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Before Senate Facebook, Twitter Defend Efforts to Stop Fake News

Facebook and Twitter executives defended recent efforts to stop the use of their platforms by Russia, Iran and other countries to influence U.S. elections.

IFTF report graphic

Episode 105: Is Trolling a Human Rights Abuse? Also: the Do’s and Dont’s of Ransomware Negotiation

In this week’s podcast: a report out last week from The Institute for the Future makes clear that state sponsored trolling has gone global and is now a go-to tool for repressive regimes worldwide, constituting a new form of human rights abuse. Ben Nimmo of The Atlantic Council joins us to discuss. Also: ransomware is one of the most effective forms of online crime. Despite that, many organizations have no formal plan for responding to a ransomware attack: we talk with Thomas Hofmann of the firm Flashpoint*, which has launched a new service to help firms prepare for and respond to ransomware.

Russian Fake News Ecosystem Targets Syrian Human Rights Workers

Kremlin linked news sites like RT and Sputnik figure prominently in an online disinformation campaign portraying Syrian humanitarian workers (“White Helmets”) as terrorists and crisis actors, according to an analysis by researchers at University of Washington and Harvard. 

Podcast: Facebook Makes a Stand. But can Fake News be stopped?

In-brief: Facebook on Thursday unveiled a new initiative to stamp out disinformation and ‘fake news,’ but University of Washington researcher Kate Starbird, who is studying online ‘counter narratives’ says that conspiracy theories and ‘truthers’ may be here to stay. 

Boris Beckers Twitter Account was hacked.

Twitter Hack is latest to underscore Third Party App Risk

In-brief: security experts are warning about the threat posed by third-party applications that tap into prominent social media platforms like Twitter after accounts belonging to media organizations and prominent personalities were hacked and hijacked to display messages accusing Dutch and German officials of Nazi sympathies.