CEP Webinar With Dr. Hany Farid - 06-23-21

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Part I - CEP Webinar With Dr. Hany Farid: How Algorithmic Amplification Pushes Users Towards Divisive Content On Social Media Platforms
By: Counter Extremism Project - 06-23-21
Re: info@counterextremism.com

C.E.P. Webinar With Dr. Hany Farid: How Algorithmic Amplification Pushes Users Towards Divisive Content On Social Media Platforms

(New York, N.Y./Brussels) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is delighted to invite you to the first in a series of webinars with CEP Senior Advisor and UC Berkeley Professor Dr. Hany Farid.

Misinformation and polarizing views have always existed, but the Internet and social media have accelerated the speed and reach with which lies and conspiracies spread.

This webinar will explore the nature and extent of the global phenomenon of misinformation, the role of algorithmic amplification in spreading it, the consequences, as well as possible technological and regulatory interventions, including the upcoming EU Digital Services Act.

Our webinar will also examine:

* The business model behind social media algorithms that has been designed to push forward extreme and divisive content;

* The extent to which these algorithms have contributed to the propagation of misinformation and radicalization;

* Policymaker responses to this phenomenon which intend to establish transparency measures for recommendation algorithms; and

*Possible other solutions and further steps to overcome unaddressed challenges related to social media algorithms.

How Algorithmic Amplification Pushes Users Towards Divisive Content On Social Media Platforms

Wednesday, June 30

08.00 PST / 11.00 EST / 16.00 GMT / 17.00 CET

Speaker(s):

Tiemo Wölken, MEP, Socialists & Democrats. Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) coordinator

Prabhat Agarwal, Head of ‘Digital Services and Platforms’ Unit, DG Connect at the European Commission

Dr. Hany Farid, Professor at UC Berkeley and CEP Senior Advisor

Moderated by:

Lucinda Creighton, CEP Europe Advisor and former Irish Minister for European Affairs

To register, please click on site here.
Re: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...Qru7pQ6d75jD_Q

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ICYMI: Online Extremism Is Still A Problem For Big Tech
By: Counter Extremism Project - 06-23-21
Re: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?og...bJGpVVZDKTQDPB

(New York, N.Y.) — Writing for the EU Reporter, Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen last week criticized Big Tech for failing to take responsibility for the spread of extremist content on their platforms by deflecting blame onto smaller sites:



“In this new legislative climate, social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, who for years have been complacent, if not deliberately negligent, in policing their platforms, are finally beginning to come under pressure. Unsurprisingly, their belated efforts to appease governments through self-regulatory initiatives such as Digital Trust and Safety Partnership are already giving way to a search for scapegoats … Lately, Big Tech advocates have begun to promote the idea that extremist and terrorist content online remains an issue solely for smaller social media sites and alternative encrypted platforms. While tackling extremism and terrorism on smaller and alternative sites is certainly worth getting ahead of, the overall narrative here is more than a little convenient for Silicon Valley and flawed in a number of crucial respects.”



Ibsen then stressed the need for lawmakers to regulate Big Tech, as extremists still rely on larger, mainstream platforms to expand their reach and impact:



“Every story of radicalisation starts somewhere and regulating Big Tech is the greatest step we could possibly take to prevent ordinary citizens from being drawn down extremist rabbit holes … And while dangerous and hateful content can flow more freely on unmoderated sites, extremists and terrorists still desire access to large, mainstream platforms. The near ubiquitous nature of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others offer extremists the ability to reach broader audiences—to either terrify or recruit as many people as possible. For instance, Christchurch killer Brenton Tarrant, who took to live streaming his atrocities on Facebook Live, had his attack video re-uploaded more than 1.5 million times.”



Finally, Ibsen urged lawmakers to prioritize regulatory oversight of Big Tech in order to prevent real-world violence from occurring:



“Whether it’s jihadists seeking to ignite a worldwide caliphate or neo-Nazis trying to start a race war, the goal of terrorism today is to capture attention, inspire like-minded extremists, and destabilise societies to the greatest extent possible … To this end, the amplificatory effects of major social media channels simply cannot be underestimated. It is one thing for an extremist to communicate to a small group of ideological cohorts on an obscure encrypted network. It is something entirely different for them to share their propaganda with hundreds of millions of people on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube … It would be no exaggeration to say that preventing the latter from happening through effective regulation of Big Tech would help to fundamentally tackle modern terrorism and prevent extremists and terrorists from attaining a mainstream audience.”



To read David Ibsen’s op-ed in the EU Reporter, please click here.