I rarely post about Musk & #Twitter, but I am currently writing a dissertation related to the spread of misinformation.
This is not true. 
Since some folks are interested in my research, you can keep up with literature I’ve been reading & related stories on my substack: https://sheril.substack.com/p/do-facts-matter
The manuscripts won’t be out for some time, but here’s a bit more on the motivation behind my dissertation: https://open.substack.com/pub/sheril/p/a-dissertation-on-democracy?utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web /2
@Sheril Wasn't there just a study that showed that misinformation spreads 3 times faster on Twitter than the truth?
@Tweetfiction @Sheril Not sure but it sounds true. It's just seems to be the way of the world. Even within more truthful press the more disingenuous headlines receive more attention.
@GungJoe Bullshit spreads 3x faster than truth.. which implies there are a ton of
@GungJoe @Tweetfiction @Sheril
From the Portland (Maine) Gazette, September 5, 1820: "Falsehood will fly from Maine to Georgia, while truth is pulling her boots on."
Or as Jonathan Swift explained perfectly in The Examiner in 1710:
"Few lies carry the inventor’s mark, and the most prostitute enemy to truth, may spread a thousand without being known for the author: besides, as the vilest writer has his readers, so the greatest liar has his believers: and it often happens, that if a lie be believed only for an hour, it has done its work, and there is no farther occasion for it. Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it; so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale has had its effect: like a man, who has thought of a good repartee, when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who has found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead."
(Both found here: https://interestingliterature.com/2021/06/lie-halfway-round-world-before-truth-boots-on-quote-origin-meaning/ )
@Sheril Elon here is doing the old trick of providing a wrong answer and waiting to receive the correct answer in the comments, rather than asking the question 
@marcorobotics @Sheril That would be a better idea if he listened to right answers.
"the more we see something repeated, the more likely we are to believe it to be true.”
Thread about the “Illusory Truth Effect” and why it is so important NOT to repeat lies on social media (or elsewhere), even with the intention of debunking them.
That is a multidimensional post!
@Sheril Oh man you need to read this thread: https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1636729250840543233
@Sheril B...b...but Musk thinks he knows it all, so he is always right and others who disagree with him always wrong ... What was that syndrome called again?
@Sheril btw, have you seen takes by the SGU people? I kinda feel like the overall approach of the skeptics community is similar to the quoted tweet by the narcissistic man-child.
@Sheril In a weird twist of events, you responded with accurate information.
@matejpp But will it undo the damage of the misinformation? No.
That’s exactly the point. Once the misinformation cat is out the of the bag, it’s very hard to stop. You can spew rivers of lies and people are left scrambling trying to deal with all of them, transparent as they may be to most.
@andrewharvey You're right. I was just amused with my observation, that's all.
@Sheril He's a very stupid man who refuses to learn about subjects.
@Sheril Best of luck. I am known to ridicule disinformation with even more outlandish claims 
Here a post to cheer you up while you work:
@Sheril But if Elon says it, it must be so.
@Sheril thanks for this important work! Misinformation and disinformation are major challenges of our time.
@Sheril lol the way his tweet is misinformation 
@Sheril it sure isn’t. The data shows very clearly that the misinformation sticks and the correction is ignored.
Not to play down your research (and it's important to research things even if they seem obvious) but I think it ought to be ... obvious that these have different impacts.
Scenario 1
Some Rando: "I was abducted by aliens."
Trusted Source: "There is no evidence to support this and it's likely false."
Scenario 2
** nothing **
In which are we now debating the aliens, however unlikely?
@Sheril Agreed - Elon is NOT a Friend to Democracy
@Sheril
If you wanna make the unwoke fascists f*ck off, allowing themselves to be eaten by wolves and censorship of their dullard rhetoric is your #1 candidate.
@Sheril Just followed as I’m interesting in reading your findings on such an important issue of our time. Thanks.
@Sheril gas lighting the truth out of existence by mudding the waters never is.
Ethically speaking, his statement is correct.
However most people don't really want the truth, they just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
I mean a NAZI for example will listen how he/she is special before sparing a second to listen why Humans are all the same s*.
@Sheril As much as I am repulsed by this man and his actions, I tend to agree with his assertion here.
Censorship of *opinions* (as opposed to calls for violence, etc) is unconstitutional in many parts of the world.
So from a legal standpoint, the only way to deal with misinformation is information. Accurate, unbiased reporting of facts—not opinions—from reputed sources.
I’d like to read your dissertation, if you could kindly link it here.
@ankitpati @Sheril the man is a useless asshole. He suspended me for accusing his father of grooming. He doesn’t believe any of this shit
Which works of Reichsminister für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda und Präsident der Reichskulturkammer Josef Goebbels are you covering apart from the Sportpalast speech?
