{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":0.51,"endTime":4.67,"body":"- Now, the research"},{"startTime":0.51,"endTime":4.67,"body":"story I want to lead with"},{"startTime":4.67,"endTime":7.17,"body":"is actually about a career low,"},{"startTime":7.17,"endTime":9.28,"body":"a career low I hit this fall."},{"startTime":9.28,"endTime":10.88,"body":"I've been spending a"},{"startTime":9.28,"endTime":10.88,"body":"significant amount of time"},{"startTime":10.88,"endTime":12.43,"body":"studying misinformation."},{"startTime":12.43,"endTime":16.43,"body":"And this fall I studied"},{"startTime":12.43,"endTime":16.43,"body":"an information operation"},{"startTime":16.43,"endTime":21.41,"body":"that blamed COVID on a shipment"},{"startTime":16.43,"endTime":21.41,"body":"of bad lobster from Maine"},{"startTime":22.32,"endTime":25.65,"body":"that had flown across and landed in Wuhan"},{"startTime":25.65,"endTime":30.0,"body":"just before the health crisis started."},{"startTime":30.0,"endTime":32.42,"body":"And it was either the lobster fishermen"},{"startTime":32.42,"endTime":33.52,"body":"or the lobster themselves"},{"startTime":33.52,"endTime":36.033,"body":"that carried COVID into"},{"startTime":33.52,"endTime":36.033,"body":"the human populations."},{"startTime":37.26,"endTime":40.94,"body":"The number of hours, personnel"},{"startTime":37.26,"endTime":40.94,"body":"hours that would've gone"},{"startTime":40.94,"endTime":44.43,"body":"into crafting this message,"},{"startTime":40.94,"endTime":44.43,"body":"finding the images,"},{"startTime":44.43,"endTime":48.38,"body":"creating the fake accounts"},{"startTime":44.43,"endTime":48.38,"body":"across multiple platforms,"},{"startTime":48.38,"endTime":50.99,"body":"disseminating it through major news media"},{"startTime":50.99,"endTime":53.41,"body":"was very difficult for us to estimate,"},{"startTime":53.41,"endTime":55.75,"body":"but certainly impressive."},{"startTime":55.75,"endTime":58.01,"body":"It's a story that lasted easily a month."},{"startTime":58.01,"endTime":59.32,"body":"You may not have heard it,"},{"startTime":59.32,"endTime":61.613,"body":"but it may not have been targeted at you."},{"startTime":62.62,"endTime":65.42,"body":"It was at this point that"},{"startTime":62.62,"endTime":65.42,"body":"I got much less interested"},{"startTime":65.42,"endTime":67.62,"body":"in chasing stories of misinformation."},{"startTime":67.62,"endTime":68.83,"body":"I've been doing that for several years,"},{"startTime":68.83,"endTime":70.43,"body":"and I don't want to do it anymore."},{"startTime":72.48,"endTime":75.66,"body":"The research arc that I'm"},{"startTime":72.48,"endTime":75.66,"body":"going to tell you about today"},{"startTime":75.66,"endTime":78.91,"body":"actually began with a different"},{"startTime":75.66,"endTime":78.91,"body":"information operation,"},{"startTime":78.91,"endTime":81.77,"body":"something in the summer of 2014,"},{"startTime":81.77,"endTime":83.78,"body":"I was based in Budapest,"},{"startTime":83.78,"endTime":86.24,"body":"and some of you may remember"},{"startTime":83.78,"endTime":86.24,"body":"this was the summer that"},{"startTime":86.24,"endTime":89.91,"body":"the Malaysian Airlines flight"},{"startTime":86.24,"endTime":89.91,"body":"was shot down over Ukraine."},{"startTime":89.91,"endTime":92.28,"body":"And I watched as my Hungarian friends"},{"startTime":92.28,"endTime":96.45,"body":"got multiple equally ridiculous stories."},{"startTime":96.45,"endTime":101.45,"body":"There was the story of"},{"startTime":96.45,"endTime":101.45,"body":"Ukrainian democracy advocates"},{"startTime":101.62,"endTime":103.84,"body":"who thought Putin was on the plane,"},{"startTime":103.84,"endTime":108.84,"body":"flying a commercial airline"},{"startTime":103.84,"endTime":108.84,"body":"from Amsterdam to Malaysia,"},{"startTime":109.02,"endTime":111.01,"body":"and they shot it down."},{"startTime":111.01,"endTime":114.86,"body":"There was a story of U.S troops"},{"startTime":111.01,"endTime":114.86,"body":"based in Ukraine secretly"},{"startTime":114.86,"endTime":117.63,"body":"who had shot the plane down."},{"startTime":117.63,"endTime":119.0,"body":"And my favorite was"},{"startTime":119.0,"endTime":122.47,"body":"the story of the lost"},{"startTime":119.0,"endTime":122.47,"body":"tank from World War II"},{"startTime":122.47,"endTime":125.21,"body":"that had been stuck in the"},{"startTime":122.47,"endTime":125.21,"body":"great forests of Ukraine"},{"startTime":125.21,"endTime":129.723,"body":"and emerged confused and"},{"startTime":125.21,"endTime":129.723,"body":"accidentally shot the plane down."},{"startTime":131.3,"endTime":133.264,"body":"And it was at this point that I realized"},{"startTime":133.264,"endTime":135.44,"body":"the real craft of misinformation"},{"startTime":135.44,"endTime":138.19,"body":"is not so much in producing one story,"},{"startTime":138.19,"endTime":141.7,"body":"one narrative that you"},{"startTime":138.19,"endTime":141.7,"body":"give to your opponents,"},{"startTime":141.7,"endTime":145.29,"body":"it's about producing multiple conflicting,"},{"startTime":145.29,"endTime":147.79,"body":"sometimes equally ridiculous stories,"},{"startTime":147.79,"endTime":152.03,"body":"getting them all out into public"},{"startTime":147.79,"endTime":152.03,"body":"life so that your opponents"},{"startTime":152.03,"endTime":154.22,"body":"don't know what to respond to,"},{"startTime":154.22,"endTime":155.67,"body":"think the whole thing is a joke,"},{"startTime":155.67,"endTime":157.343,"body":"are uncertain about where to go."},{"startTime":158.28,"endTime":159.98,"body":"Now, what's really surprised us"},{"startTime":159.98,"endTime":161.47,"body":"or surprised me over the years"},{"startTime":161.47,"endTime":165.43,"body":"is to see this communication"},{"startTime":161.47,"endTime":165.43,"body":"strategy travel,"},{"startTime":165.43,"endTime":168.33,"body":"move from being something"},{"startTime":165.43,"endTime":168.33,"body":"that dictators use"},{"startTime":168.33,"endTime":170.71,"body":"on their own populations,"},{"startTime":170.71,"endTime":174.14,"body":"to being something that"},{"startTime":170.71,"endTime":174.14,"body":"authoritarian rulers use"},{"startTime":174.14,"endTime":177.26,"body":"on voters in democracies,"},{"startTime":177.26,"endTime":178.81,"body":"and then to shift again,"},{"startTime":178.81,"endTime":181.42,"body":"to become something"},{"startTime":178.81,"endTime":181.42,"body":"that our own politicians"},{"startTime":181.42,"endTime":183.433,"body":"use on us when we vote."},{"startTime":184.84,"endTime":187.208,"body":"So what I'm going to talk about today"},{"startTime":187.208,"endTime":191.72,"body":"is some of the arc of how"},{"startTime":187.208,"endTime":191.72,"body":"this communication platform,"},{"startTime":191.72,"endTime":193.8,"body":"this communication strategy has moved,"},{"startTime":193.8,"endTime":195.94,"body":"involved several different"},{"startTime":193.8,"endTime":195.94,"body":"kinds of platforms."},{"startTime":195.94,"endTime":197.44,"body":"I'll say a little bit about our team"},{"startTime":197.44,"endTime":199.27,"body":"at the University of Oxford."},{"startTime":199.27,"endTime":201.61,"body":"I'll say a little bit about"},{"startTime":199.27,"endTime":201.61,"body":"the book \"Lie Machines\""},{"startTime":201.61,"endTime":204.83,"body":"and go into two very"},{"startTime":201.61,"endTime":204.83,"body":"contemporary topics for us,"},{"startTime":204.83,"endTime":206.59,"body":"misinformation around COVID"},{"startTime":206.59,"endTime":210.083,"body":"and misinformation around"},{"startTime":206.59,"endTime":210.083,"body":"Russia's invasion of Ukraine."},{"startTime":211.55,"endTime":214.43,"body":"I'll sketch out some of the global trends"},{"startTime":214.43,"endTime":215.94,"body":"that are relevant here."},{"startTime":215.94,"endTime":218.9,"body":"And then ultimately my"},{"startTime":215.94,"endTime":218.9,"body":"goal is to depress everyone"},{"startTime":218.9,"endTime":222.01,"body":"and then build you back up"},{"startTime":218.9,"endTime":222.01,"body":"right about the prospects"},{"startTime":222.01,"endTime":223.3,"body":"for turning things around."},{"startTime":223.3,"endTime":224.82,"body":"I think you'll find me,"},{"startTime":224.82,"endTime":228.75,"body":"I'd like to think I am"},{"startTime":224.82,"endTime":228.75,"body":"cynical, but not fatalistic."},{"startTime":228.75,"endTime":230.58,"body":"It's not too late to fix"},{"startTime":230.58,"endTime":232.9,"body":"the information environment we are in,"},{"startTime":232.9,"endTime":236.263,"body":"and I'll share some of my"},{"startTime":232.9,"endTime":236.263,"body":"strategies for those fixes."},{"startTime":237.48,"endTime":239.93,"body":"The Program on Democracy \u0026 Technology"},{"startTime":239.93,"endTime":241.7,"body":"has a fairly straightforward mission."},{"startTime":241.7,"endTime":243.71,"body":"Our mission is to use social data science"},{"startTime":243.71,"endTime":245.49,"body":"to improve public life,"},{"startTime":245.49,"endTime":248.11,"body":"to put the latest techniques"},{"startTime":245.49,"endTime":248.11,"body":"in machine learning"},{"startTime":248.11,"endTime":250.25,"body":"into address public problems,"},{"startTime":250.25,"endTime":252.63,"body":"to try to increase civic engagement,"},{"startTime":252.63,"endTime":254.52,"body":"to make our political lives"},{"startTime":254.52,"endTime":256.64,"body":"more transparent, more efficient."},{"startTime":256.64,"endTime":259.75,"body":"We only work in countries where we have"},{"startTime":259.75,"endTime":263.0,"body":"a student who knows the"},{"startTime":259.75,"endTime":263.0,"body":"language, who's from the culture,"},{"startTime":263.0,"endTime":266.04,"body":"who's able to understand"},{"startTime":263.0,"endTime":266.04,"body":"the local nuances."},{"startTime":266.04,"endTime":268.87,"body":"And at this point we've"},{"startTime":266.04,"endTime":268.87,"body":"done studies in 45,"},{"startTime":268.87,"endTime":270.42,"body":"50 different countries."},{"startTime":270.42,"endTime":273.0,"body":"At the moment, we're a"},{"startTime":270.42,"endTime":273.0,"body":"team of about a dozen,"},{"startTime":273.0,"endTime":276.23,"body":"this shifts, of course,"},{"startTime":273.0,"endTime":276.23,"body":"during the academic year,"},{"startTime":276.23,"endTime":277.253,"body":"depends on how many,"},{"startTime":278.718,"endTime":280.464,"body":"the academic year has the important impact"},{"startTime":280.464,"endTime":282.823,"body":"on how many people are in the team."},{"startTime":283.76,"endTime":284.96,"body":"The basic science of what we do"},{"startTime":284.96,"endTime":287.57,"body":"started with funding from the"},{"startTime":284.96,"endTime":287.57,"body":"National Science Foundation"},{"startTime":287.57,"endTime":289.75,"body":"and then later the"},{"startTime":287.57,"endTime":289.75,"body":"European Research Council,"},{"startTime":289.75,"endTime":291.08,"body":"and the Ford Foundation"},{"startTime":291.08,"endTime":293.113,"body":"helps us with our public outreach work."},{"startTime":294.54,"endTime":296.1,"body":"Let me start with a few definitions,"},{"startTime":296.1,"endTime":298.03,"body":"this is critical to understanding"},{"startTime":298.03,"endTime":299.58,"body":"the thing that I'm studying,"},{"startTime":299.58,"endTime":302.65,"body":"that I've been studying"},{"startTime":299.58,"endTime":302.65,"body":"for several years now."},{"startTime":302.65,"endTime":304.53,"body":"I define a lie machine"},{"startTime":304.53,"endTime":309.17,"body":"as a complex social and"},{"startTime":304.53,"endTime":309.17,"body":"technical mechanism."},{"startTime":309.17,"endTime":311.13,"body":"The two parts are critical"},{"startTime":311.13,"endTime":313.863,"body":"to understanding how the machine works."},{"startTime":315.17,"endTime":317.27,"body":"They both work in service of ideology."},{"startTime":317.27,"endTime":321.01,"body":"They take an untrue claim and"},{"startTime":317.27,"endTime":321.01,"body":"put it into service for some"},{"startTime":321.01,"endTime":324.183,"body":"higher political objective."},{"startTime":325.37,"endTime":327.21,"body":"They can be large and complex."},{"startTime":327.21,"endTime":329.4,"body":"They can be small and agile and nuanced."},{"startTime":329.4,"endTime":330.55,"body":"For the most part,"},{"startTime":330.55,"endTime":334.21,"body":"I'm going to speak of lie"},{"startTime":330.55,"endTime":334.21,"body":"machines in the sociological sense"},{"startTime":334.21,"endTime":339.21,"body":"as being large, multi-person,"},{"startTime":334.21,"endTime":339.21,"body":"physically cited places."},{"startTime":339.79,"endTime":342.91,"body":"In other words, these"},{"startTime":339.79,"endTime":342.91,"body":"aren't lone wolf operations,"},{"startTime":342.91,"endTime":347.91,"body":"these are organizations with"},{"startTime":342.91,"endTime":347.91,"body":"bosses and hiring plans."},{"startTime":348.12,"endTime":352.34,"body":"They pay rent, they have"},{"startTime":348.12,"endTime":352.34,"body":"performance bonuses."},{"startTime":352.34,"endTime":355.2,"body":"They have career trajectories"},{"startTime":355.2,"endTime":359.2,"body":"and they have fairly large"},{"startTime":355.2,"endTime":359.2,"body":"contracts behind their financing."},{"startTime":359.2,"endTime":361.893,"body":"So these are significant organizations."},{"startTime":362.79,"endTime":365.42,"body":"And I'll also use a variety"},{"startTime":362.79,"endTime":365.42,"body":"of terms during my talk."},{"startTime":365.42,"endTime":368.68,"body":"You may know most of these"},{"startTime":365.42,"endTime":368.68,"body":"now because it's hard to not"},{"startTime":368.68,"endTime":371.49,"body":"open a newspaper or"},{"startTime":368.68,"endTime":371.49,"body":"look at the news online"},{"startTime":371.49,"endTime":373.88,"body":"and see a story on misinformation."},{"startTime":373.88,"endTime":374.75,"body":"For the most part,"},{"startTime":374.75,"endTime":377.96,"body":"the book \"Lie Machine\" is"},{"startTime":374.75,"endTime":377.96,"body":"about computational propaganda,"},{"startTime":377.96,"endTime":380.03,"body":"so it's the special form of propaganda"},{"startTime":380.03,"endTime":383.16,"body":"that's customized and targeted for you"},{"startTime":383.16,"endTime":385.19,"body":"based on some of your data,"},{"startTime":385.19,"endTime":388.57,"body":"based on some trail of data"},{"startTime":385.19,"endTime":388.57,"body":"that you have provided."},{"startTime":388.57,"endTime":391.12,"body":"It is organizationally directed."},{"startTime":391.12,"endTime":394.56,"body":"It is emotive rather than"},{"startTime":391.12,"endTime":394.56,"body":"rational in their appeal,"},{"startTime":394.56,"endTime":397.163,"body":"and it provokes action for sponsors."},{"startTime":398.68,"endTime":401.593,"body":"It's well beyond rhetoric,"},{"startTime":398.68,"endTime":401.593,"body":"the craft of rhetoric."},{"startTime":402.77,"endTime":404.46,"body":"It's got the mechanism behind it"},{"startTime":404.46,"endTime":406.793,"body":"that that selects its audience."},{"startTime":408.24,"endTime":410.21,"body":"I speak for the most"},{"startTime":408.24,"endTime":410.21,"body":"part of misinformation,"},{"startTime":410.21,"endTime":412.63,"body":"different researchers"},{"startTime":410.21,"endTime":412.63,"body":"prefer disinformation,"},{"startTime":412.63,"endTime":413.56,"body":"some prefer mis,"},{"startTime":413.56,"endTime":415.42,"body":"I'm in the camp, I prefer misinformation"},{"startTime":415.42,"endTime":418.94,"body":"as the overall category of deliberate,"},{"startTime":418.94,"endTime":421.64,"body":"purposeful information operations"},{"startTime":421.64,"endTime":426.023,"body":"that take falsehoods and"},{"startTime":421.64,"endTime":426.023,"body":"deliver them to your inbox."},{"startTime":427.576,"endTime":429.97,"body":"The definition of what"},{"startTime":427.576,"endTime":429.97,"body":"we're actually talking about"},{"startTime":429.97,"endTime":431.29,"body":"has changed year to years."},{"startTime":431.29,"endTime":433.35,"body":"Sometimes it's evolved"},{"startTime":431.29,"endTime":433.35,"body":"over the course of months,"},{"startTime":433.35,"endTime":437.35,"body":"and very recently we speak"},{"startTime":433.35,"endTime":437.35,"body":"now more of mal-information."