Social Media Political Lens

[Holman]

Thread:

[Smoove_B]

I can't help but think the next 12 months are going to be nonstop clear evidence he purchased Twitter for political purposes. I guess we'll see.

[GreenGoo]

One thing he got right is that white people are always the victims. *cough*

[Alefroth]

A tally of companies pulling advertising from Xitter.

https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/he ... ling-ads-x

Ironically, each of the news items is a xeet.

[LordMortis]

NBC Comcast pulling ads from Yacarino(?) has got to sting her reputation. Hope she's getting paid handsomely.

[Alefroth]

Now Musk is threatening Media Matters with a 'thermonuclear lawsuit'. He's so immature.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... s-desert-x

[Jaymann]

Is there another kind of nuclear?

[LawBeefaroni]

Is there another kind of nuclear?

As mentioned in the other thread, he's using bluster to distract from the fact that he's straight up a shitty person. Threatening a "thermonuclear" lawsuit usually means you have a decent case. Not so here.

All they have to do is show that ads were fed along aide nazi/white nationalist posts. Seems pretty binary.

He's also trying to distract from.the fact that most of them actually left because of his own hate speech posts.

[Skinypupy]

His lawsuit basically boils down to “They were right about what happened but I’m big mad about it”

[Unagi]

Is there another kind of nuclear?

The original nuclear bomb (a-bomb/atom-bomb) is from a nuclear fission reaction alone.

Thermonuclear (h-bomb) implies it uses a fission reaction to start a nuclear fusion reaction.

There is more to it, but generally speaking, the a-bomb is first-generation and less efficient.

[Jaymann]

I imagine an a-bomb is still pretty hot.

[Unagi]

Even though you didn't mean it to be, you asked a reasonable question and it has an answer.

[Carpet_pissr]

Soooo is what’s known as an “A-Bomb” a “nuke”?

For some reason my brain had/has a hard delineation between what we dropped on Japan vs what we thought we could hide from under our desks in the 80’s.

[Isgrimnur]

Nuclear explosion

A nuclear explosion is an explosion that occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from a high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission or nuclear fusion or a multi-stage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion-based weapons have used a fission device to initiate fusion, and a pure fusion weapon remains a hypothetical device.

[Skinypupy]

Jesus H Cheeerist. There isn't a in the world big enough for this pandering bullshit.



Oh look...actual weaponization of government.

[Smoove_B]

As it turns out, Nazis don't like it when you criticize them.

[malchior]

It's almost like we have a fascism problem.

[Unagi]

And how dare the people not attend the public square!? Attendance will now be mandatory.

[LordMortis]

It's like it's not clown car but a clown train and somehow Paxton is actually the conductor. He inserts himself front and center on the wrong side of literally everything for nearly a decade now.

[Kraken]

Surprising no one, at least not here: Russia, China, Iran will meddle in our next election.

Heightened online misinformation and disinformation campaigns by Russia, China, and Iran could mislead voters in next year’s presidential election and spark real-world violence, cybersecurity firm Recorded Future warned in a report released on Thursday.

The Russian war in Ukraine, Iran-supported Hamas fighting Israel, and China’s “increasing assertiveness” toward Taiwan are motivating increasing activity heading into the election, the Somerville firm said in the 15-page report.

The three countries will spread misinformation on social media in an attempt to increase polarization among US voters, undermine confidence in election results, and weaken support for providing aid to US allies, the report said. The false information will also aim to trigger violence from extremist groups in the United States, the report warned.

“During the past year, domestic violent extremists (DVEs) have rebroadcast several state-sponsored malign influence operations that align with their ideological goals and have produced narratives and content that has been cited in foreign malign influence operations — likely creating a feedback loop between DVE and state-sponsored influence operations,” the report noted. “Instances of US DVEs physically attacking and threatening election personnel, officials, or infrastructure are very likely.”

Recorded Future chief executive Christopher Ahlberg said his firm has also seen evidence that adversarial nations were adopting generative artificial intelligence, the technology underlying ChatGPT and other seemingly creative apps, to make their attacks even more potent.
...
Brian Liston, lead analyst on the Recorded Future report, said US adversaries could use generative AI programs to create more convincing false information quickly with fewer resources. “There’s just an insane amount of growth in generative AI and the use of that technology for all sorts of different content, from texts to video and audio,” he said.

The United States may be more vulnerable than ever to misinformation and disinformation campaigns because of cutbacks at social media companies and restrictions on efforts to police false posts.

Elon Musk slashed staff that moderated posts on Twitter, now called X, while Meta has said it will allow advertising including false claims about the 2020 election. And a federal court ruling in July banned most US government agencies from contacting social media companies to warn them about misinformation campaigns — though the ruling is on hold while the Supreme Court considers the case.

But we're taking countermeasures, right? Not if Republicans have anything to say about it. State Department's fight against disinformation under attack.

A Republican-led campaign against researchers who study disinformation online has zeroed in on the most prominent American government agency dedicated to countering propaganda and other information operations from terrorists and hostile nations.

