Identifying Fake News from the Variables that Governs the Spread of Fake News

Several researchers have attempted to investigate the processes that govern and support the spread of fake news. This paper collates and identifies these variables. This paper then categorises these variables based on three key players that are involved in the process: Users, Content, and Social Networks. The authors conducted an extensive review of the literature and a reflection on the key variables that are involved in the process. The paper has identified a total of twenty-seven variables. Then the paper presents a series of tasks to mitigate or eliminate these variables in a holistic process that could be automated to reduce or eliminate fake news propagation. Finally, the paper suggests further research into testing the method in lab conditions

Facebook Fake Profile Identification: Technical and Ethical Considerations

March 2019, Facebook updated its security procedures requesting ID verification for people who wish to advertise or promote political posts of adverts. The announcement received little media coverage even though it is an interesting development in the battle against Fake News. This paper reviews the current literature on different approaches in the battle against the spread of fake news, including the use of computer algorithms, A.I, and introduction of ID checks. Critical to the evaluation is consideration into ID checks as a means to combat the spread of Fake News. To understand the process and how it works, the team undertook a social experiment combined with reflective analysis to better understand the impact of ID check policies when combined with other standards policies of a typical platform. The analysis identifies grave concerns. In a wider context, standardising such policy will leave political activists in countries vulnerable to reprisal from authoritarian regimes. Other impacts include people who use fake names to protect the identity of adopted children or to protect anonymity from abusive partners. The analysis also points to the fact that troll arms could bypass these checks rendering the use of ID checks less effective in the battle to combat fake news. The analysis also points to the fact that troll arms could bypass these checks rendering the use of ID checks less effective in the battle to combat fake news

Snapshots into carbon dots formation through a combined spectroscopic approach

The design of novel carbon dots with ad hoc properties requires a comprehensive understanding of their formation mechanism, which is a complex task considering the number of variables involved, such as reaction time, structure of precursors or synthetic protocol employed. Herein, we systematically investigated the formation of carbon nanodots by tracking structural, chemical and photophysical features during the hydrothermal synthesis. We demonstrate that the formation of carbon nanodots consists of 4 consecutive steps: (i) aggregation of small organic molecules, (ii) formation of a dense core with an extended shell, (iii) collapse of the shell and (iv) aromatization of the core. In addition, we provide examples of routes towards tuning the core-shell design, synthesizing five novel carbon dots that all consist of an electron-dense core covered by an amine rich ligand shell

Spread of Misinformation Online: Simulation Impact of Social Media Newsgroups

Academic research shows increase reliance of online users on social media as a main source of news and information. Researchers found that young users are particularly inclined to believe what they read on social media without adequate verification of the information. There has been some research to study the spread of misinformation and identification of key variables in developing simulations of the process. Current literature on combating misinformation focuses on individuals and neglects social newsgroups-key players in the dissemination of information online. Using benchmark variables and values from the literature, the authors simulated the process using Biolayout; a big data-modeling tool. The results show social newsgroups have significant impact in the explosion of misinformation as well as combating misinformation. The outcome has helped better understand and visualize how misinformation travels in the spatial space of social media

Pressure-tuning of the c-f hybridization in Yb metal detected by infrared spectroscopy up to 18 GPa

It has been known that the elemental Yb, a divalent metal at mbient pressure, becomes a mixed-valent metal under external pressure, with its valence reaching ~2.6 at 30 GPa. In this work, infrared spectroscopy has been used to probe the evolution of microscopic electronic states associated with the valence crossover in Yb at external pressures up to 18 GPa. The measured infrared reflectivity spectrum R(w) of Yb has shown large variations with pressure. In particular, R(w) develops a deep minimum in the mid-infrared, which shifts to lower energy with increasing pressure. The dip is attributed to optical absorption due to a conduction c-f electron hybridization state, similarly to those previously observed for heavy fermion compounds. The red shift of the dip indicates that the $c$-$f$ hybridization decreases with pressure, which is consistent with the increase of valence.Comment: 2 pages, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Supp

