Society's ChildS


Robot

Fighting 'fake news' online: How soldiers in Latvia got fooled by bots

Hannes Heine & Der Tagesspiegel
EURACTIV
Thu, 03 Oct 2019 10:57 UTC
latvia soldiers
© Markos Tenys/ ShuttertsockIf many comments and links are being posted at the same time, this could mean that a bot is being used. If commentators systematically comment on very different topics such as elections in Brazil and Latvia's football league, this could also mean that posting these comments did not require just one person.
Translated by Daniel Eck

When NATO's Centre for Strategic Communication in Riga discovered how easy it was to dupe its soldiers online, it has started looking for ways of countering false information, which comes, in large part, from Russia. EURACTIV's media partner der Tagesspiegel reports.

The Latvian forest, not far from the Russian border. Thousands of soldiers from different NATO member states are training there to ensure continued military presence in Eastern Europe.

But during manoeuvres that spanned several days, some soldiers who were winding down with their mobile phones stumbled across a well-done website claiming to be designed by and for soldiers. On there, the men chatted about the army, the weather and life in general. A few of them also ordered T-shirts on the site, for which they agreed to give their home address for delivery.

On Tinder, a popular dating app, some even communicated with a woman, sending pictures of themselves in uniform. One evening, two soldiers even arranged to meet the virtual woman. They both left their post for her, a move which proved to be a mistake.

The website and the Tinder profile turned out to be a trap - a test carried out by a team of NATO experts on behalf of the Latvian army in the summer of 2018 to identify weaknesses in its own ranks. Soldiers were prompted to send their addresses, spread photos of a manoeuvre and even leave their posts, all with little effort.

Comment: See also:

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People

Most Americans think social media has too much control over news, according to poll mainstream media quietly ignored


RT
Thu, 03 Oct 2019 00:00 UTC
Social media companies
© Pixabay / kropekk_pl
Some 62 percent of Americans believe social media exerts too much control over what news people see, and most think online platforms treat some news outlets differently than others for the wrong reasons, a new poll shows.

Not only do social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter distort the mix of news that reaches their users, but their actions result in a worse mix, according to 55 percent of Americans responding to a Pew Research poll published this week. Just 15 percent believe the platforms' meddling results in a better mix.

Comment: See also:

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Sheriff

Crumbling blue line: Overworked, demoralized French police stretched to breaking point


RT
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:03 UTC
French police officers at the
© Reuters / Christian HartmannFrench police officers at the "March of Anger", Paris, France, October 2, 2019
Years of austerity and state of emergency have already taken their toll on French police, but the 'Yellow Vest' protests seem to have been the final straw. Now Les Flics have gone on strike amid an epidemic of officer suicides.

Picture a crowd of some 20,000 people, gathered in the streets of Paris, waving banners, lighting flares, singing La Marsellaise and blowing whistles. They boo as a group of protesters is led away by gendarmes in riot gear, presumably under arrest. Some of the demonstrators are crying.

Comment: First in a decade: Yellow Vests end French austerity plans, finally

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Heart - Black

Freezing to death: Unheated homes killed over 16,000 people across UK last winter - watchdog


RT
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 09:24 UTC
uk snow
© Getty Images / Richard BakerFILE PHOTO
Staggering energy prices are taking a toll on those unable to pay their bills, a UK regulator has admitted, confirming that thousands of people may have died because of fuel poverty and lack of heating during winter.

The most vulnerable households spend more on their energy bills than wealthier ones, and "can therefore be at greater risk of fuel poverty," according to a comprehensive new study by the Office of Gas and Energy Markets (Ofgem) on Thursday.

Fuel poverty, a common UK term for customers who cannot afford to keep adequately warm at an affordable cost, "increases the risk that people [will] develop ill health," it acknowledged.

"Over winter 2017-18, we estimate that fuel poverty may have contributed to 5,500 excess winter deaths and that 16,500 excess winter deaths may have been linked to people living in cold homes."

Comment: Citizens are suffering thanks to government imposed austerity meanwhile privatization and political corruption are destroying any chance people have at affordable energy: Alastair Crooke: Germany stalls and Europe craters

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Cow

Meat is back on the menu! Scientists who want to ban cows for the sake of the planet are predictably outraged

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 10:18 UTC
A man buys meat from a butcher shop in Santo Andre, Sao Paulo state, Brazil October 1, 2019.
© REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliA man buys meat from a butcher shop in Santo Andre, Sao Paulo state, Brazil October 1, 2019.
A new study has found slim to nonexistent evidence for apocalyptic warnings about red meat consumption causing cancer, and the scientific establishment hell-bent on turning humanity vegan for environment's sake is now outraged.

A team of 14 researchers from seven countries looked at over 130 articles and a dozen randomized trials, concluding that evidence linking the consumption of red and processed meat to cancer, heart disease, and mortality was of low quality and unreliable. Their findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a publication of the American College of Physicians, last week - to howls of protest from the scientific and nutritional establishment.

