Remember “Blue Whale”? Almost five years ago, when I was getting to the bottom of that murky hoax, it wasn’t yet understood as one. It was being called a “suicide game,” and those two words were scaring parents around the world, literally. I was looking all over the Web for reliable sources and found my best one – still one of the world’s top experts on the subject, I believe – to be Georgi … [Read more...] about 9 things that make viral hoaxes challenging
Search Results for: "blue whale"
Momo. Again.
I hardly need to weigh in because I already did – in depth, last summer, at the peak of the last Momo wave. But I will only highlight the best thinking I've seen this go round and add 4 points – lessons to consider from this time for when the next wave hits (because this will certainly not be the last, and why reinvent the wheel every time?). First the points: Who's the (potential) … [Read more...] about Momo. Again.
Twitch, Yubo & online safety innovation with an ancient ‘tool’
As geeky as "content moderation" sounds, we're hearing about it more and more these days - in podcasts, at conferences, in books and in hearings. People all over the U.S. and world are talking about how to make social media safer, and content moderation by the platforms is an important part of that. But what we're not hearing or talking about enough is another part of the social media safety … [Read more...] about Twitch, Yubo & online safety innovation with an ancient ‘tool’
About ‘Momo’ & dealing with viral media scares
There's no rhyme or reason to these things. They show up on different social media platforms, start in different parts of the world, but don’t always "go viral" in regions where they started. There are cultural aspects to what makes them take off but also universal ones: They "excite children's and teens’ imaginations, increase careless media outlets' appetite and opportunities for bigger … [Read more...] about About ‘Momo’ & dealing with viral media scares
Fake news & how media literacy is protective
When young people in the Balkan country of Macedonia create fake news sites like WorldPoliticus.com and make good money off of all the American voter traffic their uber-grabby headlines generate (true story, from BuzzFeed), this is not the new Nigerian Internet scam. I think we're seeing that this is a history-changing problem that affects everybody, not just the people who were duped. Fake news … [Read more...] about Fake news & how media literacy is protective