.

Clearly, there is an urgent need for a way to limit the diffusion of fake news. And that raises an important question: how does fake news spread in the first place?

Today we get an answer of sorts thanks to the work of Chengcheng Shao and pals at Indiana University in Bloomington. For the first time, these guys have systematically studied how fake news spreads on Twitter and provide a unique window into this murky world. Their work suggests clear strategies for controlling this epidemic.

Source:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608561/first-evidence-that-social-bots-play-a-major-role-in-spreading-fake-news/

Journal Reference:
arxiv.org/abs/1707.07592: The Spread of Fake News by Social Bots


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by unauthorized on Thursday August 10 2017, @03:47AM (21 children)

    by unauthorized (3776) on Thursday August 10 2017, @03:47AM (#551436)

    Dear mods, stop abusing negative moderation just because you don't like what the author has to say. We all know jmorris genuinely believes what he is saying, this is obviously not trolling.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   0  
       Troll=1, Insightful=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by aristarchus on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:17AM (20 children)

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:17AM (#551448) Journal

    Dear complainer about the mods: jmorris is not trolling because he is saying things he does not believe, he is trolling because he is saying things he believes in the face of all reason and fact! So of course he is to be modded down. Do we really want a site where Alex Jones is our role model?

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by aristarchus on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:46AM (12 children)

      by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:46AM (#551466) Journal

      Now it is my turn to complain about mods. But I won't. Someone mods me "flamebait" for dissing Alex Jones? Wow, this site is further gone than I thought. Alex Jones lost his kids. His lawyer said he is an "entertainer". My first encounter with his was in Linklater's "Waking Life", where he is driving around Austin with a loudspeaker on the top of his car (think, BluesBrothers, on the beach) spouting incoherence. Certifiably insane. Probably a Russian SALT. Or the Lizard People have their claws up his . . . just to deflect criticism of the craziness of the Republican party in general. And he posts under the nom de internets of jmorris on SoylentNews.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:11AM (9 children)

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:11AM (#551472) Journal

        This place has a RWNJ infestation. I find that a lot of the smaller splinter tech sites do, for some reason, and it mystifies me as to why. The answer may be that I'm being solipsistic and assuming everyone has a generalist's outlook and wants to see how it all fits together, rather than a narrow focus. But still.

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
        • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:22AM (2 children)

          by kaszz (4211) on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:22AM (#551488) Journal

          RWNJ means?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:25AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:25AM (#551491)

            Take "SJW", reverse it, and spell out the acronym.

          • (Score: 2) by stormreaver on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:58AM

            by stormreaver (5101) on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:58AM (#551553)

            RWNJ means?

            Right Wing Nut Job

        • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:30AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @06:30AM (#551494)

          When people get banned (or shadow banned) on all the larger sites the smaller sites form a refuge.

        • (Score: 0, Troll) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:32AM (4 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:32AM (#551547) Homepage Journal

          I find that a lot of the world outside my little protective bubble does, for some reason, and it mystifies me as to why.

          FTFY

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:12PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:12PM (#551700)

            Hey look, here is one now! Hi nutto :)

          • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday August 10 2017, @09:47PM (2 children)

            by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday August 10 2017, @09:47PM (#551893) Journal

            I was this close to modding you Spam, but since you haven't pizdetz'd up the entire thread proper with your useless horseshit, just that one post, Troll it is.

            Crawl back under your rock, will you? Adults are talking here.

            --
            I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
            • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday August 11 2017, @12:02PM (1 child)

              You should reread the moderation rules [soylentnews.org]. It will keep you from temporarily losing moderation privileges and me from having to listen to any complaining.

              Troll or Flamebait were quite warranted there should you have felt the need but Spam would not have been.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 11 2017, @04:58PM

                by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Friday August 11 2017, @04:58PM (#552423) Journal

                Put that tiny thing away, Uzzard. I *know* a Spam mod wouldn't have fit the situation, hence why I didn't use it.