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Megaphone

Iraqi PM acknowledges 'righteous' demands of protesters as death toll surpasses 40 in nationwide demonstrations


RT
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:48 UTC
Baghdad
© REUTERS/Thaier Al-SudaniDemonstrators gather at a protest during a curfew, two days after the nationwide anti-government protests turned violent, in Baghdad, Iraq October 3, 2019.
Iraq's prime minister has vowed to address government corruption but urged protesters across the country to go home. At least 40 people have died and hundreds more have been wounded in a violent crackdown on demonstrations.

In a televised address on Friday, Adel Abdul Mahdi said that protesters' demands for social and political reforms were "righteous," conceding that the government must do more to fight corruption. However, he called for an end to the three-day-old demonstrations, stating that "everyone should respect the rule of law by which everyone can live in security and stability."

Security forces have used live ammunition to disperse the demonstrators, with the death toll reaching 40 on Friday, according to reports. Of those killed, at least three were members of the security forces. More than 1,500 people have been injured in the ongoing unrest.

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Quenelle

Pronoun madness: Teacher fired for refusing to use male pronouns for a transgender student - files lawsuit

Gabrielle Sorto
CNN
Wed, 02 Oct 2019 18:27 UTC
Peter Vlaming pronouns fired teacher
Peter Vlaming
A Virginia teacher has filed a lawsuit saying he was wrongfully fired for refusing to use male pronouns for a transgender student.

In 2018, a student at West Point High School began identifying as male. He and his mother asked for him to be referred to with his preferred name and pronouns: he, him, his.

French teacher Peter Vlaming said he couldn't "in good conscience" comply, citing his religious beliefs, according to the complaint. He consistently used the student's preferred male name and attempted to avoid the use of any pronouns at all, his lawsuit says.

The school, according to the lawsuit, gave the teacher an ultimatum: Use the student's preferred pronouns or lose your job.

Comment: Good for Vlaming. The pushback on the nonsense has begun. The gender warriors have no idea how strong it will be.

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Snakes in Suits

Character assassination 101: Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell biopic rips 'fake news media' for 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombing smear


RT
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 04:39 UTC
Richard Jewel Official Trailer
© YouTube / Warner Bros. PicturesRichard Jewel Official Trailer
Hollywood director Clint Eastwood takes a critical look at the FBI and an overzealous news media in a new fact-based biopic telling the saga of Richard Jewell, a security guard fingered for a bomb plot he tried to stop.

While working as a guard at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Jewell discovered a backpack containing three pipe bombs. Immediately alerting police and helping to evacuate the area before the devices could detonate, Jewell saved scores of people from death or injury and was cheered for his heroism - but that would soon change.

Three days after the tragedy, Jewell found himself a suspect in the bombing, becoming a "person of interest" in the FBI's investigation, which profiled Jewell as a potential 'lone wolf' attacker. A trial by media then ensued, in which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper led the charge in positing his role in the lethal bomb plot (one woman was killed by shrapnel and dozens injured).


Comment: Some of the most prominent purveyors of fake news stories are the very corporate media entities that decry "fake news." See the following for more stark examples:

'Fake news' eclipses 'conspiracy theory': But the real fakes are the MSM

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Attention

State of Emergency declared: Ecuadorian cities paralyzed by mass protests


Sputnik
Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:56 UTC
Ecuador protester
© Dolores Ochoa
Earlier, demonstrators took to the streets of Ecuador's major cities, blocking major roads in Quito and Guayaquil to protest the scrapping of fuel subsidies, part of the government's austerity measures aimed at reducing the fiscal budget.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno declared a state of emergency in the country on Thursday amid nationwide protests which have paralysed much of the Latin American country's transport infrastructure, saying that his decisions to introduce austerity measures and slash subsidies "were firm," and that the state of emergency was aimed at reigning in "those who intend to cause chaos."

"We will not agree to blackmail and act according to the law," Moreno wrote on his official Twitter account.

Moreno announced the state of emergency after Interior Minister Maria Romo said that 19 protesters had been arrested for blocking roads and for other disruptive behaviour as demonstrators took to the streets, chanting slogans and burning tires, marking their anger over the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies worth over $1.3 billion a year. Ecuador's government announced plans to cut the subsidies as part of a broader austerity plan which also includes mass layoffs of employees from state-owned companies, and plans to privatise CNT, a state-owned telecommunications provider, and other firms, while making changes to the tax code.
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Vader

JPMorgan banker who said 'We are all Chinese' beaten by veiled protester; face masks ban imposed


RT
Fri, 04 Oct 2019 11:29 UTC
Banker beaten
© Ruptly
A disturbing video shows a masked protester beating a JPMorgan employee for calling for unity between Hong Kong and mainland China. The footage was taken on the same day as Hong Kong announced a ban on face masks.

A video published by Ruptly on Friday shows a JPMorgan private banker shouting to a group of journalists "We are all Chinese." But before he is able to enter his office building, a masked protester pounces on him, punching him repeatedly on the shoulder, neck and head. Hunched over against a wall, the banker is later seen being escorted to safety by a group of colleagues.

JPMorgan circulated a memo to its employees about the incident, reassuring them that "additional security" had been put in place but advising "non-essential employees" to work from home over the weekend.

The unsettling footage was taken on the same day that the city's chief executive, Carrie Lam, announced that she would invoke a British colonial-era emergency law to impose a temporary ban on face masks. The move follows chaotic clashes between demonstrators and police that occurred on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.


Comment: See also:

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