},{"startTime":437.35,"endTime":440.89,"body":"Mal-information being"},{"startTime":437.35,"endTime":440.89,"body":"sometimes true claims"},{"startTime":441.74,"endTime":444.38,"body":"where the emphasis is put on the negative."},{"startTime":444.38,"endTime":448.35,"body":"So you might teach the"},{"startTime":444.38,"endTime":448.35,"body":"controversy on a particular issue,"},{"startTime":448.35,"endTime":450.97,"body":"but choose to spend more time saying no"},{"startTime":450.97,"endTime":454.04,"body":"even if there's consensus around a yes,"},{"startTime":454.04,"endTime":455.77,"body":"providing the emphasis around the no"},{"startTime":455.77,"endTime":457.713,"body":"is a form of mal-information."},{"startTime":459.07,"endTime":460.44,"body":"But in all these cases,"},{"startTime":460.44,"endTime":462.3,"body":"whether you prefer the"},{"startTime":460.44,"endTime":462.3,"body":"term misinformation,"},{"startTime":462.3,"endTime":464.77,"body":"disinformation, or mal-information,"},{"startTime":464.77,"endTime":468.77,"body":"there is a particularly stable cycle"},{"startTime":468.77,"endTime":473.313,"body":"of production of dissemination"},{"startTime":468.77,"endTime":473.313,"body":"and of marketing."},{"startTime":474.34,"endTime":476.9,"body":"It's a small set of social media platforms"},{"startTime":476.9,"endTime":480.01,"body":"that provide the primary"},{"startTime":476.9,"endTime":480.01,"body":"conduit for stuff."},{"startTime":480.01,"endTime":482.58,"body":"And so it becomes fairly straightforward"},{"startTime":482.58,"endTime":486.48,"body":"to trace a mechanism or a"},{"startTime":482.58,"endTime":486.48,"body":"story as it moves over time."},{"startTime":486.48,"endTime":491.048,"body":"Now, the art of the science"},{"startTime":486.48,"endTime":491.048,"body":"of all this has also evolved."},{"startTime":491.048,"endTime":493.41,"body":"When we started this work in 2014,"},{"startTime":493.41,"endTime":495.773,"body":"we spent most of our time on Twitter."},{"startTime":496.85,"endTime":499.72,"body":"The bear might give this account away,"},{"startTime":499.72,"endTime":502.27,"body":"but effectively there's a set of accounts"},{"startTime":502.27,"endTime":504.99,"body":"that would occasionally tweet in Cyrillic,"},{"startTime":504.99,"endTime":507.34,"body":"and then move back into English,"},{"startTime":507.34,"endTime":508.84,"body":"perhaps the programming was bad,"},{"startTime":508.84,"endTime":509.673,"body":"perhaps they made a mistake,"},{"startTime":509.673,"endTime":512.03,"body":"or it was deliberate in some way,"},{"startTime":512.03,"endTime":515.65,"body":"but you could make maps of accounts"},{"startTime":515.65,"endTime":518.23,"body":"that had clearly been set"},{"startTime":515.65,"endTime":518.23,"body":"up at the same moment,"},{"startTime":518.23,"endTime":519.98,"body":"a hundred at a time,"},{"startTime":519.98,"endTime":522.85,"body":"all advocating for particular"},{"startTime":519.98,"endTime":522.85,"body":"kinds of positions,"},{"startTime":522.85,"endTime":525.33,"body":"and it was fairly easy"},{"startTime":525.33,"endTime":527.33,"body":"to identify the accounts that were fake."},{"startTime":528.18,"endTime":531.77,"body":"Incredible numbers of followers"},{"startTime":528.18,"endTime":531.77,"body":"but not following anybody,"},{"startTime":531.77,"endTime":533.72,"body":"or incredible numbers of tweets,"},{"startTime":533.72,"endTime":536.64,"body":"but never interacting or"},{"startTime":533.72,"endTime":536.64,"body":"engaging with any anybody else"},{"startTime":536.64,"endTime":540.63,"body":"in what we would think of as"},{"startTime":536.64,"endTime":540.63,"body":"a human community of thought."},{"startTime":541.62,"endTime":544.65,"body":"These Twitter accounts"},{"startTime":541.62,"endTime":544.65,"body":"were also easy to identify"},{"startTime":544.65,"endTime":547.48,"body":"because they often came with no pictures."},{"startTime":547.48,"endTime":551.03,"body":"And I mean this as a methodology"},{"startTime":547.48,"endTime":551.03,"body":"point, not a political jab,"},{"startTime":551.03,"endTime":554.613,"body":"when we would start a fresh"},{"startTime":551.03,"endTime":554.613,"body":"scoop of Twitter accounts,"},{"startTime":555.51,"endTime":557.4,"body":"of fake Twitter accounts,"},{"startTime":557.4,"endTime":560.16,"body":"we often started with"},{"startTime":557.4,"endTime":560.16,"body":"Trump's follower list,"},{"startTime":560.16,"endTime":561.45,"body":"again, not a political jab,"},{"startTime":561.45,"endTime":563.33,"body":"but he had such a large number"},{"startTime":563.33,"endTime":565.5,"body":"of fake accounts following him,"},{"startTime":565.5,"endTime":568.4,"body":"and you've seen these, if"},{"startTime":565.5,"endTime":568.4,"body":"you're on social media,"},{"startTime":568.4,"endTime":570.49,"body":"numbers instead of names,"},{"startTime":570.49,"endTime":574.5,"body":"no pictures, no identities, no profiles."},{"startTime":574.5,"endTime":576.71,"body":"It's getting harder and"},{"startTime":574.5,"endTime":576.71,"body":"harder to obscure yourself"},{"startTime":576.71,"endTime":579.49,"body":"these days on social media platforms,"},{"startTime":579.49,"endTime":582.95,"body":"and so it's harder and harder"},{"startTime":579.49,"endTime":582.95,"body":"to do a scoop of accounts"},{"startTime":582.95,"endTime":584.883,"body":"that we're pretty sure are fake."},{"startTime":586.15,"endTime":589.65,"body":"But it's not the fact"},{"startTime":586.15,"endTime":589.65,"body":"that the accounts are fake"},{"startTime":589.65,"endTime":592.083,"body":"that is a problem for public life,"},{"startTime":592.97,"endTime":595.38,"body":"it's when thousands of these accounts"},{"startTime":595.38,"endTime":600.38,"body":"wake up at one point and"},{"startTime":595.38,"endTime":600.38,"body":"push a story that is fake,"},{"startTime":600.42,"endTime":604.16,"body":"in this case, a story"},{"startTime":600.42,"endTime":604.16,"body":"of Muslim women in hijab"},{"startTime":604.16,"endTime":606.41,"body":"ruining your beach vacation,"},{"startTime":606.41,"endTime":609.95,"body":"or a storming passport control,"},{"startTime":606.41,"endTime":609.95,"body":"running across the border,"},{"startTime":609.95,"endTime":611.19,"body":"events that didn't happen,"},{"startTime":611.19,"endTime":613.543,"body":"photos that were taken"},{"startTime":611.19,"endTime":613.543,"body":"totally out of context,"},{"startTime":614.71,"endTime":618.77,"body":"events that didn't happen but"},{"startTime":614.71,"endTime":618.77,"body":"were covered by Russia today."},{"startTime":618.77,"endTime":621.49,"body":"And so it's when these"},{"startTime":618.77,"endTime":621.49,"body":"large families of accounts"},{"startTime":621.49,"endTime":626.23,"body":"push stories out at critical"},{"startTime":621.49,"endTime":626.23,"body":"moments in public life."},{"startTime":626.23,"endTime":627.7,"body":"That's when we have a problem,"},{"startTime":627.7,"endTime":630.153,"body":"I think, with discourse,"},{"startTime":627.7,"endTime":630.153,"body":"political discourse."},{"startTime":631.78,"endTime":633.81,"body":"I said earlier that we're up to 45"},{"startTime":634.85,"endTime":636.75,"body":"distinct country case studies."},{"startTime":636.75,"endTime":640.16,"body":"Now we've covered elections,"},{"startTime":636.75,"endTime":640.16,"body":"we've covered referenda."},{"startTime":640.16,"endTime":642.55,"body":"We've done specific"},{"startTime":640.16,"endTime":642.55,"body":"studies on language groups."},{"startTime":642.55,"endTime":644.5,"body":"Most of the research is in English."},{"startTime":644.5,"endTime":645.4,"body":"We know much less"},{"startTime":645.4,"endTime":647.56,"body":"about what's going on"},{"startTime":645.4,"endTime":647.56,"body":"in Arabic and Spanish,"},{"startTime":647.56,"endTime":650.09,"body":"except that there's misinformation,"},{"startTime":650.09,"endTime":652.313,"body":"significant information"},{"startTime":650.09,"endTime":652.313,"body":"operations there to."},{"startTime":654.13,"endTime":655.64,"body":"And I'd like to say a"},{"startTime":654.13,"endTime":655.64,"body":"little bit about what"},{"startTime":655.64,"endTime":658.45,"body":"the scope of the actually looks like,"},{"startTime":658.45,"endTime":661.33,"body":"because it's important to"},{"startTime":658.45,"endTime":661.33,"body":"understand that this is not"},{"startTime":661.33,"endTime":663.743,"body":"ultimately a computational project,"},{"startTime":664.61,"endTime":666.73,"body":"it takes our ethnographers, right?"},{"startTime":666.73,"endTime":668.853,"body":"The people who spend time in the labs,"},{"startTime":669.73,"endTime":671.6,"body":"it takes their time and patients"},{"startTime":671.6,"endTime":674.453,"body":"often to interpret what"},{"startTime":671.6,"endTime":674.453,"body":"we find computationally."},{"startTime":676.81,"endTime":678.6,"body":"So when we want to study junk news,"},{"startTime":678.6,"endTime":682.94,"body":"the fake news that circulates"},{"startTime":678.6,"endTime":682.94,"body":"in our social media feeds"},{"startTime":682.94,"endTime":687.02,"body":"and the algorithms that"},{"startTime":682.94,"endTime":687.02,"body":"distribute that content,"},{"startTime":687.02,"endTime":689.35,"body":"we take a multi-method approach."},{"startTime":689.35,"endTime":693.09,"body":"One that involves"},{"startTime":689.35,"endTime":693.09,"body":"spending time in the labs,"},{"startTime":693.09,"endTime":697.663,"body":"labs of people who produce this"},{"startTime":693.09,"endTime":697.663,"body":"stuff, qualitative research,"},{"startTime":697.663,"endTime":698.78,"body":"there's a comparative of context,"},{"startTime":698.78,"endTime":700.85,"body":"understanding how things"},{"startTime":698.78,"endTime":700.85,"body":"are different in Africa"},{"startTime":700.85,"endTime":702.55,"body":"or Latin America, or here at home."},{"startTime":703.44,"endTime":705.51,"body":"And the computation will often involves"},{"startTime":705.51,"endTime":706.5,"body":"the big scoops of data,"},{"startTime":706.5,"endTime":709.82,"body":"that's where we take something"},{"startTime":706.5,"endTime":709.82,"body":"we observe in the field"},{"startTime":709.82,"endTime":713.33,"body":"and look to see its prevalence"},{"startTime":709.82,"endTime":713.33,"body":"on a social media platform,"},{"startTime":713.33,"endTime":715.34,"body":"or we travel back the other way,"},{"startTime":715.34,"endTime":719.49,"body":"we spot something that's"},{"startTime":715.34,"endTime":719.49,"body":"computationally suspicious,"},{"startTime":719.49,"endTime":721.25,"body":"and then go back to our field workers"},{"startTime":721.25,"endTime":722.713,"body":"for help with interpretation."},{"startTime":723.72,"endTime":725.07,"body":"A good example of how this works"},{"startTime":725.07,"endTime":727.1,"body":"is that among the most productive times"},{"startTime":727.1,"endTime":728.9,"body":"our research team has spent"},{"startTime":728.9,"endTime":732.41,"body":"was a several months with a lab in Poland"},{"startTime":732.41,"endTime":736.92,"body":"that manages 10,000"},{"startTime":732.41,"endTime":736.92,"body":"fake Facebook accounts."},{"startTime":736.92,"endTime":738.81,"body":"You don't purchase these accounts,"},{"startTime":738.81,"endTime":742.33,"body":"you rent them from the"},{"startTime":738.81,"endTime":742.33,"body":"lab and each battery"},{"startTime":742.33,"endTime":744.44,"body":"of 10 to 20 legends, they're called,"},{"startTime":744.44,"endTime":747.99,"body":"because they're complete with"},{"startTime":744.44,"endTime":747.99,"body":"photos and a long profile,"},{"startTime":747.99,"endTime":750.62,"body":"10 to 20 legends are"},{"startTime":747.99,"endTime":750.62,"body":"maintained by one person"},{"startTime":750.62,"endTime":752.31,"body":"on a regular basis,"},{"startTime":752.31,"endTime":755.64,"body":"flower pictures, football"},{"startTime":752.31,"endTime":755.64,"body":"scores, you know,"},{"startTime":755.64,"endTime":757.23,"body":"a stream of content."},{"startTime":757.23,"endTime":760.51,"body":"You rent them from a week to week basis."},{"startTime":760.51,"endTime":765.1,"body":"What industry do you"},{"startTime":760.51,"endTime":765.1,"body":"think might pay to rent"},{"startTime":765.1,"endTime":768.193,"body":"10,000 fake Facebook users at a time."},{"startTime":769.809,"endTime":770.642,"body":"- [Lady] Gambling."},{"startTime":770.642,"endTime":772.02,"body":"- Gambling, good, yes, but no,"},{"startTime":772.02,"endTime":774.08,"body":"they're amongst the most"},{"startTime":772.02,"endTime":774.08,"body":"aggressive advertisers,"},{"startTime":774.08,"endTime":775.47,"body":"not gambling."},{"startTime":775.47,"endTime":777.83,"body":"What other industries might pay to rent"},{"startTime":777.83,"endTime":780.163,"body":"10,000 fake Facebook users?"},{"startTime":788.38,"endTime":790.47,"body":"Pharmaceuticals."},{"startTime":790.47,"endTime":792.84,"body":"Their primary clients are pharmaceuticals,"},{"startTime":792.84,"endTime":795.25,"body":"they'll have and pay for campaigns"},{"startTime":795.25,"endTime":798.22,"body":"in which 10,000 fake users"},{"startTime":798.22,"endTime":800.95,"body":"will have trouble"},{"startTime":798.22,"endTime":800.95,"body":"managing their migraines,"},{"startTime":800.95,"endTime":803.71,"body":"and then 10,000 others have a new medicine"},{"startTime":803.71,"endTime":806.56,"body":"they've discovered for"},{"startTime":803.71,"endTime":806.56,"body":"managing their migraines."},{"startTime":806.56,"endTime":807.9,"body":"They have interactions in public"},{"startTime":807.9,"endTime":810.21,"body":"and that helps bring home the message"},{"startTime":810.21,"endTime":812.19,"body":"that the medicine may be valuable."},{"startTime":812.19,"endTime":815.52,"body":"Their primary clients are"},{"startTime":812.19,"endTime":815.52,"body":"not politicians, right?"},{"startTime":815.52,"endTime":818.372,"body":"The primary clients are actually"},{"startTime":815.52,"endTime":818.372,"body":"in the corporate sphere,"},{"startTime":818.372,"endTime":820.16,"body":"but the toolkit is the same,"},{"startTime":820.16,"endTime":822.01,"body":"so when an election comes around"},{"startTime":822.01,"endTime":825.49,"body":"and a politician needs this"},{"startTime":822.01,"endTime":825.49,"body":"infrastructure, it's there,"},{"startTime":825.49,"endTime":826.69,"body":"it's available for them."},{"startTime":827.68,"endTime":829.76,"body":"Computationally, we have tended to work"},{"startTime":829.76,"endTime":830.97,"body":"with Twitter and Facebook data"},{"startTime":830.97,"endTime":833.71,"body":"because those are the firms"},{"startTime":830.97,"endTime":833.71,"body":"that are most accessible."},{"startTime":833.71,"endTime":837.5,"body":"These days, my lab is spending"},{"startTime":833.71,"endTime":837.5,"body":"much more time on Instagram,"},{"startTime":837.5,"endTime":840.683,"body":"TikTok and Tinder, YouTube, or WhatsApp,"},{"startTime":841.65,"endTime":844.17,"body":"the Tinder bot was particularly amusing,"},{"startTime":844.17,"endTime":846.13,"body":"and it's actually something"},{"startTime":844.17,"endTime":846.13,"body":"that impacted this country."},{"startTime":846.13,"endTime":850.92,"body":"It was a bot that was released"},{"startTime":846.13,"endTime":850.92,"body":"in the 2017 election here"},{"startTime":850.92,"endTime":854.043,"body":"that would flirt and then"},{"startTime":850.92,"endTime":854.043,"body":"talk about Jeremy Corbyn."},{"startTime":855.619,"endTime":858.22,"body":"The only reason we know about it"},{"startTime":858.22,"endTime":860.95,"body":"is that the campaign"},{"startTime":858.22,"endTime":860.95,"body":"managers that designed it"},{"startTime":860.95,"endTime":864.99,"body":"went on to Twitter afterwards"},{"startTime":860.95,"endTime":864.99,"body":"and thanked their bot"},{"startTime":864.99,"endTime":867.04,"body":"for delivering the few percentage points,"},{"startTime":867.04,"endTime":870.22,"body":"difference that they thought their MP got"},{"startTime":870.22,"endTime":872.02,"body":"to win in those seats."