Mid-semester Break Research Summaries

Links and resources from the mid-semester break that I've looked into:

Facebooks-fake-news-detector-and-the-myth-of-technology-as-savior

Things to be careful of when thinking about how to approach this topic, and when educating people on how to respond to fake news. If I choose to address this issue in the form of satire, at what point does my method become a form of fake news itself?

"Indeed, it is even more remarkable that if one steps back and looks at the system Facebook has announced, it is strikingly similar to the system used in many repressive governments. China, for example, operates a very similar ultimate arbitration system in which a small set of elites determine what is “truth” and what is acceptable for society to consume. Similarly, the line between “fake news” and “true news” can often come down to the government’s word versus that of its citizens, especially as one looks beyond the United States to explore the global perspective. What happens when the Thai government demands that all reporting worldwide that criticises its government be declared as "fake news" and removed from Facebook? In between maliciously false news on the one side and satirical entertainment on the other lies a million shades of grey, where “truth” is in the eye of the beholder. Even flagging news as “fake” might actually encourage its spread, by becoming a badge of honour."

Fake-think-tanks-fuel-fake-news-presidents-tweets

Forms of fake news seen on the media today tend to stem from two main types of twisting the truth to fit a lie; repurposing, and reconstructing.

"Most of these organisations aren’t doing their own studies, but repurposing others’ work. For some, it’s cherry-picking the most convenient data points. “The anti-vaxxer movement bases its claims largely on a single, discredited and retracted paper,” Pigliucci says, “And simply ignores dozens upon dozens of scientific papers that don’t fit their preferred narrative.” Others comb through many papers to construct a new narrative." (Grey Ellis, E. 2017) 

The-reality-of-the-fake

The website https://worksthatwork.com/ has articles of innovative design ideas being applied to the world, and how they make a difference in new ways. This one focusses on

Antidote-fake-news-ppe-degree

This Guardian article calls for university education as a way to combat fake news. I wonder how these ideas can be easily expressed and taught to people who have not attended universities, or to remind those who have become lazy or forgotten to check the news for facts.

"And this is where we can at least hope for progress. Social media has become a world of bilious reaction to undigested information. It needs an antidote. Any university education – and not just PPE – when it goes well, combats lazy and destructive patterns of thought. Part of a critical education is to be able to understand the logical and causal relations between different ideas: when they conflict, when they support each other and when they are unrelated. It is also to look for and evaluate arguments or evidence for or against each position. These are the skills that PPE can enhance. Students, if well-schooled, learn that saying something doesn’t make it true." (Wolff, J. 2017)

http://www.nosepeg.com/en 

A tongue-in-cheek spoof website inviting politicians to 'buy a peg' for their nose so that they can 'block the smell of war crimes' around the world. It features various politicians and world leaders who have neglected important humanitarian issues around the world praising this 'wearable peg' for allowing them to ignore these problems.

The site makes a mockery of neglectful European leaders who have ignored the goings-on in Syria, highlighting the issues in a pledge for people to sign a Take Action campaign. Produced by The Syria Campaign (https://thesyriacampaign.org/), it incorporates humour and poking fun at people with real causes that we can get behind. This exactly meets where I want to go with my project - a cross between Experience Design and playfulness, tackling a serious issue.

People can download their own posters to spread the word, and customise them with prominent political figures. The immersive experience of posters, a website, and a video campaign lead to the final outcome: sign the petition to stop trade deals with leaders doing war crimes.

How-game-theory-relates-to-airline-booking

The recent United Airlines uproar, in which a man was dragged bleeding from an aeroplane after refusing to give up his seat, highlights the issue that overbooked flights have to tackle - "how to entice people to give up their seats voluntarily."
In this article, game theorists suggest ways to turn the problem into a fun element of flying, making the problem into an enjoyable part of the journey, and an asset to the airline.

"Yeah, this is exactly a game theory-type problem," says Joshua Gans, a professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto. "The airline wants some people off the plane; every single person on the plane wants to stay on absent anything else changing."

This is the main challenge of the game - the tension that makes it work, and rewarding to solve. The game theorists had a few rules, all that would be needed to flip the problem.

"Don't let passengers board the plane and then take their seats away. And if you do, offer them a lot more money. "You tend to value something more once you have it," says Kevin Zollman, a philosophy professor at Carnegie Mellon who studies game theory."

Offering a deal before the person has received anything makes them more likely to listen and respond to negotiation. Once they feel in ownership of something, it is much harder to get/buy/coerce it off them.

"Don't make the offer in such a public way, ...nobody wants to be a sucker. "They make this big announcement where they say, 'Would anybody be willing to give up your seat for $400?' " He says the problem with that is that "humans are really sensitive to being suckers." Zollman says some people would be willing to give up their seat for a $400 ticket voucher. But, he says, "everyone looks around and everyone sees, well, nobody else is doing it, so I must be a sucker if I do it, so I'm not going to do it either.""

Announcing choices in a more private way makes people more likely to accept an offer, because they won't feel judged by those around them.

"Make better use of technology and start with a big offer (of money). He says by getting people engaged in the process and active from the beginning, "that would go a long way to getting people to feel like now it's a competition or a game." He says it would likely result in the airlines getting more volunteers and fewer people involuntarily bumped from flights."

Engaging people in a process where each time more people say 'yes, kick me off a flight for [this many dollars]', the prize money goes down, and people feel like they're bidding. This also lets the airline know who isn't in a hurry to fly and won't be as put out if they are moved to a later flight.

"Use the information you get from the game to make better choices about who you bump off a flight."

This keeps the customers happy, and ensures less of an uproar when someone needs to be shifted.

More With Less - Kevin M. Cahill

Wikipedia-founder-jimmy-wales-to-fight-fake-news-with-new-wikitribune-site

Wikipedia plans to launch a new public-run news site editable by anyone but run by journalists to combat fake news and build a reputable, fact-checked, open and unbiased space for people to learn about current events. By designing a media platform with a unique and open standpoint in the increasingly murky field of journalism, they will be able to reach, educate and retain audiences interested in truthful news.

“This will be the first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side-by-side as equals writing stories as they happen, editing them live as they develop, and at all times backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts.” (J. Wales, 2017)

The website will follow the current trends of brand transparency and user collaboration to maintain a trustworthy front. It is crucial to the site's success and reputation that they don't provide clickbait articles and always tell the unbiased truth. The whole project hinges on it.

"...the contents of the articles are always supported by as much extra information shared with the readers as possible. They will be backed up by a presumption of transparency in the site’s reporting, with journalists sharing full transcripts, video and audio of interviews." (J. Wales, 2017)

Bibliography (read, but too unrelated for my project) 

• https://www.wired.com/2016/07/heres-know-russia-dnc-hack/, on Russia's supposed interference with the US elections
• https://medium.com/@sexandstartups/zebrasfix-c467e55f9d96, on building transparent companies