Rumour Veracity Estimation with Deep Learning for Twitter

Part 4: Security, Privacy, Ethics and MisinformationInternational audienceTwitter has become a fertile ground for rumours as information can propagate to too many people in very short time. Rumours can create panic in public and hence timely detection and blocking of rumour information is urgently required. We proposed and compare machine learning classifiers with a deep learning model using Recurrent Neural Networks for classification of tweets into rumour and non-rumour classes. A total thirteen features based on tweet text and user characteristics were given as input to machine learning classifiers. Deep learning model was trained and tested with textual features and five user characteristic features. The findings indicate that our models perform much better than machine learning based models

Use of Social Media in the Generation and Diffusion of Information during the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria

Information plays a vital role in every society. It has the potentials to create conflicts situations and peace, if properly and contextually understood and well managed. The ways and channels through which information flows have profound implications if not properly understood. The study sought to understand the role that social media played in the generation and diffusion of information during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria; to achieve this four research questions were raised: What types of information were generated and diffused on social media about the presidential candidates during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria? What types of information were shared on social media about the presidential candidates during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria? How did social media friends make sense of information shared with them about the presidential candidates during the 2015 Nigeria general elections? How do the two constructs of dual process theory (Informational and Normative factors) explain information generation and diffusion on social media during elections? The study which is a qualitative research was premised within the interpretive paradigm, with Deutsch and Gerrard’s Dual Process Theory used as a theoretical framework for the study. The case study approach was used to investigate the phenomena. Nine (9) respondents were purposively sampled for the research and a content analysis of their social media pages was conducted. Inductive approach was employed in analyzing the data realized from the content analyzed pages from the respondents, which yielded two hundred and sixty-two (262) open codes, from which eighteen (18) sub-categories, seven (7) categories, and three (3) major themes were derived. The findings of the study showed that there was a higher use of social media during the 2015 general elections as compared to previous elections and was used to post offensive information about the candidates. Also, the study revealed that most people shared or were most likely to share what they believed to be true which had propaganda and high misinformation. People and friends on social media made sense of information received at face value and in most cases were not as interested in the message posted but where the person making the post was from. The social media was extensively used to propagate hate and divisive sentiments during the 2015 electioneering period in Nigeria. The study concluded that as social media continues to gain immense traction in terms of use in society, steps need to be taken to reduce the unending possibilities for misinformation, propaganda, and rumours which if misconstrued could lead to conflict situations

Sentiment, richness, authority, and relevance model of information sharing during social Crises—the case of #MH370 tweets

The study introduces a model of crisis information sharing based on Twitter discussions of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Grounded in the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study tests four salient factors: Sentiment, Richness, Authority, and Relevance, which can be measured by peripheral cues in tweets and in user profiles. Findings suggest that information sharing is positively associated with the presence of peripheral cues indicative of a confident, self-revealing and positive emotional language style, and is negatively related to an angry and informal style. Additionally, information sharing is related to the presence of multimedia cues and cues indicating source popularity

First steps in the study of cyber-psycho-cognitive operations

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais, 2019.O presente trabalho é uma análise dos mecanismos informáticos e tecno-comunicacionais envolvidos na articulação de mundos da vida orientados estrategicamente para estimular, prever ou minar o desenvolvimento das condições psico-cognitivas adequadas para a construção e sustento da legitimidade racional de uma autoridade ou ação política. A aplicação de instrumentos “arqueológicos” Foucauldianos ao estudo das narrativas políticas que engendraram e surgiram de “Russiagate” permitiu situar a teoria num contexto histórico e validar a premissa da convergência e incorporação de tendências de agendamento comuns e de práticas típicas de operações psicológicas tradicionais. Contudo, os efeitos tanto da disponibilidade comercial das TICs com capacidade de “deep learning”, quanto da estruturação baseada em conhecimento permitida pela ubiquidade e centralidade econômica dessas tecnologias, tornam o conjunto de mecanismos analisados num fenômeno que merece uma conceptualização e marco investigativo únicos. A obra é uma contribuição a esse empreendimento.This is an analysis of the ICT-based mechanisms involved in the articulation of lifeworlds that are strategically oriented to foster, prevent or undermine the development of psycho-cognitive conditions adequate for the construction or sustainability of an authority’s or a political action’s rational legitimacy. While grounding theory to a historical context, the application of Foucauldian “archeological” instruments to the study of the political narratives giving birth and springing from “Russiagate” also served to validate the premised convergence and incorporation of common agenda-setting trends and practices typical of traditional psychological operations. However, the effects of both the commercial availability of deep-learning ICTs and the cognition-based structuration afforded by their ubiquity and economic centrality set this “dispositif” apart, thereby deserving a unique conceptualization and research framework. This study is a contribution to such endeavor

Treating a Viral Culture: Using Cultural Competency and Social Informatics to Design Contextualized Information Literacy Efforts for Specific Social Information Cultures