},{"startTime":872.02,"endTime":873.69,"body":"So this isn't something that"},{"startTime":873.69,"endTime":876.08,"body":"took a lot of computational"},{"startTime":873.69,"endTime":876.08,"body":"resources to discover."},{"startTime":876.08,"endTime":878.31,"body":"It was something that was announced"},{"startTime":878.31,"endTime":880.11,"body":"and acknowledged on Twitter."},{"startTime":880.11,"endTime":882.24,"body":"It's sort of unfortunate"},{"startTime":880.11,"endTime":882.24,"body":"that this is how we get"},{"startTime":882.24,"endTime":884.85,"body":"some of the best stories"},{"startTime":882.24,"endTime":884.85,"body":"of misinformation."},{"startTime":884.85,"endTime":889.85,"body":"But the important lesson here"},{"startTime":884.85,"endTime":889.85,"body":"is that there probably isn't"},{"startTime":889.9,"endTime":894.44,"body":"a social media platform"},{"startTime":889.9,"endTime":894.44,"body":"that can't be involved"},{"startTime":894.44,"endTime":897.37,"body":"in political manipulation in some way."},{"startTime":897.37,"endTime":898.31,"body":"When we get to questions,"},{"startTime":898.31,"endTime":900.59,"body":"I'm happy to talk about gaming platforms"},{"startTime":900.59,"endTime":902.24,"body":"because they are also not immune."},{"startTime":904.57,"endTime":908.03,"body":"After we published a"},{"startTime":904.57,"endTime":908.03,"body":"research on the Brexit debate"},{"startTime":908.03,"endTime":911.96,"body":"in this country and the 2016"},{"startTime":908.03,"endTime":911.96,"body":"election in the United States,"},{"startTime":911.96,"endTime":913.48,"body":"my team and I were invited to work with"},{"startTime":913.48,"endTime":915.84,"body":"the Senate Select Committee"},{"startTime":913.48,"endTime":915.84,"body":"on Intelligence in the U.S"},{"startTime":915.84,"endTime":917.53,"body":"to help understand the trends,"},{"startTime":917.53,"endTime":920.72,"body":"to help understand what it was exactly"},{"startTime":920.72,"endTime":922.446,"body":"that the Russian government"},{"startTime":922.446,"endTime":925.973,"body":"had launched during the election there."},{"startTime":926.83,"endTime":928.56,"body":"We were invited to play"},{"startTime":926.83,"endTime":928.56,"body":"with some of the data"},{"startTime":928.56,"endTime":929.87,"body":"that was provided,"},{"startTime":929.87,"endTime":933.86,"body":"six firms provided data to"},{"startTime":929.87,"endTime":933.86,"body":"the Senate Select Committee,"},{"startTime":933.86,"endTime":935.81,"body":"Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,"},{"startTime":935.81,"endTime":937.06,"body":"Google provided data,"},{"startTime":937.06,"endTime":940.18,"body":"but they sent their data in PDF format,"},{"startTime":940.18,"endTime":941.75,"body":"which is sort of an engineering joke"},{"startTime":941.75,"endTime":944.05,"body":"because PDFs are not machine readable,"},{"startTime":944.05,"endTime":947.05,"body":"you can't do anything"},{"startTime":944.05,"endTime":947.05,"body":"computationally with them,"},{"startTime":947.05,"endTime":948.05,"body":"you only produce them"},{"startTime":948.05,"endTime":950.48,"body":"if you think you're"},{"startTime":948.05,"endTime":950.48,"body":"going to print the data."},{"startTime":950.48,"endTime":954.09,"body":"So I'm going to say some things"},{"startTime":950.48,"endTime":954.09,"body":"about the other forms of data,"},{"startTime":954.09,"endTime":957.243,"body":"but we don't know what was"},{"startTime":954.09,"endTime":957.243,"body":"going on Google, the platform."},{"startTime":960.25,"endTime":963.45,"body":"I'll say something first about the arc"},{"startTime":964.41,"endTime":968.4,"body":"of activity from social media,"},{"startTime":964.41,"endTime":968.4,"body":"fake social media accounts,"},{"startTime":968.4,"endTime":970.203,"body":"these are fake U.S voters."},{"startTime":971.14,"endTime":975.05,"body":"And even though 2016"},{"startTime":971.14,"endTime":975.05,"body":"seems like a world away,"},{"startTime":975.05,"endTime":978.433,"body":"the arc of these campaigns"},{"startTime":975.05,"endTime":978.433,"body":"hasn't really changed."},{"startTime":979.71,"endTime":982.84,"body":"This is a very simple"},{"startTime":979.71,"endTime":982.84,"body":"chart of the daily activity"},{"startTime":982.84,"endTime":987.51,"body":"of the some 3000 fake U.S citizens"},{"startTime":987.51,"endTime":990.16,"body":"who were clearly managed"},{"startTime":987.51,"endTime":990.16,"body":"from St. Petersburg."},{"startTime":990.16,"endTime":992.76,"body":"The firm acknowledged that"},{"startTime":990.16,"endTime":992.76,"body":"all of these account accounts"},{"startTime":992.76,"endTime":995.02,"body":"were managed in the same window of time"},{"startTime":995.02,"endTime":998.623,"body":"each day in the right time"},{"startTime":995.02,"endTime":998.623,"body":"zone from St. Petersburg."},{"startTime":1000.37,"endTime":1001.62,"body":"There's a straightforward rhythm"},{"startTime":1001.62,"endTime":1003.34,"body":"and I've identified some of the"},{"startTime":1003.34,"endTime":1005.32,"body":"highs and lows and troughs here."},{"startTime":1005.32,"endTime":1008.13,"body":"Among the simple lessons from this graph,"},{"startTime":1008.13,"endTime":1010.83,"body":"the accounts are most active"},{"startTime":1010.83,"endTime":1012.58,"body":"on the important days in public life,"},{"startTime":1012.58,"endTime":1014.16,"body":"the day there's a debate,"},{"startTime":1014.16,"endTime":1015.92,"body":"the day that a candidate announces"},{"startTime":1015.92,"endTime":1017.81,"body":"or another candidate withdraws,"},{"startTime":1017.81,"endTime":1020.01,"body":"those are the days in"},{"startTime":1017.81,"endTime":1020.01,"body":"which the accounts wake up"},{"startTime":1020.01,"endTime":1021.41,"body":"and are particularly active."},{"startTime":1022.79,"endTime":1024.79,"body":"There is an interesting low"},{"startTime":1024.79,"endTime":1027.72,"body":"right after the election"},{"startTime":1024.79,"endTime":1027.72,"body":"when the accounts,"},{"startTime":1027.72,"endTime":1029.82,"body":"it's almost as if the"},{"startTime":1027.72,"endTime":1029.82,"body":"people behind the accounts"},{"startTime":1029.82,"endTime":1030.93,"body":"took a break, right?"},{"startTime":1030.93,"endTime":1032.24,"body":"The election was over,"},{"startTime":1032.24,"endTime":1033.87,"body":"they went on holiday for a little bit,"},{"startTime":1033.87,"endTime":1036.463,"body":"so they took a break."},{"startTime":1037.99,"endTime":1040.15,"body":"To me unfortunately one of"},{"startTime":1037.99,"endTime":1040.15,"body":"the most important parts"},{"startTime":1040.15,"endTime":1043.75,"body":"of this figure is that the"},{"startTime":1040.15,"endTime":1043.75,"body":"bulk of Russian activity"},{"startTime":1043.75,"endTime":1048.513,"body":"with these accounts is after"},{"startTime":1043.75,"endTime":1048.513,"body":"the election, not before,"},{"startTime":1049.76,"endTime":1053.03,"body":"It's almost as if the"},{"startTime":1049.76,"endTime":1053.03,"body":"organization behind the accounts"},{"startTime":1053.03,"endTime":1054.9,"body":"decided they were successful"},{"startTime":1054.9,"endTime":1058.61,"body":"or got more investment from"},{"startTime":1054.9,"endTime":1058.61,"body":"government or doubled down,"},{"startTime":1058.61,"endTime":1061.663,"body":"so their activity increased"},{"startTime":1058.61,"endTime":1061.663,"body":"once they were caught."},{"startTime":1063.31,"endTime":1064.73,"body":"The other final thing I'll point out"},{"startTime":1064.73,"endTime":1066.49,"body":"is that once we identified the accounts,"},{"startTime":1066.49,"endTime":1070.99,"body":"we got the data in early 2018,"},{"startTime":1070.99,"endTime":1073.32,"body":"we were able to trace back their activity."},{"startTime":1073.32,"endTime":1076.07,"body":"They actually started, woke up in 2015,"},{"startTime":1076.07,"endTime":1076.95,"body":"and some of these accounts,"},{"startTime":1076.95,"endTime":1079.67,"body":"we found the Twitter"},{"startTime":1076.95,"endTime":1079.67,"body":"parallels as early as 2012."},{"startTime":1081.66,"endTime":1084.74,"body":"So they started years"},{"startTime":1081.66,"endTime":1084.74,"body":"before we caught them."},{"startTime":1084.74,"endTime":1087.233,"body":"They didn't stop once we caught them."},{"startTime":1088.72,"endTime":1091.84,"body":"And once we found them,"},{"startTime":1091.84,"endTime":1094.89,"body":"we found that they transitioned"},{"startTime":1091.84,"endTime":1094.89,"body":"pretty significantly"},{"startTime":1094.89,"endTime":1098.64,"body":"to a platform we can't study at all."},{"startTime":1098.64,"endTime":1099.473,"body":"Now, I mentioned"},{"startTime":1099.473,"endTime":1101.77,"body":"there were five or six"},{"startTime":1099.473,"endTime":1101.77,"body":"different sources of data,"},{"startTime":1101.77,"endTime":1105.87,"body":"I pulled out two here,"},{"startTime":1101.77,"endTime":1105.87,"body":"simply the Facebook ads."},{"startTime":1105.87,"endTime":1109.26,"body":"So these were the ads that"},{"startTime":1105.87,"endTime":1109.26,"body":"were famously bought in rubles,"},{"startTime":1109.26,"endTime":1112.203,"body":"these are the ads for political action."},{"startTime":1113.12,"endTime":1115.28,"body":"I think sometimes in"},{"startTime":1113.12,"endTime":1115.28,"body":"the policy conversation,"},{"startTime":1115.28,"endTime":1117.69,"body":"we spend a lot of time"},{"startTime":1115.28,"endTime":1117.69,"body":"talking about political ads."},{"startTime":1117.69,"endTime":1119.89,"body":"It's not a problem of political ads."},{"startTime":1119.89,"endTime":1123.86,"body":"It's the organic content"},{"startTime":1119.89,"endTime":1123.86,"body":"behind misinformation"},{"startTime":1123.86,"endTime":1125.11,"body":"that has the most impact."},{"startTime":1126.27,"endTime":1130.21,"body":"Interestingly, the bulk of"},{"startTime":1126.27,"endTime":1130.21,"body":"activity from this operation"},{"startTime":1130.21,"endTime":1132.56,"body":"seems to have moved on to Instagram."},{"startTime":1132.56,"endTime":1135.1,"body":"This is a visual medium,"},{"startTime":1132.56,"endTime":1135.1,"body":"it's very difficult to study,"},{"startTime":1135.1,"endTime":1136.75,"body":"they don't share data,"},{"startTime":1136.75,"endTime":1138.7,"body":"this is where the kids are these days."},{"startTime":1138.7,"endTime":1141.21,"body":"And in fact, there are kids"},{"startTime":1138.7,"endTime":1141.21,"body":"who are not even on Instagram,"},{"startTime":1141.21,"endTime":1144.89,"body":"they're on other platforms"},{"startTime":1141.21,"endTime":1144.89,"body":"now that share even less data."},{"startTime":1144.89,"endTime":1147.76,"body":"So we spend much of our"},{"startTime":1144.89,"endTime":1147.76,"body":"time thinking about Twitter"},{"startTime":1147.76,"endTime":1151.42,"body":"and Facebook because"},{"startTime":1147.76,"endTime":1151.42,"body":"those are the platforms"},{"startTime":1151.42,"endTime":1154.53,"body":"that us older colleges can"},{"startTime":1151.42,"endTime":1154.53,"body":"actually study with data."},{"startTime":1154.53,"endTime":1156.77,"body":"The action is elsewhere, and we know that,"},{"startTime":1156.77,"endTime":1158.553,"body":"but have no sight of it."},{"startTime":1160.19,"endTime":1162.1,"body":"I'll say a little bit about"},{"startTime":1160.19,"endTime":1162.1,"body":"the thematic structure"},{"startTime":1162.1,"endTime":1163.52,"body":"of what the content"},{"startTime":1163.52,"endTime":1166.76,"body":"that was pushed at American"},{"startTime":1163.52,"endTime":1166.76,"body":"U.S voters in 2016,"},{"startTime":1166.76,"endTime":1170.71,"body":"because it's also it reappeared in 2020."},{"startTime":1170.71,"endTime":1172.27,"body":"We'll see it again in 2024"},{"startTime":1172.27,"endTime":1174.88,"body":"and it's the same kinds of misinformation"},{"startTime":1174.88,"endTime":1176.23,"body":"we get in this country too."},{"startTime":1177.33,"endTime":1181.28,"body":"The first primary is a"},{"startTime":1177.33,"endTime":1181.28,"body":"primary form of misinformation"},{"startTime":1182.46,"endTime":1186.87,"body":"are the stories that"},{"startTime":1182.46,"endTime":1186.87,"body":"poke race, race issues,"},{"startTime":1186.87,"endTime":1188.36,"body":"Black Lives Matter,"},{"startTime":1188.36,"endTime":1191.38,"body":"organizing a Black Lives Matter protest"},{"startTime":1192.37,"endTime":1194.01,"body":"to appear on the street corner"},{"startTime":1194.01,"endTime":1196.3,"body":"opposite of Blue Lives"},{"startTime":1194.01,"endTime":1196.3,"body":"Matter protest, right?"},{"startTime":1196.3,"endTime":1200.053,"body":"At the same moment, these are"},{"startTime":1196.3,"endTime":1200.053,"body":"purposeful campaign goals."},{"startTime":1203.37,"endTime":1206.01,"body":"One of the most pernicious"},{"startTime":1203.37,"endTime":1206.01,"body":"of campaign goals"},{"startTime":1206.01,"endTime":1209.45,"body":"was to encourage African"},{"startTime":1206.01,"endTime":1209.45,"body":"American voters to not vote"},{"startTime":1210.42,"endTime":1214.33,"body":"because no white politician"},{"startTime":1210.42,"endTime":1214.33,"body":"would ever represent them well."},{"startTime":1214.33,"endTime":1216.35,"body":"This was a boycott campaign."},{"startTime":1216.35,"endTime":1219.21,"body":"Boycott the vote, stay out"},{"startTime":1216.35,"endTime":1219.21,"body":"of the election process"},{"startTime":1219.21,"endTime":1222.39,"body":"as a way of protesting the vote."},{"startTime":1222.39,"endTime":1225.89,"body":"This is also something"},{"startTime":1222.39,"endTime":1225.89,"body":"we've got in this country."},{"startTime":1225.89,"endTime":1228.52,"body":"So voter voter disenfranchisement"},{"startTime":1228.52,"endTime":1230.92,"body":"is a particular problem in the U.S"},{"startTime":1230.92,"endTime":1234.03,"body":"but linked with this other odd"},{"startTime":1230.92,"endTime":1234.03,"body":"form of political expression,"},{"startTime":1234.03,"endTime":1235.6,"body":"protest the vote by not voting"},{"startTime":1236.69,"endTime":1238.21,"body":"is one of the things that I think"},{"startTime":1238.21,"endTime":1240.9,"body":"is unique to the Russian"},{"startTime":1238.21,"endTime":1240.9,"body":"misinformation operations."},{"startTime":1240.9,"endTime":1242.56,"body":"There's also a field of content"},{"startTime":1242.56,"endTime":1245.54,"body":"directed at the far right, guns, abortion,"},{"startTime":1245.54,"endTime":1247.76,"body":"issues that are particularly important"},{"startTime":1247.76,"endTime":1249.66,"body":"to the far right in the United States."},{"startTime":1250.93,"endTime":1252.72,"body":"And much more recently, remember I said,"},{"startTime":1252.72,"endTime":1255.47,"body":"much of the activity"},{"startTime":1252.72,"endTime":1255.47,"body":"from these 3000 accounts"},{"startTime":1255.47,"endTime":1258.08,"body":"was after the election in 2016."},{"startTime":1258.08,"endTime":1259.59,"body":"Much of that activity"},{"startTime":1259.59,"endTime":1261.56,"body":"moved from being about African Americans"},{"startTime":1261.56,"endTime":1264.69,"body":"to being about Islam, Muslim Americans,"},{"startTime":1264.69,"endTime":1266.1,"body":"with the same message."},{"startTime":1266.1,"endTime":1268.4,"body":"If your Muslim, don't vote,"},{"startTime":1268.4,"endTime":1270.75,"body":"no white politician will"},{"startTime":1268.4,"endTime":1270.75,"body":"ever represent you well,"},{"startTime":1270.75,"endTime":1271.583,"body":"stay at home."},{"startTime":1273.43,"endTime":1275.91,"body":"This is the kind of polarizing content"},{"startTime":1275.91,"endTime":1278.19,"body":"that we've caught now in many countries,"},{"startTime":1278.19,"endTime":1281.53,"body":"in many different elections"},{"startTime":1278.19,"endTime":1281.53,"body":"over the last six years,"},{"startTime":1281.53,"endTime":1284.2,"body":"I go into some of this"},{"startTime":1281.53,"endTime":1284.2,"body":"work in \"Lie Machines\""},{"startTime":1284.2,"endTime":1285.69,"body":"and I'm happy to tell"},{"startTime":1284.2,"endTime":1285.69,"body":"you more about the book"},{"startTime":1285.69,"endTime":1286.713,"body":"if you wish later."