• A digital watchdog for free speech has issued a warning about federally funded researchers who collected and analyzed millions of Twitter posts during the 2020 election, deeming them as “misinformation.” These researchers used the data to develop new strategies that could potentially empower Big Tech to censor or control content without transparency to the affected users or the public.
• According to the Foundation for Freedom Online, the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public, with the support of taxpayer grants, devised tactics such as “virality circuit breakers” and “nudges” to restrict certain users from spreading content, without leaving any obvious signs of censorship.
• This study serves as a roadmap on how to secretly censor individuals, avoiding any outrage cycle, and making it more acceptable for tech platforms to avoid backlash since people would remain unaware of the censorship. Mike Benz, a former State Department diplomat specializing in U.S. foreign policy on international communications and information technology, shared these insights during an interview on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show on Monday night.

Tagged: Technology