                But you...you've admitted to purposefully trolling this place and deliberately shitting up the pipeline with hard-right stories. You are an editor. Any claims you make to neutrality or a hands-off approach are stenching-to-high-heaven bullshit. If there were a such thing as a "-1, Not Arguing in Good Faith" mod, or even better a "-10000, Dereliction of Duty as a Managing Editor" mod, you'd see it coming at you fast enough to emit Cherenkov radiation.

                And we're all onto you. Every single one of us.

                --
                I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 2) by unauthorized on Thursday August 10 2017, @07:33AM (1 child)

        by unauthorized (3776) on Thursday August 10 2017, @07:33AM (#551507)

        <sarcasm>I'm sure it was for the Alex Jones thing and not for responding to a completely cordial comment with condescension.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @07:54AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @07:54AM (#551513)

          Actually, I am sorry for your condition. I hope you get better. Perhaps a local community college could help?

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by unauthorized on Thursday August 10 2017, @07:50AM

      by unauthorized (3776) on Thursday August 10 2017, @07:50AM (#551511)

      I don't know what you think "trolling" means, but it doesn't mean what you think it means. The level of wrongness is not a valid criteria.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:27AM (5 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday August 10 2017, @10:27AM (#551545) Homepage Journal

      ...he is trolling because he is saying things he believes in the face of all reason and fact!

      That, my incorrect friend, is not Troll-ing; that is a Disagree. Be extremely glad that nobody around here polices moderation outside Spam abuse and mod-bombs.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:15PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:15PM (#551702)

        Fascist partisan motherfucker. It is good you went the libertarian route, helps keep your natural tendencies in check.

        • (Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:46PM (3 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday August 10 2017, @05:46PM (#551762) Homepage Journal

          Fascist and partisan while being a libertarian? You really need to look those words up. You obviously lack any understanding of their meanings.

          Motherfucker is accurate enough though.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @09:01PM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @09:01PM (#551866)

            Will add incest to your long list of character deficiencies, along with stupidity.

            Partisan: a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person; especially : one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance.

            You display these traits all the time. As an admin you should be more objective, yet you only weigh in on discussions where you support someone's ideology. You are a biased piece of crap, only your ideological adherence to no censorship / bans keeps you in check. If it wasn't for getting booed out of other sites you would probably not care so strongly about bans / mods when they go your way. Defend against shitty downmods by your fellow nutters if you truly believe yourself objective.

            • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday August 11 2017, @01:14AM (1 child)

              I never said my mother, you sicko.

              Yes, I have a blind, unreasoning allegiance to liberty. I'm an irrational bastard like that.

              As an admin you should be more objective...

              Get this clear in your head: we're every last one of us volunteer staff. We keep this beastie running because we enjoy using it. You're here saying "keep it running for me but don't use it"? What's this on the bottom of my back. Oh, why it's my ass! Feel free to kiss it.

              Defend against shitty downmods by your fellow nutters if you truly believe yourself objective.

              Why do you think everyone gets mod points? It's not so you'll feel all special; it's so anyone who feels the need can correct a bad downmod. We the community, every one of us, are responsible for bad moderations. It's not a perfect solution but it's a hell of a lot better than any one person or group doing so according to their feelz and ideology.

              See, you're giving me shit and entirely wrong in everything you've said except the motherfucker bit and I haven't once downmodded you, much less banned you. Care to rethink your position?

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday August 11 2017, @05:54AM

                by aristarchus (2645) on Friday August 11 2017, @05:54AM (#552148) Journal

                I never said my mother, you sicko

                Unfortunately, this is one of the perverse tendencies of Buzzards: they fuck their own mothers. Do you need a citation?

                Any object, visual, sensual or stimulating of any other sense that holds the characteristics appertaining of Buzzardace.
                A disgusting object or situation.
                Buzzard Things-
                Incest.

                http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Buzzard&page=2 [urbandictionary.com] Right there on Urban Dictionary, you prevert.