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   Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:36 JST Nonilex

   #Stanford’s top #disinformation #research collapses under #RightWing efforts

   Stanford #Internet Observatory, which published some of the most influential analysis on the spread of false info on #socialmedia during #elections, has shed most of its staff & may shut down amid #political & #legal attacks that have cast a pall on efforts to study #online #misinformation.
   
#law #Policy #CyberSecurity #Congress #propaganda
   https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/14/stanford-internet-observatory-disinformation-research-lawsuits-politics/

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:18 JST Nonilex

     in reply to

     “We are thankful to #Stanford for defending our work, including in front of the US #SupremeCourt, & are confident that the #judicial system will eventually act to protect our speech & the speech of other #academics.”

     #SCOTUS will rule within weeks on a case known as #MissouriVBiden, which includes claims against the #Internet Observatory.

     #law #disinformation #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #InfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #election #Congress

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:19 JST Nonilex

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     In a joint stmnt, Stamos & DiResta said their work involved much more than #elections, & that they had been unfairly maligned.

     “The politically motivated attacks against our #research on elections & #vaccines have no merit, & the attempts by #partisan #House cmte chairs to suppress #FirstAmendment protected research are a quintessential example of the #WeaponizationOfGovernment.”


     #law #disinformation #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #InfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #election #Congress

     Bill repeated this.
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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:21 JST Nonilex

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     #GymJordan has demanded reams of documents from #Stanford, including RECORDS OF STUDENTS discussing #socialmedia posts as they volunteered to help the #Internet Observatory, & Stamos testified before the #House #Judiciary Cmte for 8 hrs. #Trump adviser #StephenMiller’s #law firm filed a #FirstAmendment lawsuit in May 2023 against the Observatory, Stamos, DiResta & others, which is still pending.

     #disinformation #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #InfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #election #Congress

     Bill repeated this.
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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:25 JST Nonilex

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     The study of #misinformation has become increasingly controversial, & Stamos, DiResta & Starbird have been besieged by lawsuits, document requests & #threats of physical harm. Leading the charge is #Republican Rep #GymJordan, whose #House subcmte alleges the #Internet Observatory *improperly* worked w/federal ofcls & #socialmedia companies to violate the #FreeSpeech rights of #conservatives.

     #disinformation #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #InfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #election #Congress

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:26 JST Nonilex

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     #Stanford University spox Dee Mostofi said in a statement that much of the Observatory work was continuing under new leadership….
     
“Stanford remains deeply concerned about efforts, including #lawsuits & #congressional investigations, that chill #freedom of #inquiry & undermine legitimate & much needed #academic #research — both at Stanford & across #academia,” Mostofi added.

     #disinformation #NationalSecurity #ForeignInfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #ElectionIntegrity #CyberSecurity #FarRight

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:29 JST Nonilex

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     Brown University professor Claire Wardle said the #Internet Observatory had created innovative methodology & trained the next generation of #disinformation experts.
     
“Closing down a lab like this would always be a huge loss, but doing so now, during a year of #global #elections, makes absolutely no sense … We need universities to use their resources & standing in the community to stand up to criticism & headlines,” said Wardle, who led #research at anti- #misinformation nonprofit First Draft.

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:30 JST Nonilex

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     “The #Stanford #Internet Observatory has played a critical role in understanding a range of #digital harms,” said Kate Starbird, who led the University of Washington’s work on the Partnership & continues to publish on #election #misinformation.
     
Starbird said that while most #academic studies of #online #manipulation look backward from much later, the Observatory’s “rapid analysis” helped people around the world understand what they were seeing on #platforms as it happened.

     #disinformation

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:32 JST Nonilex

     in reply to

     #AlexStamos, the fmr #Facebook chief #security officer who founded the #Internet Observatory 5 yrs ago, moved into an advisory role in Nov. Observatory #research manager Renée DiResta’s contract was not renewed in recent wks.
     
The collapse of the 5-yr-old Observatory is the latest & largest of a series of setbacks to the community of #researchers who try to detect #propaganda & explain how #FalseNarratives are manufactured, gather momentum & become accepted by various groups.

     #NationalSecurity

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:32 JST Nonilex

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     It follows Harvard’s dismissal of #misinformation expert #JoanDonovan. A Dec whistleblower complaint alleged she used the university’s close & lucrative ties w/ #Facebook parent #Meta led the university to clamp down on her work, which was highly critical of the #socialmedia giant’s practices.

     #law #election #ElectionIntegrity #disinformation #NationalSecurity #ForeignInfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #Policy #CyberSecurity #ViralFalsehoods #Congress #propaganda

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:34 JST Nonilex

     in reply to

     2 ongoing lawsuits & 2 #congressional inquiries into the Observatory have cost #Stanford millions of dollars in #legal fees. Students & scholars affiliated w/the program say they have been worn down by online #attacks & #harassment, amid the heated #political climate for #misinformation #research, as #legislators threaten to cut #FederalFunding to #universities studying #propaganda.

     #law #disinformation #NationalSecurity #FarRight #extremism #MAGA #ForeignInfluenceCampaigns #propaganda

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     Nonilex (nonilex@masto.ai)'s status on Saturday, 15-Jun-2024 03:28:35 JST Nonilex

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     Just 3 staffers remain at the Observatory, who will either leave or find roles at #Stanford’s #Cyber #Policy Center, which is absorbing what remains of the program, acc/to 8 people familiar w/the developments.
     
The #ElectionIntegrity Partnership, a prominent consortium run by the Observatory & a University of Washington team to identify #ViralFalsehoods about #election procedures & outcomes in real time, has updated its webpage to say its work has concluded.

     #law #CyberSecurity #disinformation