Hungary’s leader calls EU parliament critics ‘useful idiots’
David Rising and Pablo Gorondi from the AP in the Washington Post, March 3rd, 2019
Hungary’s populist prime minister described members of a European Union political group who want his party expelled as “useful idiots,” saying in an interview published Sunday they are playing into the hands of left-wing opponents.
YouTube used to be a haven for misinformation. That might now be changing.
Editorial Board, Washington Post, March 3rd, 2019
On YouTube, the refrain used to go, everyone is six degrees of separation from Alex Jones. The video-sharing service banned the Infowars founder last summer, but conspiracy theories continue to thrive on the platform — and YouTube’s recommendation algorithm has historically pushed users toward them. A recent commitment to alter that feature, coupled with the company’s removal in late February of advertisements from anti-vaccination videos, suggests things might be changing.
‘No self-respecting govt can get off the escalation ladder’: Indian and Pakistani media fight to form narrative
Emily Tamkin, Washington Post, February 27th, 2019
As tensions remained high in South Asia, some Indians and Pakistanis appealed for calm. On Feb. 14, a terrorist attack in Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitary police. The attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Muhammad, a terrorist group based in Pakistan. On Tuesday, India retaliated by conducting airstrikes inside Pakistan, which led to the Pakistani military shooting down at least one Indian plane on Wednesday. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Wednesday that he does not want war with India, and Twitter users on both sides posted their opposition to any conflict using the hashtag #SayNoToWar.
Democrats start conversation about beating back scourge of disinformation
Greg Sargent, Opinion Section of the Washington Post, February 26th, 2019
The other day, I suggested that the Democratic presidential hopefuls should perhaps consider whether they can enter into a workable pledge to mutually avoid trafficking in illicitly hacked materials and disinformation tactics, as part of an effort to set a party-wide standard when it comes to running clean elections.
Russia presses case for greater control over its internet
Associated Press in the Washington Post, February 27th, 2019
The Kremlin spokesman said on Wednesday that reports that the U.S. military carried out a cyberattack in Russia ahead of the U.S. midterm elections proves that the country needs to create its own, self-controlled segment of the internet.