Facebook has been in the news a lot lately. For all sorts of reasons. One of the aspects that I’ve been thinking about is how the resulting conversations about Facebook and misinformation are so dominated by events in the United States. 

I get it. There’s a whole host of reasons why. But this means such conversations are badly missing vital context about how misinformation and content moderation are working in other parts of the world. Think about this: whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed that 87% of Facebook’s investments into misinformation are in English, but only 9% of Facebook users speak English.

So this week I’ve been reflecting on all this, what it means for research, and what it means for technological innovation. I also provide some insights into the work we’re doing at Kinzen. Check it out in Tech Policy Press here. 

We’re Hiring!

We’re looking for a Head of Policy! Is that you, or do you know someone who would be perfect for the role? Then please share: https://www.kinzen.com/careers.

While the role could be based in our home city, Dublin, we also welcome applicants from all over the globe and are open to a remote working arrangement.  

Editor’s Pick: Book Slot

In Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories That Are Killing Us, David Neiwert takes us on a journey. He outlines the recent history of conspiracy thinking in the US, from roughly the 1990s, although some parts stretch back further. 

In one searing chapter called “Sacrifices”, he outlines the horrifying incidents of mass violence inflicted by such thinking from the perspectives of the victims. It’s genuinely hard to stop thinking about these experiences after you’ve read it. 

He ends the book by providing some practical advice for how to deal with someone in your life who is falling down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole. Empathy is key. 

Recommended Articles: From the Kinzen Slack channels this week

Charlotte Willner. Thread on content moderation action rates

We don’t often post Twitter threads in this section but Charlotte’s notes here are very interesting. It would be useful for the public conversation about issues around content moderation to see more of these insights pop up. Charlotte is the Executive Director at The Trust and Safety Professional Association, who are working to improve the general public’s understanding of these issues. 

Protocol. Twitter’s own research shows that it’s a megaphone for the right. But it’s complicated.

Twitter is being open here about how its algorithms work. It's great to see the honesty from Twitter's Rumman Chowdhury, who says "We can see that it is happening. We are not entirely sure why it is happening."

EU DisinfoLab. The role of “media” in producing and spreading disinformation campaigns

Yet another reminder of the impact the news media can have on the spread of disinformation. As always, more recommended reading material on this topic is The Oxygen of Amplification by Whitney Phillips.

Rolling Stone. It’s Not Q. It’s You

This is well worth reading to learn from conspiracy theory expert Joseph Uscinski, who argues that such theories have been popular in the past and aren’t necessarily growing. Nor can they simply be explained as a far-right phenomenon.