The Spreading of Misinformation online: 3D Simulation

Social media is becoming the de-facto platform for the dissemination of information as research suggests more Internet users are using social media as their main source of news. In this model, the spread of unverified information is becoming a common place where some could share misinformation as fact. News sharing on social media lacks the traditional verification methods used by professional media. In previous publications, the authors presented a model that shows the extent of the problem thus suggesting the design of a tool that could assist users to authenticate information using a conceptual approached called `right-click authenticate' button. A two-dimensional simulation provided bases for a proof-of-concept and identification of key variables. This paper uses Biolayout three-dimensional modelling to expand their simulations of different scenarios. Using the given variables and values, this paper presents a better understanding of how misinformation travels in the spatial space of social media. The findings further confirmed that the approach of `right-click authenticate' button would dramatically cut back the spread of misinformation online

Electronic Structure and Charge Dynamics of Huesler Alloy Fe2TiSn Probed by Infrared and Optical Spectroscopy

We report on the electrodynamics of a Heusler alloy Fe2TiSn probed over four decades in energy: from the far infrared to the ultraviolet. Our results do not support the suggestion of Kondo-lattice behavior inferred from specific heat measurements. Instead, we find a conventional Drude-like response of free carriers, with two additional absorption bands centered at around 0.1 and 0.87 eV. The latter feature can be interpreted as excitations across a pseudogap, in accord with band structure calculations.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Lighting up the Electrochemiluminescence of Carbon Dots through Pre- and Post-Synthetic Design

Carbon dots (CDs), defined by their size of less than 10\ua0nm, are a class of photoluminescent (PL) and electrochemiluminescent (ECL) nanomaterials that include a variety of carbon-based nanoparticles. However, the control of their properties, especially ECL, remains elusive and afflicted by a series of problems. Here, the authors report CDs that display ECL in water via coreactant ECL, which is the dominant mechanism in biosensing applications. They take advantage of a multicomponent bottom-up approach for preparing and studying the luminescence properties of CDs doped with a dye acting as PL and ECL probe. The dependence of luminescence properties on the surface chemistry is further reported, by investigating the PL and ECL response of CDs with surfaces rich in primary, methylated, or propylated amino groups. While precursors that contribute to the core characterize the PL emission, the surface states influence the efficiency of the excitation-dependent PL emission. The ECL emission is influenced by surface states from the organic shell, but states of the core strongly interact with the surface, influencing the ECL efficiency. These findings offer a framework of pre- and post-synthetic design strategies to improve ECL emission properties, opening new opportunities for exploring biosensing applications of CDs

Optical and thermodynamic properties of the high-temperature superconductor HgBa_2CuO_4+delta

In- and out-of-plane optical spectra and specific heat measurements for the single layer cuprate superconductor Hg-1201 at optimal doping (Tc = 97 K) are presented. Both the in-plane and out-of-plane superfluid density agree well with a recently proposed scaling relation rho_{s}=sigma_{dc}T_{c}. It is shown that there is a superconductivity induced increase of the in-plane low frequency spectral weight which follows the trend found in underdoped and optimally doped Bi-2212 and optimally doped Bi-2223. We observe an increase of optical spectral weight which corresponds to a change in kinetic energy of approximately 0.5 meV/Cu which is more than enough to explain the condensation energy. The specific heat anomaly is 10 times smaller than in YBCO and 3 times smaller than in Bi-2212. The shape of the anomaly is similar to the one observed in YBCO showing that the superconducting transition is governed by thermal fluctuations.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figure

How to Stop Spread of Misinformation on Social Media: Facebook Plans vs. Right-click Authenticate Approach

One of the key features of social networks is that users are able to share information, and through cascades of sharing information, this information may reach a large number of individuals. The high availability of user-provided contents on online social media facilitates people aggregation around shared beliefs, interests, worldviews and narratives. With lack of means to verify information, social media has been accused of becoming a hot bed for sharing of misinformation. Facebook, as one of the largest social networking services, has been facing widespread criticism on how its newsfeed algorithm is designed thus amplifying dissemination of misinformation. In late 2016, Facebook revealed plans to address fake news on Facebook newsfeeds. In this work, we study the methods Facebook has proposed to combat the spread of misinformation and compare it with our previously proposed approach called `Right-click Authenticate'. By analyzing the Business Process Modeling and Notation of both approaches, this paper suggests some key weaknesses and improvements social media companies need to consider when tackling the spread of misinformation online