},{"startTime":1288.3,"endTime":1291.9,"body":"But I want to move now to"},{"startTime":1288.3,"endTime":1291.9,"body":"the more contemporary issues"},{"startTime":1291.9,"endTime":1295.363,"body":"of misinformation around"},{"startTime":1291.9,"endTime":1295.363,"body":"COVID and Ukraine."},{"startTime":1296.48,"endTime":1297.43,"body":"I think this is critical."},{"startTime":1297.43,"endTime":1299.74,"body":"I think misinformation"},{"startTime":1297.43,"endTime":1299.74,"body":"is critical because to me"},{"startTime":1299.74,"endTime":1302.87,"body":"has become the one existential threat"},{"startTime":1302.87,"endTime":1306.61,"body":"that prevents action on all"},{"startTime":1302.87,"endTime":1306.61,"body":"the other existential threats."},{"startTime":1306.61,"endTime":1309.15,"body":"It will be very difficult or"},{"startTime":1306.61,"endTime":1309.15,"body":"to do anything about climate,"},{"startTime":1309.15,"endTime":1310.92,"body":"about social inequality,"},{"startTime":1310.92,"endTime":1315.31,"body":"about access to institutions"},{"startTime":1310.92,"endTime":1315.31,"body":"of higher learning"},{"startTime":1317.5,"endTime":1320.633,"body":"until we've tackled the"},{"startTime":1317.5,"endTime":1320.633,"body":"problem of misinformation."},{"startTime":1324.94,"endTime":1326.61,"body":"Perhaps the most pernicious"},{"startTime":1326.61,"endTime":1329.01,"body":"and deadly form of misinformation so far"},{"startTime":1329.01,"endTime":1330.903,"body":"is that about COVID."},{"startTime":1332.68,"endTime":1334.34,"body":"You may not have seen this particular ad,"},{"startTime":1334.34,"endTime":1335.92,"body":"but this is my favorite of the examples"},{"startTime":1335.92,"endTime":1339.15,"body":"because it wraps everything"},{"startTime":1335.92,"endTime":1339.15,"body":"together in one package,"},{"startTime":1339.15,"endTime":1342.29,"body":"a cult of personality around Bill Gates,"},{"startTime":1342.29,"endTime":1344.56,"body":"longstanding fear that the government"},{"startTime":1344.56,"endTime":1347.38,"body":"is trying to put chips in your arms,"},{"startTime":1347.38,"endTime":1349.032,"body":"fairly middle class movement"},{"startTime":1349.032,"endTime":1353.51,"body":"that vaccines harm children, right?"},{"startTime":1353.51,"endTime":1355.79,"body":"And that's actually a"},{"startTime":1353.51,"endTime":1355.79,"body":"movement that's been around"},{"startTime":1355.79,"endTime":1359.45,"body":"for several decades and is"},{"startTime":1355.79,"endTime":1359.45,"body":"well organized and funded,"},{"startTime":1359.45,"endTime":1362.86,"body":"but wrapped together"},{"startTime":1359.45,"endTime":1362.86,"body":"with purposeful campaigns"},{"startTime":1362.86,"endTime":1364.58,"body":"from foreign governments"},{"startTime":1364.58,"endTime":1367.486,"body":"to discourage people from taking vaccines,"},{"startTime":1367.486,"endTime":1370.16,"body":"fear that 5G is killing bees."},{"startTime":1370.16,"endTime":1371.89,"body":"There's a range of things"},{"startTime":1371.89,"endTime":1375.37,"body":"that are all wrapped together"},{"startTime":1371.89,"endTime":1375.37,"body":"in a very complex narrative"},{"startTime":1375.37,"endTime":1376.75,"body":"that is also unfortunately,"},{"startTime":1376.75,"endTime":1380.913,"body":"tied to homeopathy and"},{"startTime":1376.75,"endTime":1380.913,"body":"naturopathy websites."},{"startTime":1381.95,"endTime":1386.293,"body":"What makes it pernicious is"},{"startTime":1381.95,"endTime":1386.293,"body":"now in our media environment,"},{"startTime":1387.13,"endTime":1389.85,"body":"the involvement of"},{"startTime":1387.13,"endTime":1389.85,"body":"state-backed media agency,"},{"startTime":1389.85,"endTime":1392.48,"body":"particularly Russia today, and CGTN,"},{"startTime":1392.48,"endTime":1396.933,"body":"the PRCS and primary media"},{"startTime":1392.48,"endTime":1396.933,"body":"outlet, in pushing the stories."},{"startTime":1398.09,"endTime":1400.41,"body":"About a year ago some"},{"startTime":1398.09,"endTime":1400.41,"body":"colleagues and I did a study of"},{"startTime":1400.41,"endTime":1403.02,"body":"how many social media accounts"},{"startTime":1403.02,"endTime":1405.06,"body":"follow these different news sources."},{"startTime":1405.06,"endTime":1406.35,"body":"It was a fairly simple metric."},{"startTime":1406.35,"endTime":1409.14,"body":"We looked to see how many YouTube users,"},{"startTime":1409.14,"endTime":1412.19,"body":"how many Reddit followers there were,"},{"startTime":1412.19,"endTime":1415.6,"body":"how many Facebook members"},{"startTime":1412.19,"endTime":1415.6,"body":"there were of a group."},{"startTime":1415.6,"endTime":1417.063,"body":"We simply added them up."},{"startTime":1418.29,"endTime":1420.81,"body":"And we found that the state-backed media,"},{"startTime":1420.81,"endTime":1425.06,"body":"primarily CGTN and RT on a good week"},{"startTime":1425.06,"endTime":1429.4,"body":"can reach upwards of a"},{"startTime":1425.06,"endTime":1429.4,"body":"billion social media accounts"},{"startTime":1429.4,"endTime":1432.173,"body":"with the content that they push on COVID."},{"startTime":1433.43,"endTime":1434.65,"body":"Now there's interaction effects."},{"startTime":1434.65,"endTime":1436.86,"body":"It often takes a Hollywood star, right?"},{"startTime":1436.86,"endTime":1440.74,"body":"Or a U.S president, a"},{"startTime":1436.86,"endTime":1440.74,"body":"prominent political figure"},{"startTime":1440.74,"endTime":1445.74,"body":"to really elevate and escalate,"},{"startTime":1440.74,"endTime":1445.74,"body":"give traction to a story."},{"startTime":1446.14,"endTime":1448.11,"body":"But if the moment is right,"},{"startTime":1448.11,"endTime":1449.48,"body":"if the dynamics are there,"},{"startTime":1449.48,"endTime":1451.62,"body":"they can reach significantly more people"},{"startTime":1451.62,"endTime":1454.51,"body":"than even the most"},{"startTime":1451.62,"endTime":1454.51,"body":"professionalized of news outlets."},{"startTime":1454.51,"endTime":1457.12,"body":"I included here, just the"},{"startTime":1454.51,"endTime":1457.12,"body":"BBC, CNN, the Guardian,"},{"startTime":1457.12,"endTime":1458.32,"body":"and a few others."},{"startTime":1458.32,"endTime":1459.87,"body":"And I should point out, I separated,"},{"startTime":1459.87,"endTime":1462.1,"body":"we separated out the websites"},{"startTime":1462.1,"endTime":1464.71,"body":"that are clearly doing junk health news."},{"startTime":1464.71,"endTime":1467.86,"body":"So the fake cure websites,"},{"startTime":1467.86,"endTime":1470.6,"body":"the websites protesting lockdowns,"},{"startTime":1470.6,"endTime":1473.93,"body":"those were separated from the"},{"startTime":1470.6,"endTime":1473.93,"body":"state-backed media agencies."},{"startTime":1473.93,"endTime":1475.75,"body":"And it's those state-backed media agencies"},{"startTime":1475.75,"endTime":1478.873,"body":"that can have quite a"},{"startTime":1475.75,"endTime":1478.873,"body":"significant global reach."},{"startTime":1480.51,"endTime":1481.5,"body":"Another interesting dynamic"},{"startTime":1481.5,"endTime":1483.06,"body":"to this problem of misinformation"},{"startTime":1483.06,"endTime":1485.38,"body":"is not so much the content."},{"startTime":1485.38,"endTime":1487.34,"body":"Often if a group of reasonable people"},{"startTime":1487.34,"endTime":1488.84,"body":"sit down and look at a piece of content,"},{"startTime":1488.84,"endTime":1490.8,"body":"we can arrive at some assessment"},{"startTime":1490.8,"endTime":1495.8,"body":"of how credible the source or"},{"startTime":1490.8,"endTime":1495.8,"body":"the ideas or the facts are."},{"startTime":1497.07,"endTime":1498.66,"body":"What's much harder to understand"},{"startTime":1498.66,"endTime":1502.2,"body":"is the infrastructure that"},{"startTime":1498.66,"endTime":1502.2,"body":"makes it all profitable"},{"startTime":1502.2,"endTime":1503.683,"body":"to produce misinformation."},{"startTime":1505.35,"endTime":1510.35,"body":"Big tech firms will often"},{"startTime":1505.35,"endTime":1510.35,"body":"invest in community norms"},{"startTime":1510.43,"endTime":1515.043,"body":"and content moderation to"},{"startTime":1510.43,"endTime":1515.043,"body":"help catch the nasty stuff."},{"startTime":1516.5,"endTime":1518.97,"body":"But those big tech firms still"},{"startTime":1516.5,"endTime":1518.97,"body":"provide the infrastructure"},{"startTime":1518.97,"endTime":1520.973,"body":"for junk news websites."},{"startTime":1522.2,"endTime":1523.033,"body":"We took a sample"},{"startTime":1523.033,"endTime":1525.49,"body":"particularly of those that"},{"startTime":1523.033,"endTime":1525.49,"body":"protest public health measures,"},{"startTime":1525.49,"endTime":1528.75,"body":"promote COVID-19 scams,"},{"startTime":1525.49,"endTime":1528.75,"body":"frauds and profiteering."},{"startTime":1528.75,"endTime":1530.21,"body":"These are money making ventures, right?"},{"startTime":1530.21,"endTime":1532.033,"body":"These are not about public health."},{"startTime":1533.32,"endTime":1535.03,"body":"They don't have serious"},{"startTime":1533.32,"endTime":1535.03,"body":"concern for public health,"},{"startTime":1535.03,"endTime":1538.14,"body":"and they disseminate significant"},{"startTime":1535.03,"endTime":1538.14,"body":"amounts of disinformation"},{"startTime":1538.14,"endTime":1542.423,"body":"about the causes and"},{"startTime":1538.14,"endTime":1542.423,"body":"consequences of COVID."},{"startTime":1544.02,"endTime":1546.78,"body":"Even after the prime, the"},{"startTime":1544.02,"endTime":1546.78,"body":"large social media firms,"},{"startTime":1546.78,"endTime":1550.61,"body":"even once they're able"},{"startTime":1546.78,"endTime":1550.61,"body":"to take content down,"},{"startTime":1550.61,"endTime":1553.38,"body":"they still continue to generate revenue"},{"startTime":1553.38,"endTime":1555.55,"body":"by providing the trackers"},{"startTime":1553.38,"endTime":1555.55,"body":"that make it possible"},{"startTime":1555.55,"endTime":1560.3,"body":"to follow you from a"},{"startTime":1555.55,"endTime":1560.3,"body":"website or a Facebook group"},{"startTime":1560.3,"endTime":1562.48,"body":"through to the other groups you might see"},{"startTime":1562.48,"endTime":1565.57,"body":"or the other websites you"},{"startTime":1562.48,"endTime":1565.57,"body":"might be interested in"},{"startTime":1565.57,"endTime":1568.39,"body":"all the way through to the"},{"startTime":1565.57,"endTime":1568.39,"body":"credit card transaction"},{"startTime":1568.39,"endTime":1570.59,"body":"that you'll need to do"},{"startTime":1568.39,"endTime":1570.59,"body":"to buy the baseball hat"},{"startTime":1570.59,"endTime":1574.5,"body":"or buy the t-shirt that they"},{"startTime":1570.59,"endTime":1574.5,"body":"may be trying to sell you."},{"startTime":1574.5,"endTime":1576.77,"body":"Google, GoDaddy, CloudFlare, in particular"},{"startTime":1576.77,"endTime":1578.81,"body":"provide that infrastructural support."},{"startTime":1578.81,"endTime":1580.38,"body":"They do all the behavioral analytics,"},{"startTime":1580.38,"endTime":1583.21,"body":"the tracker systems and the"},{"startTime":1580.38,"endTime":1583.21,"body":"cross platform integration tools"},{"startTime":1583.21,"endTime":1586.19,"body":"that make it that make"},{"startTime":1583.21,"endTime":1586.19,"body":"this a business venture,"},{"startTime":1586.19,"endTime":1587.133,"body":"make it possible."},{"startTime":1588.61,"endTime":1589.443,"body":"I'm Canadian"},{"startTime":1589.443,"endTime":1591.07,"body":"and perhaps one of the most"},{"startTime":1589.443,"endTime":1591.07,"body":"embarrassing things I've found"},{"startTime":1591.07,"endTime":1594.86,"body":"in this research is that a"},{"startTime":1591.07,"endTime":1594.86,"body":"significant volume of the content"},{"startTime":1594.86,"endTime":1598.38,"body":"directed at the U.S on"},{"startTime":1594.86,"endTime":1598.38,"body":"COVID misinformation"},{"startTime":1598.38,"endTime":1600.27,"body":"is actually hosted in Canada."},{"startTime":1600.27,"endTime":1602.48,"body":"And I don't have an explanation for this."},{"startTime":1602.48,"endTime":1605.32,"body":"What we know is that a"},{"startTime":1602.48,"endTime":1605.32,"body":"significant volume of"},{"startTime":1605.32,"endTime":1608.16,"body":"this content which is clearly"},{"startTime":1605.32,"endTime":1608.16,"body":"directed at U.S citizens,"},{"startTime":1608.16,"endTime":1609.55,"body":"isn't hosted in the U.S,"},{"startTime":1609.55,"endTime":1613.34,"body":"it's cited on infrastructure"},{"startTime":1609.55,"endTime":1613.34,"body":"in Canada and Russia."},{"startTime":1613.34,"endTime":1617.93,"body":"That's part of what makes this"},{"startTime":1613.34,"endTime":1617.93,"body":"a difficult thing to address."},{"startTime":1617.93,"endTime":1621.71,"body":"It's an extra territorial"},{"startTime":1617.93,"endTime":1621.71,"body":"international problem,"},{"startTime":1621.71,"endTime":1623.84,"body":"not something that can be easily tackled"},{"startTime":1623.84,"endTime":1626.283,"body":"by one regulator in one country."},{"startTime":1628.824,"endTime":1631.81,"body":"I want to say a little bit now"},{"startTime":1628.824,"endTime":1631.81,"body":"about Ukraine misinformation."},{"startTime":1631.81,"endTime":1635.76,"body":"It has very similar contours"},{"startTime":1631.81,"endTime":1635.76,"body":"to what I've described so far."},{"startTime":1635.76,"endTime":1637.29,"body":"I can give you a little"},{"startTime":1635.76,"endTime":1637.29,"body":"bit of a highlights of"},{"startTime":1637.29,"endTime":1641.34,"body":"the kinds of issues that"},{"startTime":1637.29,"endTime":1641.34,"body":"are active this week"},{"startTime":1642.257,"endTime":1644.323,"body":"on misinformation."},{"startTime":1645.77,"endTime":1647.87,"body":"Our typical poll of sources"},{"startTime":1647.87,"endTime":1649.95,"body":"and for COVID related misinformation"},{"startTime":1649.95,"endTime":1653.6,"body":"involves Russia Today, CGTN, Global Times."},{"startTime":1653.6,"endTime":1655.85,"body":"There's a few other sites there."},{"startTime":1655.85,"endTime":1657.6,"body":"For much of this week,"},{"startTime":1657.6,"endTime":1659.78,"body":"the misinformation has involved"},{"startTime":1659.78,"endTime":1661.99,"body":"the massacre at the train station,"},{"startTime":1661.99,"endTime":1665.65,"body":"and I have made, I've done"},{"startTime":1665.65,"endTime":1667.42,"body":"what you should never do in giving a talk"},{"startTime":1667.42,"endTime":1669.88,"body":"and that is have tiny, tiny print."},{"startTime":1669.88,"endTime":1671.91,"body":"But the reason I've done that here"},{"startTime":1671.91,"endTime":1674.09,"body":"for identifying the three stories"},{"startTime":1674.09,"endTime":1677.05,"body":"is that these stories"},{"startTime":1674.09,"endTime":1677.05,"body":"aren't incredibly nuanced."},{"startTime":1677.05,"endTime":1680.85,"body":"You really have to be in a"},{"startTime":1677.05,"endTime":1680.85,"body":"murky sea of misinformation"},{"startTime":1680.85,"endTime":1683.233,"body":"to understand all the nuances."},{"startTime":1684.19,"endTime":1685.84,"body":"Story number two,"},{"startTime":1685.84,"endTime":1688.84,"body":"Russian and overt and covert"},{"startTime":1685.84,"endTime":1688.84,"body":"state affiliated news outlets"},{"startTime":1688.84,"endTime":1692.21,"body":"have accused Ukraine"},{"startTime":1688.84,"endTime":1692.21,"body":"of seeking British help"},{"startTime":1692.21,"endTime":1695.08,"body":"to whitewash Ukrainian war crimes"},{"startTime":1695.08,"endTime":1697.8,"body":"citing an alleged Russian"},{"startTime":1695.08,"endTime":1697.8,"body":"intelligence source"},{"startTime":1697.8,"endTime":1700.02,"body":"that Ukraine had alerted HMG"},{"startTime":1700.02,"endTime":1702.95,"body":"that it would conduct war"},{"startTime":1700.02,"endTime":1702.95,"body":"crimes on Russian POWs."},{"startTime":1702.95,"endTime":1706.07,"body":"Ukraine's not conducting"},{"startTime":1702.95,"endTime":1706.07,"body":"war crimes and Russian POWs,"},{"startTime":1706.07,"endTime":1708.13,"body":"but it's an incredibly nuanced story."