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https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl/>
"Helsinki, Finland (
CNN) – On a recent afternoon in Helsinki, a group of
students gathered to hear a lecture on a subject that is far from a staple in
most community college curriculums.
Standing in front of the classroom at Espoo Adult Education Centre, Jussi
Toivanen worked his way through his PowerPoint presentation. A slide titled
“Have you been hit by the Russian troll army?” included a checklist of methods
used to deceive readers on social media: image and video manipulations,
half-truths, intimidation and false profiles.
Another slide, featuring a diagram of a Twitter profile page, explained how to
identify bots: look for stock photos, assess the volume of posts per day, check
for inconsistent translations and a lack of personal information.
The lesson wrapped with a popular “deepfake” — highly realistic manipulated
video or audio — of Barack Obama to highlight the challenges of the information
war ahead.
The course is part of an anti-fake news initiative launched by Finland’s
government in 2014 – two years before Russia meddled in the US elections –
aimed at teaching residents, students, journalists and politicians how to
counter false information designed to sow division.
The initiative is just one layer of a multi-pronged, cross-sector approach the
country is taking to prepare citizens of all ages for the complex digital
landscape of today – and tomorrow. The Nordic country, which shares an 832-mile
border with Russia, is acutely aware of what’s at stake if it doesn’t."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
