Dispatch from the Digital Planet: November 2022

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Dispatch from the Digital Planet: November 2022

November 15, 2022

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RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

The Toxic Tales of the 2022 Midterms: Unraveling the Lies, Hate, and Extremism Polluting the Public Square

Ahead of the US midterms, Twitter was abuzz with toxic and trending political narratives. We analyzed the top 4 among them: civil war, election fraud, citizen policing of voting, and allegations of grooming and pedophilia. Our 4-month (July-October 2022) analysis, straddling the Musk Twitter takeover, revealed that the political conversation decayed on the post-Musk platform.

REPORT COVERED BY

EVENT ALERT

Defeating Disinformation: Advancing Inclusive Growth and Democracy through Global Digital Platforms

The Defeating Disinformation Unconference brings together thought leaders and experts to weigh in on critical challenges and global problems affecting the new digital public sphere.

December 02, 2022 | 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM EST
At Chase Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA

WEBINAR ALERT

Bridging the U.S. Broadband Divide - Fairly:
An Interactive Tool for Telecoms Policymakers and Companies for Preparing Proposals to Expand High Speed Internet Use Across America

Presented by Digital Planet at the Fletcher School at Tufts University in partnership with Next Century Cities

Thursday, December 8th, 2:00 PM EST

PERSPECTIVES

A message to Twitter titans: Take a sabbatical from Musk's Twitter: Bhaskar Chakravorti
The Indian Express

Over the course of a month-long drama, Elon Musk discovered a basic truth: Free speech is not free. Musk's guarantee was that he would not allow Twitter to devolve into a free-for-all hellscape. And from that point on, a hellscape it has become.

ONGOING RESEARCH

The Elon Musk - Twitter Takeover: A Twitter Sentiment Analysis

In our most recent October 31 update, we studied the sentiments expressed by users on the platform to Elon Musk's Twitter takeover saga, analyzing over 11.5M tweets. While reactions to Musk's initial criticism of the platform were generally more positive, his plan to buy Twitter was met with largely negative emotions. Once the takeover was complete, negative emotions dominated the day across all countries studied.

ANALYST PUBLICATION

Imagining Solutions at the Intersection of Elections, Race, and Disinformation

Disinformation is not a new or novel issue. With the increase in election disinformation in the United States, it is more important now to find ways of combating and curbing it. It is not an unfixable problem. Through a combination of education, advocacy, and policy-based solutions, it is possible to tackle this growing problem.

ANALYST OF THE MONTH

Harshad Vaswani

Graduate Research Analyst, Digital Planet

I'VE BEEN WORKING ON

Using sustainable technologies to address global water scarcity.

AN INSIGHT I DISCOVERED

There is a large intersection between global water supply and sustainable power, and there exist multiple technologies to satisfy and substitute global water demand (without compromising on other environmental concerns).

I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT

The use of technology for sustainable agriculture.

Impactful research requires resources.
Support our work at Digital Planet through a donation.

Click on "Contribute" and select "Digital Planet" as the designation.

IN THE NEWS

The Red Wave That Wasn't: Biden said Wednesday that voters had proven that “democracy is who we are.” | New York Magazine

Facing a Tide of Criticism, Elon Musk Is Tweeting Through It | The New York Times

Elon Musk's Twitter Did Not Perform at Its Best on Election Day | The New York Times

Elon Musk Puts His Own Politics on Display on Election Day | The New York Times

Resistance to misinformation is weakening on Twitter, a report found. | The New York Times

New wrinkles in misinformation as midterms near: election skeptics at polling places, and on ballots; fake news in new languages; Elon Musk at Twitter's helm | MarketWatch

A Twitter trial would expose Elon Musk to scrutiny. Buying Twitter might help him avoid it. | Vox

Musk doesn’t own Twitter yet, but conservatives are racking up followers | The Washington Post

How to read your social media feeds on Election Day. | New York Folk

Misinformation and the midterm elections: What to expect | DailyPress

Candidates Make Final Appeals in Midterms Campaigns | The New York Times

Twitter 'laid off' counter-electoral misinformation teams days before US midterms | The New Arab

Here's what to know about misinformation and next week's midterm elections | PBS News

Musk's Twitter Buyout Brought Back QAnon Believers, Report Says | CNET

How Twitter's $8 verification plan works and why it's facing criticism | ABC News

The quality of Twitter conversation has 'decayed' after Elon Musk's takeover | Fortune

Twitter's new verification rollout goes about as badly as experts feared | SF Examiner

ABOUT DIGITAL PLANET

Digital Planet is an interdisciplinary research initiative of The Fletcher School's Institute for Business in the Global Context (IBGC) dedicated to understanding the impact of digital innovation on the world and providing actionable insights for policymakers, businesses, investors, and innovators.

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