Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 16
Posts 1 - 10

Facebook ließ gezielte Werbung an "Judenhasser" zu

(Facebook allowed targeted advertising for "Jew Haters")

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 15.9.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | cyberbullying, diversity, Facebook, politics, threat
Summary | Facebook is one of the biggest advertising platforms world-wide. It lists target groups for advertisers to choose from. One of those groups used to be "Jew Haters". Facebook removed the target group saying that they will do a better job at curating users into appropriate target groups based on how they position themselves in their profiles.
Image Description | The Facebook logo on a computer screen with a mouse cursor over it.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, Facebook, hand(s), logo

SVP-Nationalrat Addor wegen Rassismus verurteilt

(SVP parlamentarian Addor sentenced because of racism)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 17.8.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | diversity, Facebook, law, politics, Twitter
Summary | National councillor Jean-Luc Addor (Schweizerische Volkspartei) was sentenced in court under the anti-racism law. After a fatal shooting in a Swiss mosque, he posted the following on Twitter and Facebook: "We want more of it!" The court decided that this post stripped Muslim residents and citizens of Switzerland of the right to live without any detectable sarcasm which is why he was found guilty of breaking the anti-racism law and will have to pay a hefty fine.
Image Description | Keystone image of Jean-Luc Addor.
Image Tags | male(s)

Was kriecht denn da aus dem Gehölz?

(What's crawling out of the woods there?)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 13.7.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | diversity, Facebook, law, politics
Summary | After Gina Miller, a business woman of color, sued the British government for implementing the Brexit without the Parliament's approval, a British aristocrat expressed his discontent with her on Facebook. More specifically, he offered a 2000£ reward for the first person to "accidentally" run Miller over with their car. He is now facing a prison sentence in court.
Image Description | N/A

I'm O.K. - You're Pure Evil

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 17.6.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, politics, threat, Twitter
Summary | Social media has made the political discourse cruder. In order to be heard in the millions of users one needs to provoke in just 140 characters. This is a threat to democracy because violent statements about people in office have become the norm because it is appropriate on social media. But now even serious news outlets begin using similar language that does not help a healthy political discussion.
Image Description | Illustration of facial features with mouse cursor arrows.

Facebook Will Use Artificial Intelligence to Uncover Extremist Posts

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 15.6.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, censorship, Facebook, politics, threat
Summary | Facebook has been urged by both users and politicians to do more to combat extremist content on their platform. It is Facebook's responsibility to monitor the content they allow so as not to provide a safe space for extremists. Facebook has announced that they plan to employ artificial intelligence to help them flag extremist content.
Image Description | An image of a man and blurry silhouettes standing under a Facebook logo.
Image Tags | Facebook, female(s), logo, male(s)

In Europe’s Election Season, Tech Vies to Fight Fake News

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Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 1.5.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | computer programming, Facebook, fake news, Google, law, politics
Summary | In light of recent elections, many people are eager to combat misinformation online. Major tech companies like Facebook and Google are being pressured to purdue solutions to stop the spread of fake news on their platforms. Germany even demands fines from Facebook for not complying with federal laws targeted at keeping hate speech and fake news controled. Competitions with rewards of several thousand dollars are asking for programmers to come up with fact-checking software which can weed out false news.
Image Description | Image of a computer programmer working on solutions to flag fake news and a Reuters image of election posters from France.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)

Zuckerbergs Eine-Welt-Laden

(Zuckerberg's one-world-shop)

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Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 21.2.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | Facebook, politics, WhatsApp
Summary | Zuckerberg has written an open letter stating that he wants to create a world community on Facebook with their 2 bio users. Although he does not state it explicitly, it reads as an anti-nationalism manifesto. Facebook plays an important role in politics and so does WhatsApp. Some villages in Kenya have WhatsApp groups including all citizens as well as the politicians.
Image Description | Finger pointing at portraits of women.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s)

So gewaltig wie die Erfindung der Schrift

(As huge as the invention of writing)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 21.6.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | (mental) health, artificial intelligence, cyberbullying, Facebook, law, marketing, politics, threat
Summary | The digitalization is the most significant development of our time. Created for the democratization of information, it can however also be used for the opposite. The Chinese government are already using the internet as a means to survey their citizens and assess their loyalty. Artificial intelligence technologies are in place to calculate the shortest way to your destination, predict crimes, predict illnesses and cancer risks, as well as what book you will buy next. Amazon sends customers unsolicited products because the loss of having to return the product by mail is smaller than the profit of the customer keeping the well suggested item. Facebook has been created to connect people within a community but the platform cannot battle the hate language and cyberbullying to the extent that it influences presidential elections.
Image Description | Heisenberg media image of the author at a public speaking event with another man.
Image Tags | male(s)

Les adieux «giscardiens» d’Oskar Freysinger sur Facebook

(Oskar Freysinger's "Giscardian" farewell on Facebook)

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Newspaper | Le Temps
Date | 25.3.2017
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, politics, video communication
Summary | Oskar Freysinger chose to announce the end of his political career on Facebook.
Image Description | Portrait of Oscar Freysinger

Germany threatens to fine social media companies €50m for hate speech and fake news

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Newspaper | Telegraph
Date | 14.3.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | Facebook, fake news, law, politics
Summary | Germany is threatening to sue Facebook should it not do something against abuse and fake news on its platform. Germany has very strong defamation laws so Facebook needs to regulate its content if they want to stay in Germany. A new mechanism to flag fake news has been developed.
Image Description | Reuters image of many Facebook logos under a magnifying glass and a portrait of Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas.
Image Tags | Facebook, hand(s), logo, male(s)

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