Misinformation

• Negen Japanse politieke partijen, waaronder de regerende Liberal Democratic Party en oppositiegroepen, zijn donderdag overeengekomen om te eisen dat exploitanten van sociale media desinformatie, misinformatie en laster tijdens verkiezingen verminderen. • Het plan zou platforms dwingen om beloningsbetalingen aan gebruikers te staken, sneller te reageren op verzoeken tot verwijdering en AI-gegenereerde inhoud te labelen, waarbij wetgevers streven om wetgeving tijdens de huidige sessie van de Diet aan te nemen. • Deze stap is van belang omdat Japan online inmenging wil beperken vóór de lokale gedelegeerde verkiezingen van volgende lente, terwijl de transparantie over hoe platforms verkiezingsgerelateerde inhoud modereren, wordt vergroot.

Health officials in Trump administration were accused of fueling ‘crisis of public trust’ over autism and vaccinesMisinformation from top health officials in the Trump administration has created a “crisis of public trust” – and Congress should conduct oversight hearings and possibly impeach officials such as Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to a recently released report.Experts say that officials in the past year have focused intently on both vaccines and autism, including efforts to connect autism to the use of acetaminophen (frequently sold as Tylenol) during pregnancy, despite growing evidence of no link, and replacing all members of the federal autism committee with advisers who have anti-vaccine and pseudoscientific histories. Continue reading...

• A bipartisan advisory panel convened under President Biden’s tech‑regulation agenda delivered a draft report recommending that Congress ban politically targeted digital ads that spread “clearly false or misleading information” about voting procedures, candidates, or ballot access. • The panel, whose members include former FEC commissioners and civil‑rights leaders, argues that such ads undermine trust in elections and disproportionately affect voters of color, urging platforms to adopt stricter labeling and ad‑library rules. • The proposal sparks backlash from free‑speech advocates, who warn that any government‑defined standard for political misinformation could chill legitimate debate and benefit incumbent parties.

Parliamentary hearing focused on online harms from X, TikTok and Meta including use of AI to nudify young girlsUK politics live – latest updatesMPs have accused “complacent” social media giants of spreading Iran war misinformation, allowing political deepfakes that could threaten elections and still enabling the use of AI to nudify young girls.In a testy parliamentary hearing that exposed deepening frustration among MPs with big tech firms, X, TikTok and Meta listed measures they have taken to tackle online harms, but were told: “You seem to be doing an awful lot, and it’s not making a jot of difference.” Continue reading...