},{"startTime":1708.13,"endTime":1710.39,"body":"And in week to week,"},{"startTime":1710.39,"endTime":1714.03,"body":"any number of researchers can"},{"startTime":1710.39,"endTime":1714.03,"body":"point out the primary themes"},{"startTime":1714.03,"endTime":1716.07,"body":"for the most part now,"},{"startTime":1716.07,"endTime":1719.1,"body":"because of the photos we've"},{"startTime":1716.07,"endTime":1719.1,"body":"seen from the train station,"},{"startTime":1719.1,"endTime":1721.68,"body":"the information operation is about,"},{"startTime":1721.68,"endTime":1724.17,"body":"it wasn't us, it's not that train station."},{"startTime":1724.17,"endTime":1726.94,"body":"It's somebody else, Ukrainians did it."},{"startTime":1726.94,"endTime":1728.94,"body":"It was a lost tank from world war II."},{"startTime":1728.94,"endTime":1731.73,"body":"There's a huge range of"},{"startTime":1728.94,"endTime":1731.73,"body":"options that are possible"},{"startTime":1731.73,"endTime":1733.78,"body":"with the modern misinformation operation."},{"startTime":1735.61,"endTime":1739.44,"body":"Perhaps one of the things"},{"startTime":1735.61,"endTime":1739.44,"body":"that's changed since"},{"startTime":1739.44,"endTime":1742.01,"body":"the story of the Malaysia Airlines flight"},{"startTime":1742.01,"endTime":1746.47,"body":"is that national diplomats"},{"startTime":1742.01,"endTime":1746.47,"body":"now spend more time"},{"startTime":1746.47,"endTime":1749.853,"body":"backing up what their stake-backed"},{"startTime":1746.47,"endTime":1749.853,"body":"media agencies put out."},{"startTime":1750.84,"endTime":1754.9,"body":"So the media ecology used to just involve"},{"startTime":1754.9,"endTime":1758.123,"body":"followers who would sign"},{"startTime":1754.9,"endTime":1758.123,"body":"up to the BBC's newsfeed"},{"startTime":1758.123,"endTime":1760.76,"body":"or CGTN newsfeed or RT's newsfeed."},{"startTime":1760.76,"endTime":1763.05,"body":"But now the infrastructure of diplomats,"},{"startTime":1763.05,"endTime":1765.83,"body":"the people who do the cultural affairs,"},{"startTime":1765.83,"endTime":1768.432,"body":"the who do political analysis,"},{"startTime":1768.432,"endTime":1773.33,"body":"they can be involved and tasked"},{"startTime":1768.432,"endTime":1773.33,"body":"with promoting the messages."},{"startTime":1773.33,"endTime":1775.4,"body":"They get the same kinds of directives"},{"startTime":1775.4,"endTime":1780.12,"body":"from central government that"},{"startTime":1775.4,"endTime":1780.12,"body":"go off to the media agencies."},{"startTime":1780.12,"endTime":1783.23,"body":"It creates quite a significant ecology"},{"startTime":1783.23,"endTime":1785.51,"body":"and an extended life for any one of these"},{"startTime":1785.51,"endTime":1787.16,"body":"particular kinds of news stories."},{"startTime":1789.04,"endTime":1792.883,"body":"Let me offer now some global context."},{"startTime":1795.3,"endTime":1800.3,"body":"In 2017, we began an inventory"},{"startTime":1795.3,"endTime":1800.3,"body":"of countries around the world"},{"startTime":1802.25,"endTime":1804.76,"body":"with an organized information operation"},{"startTime":1804.76,"endTime":1806.69,"body":"of some kind at work."},{"startTime":1806.69,"endTime":1808.61,"body":"Again, these are formal organizations"},{"startTime":1808.61,"endTime":1809.69,"body":"in the sociological sense."},{"startTime":1809.69,"endTime":1811.62,"body":"They have office space, the telephones,"},{"startTime":1811.62,"endTime":1813.91,"body":"they pay rent and not"},{"startTime":1811.62,"endTime":1813.91,"body":"lone wolf operations,"},{"startTime":1813.91,"endTime":1817.43,"body":"these are the formal organizations."},{"startTime":1817.43,"endTime":1819.91,"body":"In 2017, there were"},{"startTime":1817.43,"endTime":1819.91,"body":"just under 30 countries"},{"startTime":1819.91,"endTime":1823.82,"body":"where we found active live"},{"startTime":1819.91,"endTime":1823.82,"body":"information operations."},{"startTime":1823.82,"endTime":1827.66,"body":"Our most recent 2020 was"},{"startTime":1823.82,"endTime":1827.66,"body":"just over 80 countries"},{"startTime":1827.66,"endTime":1831.73,"body":"with live running information operations."},{"startTime":1831.73,"endTime":1834.37,"body":"We've actually decided"},{"startTime":1831.73,"endTime":1834.37,"body":"not to do the study again,"},{"startTime":1834.37,"endTime":1837.16,"body":"because pretty much"},{"startTime":1834.37,"endTime":1837.16,"body":"every country we look at,"},{"startTime":1837.16,"endTime":1840.373,"body":"we'll find some kind of"},{"startTime":1837.16,"endTime":1840.373,"body":"running information operation."},{"startTime":1841.96,"endTime":1845.95,"body":"Interestingly, what's a"},{"startTime":1841.96,"endTime":1845.95,"body":"very contemporary trend,"},{"startTime":1845.95,"endTime":1847.16,"body":"just from the last two years"},{"startTime":1847.16,"endTime":1850.84,"body":"is a real rise in the"},{"startTime":1847.16,"endTime":1850.84,"body":"number of these operations"},{"startTime":1850.84,"endTime":1854.808,"body":"that are conducted by"},{"startTime":1850.84,"endTime":1854.808,"body":"straightforward PR firms."},{"startTime":1854.808,"endTime":1857.17,"body":"These are comms firms in Toronto,"},{"startTime":1857.17,"endTime":1858.41,"body":"in London and New York."},{"startTime":1858.41,"endTime":1861.54,"body":"These are not social"},{"startTime":1858.41,"endTime":1861.54,"body":"media specialized firms."},{"startTime":1861.54,"endTime":1865.76,"body":"These are not hard to"},{"startTime":1861.54,"endTime":1865.76,"body":"find under the radar labs"},{"startTime":1865.76,"endTime":1867.493,"body":"in Poland or in Brazil,"},{"startTime":1868.6,"endTime":1870.74,"body":"they're mainstream comms firms."},{"startTime":1870.74,"endTime":1872.67,"body":"At this point over half of the operations"},{"startTime":1872.67,"endTime":1874.58,"body":"that we're able to track year to year"},{"startTime":1874.58,"endTime":1877.54,"body":"are produced professionally"},{"startTime":1877.54,"endTime":1879.623,"body":"as part of a regular comms offering."},{"startTime":1880.89,"endTime":1883.33,"body":"One of the things about"},{"startTime":1880.89,"endTime":1883.33,"body":"political economy of all this"},{"startTime":1883.33,"endTime":1885.67,"body":"is that the primary clients now"},{"startTime":1885.67,"endTime":1887.57,"body":"for these kinds of operations"},{"startTime":1887.57,"endTime":1889.82,"body":"are not so much authoritarian governments,"},{"startTime":1889.82,"endTime":1892.54,"body":"but our own politicians who will pay"},{"startTime":1893.62,"endTime":1895.01,"body":"for these kinds of operations"},{"startTime":1895.01,"endTime":1898.363,"body":"in that sensitive two week"},{"startTime":1895.01,"endTime":1898.363,"body":"period before people vote."},{"startTime":1900.17,"endTime":1903.72,"body":"We also ran last summer,"},{"startTime":1900.17,"endTime":1903.72,"body":"a very large survey,"},{"startTime":1903.72,"endTime":1908.25,"body":"a global survey involving"},{"startTime":1903.72,"endTime":1908.25,"body":"154,000 participants,"},{"startTime":1908.25,"endTime":1911.97,"body":"142 countries, asking people"},{"startTime":1908.25,"endTime":1911.97,"body":"about the risks they fear,"},{"startTime":1911.97,"endTime":1913.75,"body":"what they fear about using the internet."},{"startTime":1913.75,"endTime":1916.01,"body":"And there were a range of questions."},{"startTime":1916.01,"endTime":1920.97,"body":"Will AI take our jobs, fears"},{"startTime":1916.01,"endTime":1920.97,"body":"of sexual harassment online,"},{"startTime":1920.97,"endTime":1923.05,"body":"fears of credit card fraud,"},{"startTime":1923.05,"endTime":1924.91,"body":"fears of misinformation,"},{"startTime":1924.91,"endTime":1929.0,"body":"and globally fear of being"},{"startTime":1924.91,"endTime":1929.0,"body":"misled by something online"},{"startTime":1929.0,"endTime":1932.22,"body":"is the number one fear."},{"startTime":1932.22,"endTime":1934.33,"body":"Disinformation is the"},{"startTime":1932.22,"endTime":1934.33,"body":"single most important fear"},{"startTime":1934.33,"endTime":1936.82,"body":"of internet users and social media users."},{"startTime":1936.82,"endTime":1938.62,"body":"More than half of regular users"},{"startTime":1938.62,"endTime":1940.403,"body":"are concerned about disinformation."},{"startTime":1941.47,"endTime":1943.1,"body":"Almost three quarters of internet users"},{"startTime":1943.1,"endTime":1945.06,"body":"are worried about a mixed cure of threats,"},{"startTime":1945.06,"endTime":1948.073,"body":"including online disinformation,"},{"startTime":1945.06,"endTime":1948.073,"body":"fraud and harassment."},{"startTime":1949.95,"endTime":1953.48,"body":"Interestingly, these numbers"},{"startTime":1949.95,"endTime":1953.48,"body":"plummet in Southeast Asia."},{"startTime":1953.48,"endTime":1957.47,"body":"Concerns about disinformation"},{"startTime":1953.48,"endTime":1957.47,"body":"vary by region."},{"startTime":1957.47,"endTime":1959.53,"body":"Highest in North America and Europe,"},{"startTime":1959.53,"endTime":1961.79,"body":"lowest in East and South Asia."},{"startTime":1961.79,"endTime":1964.39,"body":"Concern about online harassment"},{"startTime":1961.79,"endTime":1964.39,"body":"is the primary concern"},{"startTime":1964.39,"endTime":1966.57,"body":"for young women in Latin America."},{"startTime":1966.57,"endTime":1969.2,"body":"In China, the concern about disinformation"},{"startTime":1970.36,"endTime":1972.01,"body":"was somewhere around 10%."},{"startTime":1972.01,"endTime":1975.43,"body":"It's quite noticeable"},{"startTime":1972.01,"endTime":1975.43,"body":"how different cultures"},{"startTime":1975.43,"endTime":1978.85,"body":"respond or perceive to the threat,"},{"startTime":1978.85,"endTime":1980.923,"body":"the risks of being misled online."},{"startTime":1983.49,"endTime":1986.21,"body":"So I can tell you particular stories"},{"startTime":1986.21,"endTime":1988.09,"body":"of dramatic effects of misinformation"},{"startTime":1988.09,"endTime":1991.42,"body":"that seems silly once we"},{"startTime":1988.09,"endTime":1991.42,"body":"talk about it or unpack it,"},{"startTime":1991.42,"endTime":1995.34,"body":"but actually has somewhat"},{"startTime":1991.42,"endTime":1995.34,"body":"measurable impacts."},{"startTime":1995.34,"endTime":1997.26,"body":"I can say something about global trends,"},{"startTime":1997.26,"endTime":1999.27,"body":"how pervasive the problem is,"},{"startTime":1999.27,"endTime":2001.513,"body":"how far and fast things circulate."},{"startTime":2002.35,"endTime":2004.33,"body":"But I want to end with some strategies"},{"startTime":2004.33,"endTime":2007.23,"body":"and some ideas for fixing things."},{"startTime":2007.23,"endTime":2010.09,"body":"As I said at the outset,"},{"startTime":2007.23,"endTime":2010.09,"body":"it's not too late."},{"startTime":2010.09,"endTime":2012.04,"body":"We can address part of the problem."},{"startTime":2012.04,"endTime":2014.34,"body":"It's certainly going to take"},{"startTime":2012.04,"endTime":2014.34,"body":"the cooperation of the firms"},{"startTime":2014.34,"endTime":2017.99,"body":"and some light touch government"},{"startTime":2014.34,"endTime":2017.99,"body":"regulation to really fix,"},{"startTime":2017.99,"endTime":2020.613,"body":"really address the"},{"startTime":2017.99,"endTime":2020.613,"body":"problem of misinformation."},{"startTime":2022.4,"endTime":2025.44,"body":"There are a number of"},{"startTime":2022.4,"endTime":2025.44,"body":"policy ideas out there"},{"startTime":2025.44,"endTime":2027.1,"body":"for how you can address"},{"startTime":2027.1,"endTime":2029.8,"body":"the problem of targeted misinformation."},{"startTime":2029.8,"endTime":2032.48,"body":"Many of the algorithms that"},{"startTime":2029.8,"endTime":2032.48,"body":"deliver the content to us"},{"startTime":2032.48,"endTime":2035.13,"body":"have been trained up on data"},{"startTime":2032.48,"endTime":2035.13,"body":"that's very poor quality."},{"startTime":2035.13,"endTime":2037.41,"body":"Doesn't actually represent"},{"startTime":2035.13,"endTime":2037.41,"body":"the public interest,"},{"startTime":2037.41,"endTime":2038.56,"body":"that doesn't actually represent"},{"startTime":2038.56,"endTime":2040.57,"body":"our own individuated interest."},{"startTime":2040.57,"endTime":2042.3,"body":"So building better algorithms,"},{"startTime":2042.3,"endTime":2046.99,"body":"being able to audit"},{"startTime":2042.3,"endTime":2046.99,"body":"them in significant ways"},{"startTime":2046.99,"endTime":2048.24,"body":"could be one of the paths"},{"startTime":2048.24,"endTime":2050.39,"body":"to cleaning up our"},{"startTime":2048.24,"endTime":2050.39,"body":"information environment."},{"startTime":2051.474,"endTime":2054.017,"body":"This second idea is something"},{"startTime":2051.474,"endTime":2054.017,"body":"I borrowed simply from"},{"startTime":2054.017,"endTime":2055.6,"body":"the Blood Diamonds campaign."},{"startTime":2055.6,"endTime":2057.18,"body":"You may remember the Kimberly process,"},{"startTime":2057.18,"endTime":2061.79,"body":"gave us this idea that if a"},{"startTime":2057.18,"endTime":2061.79,"body":"consumer, a diamond consumer,"},{"startTime":2061.79,"endTime":2063.96,"body":"could find out where"},{"startTime":2061.79,"endTime":2063.96,"body":"their diamonds came from,"},{"startTime":2063.96,"endTime":2066.02,"body":"if their diamonds actually came"},{"startTime":2066.02,"endTime":2068.06,"body":"from the nastiest pits of Africa,"},{"startTime":2068.06,"endTime":2071.04,"body":"where slaveholders had had"},{"startTime":2068.06,"endTime":2071.04,"body":"pulled the gems from the rocks,"},{"startTime":2071.04,"endTime":2074.09,"body":"if consumers actually knew that story,"},{"startTime":2074.09,"endTime":2075.973,"body":"they would not buy those diamonds."},{"startTime":2077.46,"endTime":2080.13,"body":"I think it should be possible"},{"startTime":2077.46,"endTime":2080.13,"body":"for us to look at our device"},{"startTime":2080.13,"endTime":2084.19,"body":"and ask it to tell us who is using,"},{"startTime":2084.19,"endTime":2087.6,"body":"who the ultimate"},{"startTime":2084.19,"endTime":2087.6,"body":"beneficiary of our data is."},{"startTime":2087.6,"endTime":2089.53,"body":"We can't do that right now."},{"startTime":2089.53,"endTime":2093.25,"body":"We can't ask our smart"},{"startTime":2089.53,"endTime":2093.25,"body":"TV, our Samsung smart TV,"},{"startTime":2093.25,"endTime":2095.51,"body":"who Samsung has sold our data to,"},{"startTime":2095.51,"endTime":2097.85,"body":"that trail is not available to us."},{"startTime":2097.85,"endTime":2101.43,"body":"But reporting the beneficiary"},{"startTime":2097.85,"endTime":2101.43,"body":"of our data probably would"},{"startTime":2101.43,"endTime":2103.59,"body":"improve the transparency"},{"startTime":2101.43,"endTime":2103.59,"body":"of the system, right?"},{"startTime":2103.59,"endTime":2105.77,"body":"Figuring out where our data sits"},{"startTime":2105.77,"endTime":2107.52,"body":"is probably going to be the first step"},{"startTime":2107.52,"endTime":2109.73,"body":"to making that system more transparent."},{"startTime":2109.73,"endTime":2111.2,"body":"In fact, it has to be the first step"},{"startTime":2111.2,"endTime":2114.07,"body":"if we ever want to get close"},{"startTime":2111.2,"endTime":2114.07,"body":"to the second possibility"},{"startTime":2114.07,"endTime":2116.05,"body":"of donating data,"},{"startTime":2116.05,"endTime":2119.52,"body":"I would happily donate my"},{"startTime":2116.05,"endTime":2119.52,"body":"data to medical researchers,"},{"startTime":2119.52,"endTime":2123.74,"body":"especially COVID related research."},{"startTime":2123.74,"endTime":2125.66,"body":"I'm sure many of us would do the same"},{"startTime":2125.66,"endTime":2128.523,"body":"for medical data that was"},{"startTime":2125.66,"endTime":2128.523,"body":"relevant to public life."},{"startTime":2129.45,"endTime":2132.27,"body":"We don't have that capacity"},{"startTime":2129.45,"endTime":2132.27,"body":"now to donate our data."},{"startTime":2132.27,"endTime":2135.48,"body":"It should also be possible"},{"startTime":2132.27,"endTime":2135.48,"body":"to tie with infrastructure,"},{"startTime":2135.48,"endTime":2138.55,"body":"to be able to lend our data"},{"startTime":2135.48,"endTime":2138.55,"body":"and some of our technologies"},{"startTime":2138.55,"endTime":2140.943,"body":"to the civil society"},{"startTime":2138.55,"endTime":2140.943,"body":"groups we want to support."