Lego Beowulf and the Web of Hands and Hearts, for the Danish national museum ...
The Web We Want: Dealing with the dark side of social media (work in progress)
1. The Web We Want
Or, Dealing with the Dark Side of Social Media
Michael Peter Edson | @mpedson
Let’s Get Real conference, London
2 March 2020
Work In Progress
3. Framing questions
Are we compromising the safety of our audiences if we invite them to engage
with us on 3rd party social media?
● Are we complicit?
● Do we have an obligation to protect our audiences?
● Do we have an obligation to protect/shepherd technology platforms
(Internet, web, mobile, etc)?
Hypothesis:
I say yes, we have an obligation here. There are few perfect choices in front of us,
but consequential short-term action is possible, and necessary, to mitigate the
harms and establish clearer paths forward for ourselves and our communities.
4. I have a new scar on my face from some
recent surgery, so I’ve been thinking
about knots and surgeons,
Knowledge and practice…
6. https://www.ted.com/talks/ed_gavagan_a_story_about_knots_and_surgeons/transcript?language=en
“So he starts to tell them, and he's like, ’No, this is
very important here. You know, when you're
needing these knots, it's going to be, you know,
everything's going to be happening at the same
time, it's going to be -- you're going to have all this
information coming at you, there's going to be
organs getting in the way, it's going to be
slippery, and it's just very important that you be
able to do these beyond second nature, each hand,
left hand, right hand, you have to be able to do
them without seeing your fingers.’”
7. https://www.ted.com/talks/ed_gavagan_a_story_about_knots_and_surgeons/transcript?language=en
“So he starts to tell them, and he's like, ’No, this is
very important here. You know, when you're
needing these knots, it's going to be, you know,
everything's going to be happening at the same
time, it's going to be -- you're going to have all this
information coming at you, there's going to be
organs getting in the way, it's going to be
slippery, and it's just very important that you be
able to do these beyond second nature, each hand,
left hand, right hand, you have to be able to do
them without seeing your fingers.’”
Practice and skill —
professionalism — matter
in every profession.
And so does luck.
“Chance favors the
prepared mind” (more on
that later)
18. • 1994: Unix Wizard Web
• 2000: The web of HTML (and CSS)
• 2004: The dynamic web (Separate content and design. Coldfusion!)
• 2006: Ajax
• 2010: The web as an application that you program
• 2011: The web as a platform (Drupal! LAMP!)
• 2011: Mobile
• 3rd party Social Media
• The corporate walled garden (“The Frightful Five” — F. Manjoo)
• ...Next?! The splinternet? Skynet? The Web We Want?
Each jump required
different skills. New
people came, (some)
existing people left.
19. • 1994: Unix Wizard Web
• 2000: The web of HTML (and CSS)
• 2004: The dynamic web (Separate content and design. Coldfusion!)
• 2006: Ajax
• 2010: The web as an application that you program
• 2011: The web as a platform (Drupal! LAMP!)
• 2011: Mobile
• 3rd party Social Media
• The corporate walled garden (“The Frightful Five” — F. Manjoo)
• ...Next?! The splinternet? Skynet? The Web We Want?
Also, somewhere in
here… “executives”
started to buy in, hire
staff.
20. • 1994: Unix Wizard Web
• 2000: The web of HTML (and CSS)
• 2004: The dynamic web (Separate content and design. Coldfusion!)
• 2006: Ajax
• 2010: The web as an application that you program
• 2011: The web as a platform (Drupal! LAMP!)
• 2011: Mobile
• 3rd party Social Media
• The corporate walled garden (“The Frightful Five” — F. Manjoo)
• ...Next?! The splinternet? Skynet? The Web We Want?
Also, somewhere in
here… “executives”
started to buy in, hire
staff.
The tech was more
recognizable to them
(because they used it
too), and the people,
employees, were more
recognizable (less
technical, more social)
21. (Our s**t has changed)
And a lot has changed
very recently, exactly in
the epicenter of our
current, most important
skillset: community and
the social web.
…Therefore, we need to know
what’s going on (Anil Dash)
and we need a new set of
sensibilities, knowledge and
skills. We’ve got to get *good*
at this (like Ed Gavagan’s
surgeons.)
