In today’s world, the truth is losing; Washington Post, 11/29/16

David Ignatius, Washington Post; In today’s world, the truth is losing:

"How should citizens who want a fact-based world combat this assault on truth? Stengel has approved State Department programs that teach investigative reporting and empower truth-tellers, but he’s right that this isn’t really a job for Uncle Sam.

The best hope may be the global companies that have created the social-media platforms. “They see this information war as an existential threat,” says Stengel. The tech companies have made a start: He says Twitter has removed more than 400,000 accounts, and YouTube daily deletes extremist videos.

The real challenge for global tech giants is to restore the currency of truth. Perhaps “machine learning” can identify falsehoods and expose every argument that uses them. Perhaps someday, a human-machine process will create what Stengel describes as a “global ombudsman for information.”"

Twitter Beats Back Lawsuit Over Killing of U.S. Contractors by ISIS; Inside Counsel, 11/28/16

Ross Todd, Inside Counsel; Twitter Beats Back Lawsuit Over Killing of U.S. Contractors by ISIS:

"In a ruling that should bolster a law giving social-media companies broad immunity from liability for user-generated content, Twitter Inc. on Friday beat back a lawsuit from families of two American contractors killed in an attack in Jordan inspired by the Islamic State group.

The decision from U.S. District Judge William Orrick III highlights the difficulty plaintiffs face when trying to hold social-media companies liable for allegedly providing material support to terrorists...

In a blog post on the decision published Monday, Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, wrote that the decision bodes well for companies such as Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. that have faced a recent uptick in claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act raising allegations that they provided material support for terrorists."

Google to point extremist searches towards anti-radicalisation websites; Guardian, 2/2/16

Ben Quinn, Guardian; Google to point extremist searches towards anti-radicalisation websites:

"Users of Google who put extremist-related entries into the search engine are to be shown anti-radicalisation links under a pilot programme, MPs have been told by an executive for the company. The initiative, aimed at countering the online influence of groups such as Islamic State, is running alongside another pilot scheme designed to make counter-radicalisation videos easier to find.

The schemes were mentioned by Anthony House, senior manager for public policy and communications at Google, who was appearing alongside counterparts from Twitter and Facebook at a home affairs select committee hearing on countering extremism. “We should get the bad stuff down, but it’s also extremely important that people are able to find good information, that when people are feeling isolated, that when they go online, they find a community of hope, not a community of harm,” he said."