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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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To: 2ndDivisionVet

These bass turds can start with the White House website. When they get done there, they can head on over to the ObamaCare website.


21 posted on 08/26/2014 6:57:04 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (America is not a refugee camp! It's my home!)
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To: Maceman
I think we should start reporting all left-wing college professors, politicians and media people for subversion.

Ha! Good luck with that. Only those who have not sworn allegiance to Marx, Lenin and Obama will be tracked in this particular database. You know, continuing the work the IRS started.

22 posted on 08/26/2014 6:57:48 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("A man should be prepared to be sufficient unto himself...")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Nazis would have loved this.


23 posted on 08/26/2014 6:58:02 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (America is not a refugee camp! It's my home!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

In the 1930’s the Nazi government in Germany and the Communist government in Russia had laws to stop this kind of “SPEECH”. Now, what will these gnomes in Washington do, if they should determine some kind of speech on the computer? Will they shut the offender down? Yep, no more computer for you. Or will they, eventually put all of these offenders in the “GULAG” like the Soviet Russians or “CONCENTRATION CAMP” like the Germans. Yep, these liberals, socialists and communists like to quote the constitution, when ever they make a speech, but God help the poor bastard that is a “CONSERVATIVE” when he is accused of making a “HATE SPEECH”, like saying something against OBAMA.


24 posted on 08/26/2014 7:01:04 PM PDT by gingerbread
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Our only hope is to overload the system with Youtube cat videos.


25 posted on 08/26/2014 7:02:19 PM PDT by Junk Silver
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; Maceman
Start with the WH's website!

grrr....

26 posted on 08/26/2014 7:02:44 PM PDT by 4Liberty (Prejudice and unfair generalizations: that's how Collectivists roll...........)
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To: all the best

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


It gets better.

Not only is it science, it’s “settled science”.

There are a boat load of bearded pony tailed pot bellied tie died pipe smoking elbow patched prius driving self aggrandized Profs and their sycophant zombie wanna be utopian architects that will line up for the MONEY !!!


27 posted on 08/26/2014 7:03:43 PM PDT by Zeneta (Thoughts in time and out of season.)
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To: TLI; 2ndDivisionVet; Blood of Tyrants; cripplecreek

28 posted on 08/26/2014 7:09:58 PM PDT by 4Liberty (Prejudice and generalizations. That's how Collectivists roll......)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Attack Watch!


29 posted on 08/26/2014 7:14:59 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: Junk Silver

Exactly, dump as much rediculous garbage in their faces as possible. The reactive nature is stupid enough.


30 posted on 08/26/2014 7:15:09 PM PDT by Morpheus2009
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To: cripplecreek

“see a rumor..report a rumor”

Obama sucks raw eggs!


31 posted on 08/26/2014 7:15:32 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( "Never, never, never give up". Winston Churchill ...)
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Comment #32 Removed by Moderator

To: cripplecreek

For Babylon 5 fans thus was created the Ministry of Truth. The night watch to follow.?


33 posted on 08/26/2014 7:20:24 PM PDT by Bidimus1
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To: cripplecreek

Im glad no ones recorded a barry and Reggie Love Ballad...


34 posted on 08/26/2014 7:21:51 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( "Never, never, never give up". Winston Churchill ...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Nazis.
Hitler.

(There was an article last week that said free and unfettered interweb communication can lead someone to comment that this regime is comparable to Hilter and Nazis. Danged if they weren’t right!)


35 posted on 08/26/2014 7:22:24 PM PDT by TheConservativeParty (tagline closed due to tyranny)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
“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 last clause contradicts the first two. Who is going to determine what constitutes "hate speech" and "subversive propaganda"? We've seen how libs define these terms to stigmatize virtually all conservative political comment. "Bush lied, people died" = legitimate comment. "I oppose Obamacare" = racist hate speech. "Impeach Bush!" = patriotism. "Impeach Obama!" = treason.
36 posted on 08/26/2014 7:24:24 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
That's so gay.

37 posted on 08/26/2014 7:24:51 PM PDT by Citizen Zed ("Freedom costs a buck o five" - Gary Johnston, TAWP)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
" . . . is designed to “detect political smears, astroturfing, misinformation, and other social pollution.”

The phrase "social pollution" jumps out. Conservatives typically regard "social pollution" as obscene and vulgar entertainment, or lifestyles revolving around crime and drugs and social irresponsibility. But you can be sure that is NOT what these libs mean by the phrase. I suspect that, for them, "social pollution" means any disagreement with THEIR point of view on virtually anything.
38 posted on 08/26/2014 7:30:04 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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FReepers, Let's go!
Everyone needs to donate!



39 posted on 08/26/2014 7:30:05 PM PDT by RedMDer (May we always be happy and may our enemies always know it. - Sarah Palin, 10-18-2010)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

After it has been ‘detected,’ then what? Warrants? Public floggings in the town square?


40 posted on 08/26/2014 7:41:52 PM PDT by upchuck (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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