23. Book Research / UN Live / Partner stories
(Through personal experience,
making the case for the impact
of “the dark side” on our
institutions and the public)
25. Book Research
Over 2,000 articles reviewed in 2019
About 1,000 pages of notes
Re-living a descent into hell…
26. The Dark Side emerges
“Nutsville”, 2012-2019, from the Sony Hack to
Cambridge Analytica to election interference
2000’s: Worms and viruses
2013: Snowden
2014: Sony Pictures Hack
2016: Election interference
2017–2018: Elections, bots, Facebook, YouTube
(recommendations, conspiracy theorists…)
2018: Cambridge Analytica
29. Some of what’s screwed in our Social Media environment
1. Aggressive manipulation of civic messages by 3rd parties
Example: Russia in US elections; YouTube and Brazilian elections; Facebook & Indian elections
2. Aggressive promotion of incendiary content; conspiracy theories
Example: Anti-vaccination content
3. Predatory advertising to the vulnerable
Example: Offer payday loans to the financially vulnerable
4. Targeted advertising designed to exclude people
Example: hiding apartment rentals from minority populations; hiding elections information from those likely
to vote for a political opponent
5. Undermining regulatory scrutiny
Example: ensure lawmakers/regulators don’t get illegal ads/messages/products; real example = Uber’s
“operation greyball”
6. Undermining legitimate groups
Example: fake accounts undermine legitimate First Nations groups
7. Tolerating hate speech and harassment — Example: Twitter bots and harassment
8. Wanton disregard of viral, but destructive, content — Example: YouTube’s recommendation engine
9. Data collection, aggregation, and sale — Example: Adtech brokering
10. Anti-democratic behavior — Example: everything
30. Some of what’s screwed in our Social Media environment
1. Aggressive manipulation of civic messages by 3rd parties
Example: Russia in US elections; YouTube and Brazilian elections; Facebook & Indian elections
2. Aggressive promotion of incendiary content; conspiracy theories
Example: Anti-vaccination content
3. Predatory advertising to the vulnerable
Example: Offer payday loans to the financially vulnerable
4. Targeted advertising designed to exclude people
Example: hiding apartment rentals from minority populations; hiding elections information from those likely
to vote for a political opponent
5. Undermining regulatory scrutiny
Example: ensure lawmakers/regulators don’t get illegal ads/messages/products; real example = Uber’s
“operation greyball”
6. Undermining legitimate groups
Example: fake accounts undermine legitimate First Nations groups
7. Tolerating hate speech and harassment — Example: Twitter bots and harassment
8. Wanton disregard of viral, but destructive, content — Example: YouTube’s recommendation engine
9. Data collection, aggregation, and sale — Example: Adtech brokering
10. Anti-democratic behavior — Example: everything
Drawn from my own thinking,
and, 6 ways social media has
become a direct threat to
democracy By Pierre Omidyar;
“information fiduciaries” by J.
Zittrain; Jason Koebler, Zeynep
Tufekci,
33. 1. Aggressive manipulation of civic messages by 3rd parties
Examples: Russia in US elections
YouTube and Brazilian elections
Facebook & Indian elections
35. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/opinion/india-pakistan-news.html
The internet truly is super-duper fake, and thanks to the malleability of digital
media and the jet fuel of network virality, a digital lie can spread more quickly, and
cause more damage, than an analog one. […]
In India, Pakistan and everywhere else, addressing digital mendacity will require a
complete social overhaul. … The information war is a forever war. We’re just getting
started.
38. “This isn’t the first time real-
life violence has followed a
viral Facebook storm and it
certainly won’t be the last.
Much has already been
written about the anti-
Muslim Facebook riots in
Myanmar and Sri Lanka and
the WhatsApp lynchings in
Brazil and India. Well, the
same process is happening in
Europe now, on a massive
scale. Here’s how Facebook
tore France apart.”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/france-paris-yellow-jackets-facebook
41. 3. Predatory advertising to the vulnerable
Example: Offer payday loans to the financially vulnerable
4. Targeted advertising designed to exclude
people
Example: hiding apartment rentals from minority populations; hiding
elections information from those likely to vote for a political opponent
These 2 are mostly from
“information fiduciaries” by J.
Zittrain. Not decisively proven
at this point, as far as I can tell,
but freaky and likely in my
judgment
46. “Our human faculties for sense-making, and evaluating and validating
information, are being challenged and in some ways destroyed in this
new information ecosystem. We are all getting false signals. This affects
our ability to construct and apply trust. #trust
“It also creates an opportunity for bad actors who understand how to
exploit this ecosystem.”
https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/03/living-in-a-sea-of-false-signals-are-we-being-pushed-from-trust-but-verify-to-verify-then-trust/
47. “The fundamental issue with the bogus Native American pages is
that they mislead the public to believe that they are coming
from Native American people. They allow problematic ideas to
go unanswered and worse yet - they are frequently the source of
dissemination of such toxic mindsets.