The agency, the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, is facing a torrent of accusations in court and in Congress that it has helped the social media giants — including Facebook, YouTube, and X — to censor Americans in violation of the First Amendment.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two conservative digital news outlets last week became the latest plaintiffs to sue the department and its top officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The lawsuit said the center’s work was “one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press in the history of the nation.”

The center faces a more existential threat in Congress. House Republicans blocked a proposal this month to reauthorize the center, which began in 2011, to counter the propaganda of terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. A small agency, with a regular staff of 125 people, many of them contractors, and a budget of $61 million, the center coordinates efforts across the government to track and expose propaganda and disinformation from Russia, China, and other adversaries. With its mandate set to expire at the end of next year, the center is now operating under a shroud of uncertainty, even though its supporters say there is no evidence to back the charges against it.

If the Republicans hold firm, as a core bloc in the House appear determined to do, the center would disband amid two major regional wars and a wave of elections in 2024, including the US presidential campaign.

Our adversaries would like nothing better than a trump dictatorship, so they're singing the GOP's tune.

[LordMortis]

Consider me no one. I'm surprised

And a federal court ruling in July banned most US government agencies from contacting social media companies to warn them about misinformation campaigns

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton...

Now, this doesn't surprise me.

[malchior]

Haven't looked at how Elon was doing and...it looks like Elon is doing well.

[malchior]

Free speech defender Elon Musk's Xitter bans several journalists and leftist commentors today.

The X accounts of several prominent journalists and leftist pundits were suspended from the site, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday morning with no clear explanation.

The suspensions affected several journalists and commentators, including Texas Observer journalist Steven Monacelli, Ken Klippensten of The Intercept, podcaster Rob Rousseau, and Alan MacLeod of MintPress News. The landing page for their accounts says it’s been suspended, but does not give any explanation as to why. A message on the profiles simply states “X suspends accounts which violate the X rules.”

The ban didn’t just hit journalists either. Several prominent-left leaning accounts were also purged from the website, including the account for the TrueAnon podcast and @zei_squirrel, a cartoon squirrel that tweets media criticism of figures like Glenn Greenwald.

The ban was carried out with no overarching explanation; suspended accounts link to the X terms of service, which cover a wide range of possible violations.

“I haven't received any communications from Twitter/X about why I have been suspended,” Monacelli told Motherboard in an email. “I can't think of anything I've posted lately that would be worthy of suspensions. Although I have written multiple critical reports about Twitter/X and Elon Musk.”

MacLeod posted a brief explanation of events on his Telegram and Instagram accounts. “Today, without warning or explanation, Twitter suspended my account,” he said. “They told me to check my email for a reason, but no email has been forthcoming. I have never even remotely been involved in any controversy/ been reported/ been stuck in Twitter jail before, so I assume the real reason is political, especially as high-profile leftist accounts like Rob Rousseau and Ze_Squirrel were also targeted today.”

[Zaxxon]

Haven't looked at how Elon was doing and...it looks like Elon is doing well.

He's entirely off the rails at this point.

[LawBeefaroni]

Haven't looked at how Elon was doing and...it looks like Elon is doing well.

He's entirely off the rails at this point.

Incel Jesus doesn't need rails.

[Zaxxon]

Haven't looked at how Elon was doing and...it looks like Elon is doing well.

He's entirely off the rails at this point.

Incel Jesus doesn't need rails.

[hepcat]

Looks like X reinstated some of the accounts

UPDATE 1/9/24: Hours after reporting out this initial story, some of the suspended X accounts returned. X has not explained what happened and the affected account owners have no idea why they were briefly suspended. The reinstatement came after notable users such as George Galloway, a former member of the British Parliament, called out Musk for banning the accounts.

And Musk is now insinuating he knew nothing about it



edit: I found this interesting. THESE accounts were not banned.



So it's okay to call for genocide, but don't you dare be critical of X.

[Zaxxon]

As of today, Bluesky is now open to the public. If you’re a Twitterer, please consider scooting over now—it’s a much better platform and may actually reach escape velocity now.

https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkqwku6ia32i

[Kraken]

As of today, Bluesky is now open to the public. If you’re a Twitterer, please consider scooting over now—it’s a much better platform and may actually reach escape velocity now.

https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkqwku6ia32i

I signed up. I never twittered and don't know if I'll ever use this, but I'm in if inflating their numbers will help kill xitter.

[LordMortis]

As of today, Bluesky is now open to the public. If you’re a Twitterer, please consider scooting over now—it’s a much better platform and may actually reach escape velocity now.

https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kkqwku6ia32i

I signed up. I never twittered and don't know if I'll ever use this, but I'm in if inflating their numbers will help kill xitter.

I feel like I should do this.

[LordMortis]

DWAC and Truth to merge at a value of 10 billion (Estimated at half the valuation of Xhitter). Suckers gonna get suckered.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/15/trump-s ... loser.html

I am amazed the SEC let this happen from the outset. DWAC was a grift from the start. But again, PT Barnum. TFG lives by that, Mafia tactics, and lawyers... and now one of the world's largest cults.

