What I'm Reading - 7/14/24
I’m back on the Eastern Shore this weekend. I needed to check in on my tomato plants and wanted some time alone to do a little mid-year check-in with myself. I have some changes I want to make, projects I want to start, projects like the book I need to restart, and projects I want to wind down.
I was here when former President Trump was shot at a rally. I’ll have more thoughts on where we go from here on Wednesday. I was already planning to write about the election and the GOP convention.
I’m also starting to gear up for TrustCon! By this time next week, I’ll be in the Bay Area. I’m excited to see all of you who will be there. I’ve got some Panic Responsibly stickers I’ll be bringing and some bracelets I’ve been making. If you want one, let me know what size your wrist is and if you want silver or gold accents.
What I’m Reading
AI Developments
Axios: Meta removes Trump account restrictions ahead of 2024 election
Now + Next: Evaluating AI Bias Part 1 - Technical Sources of Bias and Methods for Testing Bias
Washington Post: OpenAI promised to make its AI safe. Employees say it ‘failed’ its first test.
Stories about Specific Countries
The Economist: The Kremlin is rewriting Wikipedia
Logically Facts: How effective were Community Notes on X during elections in India and the U.K.?
Political & Social Commentary
POLITICO: EU charges Elon Musk’s X for letting disinfo run wild
Institute for Free Speech: Small-Dollar Donors Sue FEC over Disclosure Requirements
The Chronicle of Philanthropy: As ‘Pro-Democracy’ Philanthropy Grows, Experts Warn of Many Obstacles to Combating Misinformation
Access Now: Generative AI and election disinformation: much ado about nothing?
MIT Sloan: Study shows impact of misleading headlines from mainstream news
Misinformation Review: How do social media users and journalists express concerns about social media misinformation? A computational analysis
Global Public Policy Institute: Digital Threats to Elections: Learning From What Has Worked in Africa
#FYP: “The TikTok Election”
Digitizing Europe: The AI Act: responsibilities of the European Commission (AI Office)
Washington Post: NATO's newest weapon is online content creators
The Atlantic: Trump Is Planning For A Landslide Win
WIRED: The Tech Crash Course That Trains US Diplomats to Spot Threats
The Verge: Spotify is going to let you leave comments on podcast episodes
Press Gazette: Veteran columnists making more money on Substack after local newspaper exits
The Conversation: Unregulated online political ads pose a threat to democracy
Letters from an American: American Conversations: Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Techdirt: Podcast Episode 397: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality
The World View: A Snappy Election Special
Legal and Regulatory Issues
European Commission: Commission sends preliminary findings to X for breach of DSA
Proofnews: Meta Is Getting Rid of CrowdTangle — and Its Replacement Isn’t As Transparent or Accessible
Miscellaneous Insights and Reports
TrustLab: The 2024 Online Safety Report
YouGov: Online news videos are here to stay but news podcasts have a long way to go
Business Insider: Gen Z's Most Trusted Source for News: Online Comments Sections
The Editing Spectrum: The RESULTS are in! - Explore why readers don't upgrade, what feels too pricey, why they unsubscribe and more
Tom Cunningham: Social Media Suspensions of Prominent Accounts
Company Announcements
Tech Congress: Applications For The January 2025 Fellowship Are Now Open
TikTok Newsroom: How we kept our community safe during the 2024 European Parliament elections
Roblox: Deploying ML for Voice Safety
Microsoft On the Issues: Combatting AI Deepfakes: Our Participation in the 2024 Political Conventions
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