Page 7 - Fake News

Meta disables sprawling Russian propaganda network targeting Europe

A sprawling disinformation network originating in Russia sought to use hundreds of fake social media accounts and dozens of sham news websites to spread Kremlin talking points about the invasion of Ukraine, Meta revealed Tuesday. The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it identified and disabled the operation before it was able to gain a large audience. Nonetheless, Facebook said it was the largest and most complex Russian propaganda effort that it has found since the invasion began. The operation involved more than 60 websites created to mimic legitimate news sites including The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom and Germany's Der Spiegel. Instead of the actual news reported by those outlets, however, the fake sites contained links to Russian propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine. More than 1,600 fake Facebook accounts were used to spread the propaganda to audiences in Germany, Italy, France, the U.K. and Ukraine. The findings highlighted both the promis

85% of Indian children cyberbullied, highest globally: McAfee report

India also reported prominent acts of cyberbullying such as spreading false rumours at 39%, being excluded from groups and conversations at 35% and name calling at 34%

130 hate news cases reported between 2019 LS election, Assembly polls 2022

A total of 130 cases of "hate news" were reported to social media platforms between the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the latest round of Assembly polls in five states held earlier this year

Meta expands 3rd party fact-checking programme in India, adds NewsMeter

With this partnership, Meta will have 11 fact-checking partners in India, making it the country with the most number of third party fact checking partners globally

94 YouTube channels, 747 URLs blocked in FY21 for spreading fake news: Govt

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said the government blocked 94 YouTube channels, 19 social media accounts and 747 uniform resource locators (URLs) during 2021-22 for spreading fake news. Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Thakur said these actions have been taken under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000. The minister said that the government has strongly acted against agencies working against the sovereignty of the country by spreading fake news and spreading propaganda on the internet. Thakur said in order to check the spread of COVID-19 related fake news, a dedicated cell of the fact checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) was created on March 31, 2020, to which people can refer information related to Covid for verification. The unit has responded to 34,125 actionable queries, including queries related to COVID-19, Thakur said, adding that the PIB has also busted fake news and 875 posts thereof on its social media

Alt News' Zubair remanded to 14-day judicial custody in Hathras case

Zubair was brought to the Hathras court from Delhi's Tihar jail with a Delhi Police escort, and remanded to judicial custody till July 27

Delhi court reserves order on bail plea of Alt News' Mohammad Zubair

A magisterial court had on July 2 dismissed his bail plea and sent him to 14-day judicial custody (JC) in the case

Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan gets relief from SC in fake news case

The Supreme Court granted relief to Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan, protecting him against multiple FIRs him over an alleged doctored video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's speech

Without conviction: Pendencies in hate speech cases have been rising

Between 2017 and 2020, the number of cases filed under Section 153A pending trial in courts doubled from 1,435 to 2,869. There was a 147 per cent jump in cases pending for 1-3 years

Congress workers protest, allege Noida cops 'protecting' TV anchor

Congress workers staged a protest outside a police station in Uttar Pradesh's Noida night in connection with a case related to the airing of a doctored video of party leader Rahul Gandhi

35 WhatsApp groups banned by govt for spreading fake news about 'Agnipath'

The move came amid violent protests against the scheme in different parts of the country since it was announced a few days ago

Meta, Google and Twitter vow to fight fake news or risk penalties

The signatories agree to do more to tackle deep fakes, fake accounts and political advertising

Delhi Police sets up Social Media Cell at headquarters to counter fake news

Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana inaugurated the Social Media Cell (SMC) of the force with an in-house state-of-the-art studio Face-2-Face' at its headquarters on Jai Singh Marg

Online disinformation harming youth, need transparency law, says report

The report noted that social media's response to the growing harm in India has been marked by a lack of urgency

Australia to make Big Tech hand over data on misinformation

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will also be able to enforce an internet industry code on uncooperative platforms, the federal government said on Monday

The deceptive world of deepfakes

The dissemination of information also suffered in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Deepfake videos of presidents of both sides hit social media. And it's not something new. Find out what is deepfake

Brazil bans Telegram messaging service in crackdown on 'fake news'

The push to shut Telegram in Brazil is part of wide-reaching efforts to combat misinformation and falsehoods about the country's electoral system

China says photo of its troops at Russian border is fake news

China has dismissed as fake news rumours about sending troops to Russia, including a cropped picture showing a fully-loaded Chinese military truck convoy at the border with Russia

What are new-age fake news and misinformation?

Misinformation and fake news spread quickly on social media, ducking even the trained eyes. It also sees a drastic jump during the elections. Our next report finds out more about the age-old menace

TMS Ep115: Foreign universities, Naushad Forbes, market, fake news

Will entry of foreign universities impact higher education in India? What's Naushad Forbes prescription for Indian economy? Are mid, small-caps attractive buys? How fake news spread? All answers here