[LawBeefaroni]

Suckers gonna get suckered.

I have taken a decent amount of their money trading DWAC.

[Holman]

Bluesky is starting to emerge as an important platform in its own right and not just a smaller, less toxic Twitter.

For example: the Hugo awards are currently being rocked by a scandal in which the administrators have been revealed to have blacklisted certain Chinese SF writers for fear of pissing off the Chinese government. It's a big deal.

I saw only vague references to this on Twitter, but when I checked Bluesky I realized that the vital and detailed discussion was all happening there. This is because most of the engaged and interesting SF writers have already abandoned Twitter and adopted Bluesky as the new social space.

[LawBeefaroni]

Wait until Musk buys it.

[Smoove_B]

It's almost like he purchased Twitter to help influence the 2024 elections:

Lax content moderation on X (aka Twitter) has disrupted coordinated efforts between social media companies and law enforcement to tamp down on "propaganda accounts controlled by foreign entities aiming to influence US politics," The Washington Post reported.

Now propaganda is "flourishing" on X, The Post said, while other social media companies are stuck in endless cycles, watching some of the propaganda that they block proliferate on X, then inevitably spread back to their platforms.

...

The Post's report also provided an exclusive analysis from the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), which found that 86 propaganda accounts that Meta flagged last November "are still active on X."

The majority of these accounts—81—were China-based accounts posing as Americans, SIO reported. These accounts frequently ripped photos from Americans' LinkedIn profiles, then changed the real Americans' names while posting about both China and US politics, as well as people often trending on X, such as Musk and Joe Biden.

Meta has warned that China-based influence campaigns are "multiplying," The Post noted, while X's standards remain seemingly too relaxed. Even accounts linked to criminal investigations remain active on X. One "account that is accused of being run by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security," The Post reported, remains on X despite its posts being cited by US prosecutors in a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors connected that account to "dozens" of X accounts attempting to "shape public perceptions" about the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government, and other world leaders. The accounts also comment on hot-button topics like the fentanyl problem or police brutality, seemingly to convey "a sense of dismay over the state of America without any clear partisan bent," Elise Thomas, an analyst for a London nonprofit called the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told The Post.

For 2024:

Musk shut down X's election integrity team because he claimed that the team was actually "undermining" election integrity. But analysts are bracing for floods of misinformation to sway 2024 elections, as some major platforms have removed election misinformation policies just as rapid advances in AI technologies have made misinformation spread via text, images, audio, and video harder for the average person to detect.

In one prominent example, a fake robocaller relied on AI voice technology to pose as Biden to tell Democrats not to vote. That incident seemingly pushed the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to propose penalizing AI impersonation.

It seems apparent that propaganda accounts from foreign entities on X will use every tool available to get eyes on their content, perhaps expecting Musk's platform to be the slowest to police them. According to The Post, some of the X accounts spreading propaganda are using what appears to be AI-generated images of Biden and Donald Trump to garner tens of thousands of views on posts.

[LawBeefaroni]

Didn't he buy it it to fix Twitter's bot problem? And by problem, of course, he meant not enough bots.

This week, Super Bowl 2024 shattered records, with the NFL championship broadcast on CBS becoming the most-watched televised event in U.S. history.

Also riding high from the big game? Elon Musk's X. The company formerly known as Twitter published its own press release, lauding Super Bowl LVIII as one of the biggest events ever on the social media platform with more than 10 billion impressions and over 1 billion video views.

According to CHEQ, a whopping 75.85 percent of traffic from X to its advertising clients' websites during the weekend of the Super Bowl was fake.

"I've never seen anything even remotely close to 50 percent, not to mention 76 percent," CHEQ founder and CEO Guy Tytunovich told Mashable regarding X's fake traffic data. "I'm amazed…I've never, ever, ever, ever seen anything even remotely close."

But seriously, of course he bought it to influence politics and specifically the election. And like I've said a million times, 2024 is going to be a social media clusterfuck of epic proportions. The bullshit will be off the charts and it will drive narratives and influence elections.

[Alefroth]

How things went with Taibbi and Musk.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/twitter-f ... -elon-musk

One-time “Twitter Files” journalist Matt Taibbi stepped up his feud with Elon Musk Thursday by sharing screenshots of a conversation they’d had in which the billionaire told him frankly: “You are dead to me.”

[LordMortis]

Wait, are you telling me monomaniacal billionaires can turn on their support and attack them? That doesn't sound right. Donald Musk and I seem to have one thing in common, now, though. Taibbi is dead to me as well. He burnt his credibility to the ground. But he can go on enjoying the censorship free world's public square xhithole.

[Smoove_B]

Taibbi is a piece of garbage, but I totally missed that he had a falling out with Musk. That's a shame.

[Holman]

(It's also true. Footage from Musk's border trip a few months back shows him wearing his new cowboy hat backwards.)