They do not build communities, but destroy them.”
https://www.facebook.com/notes/exploiting-the-niche/part-i-warning-signs/416598235447814/
— Sarah Thompson
48. 7. Tolerating hate speech and harassment
Example: Twitter bots and harassment
50. “TikTok’s efforts to provide locally sensitive moderation
have resulted in it banning any content that could be
seen as positive to gay people or gay rights, down to
same-sex couples holding hands, even in countries
where homosexuality has never been illegal, the
Guardian can reveal.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/26/tiktoks-local-moderation-guidelines-ban-pro-lgbt-content
51. 8. Wanton disregard of viral, but destructive,
content
Example: YouTube’s recommendation engine
65. Moxie Marlinspike on Expanding Choice Scope
https://youtu.be/DoeNbZlxfUM?t=778
The decision to
use Facebook
today is a
different decision
than it was 10
years ago
69. “When Facebook users learned last
spring that the company had
compromised their privacy in its rush
to expand, allowing access to the
personal information of tens of
millions of people to a political data
firm linked to President Trump,
Facebook sought to deflect blame and
mask the extent of the problem.
“And when that failed […] Facebook
went on the attack.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-russia-election-racism.html
Corporate
self-interest
70. The “handoff” between different sectors of society
(e.g. journalism, courts, lawmakers) aren’t working
now, so everyone has to do more than they would in
normal times.
Mixture of good and bad is confusing…
As is “chance” — you don’t always know if what you
do, the risks you take, will help, and that uncertainty
can be hard.
71. We have a dilemma
All of this presents a dilemma for small/medium sized
enterprises like most of ours
1. The “no new network” problem
New networks, with no users, are not an attractive option
2. Few resources/depth with which to react
Most in our network are Small/Medium Enterprises run on shoestring
budgets; lack political clout; work in relative isolation (though note
libraries as possible exception)
3. 3rd party social media is efficient for us
Where our audiences are, and good still happens there.
4. SO….
73. Back to our framing questions
Are we compromising the safety of our audiences if we invite them to engage with us on
3rd party social media?
● Are we complicit?
● Do we have an obligation to protect our audiences?
● Do we have an obligation to protect/shepherd technology platforms (Internet, web,
mobile, etc)?
Hypothesis:
I say yes, we have an obligation here. There are few perfect choices in front of us,
but consequential short-term action is possible, and necessary, to mitigate the
harms and establish clearer paths forward for ourselves and our communities.
74. What to do #1: Know your s**t
If you use these platforms professionally you should become
conversant with the social/civic/ethical realities of 3rd party social
media use.
75. What to do #2: Take responsibility for informing your
community
Inform your community through privacy policies, notices, blogging, social media
profile statements, events announcements and signage, etc.
Make sure you have educated your audience.
76. What to do #3: Don’t put your eggs in 1 basket
Continue to use social media, but also invest in the development of your own digital
properties (i.e., your core website, newsletters, mailing lists).
Use social media as a pointer to more robust content on your own site.
Build your mailing lists, and use newsletters and other content to create value around
these.
Provide alternate means of accessing your content/community, for example, RSS, and
email subscriptions.
These methods won’t replace 3rd party social media platforms, but they will help to
undermine its inordinate power and influence.
77. What to do #4: Have a halves and doubles mindset
It’s not necessarily realistic to completely eliminate the use of 3rd
party social media, but think about halving your use — cutting it in
half…and doubling the speed at which you would normally do so.
Amazon —> other merchants
Google —> DuckDuckGo search engine
Chrome —> Brave browser, Firefox
Gmail —> paid mail service
Mobile device —> put down the phone
78. What to do #5, Evaluate the platforms you use
1. Analyze what platforms we use (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, Twitter)
a. What do you do there? What does your audience do?
i. Create “Write only” content; minimal interaction with the audience
ii. Interact with comments and users
iii. Develop apps, features, surveys, other activities that generate personalized data
b. The ethical implications of each (a moving target)
2. Tactics for mitigating harm (a spectrum of choices, for example); Each has pros
and cons to be weighed
a. Withdraw altogether
b. Inform/educate participants
c. Substitutions (Vimeo for YouTube?)
d. Minimize content/interaction and direct the public to other properties (like your own
website)
e. Eliminate the use of 3rd party cookies
f. Eliminate the use of micro-targeted advertising
g. Choose vendors/platforms carefully
79. What to do #6, become an “information fiduciary”
Concept invented by Jack Balkin, Yale law school.
“‘Fiduciary’ has a legalese ring to it, but it’s a long-standing, commonsense notion. The key
characteristic of fiduciaries is loyalty: They must act in their charges’ best interests, and when
conflicts arise, must put their charges’ interests above their own. That makes them trustworthy. Like
doctors, lawyers, and financial advisers, social media platforms and their concierges are given
sensitive information by their users, and those users expect a fair shake — whether they’re trying to
find out what’s going on in the world or how to get somewhere or do something.”