},{"startTime":2142.06,"endTime":2144.25,"body":"One of the few things we"},{"startTime":2142.06,"endTime":2144.25,"body":"can learn from the U.S"},{"startTime":2144.25,"endTime":2147.84,"body":"and regulation on this is"},{"startTime":2144.25,"endTime":2147.84,"body":"the idea of a nonprofit rule."},{"startTime":2147.84,"endTime":2151.12,"body":"So one of the few rules they"},{"startTime":2147.84,"endTime":2151.12,"body":"have governing data mining"},{"startTime":2151.12,"endTime":2153.61,"body":"is that you can't profit"},{"startTime":2153.61,"endTime":2157.24,"body":"by selling voter registration files."},{"startTime":2157.24,"endTime":2158.91,"body":"You can profit by selling other things"},{"startTime":2158.91,"endTime":2160.98,"body":"that might be merged to the"},{"startTime":2158.91,"endTime":2160.98,"body":"voter registration files,"},{"startTime":2160.98,"endTime":2162.82,"body":"but you really are not supposed to profit,"},{"startTime":2162.82,"endTime":2165.91,"body":"and there are mechanisms for finding firms"},{"startTime":2165.91,"endTime":2168.763,"body":"that do profit this way."},{"startTime":2170.59,"endTime":2173.5,"body":"I think at this point it"},{"startTime":2170.59,"endTime":2173.5,"body":"would be reasonable to extend"},{"startTime":2173.5,"endTime":2174.98,"body":"a range of variables,"},{"startTime":2174.98,"endTime":2177.86,"body":"data that's collected"},{"startTime":2174.98,"endTime":2177.86,"body":"by the census perhaps,"},{"startTime":2177.86,"endTime":2181.39,"body":"a range of other variables"},{"startTime":2177.86,"endTime":2181.39,"body":"that are of public value"},{"startTime":2181.39,"endTime":2184.12,"body":"that firms could not profit from."},{"startTime":2184.12,"endTime":2186.39,"body":"They could still profit"},{"startTime":2184.12,"endTime":2186.39,"body":"by adding and aggregating"},{"startTime":2186.39,"endTime":2189.06,"body":"and disaggregating as they do,"},{"startTime":2189.06,"endTime":2191.71,"body":"but creating a pool of data that actually"},{"startTime":2191.71,"endTime":2194.66,"body":"is for the public interest"},{"startTime":2194.66,"endTime":2196.27,"body":"would be a basic regulatory change"},{"startTime":2196.27,"endTime":2199.61,"body":"that I think would be very valuable."},{"startTime":2199.61,"endTime":2200.72,"body":"The final step in this,"},{"startTime":2200.72,"endTime":2202.77,"body":"a growing consensus at"},{"startTime":2200.72,"endTime":2202.77,"body":"least amongst academics,"},{"startTime":2202.77,"endTime":2204.05,"body":"that it should be possible"},{"startTime":2204.05,"endTime":2206.94,"body":"to do rigorous algorithmic audits"},{"startTime":2206.94,"endTime":2210.263,"body":"if the firms share and"},{"startTime":2206.94,"endTime":2210.263,"body":"provide access to the data."},{"startTime":2211.52,"endTime":2213.37,"body":"The question may be though,"},{"startTime":2213.37,"endTime":2218.37,"body":"who would do those audits"},{"startTime":2213.37,"endTime":2218.37,"body":"and maybe more existentially,"},{"startTime":2219.75,"endTime":2222.623,"body":"do we have a right to the truth?"},{"startTime":2223.64,"endTime":2225.87,"body":"I think this might be"},{"startTime":2223.64,"endTime":2225.87,"body":"an unsettled question."},{"startTime":2225.87,"endTime":2228.87,"body":"For me I would want the answer to be yes,"},{"startTime":2228.87,"endTime":2230.943,"body":"I do think we have a right to the truth."},{"startTime":2231.97,"endTime":2235.51,"body":"But at this point, misinformation"},{"startTime":2231.97,"endTime":2235.51,"body":"is the means through which"},{"startTime":2235.51,"endTime":2238.21,"body":"racial, gender and"},{"startTime":2235.51,"endTime":2238.21,"body":"religious discrimination,"},{"startTime":2238.21,"endTime":2241.04,"body":"extremism, several kinds of violence"},{"startTime":2241.04,"endTime":2244.11,"body":"is stimulated or condoned and ignored."},{"startTime":2244.11,"endTime":2245.96,"body":"This is the infrastructure"},{"startTime":2244.11,"endTime":2245.96,"body":"that prevents us"},{"startTime":2245.96,"endTime":2248.853,"body":"from speedy action on critical issues."},{"startTime":2249.73,"endTime":2253.07,"body":"I think a healthy information environment"},{"startTime":2253.07,"endTime":2257.21,"body":"is a necessary condition for voting,"},{"startTime":2257.21,"endTime":2258.993,"body":"for getting our markets to work,"},{"startTime":2260.04,"endTime":2261.29,"body":"for maintaining and checking"},{"startTime":2261.29,"endTime":2264.11,"body":"that our other human rights are intact."},{"startTime":2264.11,"endTime":2265.36,"body":"And for overcoming"},{"startTime":2265.36,"endTime":2268.96,"body":"some of the toughest"},{"startTime":2265.36,"endTime":2268.96,"body":"policy challenges we face."},{"startTime":2268.96,"endTime":2273.03,"body":"So even politics aside, if you"},{"startTime":2268.96,"endTime":2273.03,"body":"want to clean up the markets,"},{"startTime":2273.03,"endTime":2276.623,"body":"if you want to have accurate"},{"startTime":2273.03,"endTime":2276.623,"body":"consumer information out there,"},{"startTime":2277.84,"endTime":2280.3,"body":"the same policy solutions"},{"startTime":2280.3,"endTime":2282.223,"body":"can solve multiple kinds of problems."},{"startTime":2283.35,"endTime":2286.01,"body":"Now, one of the most exciting"},{"startTime":2283.35,"endTime":2286.01,"body":"initiatives out there"},{"startTime":2286.01,"endTime":2287.78,"body":"is this possibility of creating"},{"startTime":2287.78,"endTime":2290.6,"body":"an international panel on"},{"startTime":2287.78,"endTime":2290.6,"body":"the information environment,"},{"startTime":2290.6,"endTime":2294.13,"body":"an organization that would"},{"startTime":2290.6,"endTime":2294.13,"body":"be led by the science,"},{"startTime":2294.13,"endTime":2297.92,"body":"spend most of its time"},{"startTime":2294.13,"endTime":2297.92,"body":"tracking misinformation trends,"},{"startTime":2297.92,"endTime":2300.31,"body":"working with data from the firms,"},{"startTime":2300.31,"endTime":2303.46,"body":"or capturing that data on its own."},{"startTime":2303.46,"endTime":2306.3,"body":"The model for it is"},{"startTime":2303.46,"endTime":2306.3,"body":"similar to what the IPCC,"},{"startTime":2306.3,"endTime":2308.69,"body":"the Intergovernmental"},{"startTime":2306.3,"endTime":2308.69,"body":"Panel on Climate Change"},{"startTime":2308.69,"endTime":2310.55,"body":"has offered for climate."},{"startTime":2310.55,"endTime":2312.59,"body":"Same kind of thing might be useful"},{"startTime":2312.59,"endTime":2314.92,"body":"for the information environment."},{"startTime":2314.92,"endTime":2318.9,"body":"The IPCC model took 30 years,"},{"startTime":2314.92,"endTime":2318.9,"body":"we don't have 30 years,"},{"startTime":2318.9,"endTime":2321.93,"body":"but it took 30 years to arrive"},{"startTime":2321.93,"endTime":2326.37,"body":"at a consensus building"},{"startTime":2321.93,"endTime":2326.37,"body":"mechanism that surfaces"},{"startTime":2326.37,"endTime":2329.02,"body":"points of information from the research"},{"startTime":2329.02,"endTime":2330.81,"body":"and delivers them to policy makers"},{"startTime":2330.81,"endTime":2334.74,"body":"in fairly succinct, accessible language."},{"startTime":2334.74,"endTime":2336.53,"body":"The policy makers don't"},{"startTime":2334.74,"endTime":2336.53,"body":"always listen, right?"},{"startTime":2336.53,"endTime":2338.74,"body":"The action isn't fast enough,"},{"startTime":2338.74,"endTime":2341.14,"body":"but the mechanism for"},{"startTime":2338.74,"endTime":2341.14,"body":"arriving at consensus"},{"startTime":2341.14,"endTime":2345.6,"body":"for reviewing literature and"},{"startTime":2341.14,"endTime":2345.6,"body":"distilling ideas is there."},{"startTime":2345.6,"endTime":2347.6,"body":"And that is something we can learn from."},{"startTime":2348.87,"endTime":2351.91,"body":"So the broad aims of an IPIE,"},{"startTime":2351.91,"endTime":2355.06,"body":"and an International Panel on"},{"startTime":2351.91,"endTime":2355.06,"body":"the Information Environment"},{"startTime":2355.06,"endTime":2357.92,"body":"would be to advance the"},{"startTime":2355.06,"endTime":2357.92,"body":"science of misinformation,"},{"startTime":2357.92,"endTime":2361.61,"body":"to track some of the global"},{"startTime":2357.92,"endTime":2361.61,"body":"trends I've identified here,"},{"startTime":2361.61,"endTime":2362.96,"body":"to involve citizens, right?"},{"startTime":2362.96,"endTime":2366.05,"body":"Because this can't be a"},{"startTime":2362.96,"endTime":2366.05,"body":"government-led process."},{"startTime":2366.05,"endTime":2369.7,"body":"I don't think the world would"},{"startTime":2366.05,"endTime":2369.7,"body":"want misinformation initiative"},{"startTime":2369.7,"endTime":2371.05,"body":"coordinated by governments."},{"startTime":2372.49,"endTime":2375.3,"body":"This is about engaging"},{"startTime":2372.49,"endTime":2375.3,"body":"multiple kinds of stakeholders,"},{"startTime":2375.3,"endTime":2376.95,"body":"'cause it's also will be very difficult"},{"startTime":2376.95,"endTime":2378.44,"body":"to make any progress without"},{"startTime":2378.44,"endTime":2381.83,"body":"collaboration from the"},{"startTime":2378.44,"endTime":2381.83,"body":"technology platforms themselves."},{"startTime":2381.83,"endTime":2384.26,"body":"Building bridges between"},{"startTime":2381.83,"endTime":2384.26,"body":"industry and lawmakers"},{"startTime":2384.26,"endTime":2385.27,"body":"is also critical."},{"startTime":2385.27,"endTime":2386.24,"body":"One of the things I've noticed"},{"startTime":2386.24,"endTime":2388.39,"body":"in the different kinds"},{"startTime":2386.24,"endTime":2388.39,"body":"of consulting I've done"},{"startTime":2388.39,"endTime":2391.85,"body":"is how rare it is for"},{"startTime":2388.39,"endTime":2391.85,"body":"government policy makers"},{"startTime":2391.85,"endTime":2393.16,"body":"to actually work with industry"},{"startTime":2393.16,"endTime":2395.43,"body":"or talk to them in critical moments,"},{"startTime":2395.43,"endTime":2397.84,"body":"even though there's something"},{"startTime":2395.43,"endTime":2397.84,"body":"of a revolving door, right?"},{"startTime":2397.84,"endTime":2400.523,"body":"People will cycle between"},{"startTime":2397.84,"endTime":2400.523,"body":"industry and government."},{"startTime":2400.523,"endTime":2403.5,"body":"The active live conversations"},{"startTime":2400.523,"endTime":2403.5,"body":"and moments of crisis"},{"startTime":2403.5,"endTime":2404.873,"body":"are fairly rare."},{"startTime":2406.06,"endTime":2411.06,"body":"So this kind of IPIE could"},{"startTime":2406.06,"endTime":2411.06,"body":"have some specific objectives,"},{"startTime":2411.76,"endTime":2414.87,"body":"coordinating the research,"},{"startTime":2411.76,"endTime":2414.87,"body":"promoting information access,"},{"startTime":2414.87,"endTime":2417.11,"body":"and sharing best practices."},{"startTime":2417.11,"endTime":2417.98,"body":"Perhaps during the Q\u0026A,"},{"startTime":2417.98,"endTime":2420.87,"body":"we can talk more about some"},{"startTime":2417.98,"endTime":2420.87,"body":"of the solutions out there."},{"startTime":2420.87,"endTime":2422.99,"body":"And one of the interesting"},{"startTime":2420.87,"endTime":2422.99,"body":"things about our moment"},{"startTime":2422.99,"endTime":2426.32,"body":"is that we don't know which"},{"startTime":2422.99,"endTime":2426.32,"body":"solutions will work best."},{"startTime":2426.32,"endTime":2428.72,"body":"So creating the mechanism"},{"startTime":2426.32,"endTime":2428.72,"body":"for understanding"},{"startTime":2428.72,"endTime":2432.67,"body":"which policy intervention"},{"startTime":2428.72,"endTime":2432.67,"body":"works and which one"},{"startTime":2432.67,"endTime":2435.54,"body":"has negative consequences"},{"startTime":2432.67,"endTime":2435.54,"body":"for political speech."},{"startTime":2435.54,"endTime":2437.11,"body":"We have no mechanism right now"},{"startTime":2437.11,"endTime":2439.823,"body":"for evaluating those trade offs."},{"startTime":2441.95,"endTime":2444.27,"body":"In conclusion, I'll say a little bit about"},{"startTime":2444.27,"endTime":2447.12,"body":"where I'd like to take our"},{"startTime":2444.27,"endTime":2447.12,"body":"own misinformation research"},{"startTime":2447.12,"endTime":2448.5,"body":"in the years ahead."},{"startTime":2448.5,"endTime":2450.21,"body":"We're going to keep"},{"startTime":2448.5,"endTime":2450.21,"body":"going on COVID misinfo'"},{"startTime":2450.21,"endTime":2454.23,"body":"because it's pretty clear that's"},{"startTime":2450.21,"endTime":2454.23,"body":"going to be a long battle."},{"startTime":2454.23,"endTime":2456.29,"body":"Working in languages other than English"},{"startTime":2456.29,"endTime":2459.65,"body":"is something our lab is going"},{"startTime":2456.29,"endTime":2459.65,"body":"to spend most of our time on"},{"startTime":2459.65,"endTime":2461.25,"body":"in the years ahead,"},{"startTime":2461.25,"endTime":2463.43,"body":"we had pivoted to move away from"},{"startTime":2463.43,"endTime":2464.76,"body":"Russian-backed misinformation"},{"startTime":2464.76,"endTime":2468.19,"body":"to working mostly on"},{"startTime":2464.76,"endTime":2468.19,"body":"PRC-backed in misinformation."},{"startTime":2468.19,"endTime":2470.923,"body":"This point we're going"},{"startTime":2468.19,"endTime":2470.923,"body":"back to do them both."},{"startTime":2472.03,"endTime":2474.68,"body":"I think one of the things"},{"startTime":2472.03,"endTime":2474.68,"body":"that we know the least about"},{"startTime":2474.68,"endTime":2477.763,"body":"is the impact of"},{"startTime":2474.68,"endTime":2477.763,"body":"misinformation on children."},{"startTime":2479.09,"endTime":2482.38,"body":"We know that the kids are"},{"startTime":2479.09,"endTime":2482.38,"body":"not on Facebook, on Twitter,"},{"startTime":2482.38,"endTime":2484.63,"body":"they're on platforms that"},{"startTime":2482.38,"endTime":2484.63,"body":"we don't have access to,"},{"startTime":2484.63,"endTime":2488.773,"body":"they're platforms that we"},{"startTime":2484.63,"endTime":2488.773,"body":"know very little about."},{"startTime":2489.85,"endTime":2493.03,"body":"We know that children develop"},{"startTime":2489.85,"endTime":2493.03,"body":"their political identities"},{"startTime":2494.15,"endTime":2497.96,"body":"on social media in ways"},{"startTime":2494.15,"endTime":2497.96,"body":"that very few of us did,"},{"startTime":2497.96,"endTime":2500.42,"body":"but we know nothing about"},{"startTime":2497.96,"endTime":2500.42,"body":"that particular mechanism,"},{"startTime":2500.42,"endTime":2502.45,"body":"developing a political identity"},{"startTime":2503.35,"endTime":2505.14,"body":"in an environment of misinformation"},{"startTime":2505.14,"endTime":2507.443,"body":"promulgated on a social media platform."},{"startTime":2508.4,"endTime":2511.43,"body":"It's possible the next"},{"startTime":2508.4,"endTime":2511.43,"body":"generation will survive."},{"startTime":2511.43,"endTime":2514.5,"body":"But I think at least"},{"startTime":2511.43,"endTime":2514.5,"body":"doing the basic research"},{"startTime":2514.5,"endTime":2516.15,"body":"to understand the mechanism"},{"startTime":2516.15,"endTime":2518.59,"body":"and improve the platforms will be critical"},{"startTime":2518.59,"endTime":2521.0,"body":"for next year's voters."},{"startTime":2521.0,"endTime":2523.563,"body":"So this is for the next"},{"startTime":2521.0,"endTime":2523.563,"body":"generation of voters."},{"startTime":2526.01,"endTime":2529.5,"body":"One of the parts of doing"},{"startTime":2526.01,"endTime":2529.5,"body":"research that I'm most proud of"},{"startTime":2529.5,"endTime":2531.77,"body":"and most pleased with is"},{"startTime":2531.77,"endTime":2534.2,"body":"the work we do with civil society groups"},{"startTime":2534.2,"endTime":2536.56,"body":"to try to encourage them to engage"},{"startTime":2536.56,"endTime":2538.91,"body":"on misinformation problems and do things"},{"startTime":2538.91,"endTime":2540.58,"body":"that protect themselves."},{"startTime":2540.58,"endTime":2543.09,"body":"So we have a series of civil"},{"startTime":2540.58,"endTime":2543.09,"body":"society training workshops"},{"startTime":2543.09,"endTime":2547.163,"body":"that help the groups working"},{"startTime":2543.09,"endTime":2547.163,"body":"in particularly hot areas,"},{"startTime":2548.6,"endTime":2551.4,"body":"figure out how to track"},{"startTime":2548.6,"endTime":2551.4,"body":"an information operation,"},{"startTime":2551.4,"endTime":2553.16,"body":"how to work with platforms to stifle it"},{"startTime":2553.16,"endTime":2554.64,"body":"before go goes too far."