Latest news with #disinformation
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Bots pushed anti-China narrative ahead of Ghana mining ban
The West African nation has long been home to an informal artisanal mining sector. (EPA Images pic) ABUJA : Before Ghana banned foreigners from its gold trade earlier this year, an online bot campaign pushed anti-Chinese sentiment, blaming Chinese nationals for exploiting the country and stealing its resources. The West African nation has long been home to an informal artisanal mining sector. However, recent years have seen foreign investors – including many Chinese nationals – bring in industrial equipment and operate without permits or regard for the environment, leading to accusations of land grabbing and the serious degradation of waterways. In April, the government took steps to rein in the 'galamsey' – as illegal mining is known – by banning foreigners from trading in Ghana's local gold markets and granting exclusive authority to do so to a new state body, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). The move was seen as sending a major signal to foreign mining operators – especially Chinese ones. However, ahead of the ban, fake accounts impersonating real Ghanaians on X had been pushing a coordinated effort to link China to galamsey explicitly for at least nine months, accounts seen by AFP and reviewed by disinformation experts show. Such campaigns have become common around the world to try to influence real-life politics. Who was behind the push remains unclear. While Chinese nationals have been blamed for the mining crisis, the role of Ghanaians went mostly unacknowledged in the posts, even though many of the country's political elite have been accused of direct involvement or complicity. 'Corruption be big wahala (problem) for here – look at galamsey, when Chinese come inside, everything change sharp,' said one typical post in Ghanaian Pidgin English, which researchers contacted by AFP identified as written by a bot. 'We for keep eye on them, no let them steal we gold like they done in other countries,' they said. Another accused Chinese companies of wanting to 'exploit we (our) resources and leave we (our) people with nothing'. Disinformation experts contacted by AFP identified 38 accounts involved in the push – 'though there are likely far more', said Darren Linvill, a professor at Clemson University. Competing interests Almost all of the bots flagged by Linvill and his colleague Patrick Warren appeared to have stopped posting about galamsey by March, just ahead of the April ban. Many have since been deleted. One typical phrasing had been repeated by various bots since July 2024, a search on X showed – but stopped being used completely just hours after the rule was passed. 'China's role is significant, but it would be misleading to scapegoat foreigners alone,' said Senyo Hosi, an anti-galamsey campaigner. Grace Ansah-Akrofi, a police spokeswoman, said that officers have been 'vigilant and proactive in detecting and dismantling digital networks engaged in disinformation', but did not provide details on the bot campaign specifically. The Ghanaian government and the Chinese embassy did not respond to a request for comment. If the campaign was affiliated with the government, it would have had to span rival administrations: John Mahama was elected president in December after running for the opposition against incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo. Rabiu Alhassan, director of FactSpace West Africa, an Accra-based fact-checking and disinformation research group, cautioned that many international and domestic players have mining interests in Ghana. He also pointed out that Ghana lies just south of the volatile Sahel region, where Russia, the West and other foreign powers have jockeyed for influence. Hot sauce and football The accounts also posted about hot sauce, a British football team and Russia's role in the conflict in Mali. Given the diverse targets, they are likely bots for hire, Linvill said – alhough attacking both Russia and China is 'unique'. Linvill also said that the campaign shed light on a 'blind spot' when it comes to disinformation and influence campaigns, where researchers often focus on Chinese, Russian and Iranian campaigns against Westerners. 'However, Westerners are not targeted nearly as much as non-Westerners,' he said. The most common culprits behind influence campaigns, he added, are governments trying to sway their own people. In May, the GoldBod announced its first arrests of foreign nationals since the ban. All the men in the group were from India.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
On Disinformation, Is Big Tech Ready For The Digital Services Act?
Brussels, Belgium - 21 May, 2022: European Union flag in front of the Berlaymont building, ... More headquarters of European Commission. With the EU's Digital Services Act set to come into force next week, big tech firms are failing to fulfil their obligations when it comes to disinformation, a new report has claimed. According to the European Digital Media Observatory, there's a 'clear gap' between the platforms' commitments under the Code of Practice on Disinformation - set to be integrated into the DSA - and their actual implementation. The research is based on an evaluation of transparency reports submitted by Meta, Google, Microsoft and TikTok last year, with independent verification by EDMO researchers and qualitative insights from a survey with experts. And, said the EDMO, the companies have so far made very limited efforts. "In every field, most [Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines]"Even when formal agreements exist, their implementation often falls short of expectations. As a result, current efforts rarely translate into long-term, systemic support for counter-disinformation strategies." In terms of the companies' commitment to media literacy and content labeling, Meta's initiatives - such as We Think Digital and in-app prompts - lack transparency in terms of their geographical scope, and don't provide substantive data on user engagement or measurable outcomes at the national level, the researchers said. Microsoft, meanwhile, partners with services like NewsGuard, but can't give much evidence of reach or effectiveness. There are no user engagement figures, no reported outcomes, and no indication of the actual scale of these efforts. Google, meanwhile, has prebunking initiatives and features such as 'More About This Page.' "However, these efforts remain largely unaccountable, as Google provides no concrete data on user reach or effectiveness," the researchers said. "While the initiatives appear well-designed in theory, the lack of transparency around their actual performance makes it impossible to assess their real-world impact." TikTok's doing a bit better, the researchers found, with a broader range of national campaigns and fact-checking partnerships. However, it's still failing to provide country-specific detail or consistent engagement data. Governance for sensitive data access, said the EDMO, is a weak point for all the platforms. Meta, Microsoft and Google reference pilot programs, but don't provide any substantive public documentation on governance frameworks or outcomes. Meanwhile, while TikTok is taking part in a EDMO data access pilot, it doesn't give any conclusive evidence as to the effectiveness or transparency of these governance efforts. There are varying degrees of cooperation with fact-checkers, another commitment set to come into force with the DSA. While Meta lists quite a number of activities and partnerships, it doesn't provide any systematic evaluation of their impact, while Microsoft provides only "minimal and vague" references to cooperation. By contrast, Google and TikTok get the thumbs up for their well-integrated processes, though again they don't provide a great deal of information. "Although platforms like Google and TikTok demonstrate more structured approaches in certain areas, none provide full transparency, independent verification, or robust impact reporting," the researchers said. "Meta's efforts are undermined by poor disclosure and the absence of meaningful impact data. While Microsoft's performance is particularly weak across all commitments, this result should be considered in connection with the specific risk-profile of its services." Meta, Google, Microsoft and TikTok have been approached for comment.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