You are probably using "The Official German Report
Nazi Penetration, 1924-1942, Oetje John Rogge (1961)? - A personal copy is hard to come by.
Are you using other materials to cover the biggest disinformation campaign in US history of George Sylvester Viereck? (well maybe #TFG's tweets and press releases, which had...
...global reach, whereas Viereck's campaign targeted only US citizens. ;))
How about the global anti-vaxxer movement (e.g. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48585036) - I read during the beginning of the pandemic that the "scientific proof" could apparently be traced back to just half a dozen (or so) articles.
A critical topic of real value.
Thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts and observations regarding whether facts matter. From your article, I understand that information processing by our minds is influenced by goals, emotions, preexisting beliefs and culture. Our inferences will not change just based on raw facts.
What can change our informed decision making process? From my personal experience I see that facts or apparent facts driven by extreme external circumstances (e.g. business, finance etc.) and deep rooted emotional triggers can challenge our preexisting beliefs and modify our information channels. It seems that changing our bias and worldview doesn’t necessarily mean changing our belief about something. We will always continue to believe what we think is right for us.
As aptly mentioned here, the goal is not to change our belief but to create space for other people to have different perspectives. It is essential that we listen actively, ask questions respectfully, acknowledge differences without judgment or blame, and seek common ground wherever possible.
#Facts #Mind #Harmony #Perspectives #Respect
cc: @srijit
@Sheril "In the same way bad money drives out good, misinformation drives out information... Unless information is stabilized by a strong evaluative filter, such as science, with its controlled experiments and repeatable results, it gets swamped by simpler, stabler misinformation. If the people who design and run the Web don’t develop reliable ways to evaluate and stabilize information, the Internet may become the agent of social chaos." Samuel Delany, The Village Voice, 1999
@angst_ridden No one "runs" the Web. I get the sentiment, but this comment comes across as, "Won't mommy and daddy fix this?" No, they won't. They can't. It's up to US to fix it, ourselves.
@Sheril This is even presuming the truthfulness of a claim is relevant. How little does one need to know of Machiavelli to think that’s always true? Even Republican Nicolò isn’t like that in the Discourses.
@Sheril his argument is basically "good guy with a gun"
Basically go with the opposite of what musk, trump or boris johnson say - that's almost scientifically going to be the truth
@Sheril
Shorter Elon
We can't be bothered fighting misinformation, so we will just leave it up to others.
@Sheril the best way to stigmatize misinformation online is to have the credibility of people graded by a large & very pedantic institution. It sounds dystopian, & I wouldn't want a government doing it, but some organization of intellectuals or journalists that on every website, on every publishing individual, a credibility score that can be looked up, maybe people subscribe to it to publish their score. Too much? AI is coming & needs to know credibility when gathering sources.
@Sheril Exactly. Whenever our brains get a piece of info, it becomes familiar to us. So even if it is reported as a lie, the statement is still familiar to us if we hear it again. We tend to forget the label… very insidious. Propagandists know this. It is a standard tactic which also brings doubt to any real facts.
@Sheril Misinformation can be custom-tailored to be exactly what people want to hear or read or see. Accurate information can't. (But I'm probably telling you something you already know.)
@Sheril Naturally, when owning a social media platform, inviting misinformation in and letting many others try to fight that fast-typed misinformation with hard-collected facts equals the sought engagement, not caring if good or bad.
No wonder Elon sits next to Rupert during some sports event, it is them sharing a hobby and trading ideas.
@Sheril Indeed people often believe what they 1st read & what is closest to their current outlook.
Clemens/Twain: Lies are around the world before truth gets it books on.
Ancient Greeks understood too. Free speech isn't allowing criminals to publish lies. Musk doesn't understand censorship vs public protection. Not a genius, just lucky, and has spread much misinformation. Not libel because it's true.
@Sheril So, uhm, recently he posted the following "gem":
"In the months ahead, we will use AI to detect & highlight manipulation of public opinion on this platform."
@Sheril was probably true in the 18th century when Jefferson or someone said it and the media landscape was completely different. Kinda ironic that libertarian tech bros are essentially advocating that we run the world on out of date software.
@Sheril Interested in reading your dissertation when it is done.
@Sheril
Nobody cares.
@Sheril Yes, there's just one or very limited amount of accurate but unlimited inaccurate information.
He fails on basic math, I'd say.
@Sheril Well, Musk long ago conquered the fear of being wrong.
@Sheril @John_G_R_Wilson
I have a personal bias against the very word ‘misinformation’, as it is just a coverup for blatant LIES.
@Sheril he’s 100 percent trolling with that post. And doing it badly.