},{"startTime":2554.64,"endTime":2557.44,"body":"We have dedicated program for women headed"},{"startTime":2557.44,"endTime":2561.3,"body":"civil society groups who"},{"startTime":2557.44,"endTime":2561.3,"body":"get particularly nasty forms"},{"startTime":2561.3,"endTime":2563.373,"body":"of racist or sexist content."},{"startTime":2564.84,"endTime":2565.673,"body":"I hope at some point,"},{"startTime":2565.673,"endTime":2567.13,"body":"if you're still interested"},{"startTime":2565.673,"endTime":2567.13,"body":"in this material,"},{"startTime":2567.13,"endTime":2569.42,"body":"you'll visit our website at the"},{"startTime":2569.42,"endTime":2571.21,"body":"Program in Democracy \u0026 Technology,"},{"startTime":2571.21,"endTime":2575.22,"body":"we have three newsletters"},{"startTime":2571.21,"endTime":2575.22,"body":"that are monthly,"},{"startTime":2575.22,"endTime":2576.72,"body":"one on COVID misinfo'"},{"startTime":2576.72,"endTime":2579.75,"body":"one on PRC-backed information operations,"},{"startTime":2579.75,"endTime":2583.773,"body":"and we've just started one"},{"startTime":2579.75,"endTime":2583.773,"body":"up on the Ukraine crisis."},{"startTime":2584.96,"endTime":2587.03,"body":"So keeping policy makers alert,"},{"startTime":2587.03,"endTime":2590.11,"body":"keeping civil society groups on guard"},{"startTime":2590.11,"endTime":2593.69,"body":"is one of the critical"},{"startTime":2590.11,"endTime":2593.69,"body":"public service projects"},{"startTime":2593.69,"endTime":2595.48,"body":"that we have at Oxford,"},{"startTime":2595.48,"endTime":2597.34,"body":"and I myself am trying"},{"startTime":2595.48,"endTime":2597.34,"body":"to throw some weight"},{"startTime":2597.34,"endTime":2599.78,"body":"behind this campaign for Intergovernmental"},{"startTime":2599.78,"endTime":2602.84,"body":"and International Panel on"},{"startTime":2599.78,"endTime":2602.84,"body":"the Information Environment"},{"startTime":2602.84,"endTime":2604.96,"body":"in the hope that we can be"},{"startTime":2602.84,"endTime":2604.96,"body":"a little more coordinated"},{"startTime":2604.96,"endTime":2607.153,"body":"in what we ask of the firms."},{"startTime":2608.62,"endTime":2611.08,"body":"It's tough to end in a positive way"},{"startTime":2611.08,"endTime":2613.43,"body":"having delivered so much"},{"startTime":2611.08,"endTime":2613.43,"body":"content about our prospects,"},{"startTime":2613.43,"endTime":2616.04,"body":"but I'm sorry, Jeannie,"},{"startTime":2613.43,"endTime":2616.04,"body":"your answer was correct,"},{"startTime":2616.04,"endTime":2617.98,"body":"Kevin shouted his incorrect"},{"startTime":2616.04,"endTime":2617.98,"body":"answer over years,"},{"startTime":2617.98,"endTime":2619.16,"body":"so he gets the points."},{"startTime":2619.16,"endTime":2621.15,"body":"This is not the public I"},{"startTime":2619.16,"endTime":2621.15,"body":"want to live in, right?"},{"startTime":2621.15,"endTime":2623.51,"body":"This is not the polity"},{"startTime":2621.15,"endTime":2623.51,"body":"I want to be a part of."},{"startTime":2623.51,"endTime":2625.12,"body":"And I don't think we have to have"},{"startTime":2625.12,"endTime":2629.97,"body":"this form of political"},{"startTime":2625.12,"endTime":2629.97,"body":"engagement in our social lives."},{"startTime":2629.97,"endTime":2633.683,"body":"We are in some ways as a"},{"startTime":2629.97,"endTime":2633.683,"body":"research team, working on fumes,"},{"startTime":2634.62,"endTime":2637.83,"body":"desperate to find examples"},{"startTime":2634.62,"endTime":2637.83,"body":"of ways to counter"},{"startTime":2637.83,"endTime":2640.28,"body":"the toughest of information operations,"},{"startTime":2640.28,"endTime":2642.04,"body":"but we're also operating on faith, right?"},{"startTime":2642.04,"endTime":2644.44,"body":"That it's worth doing these things"},{"startTime":2644.44,"endTime":2647.2,"body":"and that it's worth the"},{"startTime":2644.44,"endTime":2647.2,"body":"long term investment"},{"startTime":2647.2,"endTime":2649.52,"body":"to try to build the democracies,"},{"startTime":2649.52,"endTime":2653.08,"body":"the political institutions"},{"startTime":2649.52,"endTime":2653.08,"body":"that we want to live in."},{"startTime":2653.08,"endTime":2656.197,"body":"Thank you very much for"},{"startTime":2653.08,"endTime":2656.197,"body":"your time for attending."},{"startTime":2656.197,"endTime":2659.197,"body":"(audience clapping)"},{"startTime":2660.43,"endTime":2664.24,"body":"- So the first question is"},{"startTime":2660.43,"endTime":2664.24,"body":"one about mechanism, really."},{"startTime":2664.24,"endTime":2667.85,"body":"Is there any evidence of"},{"startTime":2664.24,"endTime":2667.85,"body":"defunct unused old accounts"},{"startTime":2667.85,"endTime":2670.96,"body":"being hacked and used by"},{"startTime":2667.85,"endTime":2670.96,"body":"these misinformation pushers"},{"startTime":2670.96,"endTime":2673.403,"body":"or do they only start new accounts?"},{"startTime":2674.57,"endTime":2675.72,"body":"- That is a fabulous question."},{"startTime":2675.72,"endTime":2678.25,"body":"Sometimes old accounts can get taken over"},{"startTime":2678.25,"endTime":2681.67,"body":"if somebody's not been"},{"startTime":2678.25,"endTime":2681.67,"body":"diligent with their passwords"},{"startTime":2681.67,"endTime":2683.78,"body":"and has something that's easy to guess."},{"startTime":2683.78,"endTime":2684.613,"body":"In an important way,"},{"startTime":2684.613,"endTime":2686.96,"body":"there's actually styles of misinformation,"},{"startTime":2686.96,"endTime":2690.24,"body":"so the Russian government's style"},{"startTime":2690.24,"endTime":2691.84,"body":"of an information operation"},{"startTime":2691.84,"endTime":2693.74,"body":"is to have these accounts"},{"startTime":2691.84,"endTime":2693.74,"body":"that have been around"},{"startTime":2693.74,"endTime":2696.57,"body":"for a long time, they're"},{"startTime":2693.74,"endTime":2696.57,"body":"full on personalities,"},{"startTime":2696.57,"endTime":2698.74,"body":"they've got a long trail of content"},{"startTime":2698.74,"endTime":2701.39,"body":"and suddenly they start"},{"startTime":2698.74,"endTime":2701.39,"body":"working on a political issue."},{"startTime":2702.42,"endTime":2705.21,"body":"The PRC's style of misinformation"},{"startTime":2705.21,"endTime":2707.82,"body":"is to simply buy 10,000 accounts"},{"startTime":2707.82,"endTime":2710.28,"body":"and then they show up"},{"startTime":2707.82,"endTime":2710.28,"body":"and they start running."},{"startTime":2710.28,"endTime":2711.563,"body":"It's different approach,"},{"startTime":2713.023,"endTime":2714.75,"body":"I don't think the PRC style works as well,"},{"startTime":2714.75,"endTime":2716.993,"body":"but it's a great question."},{"startTime":2718.911,"endTime":2721.8,"body":"- What is the role of"},{"startTime":2718.911,"endTime":2721.8,"body":"humor in misinformation?"},{"startTime":2721.8,"endTime":2726.3,"body":"A joke seems to be a mechanism"},{"startTime":2721.8,"endTime":2726.3,"body":"for increasing reach."},{"startTime":2726.3,"endTime":2728.6,"body":"- That is a fabulous question because"},{"startTime":2728.6,"endTime":2730.22,"body":"the instinct is absolutely right."},{"startTime":2730.22,"endTime":2733.45,"body":"Humor is a way uniting people"},{"startTime":2733.45,"endTime":2735.57,"body":"'cause everybody likes a good joke and"},{"startTime":2735.57,"endTime":2737.573,"body":"likes to make fun of public figures."},{"startTime":2738.57,"endTime":2741.13,"body":"Barbs can often be appreciated"},{"startTime":2741.13,"endTime":2744.273,"body":"by the far left and the"},{"startTime":2741.13,"endTime":2744.273,"body":"far right and the center."},{"startTime":2745.43,"endTime":2749.93,"body":"Humor is critical because it's often irony"},{"startTime":2749.93,"endTime":2754.12,"body":"that hooks somebody with"},{"startTime":2749.93,"endTime":2754.12,"body":"a sensational headline."},{"startTime":2754.12,"endTime":2757.1,"body":"so what makes what we"},{"startTime":2754.12,"endTime":2757.1,"body":"call click bait, right?"},{"startTime":2757.1,"endTime":2761.3,"body":"It's content that has all"},{"startTime":2757.1,"endTime":2761.3,"body":"capital letters in the titles,"},{"startTime":2761.3,"endTime":2762.69,"body":"potty mouth words,"},{"startTime":2762.69,"endTime":2765.6,"body":"no asterisks or irony in the title"},{"startTime":2765.6,"endTime":2768.52,"body":"is what makes a sensational story"},{"startTime":2768.52,"endTime":2770.53,"body":"travel far on social media."},{"startTime":2770.53,"endTime":2772.57,"body":"So it's absolutely critical."},{"startTime":2772.57,"endTime":2776.97,"body":"I should say humor is also very"},{"startTime":2772.57,"endTime":2776.97,"body":"important to social protest."},{"startTime":2776.97,"endTime":2778.2,"body":"So what's very tough"},{"startTime":2778.2,"endTime":2780.982,"body":"in studying the rhetoric"},{"startTime":2778.2,"endTime":2780.982,"body":"of all these is knowing"},{"startTime":2780.982,"endTime":2785.982,"body":"which components of our humorous"},{"startTime":2780.982,"endTime":2785.982,"body":"image or a turn or phrase"},{"startTime":2787.04,"endTime":2790.13,"body":"are trying to activate"},{"startTime":2787.04,"endTime":2790.13,"body":"which kinds of users."},{"startTime":2790.13,"endTime":2794.57,"body":"- [Gentleman] You talked"},{"startTime":2790.13,"endTime":2794.57,"body":"about different views"},{"startTime":2794.57,"endTime":2798.74,"body":"and fears on misinformation in"},{"startTime":2794.57,"endTime":2798.74,"body":"different parts of the world,"},{"startTime":2798.74,"endTime":2803.72,"body":"Europe and America tends"},{"startTime":2798.74,"endTime":2803.72,"body":"to be more skeptical"},{"startTime":2803.72,"endTime":2806.3,"body":"than Eastern South Asia."},{"startTime":2806.3,"endTime":2808.7,"body":"But when you talk about"},{"startTime":2806.3,"endTime":2808.7,"body":"Eastern South Asia,"},{"startTime":2808.7,"endTime":2812.38,"body":"are there differences between"},{"startTime":2808.7,"endTime":2812.38,"body":"say South Korea and Japan"},{"startTime":2812.38,"endTime":2814.313,"body":"versus China?"},{"startTime":2816.06,"endTime":2816.893,"body":"- Very interesting."},{"startTime":2816.893,"endTime":2818.45,"body":"- [Gentleman] A bit of a lump together"},{"startTime":2818.45,"endTime":2820.55,"body":"of East and south Asia."},{"startTime":2820.55,"endTime":2824.56,"body":"- Certainly there are"},{"startTime":2820.55,"endTime":2824.56,"body":"definitely national differences."},{"startTime":2824.56,"endTime":2826.49,"body":"I don't have those three"},{"startTime":2824.56,"endTime":2826.49,"body":"particular countries"},{"startTime":2826.49,"endTime":2828.013,"body":"on my fingertips as trends."},{"startTime":2829.35,"endTime":2832.89,"body":"I would say I would hypothesize"},{"startTime":2832.89,"endTime":2836.38,"body":"that South Koreans are"},{"startTime":2832.89,"endTime":2836.38,"body":"much more comfortable"},{"startTime":2836.38,"endTime":2839.9,"body":"with open debate and"},{"startTime":2836.38,"endTime":2839.9,"body":"discussion and argumentation"},{"startTime":2839.9,"endTime":2843.92,"body":"than the Chinese users"},{"startTime":2839.9,"endTime":2843.92,"body":"of social media platforms"},{"startTime":2843.92,"endTime":2845.43,"body":"that have basically been designed"},{"startTime":2845.43,"endTime":2847.38,"body":"as mechanisms of censorship."},{"startTime":2847.38,"endTime":2849.58,"body":"So there's almost every"},{"startTime":2847.38,"endTime":2849.58,"body":"social media platform"},{"startTime":2849.58,"endTime":2851.81,"body":"we afford and have here,"},{"startTime":2851.81,"endTime":2853.33,"body":"they also use within the PRC,"},{"startTime":2853.33,"endTime":2855.46,"body":"but it's designed for tracking,"},{"startTime":2855.46,"endTime":2857.11,"body":"it's not designed for engagement."},{"startTime":2858.44,"endTime":2861.38,"body":"One of the interesting"},{"startTime":2858.44,"endTime":2861.38,"body":"things about China is that"},{"startTime":2861.38,"endTime":2864.7,"body":"social media discussion,"},{"startTime":2861.38,"endTime":2864.7,"body":"open political discussion"},{"startTime":2864.7,"endTime":2868.453,"body":"is encouraged or"},{"startTime":2864.7,"endTime":2868.453,"body":"tolerated on a few issues,"},{"startTime":2869.29,"endTime":2874.29,"body":"notably environmental pollution"},{"startTime":2869.29,"endTime":2874.29,"body":"and government corruption."},{"startTime":2875.12,"endTime":2877.854,"body":"So there are a few things"},{"startTime":2875.12,"endTime":2877.854,"body":"that the government actually"},{"startTime":2877.854,"endTime":2880.56,"body":"wants to see some deliberation about"},{"startTime":2880.56,"endTime":2883.31,"body":"because it likes when there's"},{"startTime":2880.56,"endTime":2883.31,"body":"progress on those issues."},{"startTime":2884.22,"endTime":2886.19,"body":"Most of the other issues"},{"startTime":2884.22,"endTime":2886.19,"body":"that you might discuss"},{"startTime":2886.19,"endTime":2890.343,"body":"in Japan or Korea are just not open for,"},{"startTime":2892.016,"endTime":2892.849,"body":"I think it's censored"},{"startTime":2892.849,"endTime":2895.163,"body":"before we can even ever"},{"startTime":2892.849,"endTime":2895.163,"body":"start analyzing them."},{"startTime":2896.51,"endTime":2898.46,"body":"- [Gentleman] Hi, first"},{"startTime":2896.51,"endTime":2898.46,"body":"and foremost, thank you."},{"startTime":2898.46,"endTime":2899.703,"body":"That was fascinating."},{"startTime":2901.45,"endTime":2905.71,"body":"Given your point at the slide"},{"startTime":2901.45,"endTime":2905.71,"body":"where you mentioned that"},{"startTime":2905.71,"endTime":2907.71,"body":"pharmaceuticals tend to be the"},{"startTime":2908.73,"endTime":2912.0,"body":"largest purchaser of such accounts,"},{"startTime":2912.0,"endTime":2914.363,"body":"and obviously this being a COVID talk,"},{"startTime":2916.43,"endTime":2918.703,"body":"the question about"},{"startTime":2916.43,"endTime":2918.703,"body":"vaccines has to come up."},{"startTime":2921.24,"endTime":2925.4,"body":"I guess what I'm asking is as lay people,"},{"startTime":2925.4,"endTime":2928.7,"body":"what sort of faith can we have?"},{"startTime":2928.7,"endTime":2930.19,"body":"I say this as someone who has taken"},{"startTime":2930.19,"endTime":2934.46,"body":"two doses of the vaccine"},{"startTime":2930.19,"endTime":2934.46,"body":"and about to take a booster,"},{"startTime":2934.46,"endTime":2938.46,"body":"but given that it's so lucrative,"},{"startTime":2938.46,"endTime":2942.793,"body":"there was such uproar during"},{"startTime":2938.46,"endTime":2942.793,"body":"the height of the pandemic."},{"startTime":2945.75,"endTime":2950.75,"body":"What faith can we have in a"},{"startTime":2945.75,"endTime":2950.75,"body":"version of the truth from any of"},{"startTime":2952.61,"endTime":2955.41,"body":"the major pharmaceutical companies?"},{"startTime":2955.41,"endTime":2958.28,"body":"Obviously, I believe Moderna"},{"startTime":2955.41,"endTime":2958.28,"body":"was linked with Oxford,"},{"startTime":2958.28,"endTime":2963.093,"body":"we have, forgive me,"},{"startTime":2958.28,"endTime":2963.093,"body":"AstraZeneca and Pfizer, cetera."},{"startTime":2966.64,"endTime":2968.32,"body":"Where does the average person stand?"},{"startTime":2968.32,"endTime":2971.75,"body":"And how would you go about trying to find"},{"startTime":2971.75,"endTime":2974.02,"body":"an objective version of the truth"},{"startTime":2974.02,"endTime":2979.02,"body":"given that it is such a critical"},{"startTime":2974.02,"endTime":2979.02,"body":"topic pertinent to so many?"},{"startTime":2980.99,"endTime":2983.64,"body":"And one in which we can't"},{"startTime":2980.99,"endTime":2983.64,"body":"really afford to get wrong."},{"startTime":2984.91,"endTime":2985.883,"body":"- Certainly true,"},{"startTime":2987.1,"endTime":2990.79,"body":"among the best sources of"},{"startTime":2987.1,"endTime":2990.79,"body":"information on medical questions"},{"startTime":2990.79,"endTime":2992.62,"body":"are the nation's doctors."