A.I. Is Starting to Wear Down Democracy
Artificial intelligence has long threatened to transform elections around the world. Now there is evidence from at least 50 countries that it already has. Ahead of Canada's election in April, an A.I.-generated photograph purporting to show one of the candidates for prime minister, Mark Carney, with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein appeared on X. In Poland, fabricated social media posts warned that a terrorist attack might force the cancellation of its election last month. The posts, which spoofed news articles, were later linked to Russia. In Romania, A.I. upended the country's first round of voting last year, prompting another vote. In March, a fake video appeared to show President Trump endorsing a candidate. Supported by Since the explosion of generative artificial intelligence over the last two years, the technology has demeaned or defamed opponents and, for the first time, officials and experts said, begun to have an impact on election results. Free and easy to use, A.I. tools have generated a flood of fake photos and videos of candidates or supporters saying things they did not or appearing in places they were not — all spread with the relative impunity of anonymity online. The technology has amplified social and partisan divisions and bolstered antigovernment sentiment, especially on the far right, which has surged in recent elections in Germany, Poland and Portugal. In Romania, a Russian influence operation using A.I. tainted the first round of last year's presidential election, according to government officials. A court there nullified that result, forcing a new vote last month and bringing a new wave of fabrications. It was the first major election in which A.I. played a decisive role in the outcome. It is unlikely to be the last. As the technology improves, officials and experts warn, it is undermining faith in electoral integrity and eroding the political consensus necessary for democratic societies to function. Madalina Botan, a professor at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Romania's capital, Bucharest, said there was no question that the technology was already 'being used for obviously malevolent purposes' to manipulate voters. A.I. has played a significant role in elections held this year. Russia, China and Iran have used A.I. to influence elections beyond their borders. TikTok was flooded during the Romanian election last year with A.I.-generated videos featuring the candidates. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
No evidence federal election was affected by foreign interference, commissioner says
Commissioner of Canada Elections Caroline Simard is pictured on Parliament Hill Thursday, March 2, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA — Canada's elections commissioner says she has no evidence the result of the federal election in April was affected by foreign interference, disinformation or voter intimidation. In a preliminary report today, Commissioner Caroline Simard says her office received more than 16,000 complaints about the spring campaign which ended on April 28. That number is seven times the number of complaints received in the 2019 and 2021 elections. Still, early numbers show the volume of complaints for foreign interference, artificial intelligence, disinformation, and voter intimidation, was less than what Simard's office had expected. Other complaints included allegations of preventing election advertising from being broadcast, distributing pictures of ballots, or publishing false statements about candidates. Through April, Simard's office had already closed about 2,300 files. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
New Canadian app Gander wants to bring ‘the social back to social media'
Five Canadian tech entrepreneurs are hoping that what's good for the goose is good for Gander, the name of a new social media platform they are developing specifically for Canadian users. Ben Waldman, founder and CEO, enlisted the help of four co-founders to develop Gander, a social media app for Canadians to share stories freely without facing divisive content, disinformation, and trolls on the internet. 'Just because Canada doesn't have a social media platform, doesn't mean we shouldn't,' Waldman told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview. 'I think this is the time we can do it.' The social media site will feature prompts to write posts and upload videos enabling users to tailor their feed to the types of content they enjoy. Users will then be able to toggle their content to large, public domains or strictly to a Canada-only network should they choose. 'One of the big focuses for us is bringing the social back to social media,' said Waldman. 'I love creators. I love, like many people, to flip through TikToks and just consume content and on other platforms, but I think there's a certain overwhelming percentage of people that aren't using social media to socialize anymore.' The app is expected to launch in October as an alternative to U.S. tech companies Meta and X, formerly Twitter. Consumers will be able to take a gander through the app and view their friends' stories and content they value rather than what an algorithm provides. The goal is to encourage people to interact with each other more frequently. 'The idea is to start these small pods of communities across Canada where those people will be able to invite their friends or invite their colleagues, so that ultimately, we're creating this network of people again, that all know each other,' said Waldman. He says users on the app will be verified to ensure they are human, not a bot, and must be of age to use it. They will have the right to post content based off the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as long as it is not considered hate speech. Explicit content will be labeled to users so they can decide whether they want to engage. There will also be tools to identify disinformation and bias in articles. 'We want to integrate these kinds of features in to start bringing Canadians and people generally back together again, because we used to be able to have conversations across the table, even if they were contentious, without being so divided with so much risk to our democracy,' said Waldman. He said users will be able to consume content the way they want whether it features a hockey team, band or posts from their mother, for example. It will be catered to their preference as well, allowing them to enjoy videos more or written content if they choose. 'The feed becomes under your control, and you get to consume it the way you want to,' said Waldman. 'Do you like to consume text content? Kind of like Twitter? Go for it. That's if that's your jam. Do it. If your preference is to swipe videos, then choose to do that, all while making sure that what you want to see is in front of you based on your decisions, not ours.'
