Hacker News with Generative AI: Disinformation

MPs to summon Elon Musk to testify about X's role in UK summer riots (theguardian.com)
MPs are to summon Elon Musk to testify about X’s role in spreading disinformation, in a parliamentary inquiry into the UK riots and the rise of false and harmful AI content, the Guardian has learned.
Brazil leads new international effort against climate lies at the G20 summit (theverge.com)
Brazil and the United Nations launched a new international effort to combat disinformation on climate change.
You're being targeted by disinformation networks (reddit.com)
You know that Russia and other governments try to manipulate people online.  But you almost certainly don't how just how effectively orchestrated influence networks are using social media platforms to make you -- individually-- angry, depressed, and hateful toward each other.
Images of Spain's floods weren't made by AI. Trouble is, people think they were (theguardian.com)
My eye was caught by a striking photograph in the most recent edition of Charles Arthur’s Substack newsletter Social Warming. It shows a narrow street in the aftermath of the “rain bomb” that devastated the region of Valencia in Spain.
Russian disinformation network is taking aim at US presidential election (cnn.com)
Voting machine companies are fighting the next disinformation war (theverge.com)
Smartmatic and Dominion are trying to debunk false stories and rebuild trust — but that’s a tall order in 2024.
Musk and Friends Are Smothering the Internet's Truth Seekers (bloomberg.com)
Not long after Hurricane Helene wrought destruction across the southern US, a more bewildering storm blew through: Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) bumped up against angry residents and armed militia in Tennessee and North Carolina, people who’d been riled up by rumors that the officials were there to take their homes.
The Army of Election Officials Ready to Reject the Vote (nytimes.com)
A movement driven by disinformation about Trump’s 2020 defeat has taken over many of the boards that certify elections. It could cause chaos in the weeks ahead.
Russia amplified hurricane disinformation to drive Americans apart (abc7chicago.com)
Russia has helped amplify and spread false and misleading internet claims about recent hurricanes in the United States and the federal government's response, part of a wider effort by the Kremlin to manipulate America's political discourse before the presidential election, new research shows.
Putin's pro-Trump trolls accuse Harris of poaching rhinos (theregister.com)
Russian, Iranian, and Chinese trolls are all ramping up their US election disinformation efforts ahead of November 5, but – aside from undermining faith in the democratic process and confidence in the election result – with very different objectives, according to Microsoft.
Everything Is a Conspiracy Theory When You Don't Bother to Educate Yourself (techdirt.com)
I talk a lot about confirmation bias here because it’s at the heart of many of the debates and discussions regarding disinformation. It’s something we can all fall prey to, at times. But lately, I’ve been thinking a lot more about what makes one more susceptible to confirmation bias, and I’m increasingly coming around to the idea that it has to do with a combination of intellectual curiosity and trust.
Leaked internal documents from a Kremlin-controlled propaganda center (vsquare.org)
Leaked internal documents from a Kremlin-controlled propaganda center reveal how a well-coordinated Russian campaign supported far-right parties in the European Parliament elections — and planted disinformation across social media platforms to undermine Ukraine.
GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar (hks.harvard.edu)
Academic journals, archives, and repositories are seeing an increasing number of questionable research papers clearly produced using generative AI. They are often created with widely available, general-purpose AI applications, most likely ChatGPT, and mimic scientific writing. Google Scholar easily locates and lists these questionable papers alongside reputable, quality-controlled research. Our analysis of a selection of questionable GPT-fabricated scientific papers found in Google Scholar shows that many are about applied, often controversial topics susceptible to disinformation: the environment, health, and computing. The resulting enhanced potential for malicious manipulation of society’s evidence base, particularly in politically divisive domains, is a growing concern.
China is pushing divisive political messages online using fake U.S. voters (npr.org)
Tenet Media said it's home to heterodox thinkers. DOJ says it's Kremlin funded (gizmodo.com)
Right-Wing Network Tenet Media Allegedly Spread Russian Disinformation (wired.com)
US conservative influencers 'victims' of Russian disinformation campaign (theguardian.com)
Iran Emerges as a Top Disinformation Threat in U.S. Presidential Race (nytimes.com)
Musk's X suspended in Brazil after disinformation row (bbc.com)
Brazilian judge orders suspension of X in disinformation battle (washingtonpost.com)
FBI Resumes Communication with Facebook, X and Others on Foreign Disinformation (nytimes.com)
Meta shutters tool used to fight disinformation, despite outcry (npr.org)
'Massive disinformation campaign' is slowing global transition to green energy (theguardian.com)
'Massive disinformation campaign' is slowing global transition to green energy (theguardian.com)
Online disinformation sparked a wave of far-right violence in the UK (cnbc.com)
Disinformation from an AI Spam Farm Ended Up on Top of Google Search Results (wired.com)
EU charges Elon Musk's X for letting disinfo run wild (politico.eu)
Disinformation networks 'flooded' X before EU elections, report says (theguardian.com)
How Disinformation from a Russian AI Spam Farm Ended Up on Top of Google Search (wired.com)
Leaks reveal how Russia's foreign intelligence runs disinformation campaigns (theins.ru)