…A fiduciary duty wouldn’t broadly rule out targeted advertising — dog owners would still get dog
food ads — but it would preclude predatory advertising, like promotions for payday loans. It would
also prevent data from being used for purposes unrelated to the expectations of the people who
shared it…
(Quotes from How To Exercise The Power You Didn’t Ask For, Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard Business
Review, September 19, 2018.)
https://blogs.harvard.edu/jzwrites/2018/10/29/how-to-exercise-the-power-you-didnt-ask-for/
80. A thought: Using a human rights standard
Pretty macro, but a constructive
and necessary perspective on the
“discretionary and vague” policy
decisions by platforms. From
David Kaye, UN Special
Rapporteur on freedom of
opinion and expression.
https://twitter.com/davidakaye/status/1099107647763054594
81. What to do #7, “model” the behaviors of civic discourse
“Find a well-moderated corner of the internet.
It can sometimes seem as if all the internet is deep fakes and culture wars, Trump tweets and
influencer scams. It’s not, of course. The internet still abounds in lovely, wholesome niches — the
fantasy sports circles, the YouTube and Instagram communities devoted to any kind of craft, the
many subreddits where strangers come together to help one another out of real problems in life.
"What distinguishes the productive online communities from the disturbing ones? Often it’s
something simple: content moderation. The best places online are bounded by clear, well-enforced
community guidelines for participation. Twitter and Facebook are toxic because there are few rules
and few penalties for flouting them. A Reddit community like r/relationships, meanwhile, is a haven
of incredible, empathetic discussion because its hosts spend a lot of effort policing the discussion
toward productive dialogue. This gets at the plain truth of the internet: A better digital world takes
work. It’s work all of us should do.
From Farhad Manjoo, NY Times Opinion, 1 January 2020, Only You Can Prevent dystopia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/opinion/social-media-2020.html]
82. What to do #8, use “POLP” at work and home
POLP = Principle Of Least Privilege, from IT Security, means to use the minimum
permissions you need to do any given task (so you don’t accidentally delete your own
hard drive or give root permissions to a virus)
I.e., Give/leak as little information to 3rd parties as possible. Use The Big Platforms when
you need to, but when you don’t, don’t.
● Switch to more private browsers (Brave, Firefox, Opera)
● Switch to more private email, documents
● Disable location tracking when you don’t need it; turn off your phone; use a Faraday
(signal blocking) case; use a “dumb phone”
● Don’t install apps that “leak” data to back to aggregators
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_privilege
83. Sidebar: Popular (& obscure) apps pump data to 3rd parties
83
When you have a problem like this,
You Give Apps Sensitive Personal Information. Then They Tell Facebook.
Wall Street Journal testing reveals how the social-media giant collects a wide range of
private data from developers; ‘This is a big mess’
By Sam Schechner and Mark Secada
Feb. 22, 2019 11:07 a.m. ET
Article, paywalled, summarized on twitter by Mark Schoofs, USC Annenberg School
“Facebook sweeps up sensitive data — including
heart rate and when a woman is having her period
— from top phone apps.
And users have no way to opt out.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-give-apps-sensitive-personal-information-then-they-tell-facebook-11550851636
, https://twitter.com/SchoofsFeed/status/1098999479141752832
84. What to do #9: Exit or Voice (or Loyalty)
You have a choice: be loyal, leave, or use your voice.
The Sleeping Giants movement, started with a single
individual, and has had enormous influence by draining
advertisers away from toxic platforms like Fox News and
Breitbart.
The Amnesty International model is straightforward,
effective, and achievable.
The Greenpeace playbook works: write a letter; get 3
friends to write letters; sign petitions…
You just have to act. You have to know your s**t, and do.
84https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty
85. What to do #10: Be like RPG and Ravelry
RPG, a venerable role-playing community, and Ravelry, a community and marketplace for knitters
and fiber artists, both banned pro-Trump speech from their sites in 2018.
“We cannot provide a space that is
inclusive of all and also allow support
for open white supremacy.”
https://www.ravelry.com/content/no-trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ValJMOpt7s
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bj4wkq/one-of-the-oldest-online-
rpg-communities-banned-pro-trump-speech
86. What to do #10: Be like RPG and Ravelry
https://twitter.com/yehudi_eyif/status/1145263347568467969
87. What to do about the dark side of social media
1. Know your s**t
2. Take responsibility for informing your community
3. Don’t put your eggs in 1 basket
4. Have a halves and doubles mindset
5. Evaluate the platforms you use
6. Become an “information fiduciary”
7. “model” the behaviors of civic discourse
8. Use “POLP” at work and home
9. Exit or Voice (or Loyalty)
10. Be like RPG and Ravelry
87
89. https://www.ted.com/talks/ed_gavagan_a_story_about_knots_and_surgeons/transcript?language=en
“And so I just think, they got their
lecture to go to. I step off, I'm
standing on the platform, and I
feel my index finger in the first
scar that I ever got, from my
umbilical cord, and then around
that, is traced the last scar that I
got from my surgeon, and I think
that, that chance encounter with
those kids on the street with their
knives led me to my surgical
team, and their training and their
skill and, always, a little bit of luck
pushed back against chaos. “