April 16: AI bots spreading disinfo

This is a shortened version of Get Smart About News, a free weekly newsletter that explores trends and issues in misinformation, social media, artificial intelligence and journalism. Subscribe HERE.

Top Story of the week

Beware of AI-powered bot accounts on social media, which can amplify disinformation and can be bought to boost the number of followers for an account. Social media companies often aren’t transparent about the number of bots on their platform, but in 2017 researchers found that there were around 23 million bots on Twitter (now called X), or about 8.5% of the platform’s users — and more than two-thirds of all tweets at the time came from these accounts. Much of this disinformation revolves around political campaigns.

Resources:

• “Introduction to Algorithms” (Checkology virtual classroom).
• “Botometer X” (Indiana University Observatory on Social Media).

Related:?

• “New effort to ‘inoculate’ U.S. voters against AI misinformation” (Ryan Heath, Axios).
• “Yes, Biden is really running in November. But a lot of voters say they doubt it” (Tamara Keith, NPR).
• “Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information” (Ali Swenson and Melissa Goldin, The Associated Press).

RumorGuard post of the week

NLP created RumorGuard to fact-check viral rumors and help you build news literacy skills. Sign up to push back against misinformation HERE.

Posts falsely claim surge in migrants registering to vote without photo ID

? NO: Millions of people did not register to vote without a photo ID in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arizona during the first three months of 2024.NO: Noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections in the United States, even if they are authorized to work in the U.S. and have obtained a Social Security number.

?? YES: The data cited in the posts refers to the total number of requests from these states to the Social Security Administration to verify voter identities using their Social Security numbers over the past three months, not to new voter registrations.

?? YES: State election officials in Texas, Pennsylvania and Arizona said the totals cited in the posts are incorrect and that the actual number of new voter registration applications is far lower.

NewsLit takeaway:?Social media posts that cite statistics and links can appear, at first glance, to offer sound evidence for claims. While it can be tempting to accept the “evidence” that accompanies sensational posts like these — especially when they confirm a pre-existing belief — it’s always good to pause and critically examine them further. In this case, genuine data is being misrepresented to support the false claim that voting is being rigged and to undermine people’s faith in democracy and elections.

The claim that noncitizens are registering to vote is part of a growing trend in election misinformation that seeks to exploit controversy over illegal immigration to push falsehoods that exaggerate the threat of election fraud. Finally, it’s always important to consider the source of a claim before engaging with a social media post. In this case, this rumor was being spread by accounts that frequently push falsehoods.

Kickers of the week

? A controversial?essay?by a longtime NPR editor alleges that the news organization has veered more politically left in recent years as it embraced diversity initiatives — while other NPR journalists say those initiatives are?more inclusive?and representative of the public. The essay sparked journalism debates about?news bias,?racism?and?politics.

? Can you spot AI-generated audio or video? This CNBC piece highlights ways to verify a voice or video to avoid being scammed by tech-savvy bad actors — for example, by asking someone for “proof of life” or a code word.

? Two tribal nations filed a lawsuit against several major social media companies, including Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms, saying these platforms contribute to high rates of suicide among Native American youth.

One last thing...

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