boxnohako.xsrv.jp

Robot unicorn attack 2 tips and tricks

Backup bitcoin wallet dropbox

Published Wednesday, May 17, Political parties and their supporters are aggressively using social media to try and win elections. Is this truly democratic and, if not, can it be stopped? In Greek mythology, Zeus placed Talos on the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean Sea to protect Europe against pirates and invaders from a part of the world that today we call the Middle East.

The Talos photo, via a Facebook contact, from a magazine that celebrates past British pop culture. Was this just random ordering of content, or a subtle attempt by persons unknown to evoke affinity with political parties who have pledged to control immigration at the forthcoming general election?

In the past, if political candidates wanted to reach voters during election campaigns, they had to hand out leaflets, knock on doors, hold meetings and drive around in vans shouting through loud-hailers. Advancements in online technology have given political parties and supporters new ways of getting their message across. However, according to many experts, events during recent elections show that social media campaigns are influencing proceedings to such an extent that the democratic process itself is under threat.

Over 43 million people voted at the last UK general election. Yet, as our First Past the Post electoral system produces lots of local winners, not one national winner, around one million undecided voters in marginal seats tend to decide who forms the government.

UK electoral law limits the money that parties can spend on campaigning at a local level. National spending limits are higher, but with social media campaigns no one can monitor who is targeted, from where, or how much is spent on what in a specific place. In short, carefully targeted large amounts of national money, way over the local threshold, can be and have been used to influence local results.

Peter Bull, an expert in the microanalysis of interpersonal communication from York University, explains that political campaigners do this because they know many modern voters no longer choose their political party at an early age and stick with it. Simon Moores, managing director of Zentelligence Research Ltd and former technology ambassador for the British government, adds: Moores, who was once on the general election candidates list for the Conservative party and spent 10 years as a local politician, explains that because of this, industries, advertisers and governments are always looking to find new ways of exploiting new media and technologies.

All political parties use social media to target voters. Often the message is direct and above board. Sometimes, parties use seedy advertising strategies and tabloid humour to get their point across, promote themselves or undermine the opposition. In April, Facebook admitted its platform had been exploited by governments and other interests during US and French presidential elections. Academics describe dark money as money undeclared as a political donation which is nevertheless used by outside interests to influence political debate and proceedings.

Moneyed interests have always backed the politician, party or cause they believe will introduce policies that are good for business. Yet whereas UK electoral law requires parties to disclose financial contributions from donors, social media campaigns run by outside groups and individuals can get round this because no one really knows who has said what to whom, with what intent or effect.

So, too, have clever individuals looking to make some money, selling ads for clicks on their web pages. UK electoral law also prohibits political candidates and parties from making false claims against each other.

Earlier this May, Facebook published adverts in UK national newspapers giving readers tips on how to spot fake news. Facebook did the same before the French presidential election. Conservative MP Damian Collins claims that during the run-up to the US election, the top 20 fake news stories were shared on social media more than the top 20 genuine news items.

Half the online news read in the state of Michigan was bogus, according to a recent Oxford Internet Institute study. This content might contain ambiguous spun half-truths, opinions masquerading as facts or, in some cases, just outright lies.

Lileker, who reported on the use of social media in political campaigning after the election, adds that parties themselves are not above spinning a line or two. In March, researchers from the University of Southern California claimed there are around 48 million bots on Twitter alone - that amounts to between nine and 15 per cent of all Twitter users. Some bots, the researchers said, had the ability to emulate human behaviour and could spread rumours and manufacture fake political support.

Zhou explains the main purpose of these bots is to commit advertising fraud. Clementine Desigaud from the Oxford Internet Institute adds that bots can be pre-programmed to distribute information on social media at certain times. TrumpWon appeared all over Twitter after every TV debate during the presidential election. Flynn adds that botnets have another use: Or that the homeless can be ignored because some of them actually choose to live on the streets.

Using indirect propaganda to manipulate is nothing new. As far back as the s, US public relations guru Edward Bernays was providing corporate elites with strategies they could use to control and regiment the masses for their own political and economic gain. Bernays applied the psychoanalytic principles of Sigmund Freud his uncle to mass marketing.

The PR man believed conscious and intelligent manipulation of organised habits and opinions of the masses was an important element in a democratic society. After all, the masses were driven by basic instincts outside their understanding. Bernays helped the Woodrow Wilson administration sell the idea that American involvement in the First World War was driven by a philanthropic desire to safeguard democracy in Europe.

Nothing to do with stopping Germany and other Central Powers from imposing restrictions on American trading in European markets, should they win the war. Saddled with democratic elections and the need to secure popular approval, Bernays believed it was right and proper that a hidden, invisible group of elites should seek to control popular sentiment.

Official investigations into some of this are under way. It was also active in the recent US presidential election. He is concerned, though, that censorship could go too far in inhibiting free speech. Action by social media providers can also have an impact. The Oxford Internet Institute found that only five per cent of news during the French presidential election was fake. Just before the election, Facebook had suspended 30, accounts in France for spreading spam, misinformation and other deceptive comment.

It targeted suspect accounts that posted regularly to big audiences. Moore believes social media users need to be much more aware of how social media works, how information appears on their pages and feeds and why, and what happens to content they engage with.

That means avoiding personality quizzes, which look harmless but provide data-mining companies with valuable profiling data, and only sharing and liking content that the user has actually read. Similarly, users should check through newspapers themselves for news, rather than simply scrolling down social media pages.

Moore admits we need to find a way to make professionally produced news more sustainable, particularly at the local level. Fake Twitter accounts can be identified. Moore adds that algorithms and language processing software can identify particular phrases associated with fake news, but warns the success rate is low.

The Oxford Internet Institute is designing a tool that detects these bots. According to Flynn, we need some sort of fact checker in the meantime. Our sites use cookies to support some functionality, and to collect anonymous user data. Welcome Your IET account. Are political social media campaigns a threat to democratic elections? Watch out for Catchy headlines with exclamation marks that make shocking claims Phoney or look-alike URLs Is the source reputable?

Online advert complaints surpass those for TV ads, industry watchdog says. Cambridge Analytica declares bankruptcy and shuts down; investigation ongoing. Whatsapp cofounder to depart Facebook following privacy scandals. Former VW chief indicted on criminal charges in US court. Surgical robot helps remove tumour from spine in world first. Smart patch records water temperature and salinity to track marine life.

Learn more about IET cookies and how to control them.