Disinformation

A study released Sunday by The Global Disinformation Index, a UK nonprofit that rates sites’ trustworthiness, found that 70% of roughly 1,700 disinformation sites it analyzed were getting so-called “programmatic ads” — ads placed automatically — from Google, putting brand names such as Audi and Sprint next to junk content.

This is what we're up against

Bad actors spreading disinformation online to fuel intolerance.

Teams of lawyers from the rich and powerful trying to stop us publishing stories they don’t want you to see.

Lobby groups with opaque funding who are determined to undermine facts about the climate emergency and other established science.

Authoritarian... See more

Dive Brief:

• Ads that appear near negative content cause a 2.8 times decrease in consumer intent to associate with the brands, according to “The Brand Safety Effect,” a new media trial study by brand safety company CHEQ, IPG Mediabrands, BMW, Magna and a leading online entertainment platform.


• Two-thirds of consumers who expressed a high purchase

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Tell me in two minutes

The cross-roads between AI and online safety present two major societal risks:

1. the generation of ‘deepfakes’ and abusive content


2. the proliferation of false information.

These risks derive from generative AI ( GenAI ) - and they are more dangerous and damaging than the long-known risks from traditional AI. GenAI can make... See more

Sophisticated fake news attacks targeting financial markets have become increasingly common. In 2016, fraudsters created an exact replica of a reputable news site and published false allegations about French construction giant Vinci SA's accounting practices. The result was immediate—a staggering 18% drop in the company's share price, erasing 6... See more

eventy-five percent of companies report being exposed to brand safety issues, but only 26% have taken some kind of action, and 15% haven’t adjusted their strategies at all, according to research by GumGum and Custom. Another study by Sizmek found that four in 10 brands report delivering ads on unsafe websites, but 64% find it tough to implement an... See more

Disinformation aims to confuse, paralyse and polarise society at large for political, military, or commercial purposes through orchestrated campaigns to strategically spread deceptive or manipulative media content. On social media, disinformation tools include bots, deep fakes, fake news and conspiracy theories.