There will soon be more humans elderly 65+ within the US than in every other demographic, and it’s going to stay that manner for many years. I’ve spent months gathering information on the web habits of older human beings, with a selected consciousness on how they interact with fake content material. I just posted a brand new story that dives deep into this — here are some of the most compelling factors:
Four latest studies located that those over sixty-five are much more likely to consume and share faux news on structures including Facebook, Twitter, and the net.
They don’t have good information about the position algorithms play in determining what content material we see online.
They have a tougher time differentiating among information and opinion.
They are often focused on commercials from hyperpartisan and fake information sites.
They’re also targeted by way of online scams, malware, and different internet ills. Just last month, the Department of Justice announced “the most important coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in records.”
And right here’s another key facts point: There has been a flowering of interest and investment for virtual literacy packages, however few, if any, are concentrated on older human beings. Kids in college have become instructions, however, our parents and grandparents are being omitted.
This isn’t to pick out on older adults. It’s to highlight the fact that so lots of us warfare inside the new and chaotic statistics surroundings. We want to suppose broader than simply packages in colleges. It also way we need to be equipped to aid big numbers of seniors as they end up a pressure at the internet for decades to come back.
The plenty-publicized WhatsApp tip line isn’t a helpline in any respect, it’s handiest there to assist Facebook with research.
An unmarried Facebook page ran over 5,000 classified ads for a faux sun energy rebate rip-off.
BuzzFeed News is participating with the Toronto Star on covering election interference. Here’s the brand new: Officials worry that foreign actors are already meddling in Canada’s upcoming elections.
Nipsey Hussle’s loss of life has brought new gasoline to an antique a baseless conspiracy theory, linking the rapper’s killing to a “healer” who falsely claimed he cured AIDS and most cancers.
Following the massacre in New Zealand, Facebook vowed to do extra to fight white supremacy on its platform, however, anti-Muslim hate has made the corporation a number of money.
Your smartphone has a whole existence without you: Craig dives into how a marketing scheme performed films on telephones without the users’ expertise, draining the battery and stealing from advertisers.
Jane’s encouraged reads:
Ukraine went through the first spherical of elections last weekend and Russian trolls had been seeking to wreak their traditional havoc. This New York Times story dives into their techniques, which we may also see repeated in the upcoming US election.