This chapter proposes a novel theoretical framework, Social Information Cultural Competency (SICC), that may be used for designing contextualized information literacy efforts. The SICC approach leverages the frameworks of social informatics, cultural competency, and psychosocial understandings of information behavior to encourage information professionals to develop more nuanced understandings of specific social information cultures. After defining this approach, the chapter then applies the SICC framework to a case study considering information literacy interventions addressing a social information culture engaged in sharing COVID-19 misinformation through social media. As part of this case study, the chapter discusses three current information literacy approaches to COVID-19 online misinformation interventions: inoculation or “prebunking” efforts, accuracy prompts before posting or sharing, and online conversation groups. Finally, the SICC framework is compared with each of the three current approaches. The chapter concludes with implications of this novel framework for current and future information literacy efforts aimed at combatting dis/misinformation within social information cultures

Factors influencing college students' online rumor refuting behavior during major public health crises: the moderating effect of group norms

This study integrates SOR (Stimuli-Organism-Response) theoretical framework and rational behavior theory within a theoretical framework, incorporating group norms as a moderating factor to investigate the psychological mechanisms influencing Chinese college students' online rumor-refutation behavior amidst public health crises. Using the structural equation modeling research method, data was collected via questionnaires from 1,254 participants in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that both online and offline information seeking are positively correlated with college students' attitudes and subjective norms. Moreover, the attitudes and subjective norms of college students are positively correlated with the online rumor refuting behavior. Furthermore, group norms serve to strengthen the connection between college students' attitudes and their engagement in online refuting rumors. These results illuminate the psychological underpinnings driving college students' online rumor-refuting actions, offering practical and policy implications for effectively managing rumor behaviors

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Persuasion: an analysis and common frame of reference for IS research

Information Systems (IS) researchers persistently examine how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) changes attitudes and behaviours but rarely leverage the persuasion literature when doing so. The hesitance of IS researchers to leverage persuasion literature may be due to this literature’s well-documented complexity. This study aims to reduce the difficulty of understanding and applying persuasion theory within IS research. The study achieves this aim by developing a common frame of reference to help IS researchers to conceptualise persuasion and to conceptually differentiate persuasion from related concepts. In doing this, the study also comprehensively summarises existing research and theory and provides a set of suggestions to guide future IS research into persuasion and behaviour change

Social Media Role in Relieving the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis

This research explores the possibilities and limitations associated with utilizing new media technologies in relieving humanitarian crises by focusing on the Rohingyan case. The main interest is to approach a conceptual communication framework based on the current Rohingya refugees’ perceptions about social media networks and mobile apps and the potential suggestions to optimize its usefulness in relieving their crisis. Addressing the obstructive challenges that interrupt the new media technologies functionality is another objective of the study. The mixed methodology interlaces the qualitative findings of the questionnaire with the qualitative outcomes of the semi-structured interviews to reach an inclusive investigation to the research questions. An examination to the significance of relationships between Rohingya demographic attributes and their preferences and perceptions toward social media platforms and mobile apps is substantial to explore the dominant factors that may influence the relationship between the Rohingya and different media platforms. Keywords: social media, mixed methods, Rohingya, humanitarian crises DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/87-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

Use of Social Media in the Generation and Diffusion of Information during the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria

Information plays a vital role in every society. It has the potentials to create conflicts situations and peace, if properly and contextually understood and well managed. The ways and channels through which information flows have profound implications if not properly understood. The study sought to understand the role that social media played in the generation and diffusion of information during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria; to achieve this four research questions were raised: What types of information were generated and diffused on social media about the presidential candidates during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria? What types of information were shared on social media about the presidential candidates during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria? How did social media friends make sense of information shared with them about the presidential candidates during the 2015 Nigeria general elections? How do the two constructs of dual process theory (Informational and Normative factors) explain information generation and diffusion on social media during elections? The study which is a qualitative research was premised within the interpretive paradigm, with Deutsch and Gerrard’s Dual Process Theory used as a theoretical framework for the study. The case study approach was used to investigate the phenomena. Nine (9) respondents were purposively sampled for the research and a content analysis of their social media pages was conducted. Inductive approach was employed in analyzing the data realized from the content analyzed pages from the respondents, which yielded two hundred and sixty-two (262) open codes, from which eighteen (18) sub-categories, seven (7) categories, and three (3) major themes were derived. The findings of the study showed that there was a higher use of social media during the 2015 general elections as compared to previous elections and was used to post offensive information about the candidates. Also, the study revealed that most people shared or were most likely to share what they believed to be true which had propaganda and high misinformation. People and friends on social media made sense of information received at face value and in most cases were not as interested in the message posted but where the person making the post was from. The social media was extensively used to propagate hate and divisive sentiments during the 2015 electioneering period in Nigeria. The study concluded that as social media continues to gain immense traction in terms of use in society, steps need to be taken to reduce the unending possibilities for misinformation, propaganda, and rumours which if misconstrued could lead to conflict situations