},{"startTime":2992.62,"endTime":2996.38,"body":"And I think there were"},{"startTime":2992.62,"endTime":2996.38,"body":"important points of consensus"},{"startTime":2996.38,"endTime":3000.8,"body":"at different moments"},{"startTime":2996.38,"endTime":3000.8,"body":"both in the U.S and here"},{"startTime":3000.8,"endTime":3004.896,"body":"where the nation's doctors"},{"startTime":3000.8,"endTime":3004.896,"body":"were making recommendations"},{"startTime":3004.896,"endTime":3009.896,"body":"and on occasion our policy"},{"startTime":3004.896,"endTime":3009.896,"body":"makers or elected officials"},{"startTime":3010.07,"endTime":3011.34,"body":"derailed conversations,"},{"startTime":3011.34,"endTime":3013.28,"body":"made different kinds of pronouncements,"},{"startTime":3013.28,"endTime":3016.037,"body":"made it difficult to understand"},{"startTime":3016.037,"endTime":3019.363,"body":"what were the priority"},{"startTime":3016.037,"endTime":3019.363,"body":"moves for public health."},{"startTime":3021.2,"endTime":3025.9,"body":"As always in a society"},{"startTime":3021.2,"endTime":3025.9,"body":"it is incumbent upon us"},{"startTime":3025.9,"endTime":3028.8,"body":"to do a little bit of our own research,"},{"startTime":3028.8,"endTime":3032.76,"body":"so it's important to listen"},{"startTime":3028.8,"endTime":3032.76,"body":"to the elected officials"},{"startTime":3032.76,"endTime":3035.46,"body":"and then check with what the"},{"startTime":3032.76,"endTime":3035.46,"body":"professionals are saying,"},{"startTime":3037.26,"endTime":3040.6,"body":"have a look at what your"},{"startTime":3037.26,"endTime":3040.6,"body":"professional news outlets"},{"startTime":3040.6,"endTime":3044.453,"body":"are advocating for and check"},{"startTime":3040.6,"endTime":3044.453,"body":"in with your own doctor."},{"startTime":3045.31,"endTime":3047.78,"body":"And I think that rough"},{"startTime":3045.31,"endTime":3047.78,"body":"out line of activity,"},{"startTime":3047.78,"endTime":3050.57,"body":"so verifying what you"},{"startTime":3047.78,"endTime":3050.57,"body":"get from the news media"},{"startTime":3050.57,"endTime":3053.15,"body":"with what you might see"},{"startTime":3050.57,"endTime":3053.15,"body":"as direct pronouncements"},{"startTime":3053.15,"endTime":3058.15,"body":"from the NHS or the CDC can"},{"startTime":3053.15,"endTime":3058.15,"body":"help you make the right choices."},{"startTime":3060.05,"endTime":3062.3,"body":"I hope nothing I said here would ever"},{"startTime":3062.3,"endTime":3063.38,"body":"lead someone to conclude"},{"startTime":3063.38,"endTime":3064.93,"body":"that you'd want to cut off people"},{"startTime":3064.93,"endTime":3069.09,"body":"who are arguing in other directions."},{"startTime":3069.09,"endTime":3071.3,"body":"So it is ultimately your choice,"},{"startTime":3071.3,"endTime":3075.12,"body":"I think on whether to get vaccinated,"},{"startTime":3075.12,"endTime":3079.483,"body":"but the medical consensus is"},{"startTime":3075.12,"endTime":3079.483,"body":"that you should get vaccinated."},{"startTime":3080.41,"endTime":3083.393,"body":"And so that for me is an"},{"startTime":3080.41,"endTime":3083.393,"body":"important source of evidence."},{"startTime":3084.32,"endTime":3086.61,"body":"The same kind of thing can"},{"startTime":3084.32,"endTime":3086.61,"body":"be said about climate change,"},{"startTime":3086.61,"endTime":3090.19,"body":"The consensus is that"},{"startTime":3086.61,"endTime":3090.19,"body":"the climate is changing"},{"startTime":3090.19,"endTime":3091.95,"body":"and that it's human induced,"},{"startTime":3091.95,"endTime":3094.85,"body":"and that if the temperature"},{"startTime":3091.95,"endTime":3094.85,"body":"goes up this amount,"},{"startTime":3094.85,"endTime":3096.92,"body":"this amount of London"},{"startTime":3094.85,"endTime":3096.92,"body":"will be underwater, right?"},{"startTime":3096.92,"endTime":3099.0,"body":"These things are measurable"},{"startTime":3099.0,"endTime":3101.26,"body":"and there's strong consensus about it."},{"startTime":3101.26,"endTime":3104.57,"body":"So finding the best expressions"},{"startTime":3101.26,"endTime":3104.57,"body":"of that kind of consensus"},{"startTime":3104.57,"endTime":3107.693,"body":"is the challenge we have"},{"startTime":3104.57,"endTime":3107.693,"body":"as being smart citizens."},{"startTime":3108.72,"endTime":3110.93,"body":"- [Gentleman] I grew up in"},{"startTime":3108.72,"endTime":3110.93,"body":"the media since the age of 17,"},{"startTime":3110.93,"endTime":3115.773,"body":"I am 64 and I used to work"},{"startTime":3110.93,"endTime":3115.773,"body":"for the BBC under John Tusa."},{"startTime":3116.69,"endTime":3119.33,"body":"Under John Tusa, nothing"},{"startTime":3116.69,"endTime":3119.33,"body":"could be published"},{"startTime":3119.33,"endTime":3124.2,"body":"unless there were three"},{"startTime":3119.33,"endTime":3124.2,"body":"independent sources,"},{"startTime":3124.2,"endTime":3126.27,"body":"they used to prove that"},{"startTime":3124.2,"endTime":3126.27,"body":"what you were saying"},{"startTime":3126.27,"endTime":3129.15,"body":"was actually factual true."},{"startTime":3129.15,"endTime":3133.84,"body":"Unfortunately, the BBC moved"},{"startTime":3129.15,"endTime":3133.84,"body":"away from those standards"},{"startTime":3133.84,"endTime":3135.69,"body":"trying to compete with private media."},{"startTime":3137.18,"endTime":3142.18,"body":"Will you say that the media"},{"startTime":3137.18,"endTime":3142.18,"body":"themselves and politicians"},{"startTime":3142.51,"endTime":3146.87,"body":"created fertile ground for disinformation"},{"startTime":3148.55,"endTime":3152.31,"body":"with plenty of examples of fabrication"},{"startTime":3152.31,"endTime":3156.623,"body":"45 minutes weapons of mass"},{"startTime":3152.31,"endTime":3156.623,"body":"destruction, for example."},{"startTime":3159.37,"endTime":3162.85,"body":"Campaigns fought for one reason,"},{"startTime":3162.85,"endTime":3164.52,"body":"in actual fact there was another,"},{"startTime":3164.52,"endTime":3166.27,"body":"20 years in Afghanistan"},{"startTime":3166.27,"endTime":3168.807,"body":"after they already killed Osama Bin Laden."},{"startTime":3172.37,"endTime":3174.177,"body":"Would you say that the mass media"},{"startTime":3174.177,"endTime":3176.35,"body":"and the politicians themselves,"},{"startTime":3176.35,"endTime":3180.05,"body":"including those who are"},{"startTime":3176.35,"endTime":3180.05,"body":"trying to fight disinformation"},{"startTime":3180.05,"endTime":3183.99,"body":"are very much responsible for"},{"startTime":3180.05,"endTime":3183.99,"body":"having created the environment"},{"startTime":3183.99,"endTime":3185.963,"body":"that makes possible disinformation?"},{"startTime":3186.8,"endTime":3188.753,"body":"- I think they certainly have a role."},{"startTime":3189.83,"endTime":3193.87,"body":"I would would say that the public,"},{"startTime":3193.87,"endTime":3196.53,"body":"more investment in civics education"},{"startTime":3196.53,"endTime":3199.04,"body":"and more investment in public libraries"},{"startTime":3199.04,"endTime":3203.22,"body":"and more investment in shared"},{"startTime":3199.04,"endTime":3203.22,"body":"professional news outlets."},{"startTime":3203.22,"endTime":3206.36,"body":"Those are the good long term investments."},{"startTime":3206.36,"endTime":3209.76,"body":"The proximate cause of,"},{"startTime":3209.76,"endTime":3212.51,"body":"the proximate impact of misinformation"},{"startTime":3212.51,"endTime":3214.75,"body":"is when the social media platforms"},{"startTime":3214.75,"endTime":3217.52,"body":"deliver targeted messaging to a voter"},{"startTime":3217.52,"endTime":3219.73,"body":"in the two or three days before they vote."},{"startTime":3219.73,"endTime":3221.01,"body":"Now, the political scientists tell us"},{"startTime":3221.01,"endTime":3222.57,"body":"that most people most of the time"},{"startTime":3222.57,"endTime":3224.75,"body":"don't make up their minds really until"},{"startTime":3224.75,"endTime":3227.13,"body":"two or three days before they vote,"},{"startTime":3227.13,"endTime":3229.043,"body":"and that's a critical window."},{"startTime":3230.33,"endTime":3235.33,"body":"Politicians rarely vote for"},{"startTime":3230.33,"endTime":3235.33,"body":"more fines on politicians."},{"startTime":3235.661,"endTime":3238.21,"body":"The part of the problems of"},{"startTime":3235.661,"endTime":3238.21,"body":"a parliamentary democracy"},{"startTime":3238.21,"endTime":3242.44,"body":"is that it's hard to change"},{"startTime":3238.21,"endTime":3242.44,"body":"those to clean up that system."},{"startTime":3242.44,"endTime":3245.32,"body":"I would say that one of the"},{"startTime":3242.44,"endTime":3245.32,"body":"things that seems to inoculate"},{"startTime":3245.32,"endTime":3248.06,"body":"a country a little bit"},{"startTime":3245.32,"endTime":3248.06,"body":"against misinformation"},{"startTime":3248.06,"endTime":3250.93,"body":"is the presence of a public broadcaster."},{"startTime":3250.93,"endTime":3252.88,"body":"So it may be that the BBC standards"},{"startTime":3252.88,"endTime":3254.7,"body":"have changed in ways you don't like,"},{"startTime":3254.7,"endTime":3259.49,"body":"but the CBC in Canada and the BBC and PBS"},{"startTime":3259.49,"endTime":3262.74,"body":"and Israel has an excellent"},{"startTime":3259.49,"endTime":3262.74,"body":"public broadcaster as well."},{"startTime":3262.74,"endTime":3264.93,"body":"Those organizations,"},{"startTime":3264.93,"endTime":3268.81,"body":"it's not so much that they"},{"startTime":3264.93,"endTime":3268.81,"body":"produce high quality content"},{"startTime":3268.81,"endTime":3270.36,"body":"that everybody reads,"},{"startTime":3270.36,"endTime":3273.49,"body":"it's that they create a culture"},{"startTime":3270.36,"endTime":3273.49,"body":"of professional journalism"},{"startTime":3273.49,"endTime":3276.44,"body":"that leaks into the other news outlets."},{"startTime":3276.44,"endTime":3278.88,"body":"The countries that don't have"},{"startTime":3278.88,"endTime":3280.93,"body":"a culture of professional news journalism"},{"startTime":3281.776,"endTime":3286.57,"body":"through public investment don't"},{"startTime":3281.776,"endTime":3286.57,"body":"don't have those protection."},{"startTime":3286.57,"endTime":3288.982,"body":"And I don't mean that the"},{"startTime":3286.57,"endTime":3288.982,"body":"government owns the media"},{"startTime":3288.982,"endTime":3292.3,"body":"'cause in all of the good examples,"},{"startTime":3292.3,"endTime":3293.96,"body":"editorial control"},{"startTime":3293.96,"endTime":3298.563,"body":"is not with a political"},{"startTime":3293.96,"endTime":3298.563,"body":"appointee, direct control."},{"startTime":3300.26,"endTime":3302.62,"body":"So the BBC may have its challenges,"},{"startTime":3302.62,"endTime":3304.7,"body":"but the public investment in the BBC"},{"startTime":3304.7,"endTime":3308.053,"body":"is critical to keeping"},{"startTime":3304.7,"endTime":3308.053,"body":"in the country together."},{"startTime":3309.47,"endTime":3312.18,"body":"- [Gentleman] Touched on"},{"startTime":3309.47,"endTime":3312.18,"body":"on issues like homeopathy"},{"startTime":3312.18,"endTime":3315.05,"body":"where pseudo medicine,"},{"startTime":3312.18,"endTime":3315.05,"body":"medical organizations"},{"startTime":3315.912,"endTime":3319.323,"body":"push their agendas."},{"startTime":3320.7,"endTime":3324.53,"body":"Is this worldwide"},{"startTime":3320.7,"endTime":3324.53,"body":"phenomenon where you have"},{"startTime":3324.53,"endTime":3326.55,"body":"pseudosciences like homeopathy,"},{"startTime":3326.55,"endTime":3328.62,"body":"chiropractice, or other nonsense,"},{"startTime":3328.62,"endTime":3330.7,"body":"like (indistinct) trying"},{"startTime":3328.62,"endTime":3330.7,"body":"to push the agendas"},{"startTime":3330.7,"endTime":3332.033,"body":"using social media."},{"startTime":3333.3,"endTime":3337.81,"body":"- We noticed after the Brexit debate here"},{"startTime":3337.81,"endTime":3341.43,"body":"and the referendum here"},{"startTime":3337.81,"endTime":3341.43,"body":"in the 2016 election"},{"startTime":3341.43,"endTime":3344.73,"body":"that a family of the Russian"},{"startTime":3341.43,"endTime":3344.73,"body":"accounts we had identified,"},{"startTime":3344.73,"endTime":3349.73,"body":"moved from talking about"},{"startTime":3344.73,"endTime":3349.73,"body":"politics to about homeopathy."},{"startTime":3350.09,"endTime":3354.893,"body":"And at the time we thought it"},{"startTime":3350.09,"endTime":3354.893,"body":"was an odd shift in messaging."},{"startTime":3356.04,"endTime":3359.33,"body":"Now we're pretty sure"},{"startTime":3356.04,"endTime":3359.33,"body":"that it's about connecting"},{"startTime":3359.33,"endTime":3361.99,"body":"the audience for that kind of content"},{"startTime":3361.99,"endTime":3364.233,"body":"with things they can buy."},{"startTime":3365.63,"endTime":3367.17,"body":"My answer would be that"},{"startTime":3365.63,"endTime":3367.17,"body":"this has more to do"},{"startTime":3367.17,"endTime":3369.14,"body":"with the profiteering, making money,"},{"startTime":3369.14,"endTime":3370.75,"body":"by creating an audience"},{"startTime":3370.75,"endTime":3373.65,"body":"that will look for several"},{"startTime":3370.75,"endTime":3373.65,"body":"different kinds of things"},{"startTime":3373.65,"endTime":3375.62,"body":"related to conspiracies."},{"startTime":3375.62,"endTime":3377.01,"body":"And it's also important to remember"},{"startTime":3377.01,"endTime":3379.3,"body":"that the audience for misinformation"},{"startTime":3379.3,"endTime":3381.9,"body":"is not the entire public."},{"startTime":3381.9,"endTime":3386.25,"body":"The audience for misinformation"},{"startTime":3381.9,"endTime":3386.25,"body":"is usually the far right,"},{"startTime":3386.25,"endTime":3391.25,"body":"white supremacists, it's a"},{"startTime":3386.25,"endTime":3391.25,"body":"very fairly narrow demographic."},{"startTime":3391.55,"endTime":3393.56,"body":"Most people most of the time"},{"startTime":3393.56,"endTime":3397.8,"body":"do not find themselves locked"},{"startTime":3393.56,"endTime":3397.8,"body":"into these cycles of websites"},{"startTime":3397.8,"endTime":3401.41,"body":"that have different kinds"},{"startTime":3397.8,"endTime":3401.41,"body":"of conspiratorial content."},{"startTime":3401.41,"endTime":3404.57,"body":"So the audience, maybe this"},{"startTime":3401.41,"endTime":3404.57,"body":"is the hopeful way to end,"},{"startTime":3404.57,"endTime":3407.553,"body":"the audience for this stuff"},{"startTime":3404.57,"endTime":3407.553,"body":"is actually fairly bounded."},{"startTime":3409.13,"endTime":3410.64,"body":"It's just that in an election,"},{"startTime":3410.64,"endTime":3412.97,"body":"it only takes a few percentage points"},{"startTime":3412.97,"endTime":3414.72,"body":"to make a difference in an outcome."},{"startTime":3416.48,"endTime":3417.87,"body":"- Professor Howard, I think"},{"startTime":3416.48,"endTime":3417.87,"body":"we're going to have to"},{"startTime":3417.87,"endTime":3420.89,"body":"drown into the lecture"},{"startTime":3417.87,"endTime":3420.89,"body":"in the Q and A there."},{"startTime":3420.89,"endTime":3423.48,"body":"I wanted to thank you"},{"startTime":3420.89,"endTime":3423.48,"body":"very much for your lecture"},{"startTime":3423.48,"endTime":3425.42,"body":"and just to thank our audience"},{"startTime":3425.42,"endTime":3427.63,"body":"for your participation as well."},{"startTime":3427.63,"endTime":3429.82,"body":"I would like to point"},{"startTime":3427.63,"endTime":3429.82,"body":"out that the next lecture"},{"startTime":3429.82,"endTime":3433.36,"body":"in the series on media, trust and society"},{"startTime":3433.36,"endTime":3436.06,"body":"will be what can we learn from fakes"},{"startTime":3436.06,"endTime":3438.45,"body":"with Professor Patricia Kingori,"},{"startTime":3438.45,"endTime":3441.49,"body":"and that is on Thursday, the"},{"startTime":3438.45,"endTime":3441.49,"body":"28th of April at 6:00 pm."},{"startTime":3441.49,"endTime":3443.24,"body":"So please do join us for that one."},{"startTime":3443.24,"endTime":3446.936,"body":"And please join me in thanking"},{"startTime":3443.24,"endTime":3446.936,"body":"Professor Howard once more."},{"startTime":3446.936,"endTime":3449.436,"body":"(audience clapping)"}]}