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Super: Federal grant funds plan to detect “misinformation,” “hate speech” on social media
Hot Air ^ | August 25, 2014 | Mary Katharine Ham

Posted on 08/26/2014 6:25:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Well, this sounds interesting and probably sinister and open to manipulation:

The federal government is spending nearly $1 million to create an online database that will track “misinformation” and hate speech on Twitter.

The National Science Foundation is financing the creation of a web service that will monitor “suspicious memes” and what it considers “false and misleading ideas,” with a major focus on political activity online.

The “Truthy” database, created by researchers at Indiana University, is designed to “detect political smears, astroturfing, misinformation, and other social pollution.”

The university has received $919,917 so far for the project.

“The project stands to benefit both the research community and the public significantly,” the grant states. “Our data will be made available via [application programming interfaces] APIs and include information on meme propagation networks, statistical data, and relevant user and content features.”

“The open-source platform we develop will be made publicly available and will be extensible to ever more research areas as a greater preponderance of human activities are replicated online,” it continues. “Additionally, we will create a web service open to the public for monitoring trends, bursts, and suspicious memes.”

“This service could mitigate the diffusion of false and misleading ideas, detect hate speech and subversive propaganda, and assist in the preservation of open debate,” the grant said.

“Truthy,” which gets its name from Stephen Colbert, will catalog how information is spread on Twitter, including political campaigns.

I’m all in favor of data projects that give us a better understanding of how information spreads online, but I’d rather it not be publicly funded and therefore funneled through the very entity that might have a grand, political stake in, and the ability to prosecute or persecute, what amounts to “hate speech” or “misinformation.”

The best we can hope for, I’d imagine, is a bunch of slobbering media coverage of the suspiciously partisan conclusions of this study— “Right wingers create all misinformation, study shows.” We can pray for no legislation or legal action against those who violate the study’s conclusions.

We’ve been down this road before, only more blatantly directed straight from the White House, on Obamacare. Report your fishy neighbors!


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Conspiracy; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: astroturfing; attackwatch; colbert; fascism; indianau; indianauniversity; internet; obama; socialmedia; stasi; stephencolbert; surveillance; truthy; twitter
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1 posted on 08/26/2014 6:25:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Big brothers eyes (and ears) are getting bigger and bigger.


2 posted on 08/26/2014 6:27:38 PM PDT by doc1019
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I think we should start reporting all left-wing college professors, politicians and media people for subversion.


3 posted on 08/26/2014 6:29:03 PM PDT by Maceman
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

How many times has this administration tried this same gestapo tactic now? 5, 6?


4 posted on 08/26/2014 6:31:41 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("Moderates" are lying manipulative bottom feeding scum.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

What can I say? Nothing surprises me anymore.

After all the crap that Muslim racist bastard got away with in the past, why not just go for broke? He KNOWS McConnell and Boehner are pussycats.


5 posted on 08/26/2014 6:32:23 PM PDT by ZULU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qLDFiQcjlY Impeach Obama in 2015 !!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
See Something, Say Something:

Bammy's War on America has been quite effective.

6 posted on 08/26/2014 6:33:01 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Well, Poop!

Let’s get right to the bottom of this.

What letters of the alphabet are forbidden? Tell me now. I’ll work with the allowed ones.


7 posted on 08/26/2014 6:34:01 PM PDT by Scrambler Bob (/s /s /s /s /s, my replies are "liberally" sprinkled with them behind every word and letter.!)
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To: doc1019
doubleplusgood!!!!!

Orwell was simply 30 years wrong in his prediction....

8 posted on 08/26/2014 6:37:28 PM PDT by eeriegeno (<p>)
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To: eeriegeno

A government-funded leftwing version of TWITCHY


9 posted on 08/26/2014 6:38:01 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Hey National Science Foundation, how’s this for subversion?

LOWER YOUR TAXES AND GROCERY BILL - EAT SOCIALISTS!


10 posted on 08/26/2014 6:39:02 PM PDT by anonsquared
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The DNC’s greatest fear - a free press.

Control the border not the forums you muslim piece of crap.

“This is most closed, control-freak administration
I’ve ever covered.”

Not Fox news:

- David E Sanger New York Times on Staff Reporter has worked for the New York Times in Washington for two decades.


11 posted on 08/26/2014 6:40:22 PM PDT by NoLibZone (The bad news: Hillary Clinton will be the next President. The Good news: Our principles are intact.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Big Brother is watching!


12 posted on 08/26/2014 6:41:27 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The cure has become worse than the disease. Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Flag@WhiteHouse.gov

#ATTACKWATCH

#Fishy

#TeaPartyTracker

AttackWatch.com

.

.

Same kr@p, different flies...

.


13 posted on 08/26/2014 6:42:58 PM PDT by TLI ( ITINERIS IMPENDEO VALHALLA)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Stephen Colbert mocks Congress.

Colbert stays in character at congressional hearing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewPburLEZyY


14 posted on 08/26/2014 6:43:57 PM PDT by Zeneta (Thoughts in time and out of season.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Our gov is giving communists a bad name.


15 posted on 08/26/2014 6:47:35 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
You hear that America? That is the sound of inevitability


16 posted on 08/26/2014 6:48:38 PM PDT by capydick (''Life's tough.......it's even tougher if you're stupid.'')
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Censorship and tyranny are now “science”?!?!


17 posted on 08/26/2014 6:49:49 PM PDT by all the best
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: 2ndDivisionVet

What could possibly go wrong here?


19 posted on 08/26/2014 6:51:46 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (It's a shame nobama truly doesn't care about any of this. Our country, our future, he doesn't care)
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To: NoLibZone

Sanger huh? So we can figure that he is a big supporter of genocide for babies.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxNYTxxxxxxEVILxxxxxxxxx

Here ya go Indiana U.

Left-wing college professors should be terminated immediately.


20 posted on 08/26/2014 6:52:10 PM PDT by Rockpile
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