AI and online extremism

Sep 26, 2019

1 min

Responding to increased pressure, Facebook has "doubled down" on identifying and removing posts by online extremists and the groups they use to share content. 



As noted in a recent NBC News article, these increased efforts include using artificial intelligence and machine learning to proactively identify and remove posts and groups that break the rules, and promoting tools that would hold group administrators more accountable for posted content."


Megan Squire is a professor of computer science who has conducted extensive research tracking connections between online hate groups and how they leverage social media platforms to recruit new members and spread propaganda. 


Squire told NBC News that she's skeptical that even these more high-tech efforts will meaningfully curtail the activity of online extremists. 



“Same stuff, different day,” Squire told NBC News. “Just in the past month, I reported groups calling for a global purge of Islam, extermination of people based on religion, and calling for violence through a race war, and Facebook’s response was that none of these groups was a violation of community standards.”


If Dr. Squire can assist with your reporting about social media and online extremismplease reach out to Owen Covington, director of the Elon University News Bureau, at ocovington@elon.edu or (336) 278-7413. Dr. Squire is available for phone, email and broadcast interviews. 


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What's in a name? Ghoshal finds hiring discrimination persists

New research by an Elon University professor is challenging earlier findings related to hiring discrimination against African American job candidates. A new article by Raj Ghoshal, assistant professor of sociology, addresses a debate over whether employers still illegally discriminate when making hiring decisions, and supports the idea that discrimination persists. His article “Flawed Measurement of Hiring Discrimination against African Americans,” appears in the Fall 2019 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Sociation. In the article, Ghoshal draws upon his own research to argue that earlier claims that employers no longer discriminate have been invalidated, and that if that earlier research was properly interpreted, it means black job applicants need to send out about 50 percent more applications as white applicants to have an equal chance at getting a response. Many experiments in the past 15 years have tested for discrimination by creating two fake identities with equal-quality resumes and applying to the same set of job listings with both identities. Ghoshal's findings address methodological issues in these experiments, some of which have claimed that hiring discrimination based on race has disappeared.  In these previous experiments known as audit studies, “Steven Smith” and “DeShawn Jackson” might apply to the same 1,000 jobs. Researchers then measure how much interest each resume generates. This line of research has generally found that black Americans need to send out significantly more applications than white Americans to get the same number of callbacks. A 2016 study by economists at the University of Missouri-Columbia argued that these studies used overly stereotypical names to signal race in ways that exaggerated their results. The economists conducted their own study using what they considered more realistic names, and found no difference in employers’ response rates by race. But Ghoshal’s work finds significant flaws in the methodology the economists used. The 2016 study had used names like “Chloe Jackson” and “Ryan Washington” for their African American job candidates because the last names Jackson and Washington typically belong to black individuals, while “Chloe” and “Ryan” were purportedly race-neutral. Though the economists are correct to see Washington and Jackson as typically black last names, Ghoshal hypothesized that very few Americans would know this and interpret the names as intended. He therefore conducted a 1,050-person national survey which asked respondents to guess the race of people with the exact names the 2016 study had used. Survey findings show that about 60 percent of people do not interpret the economists’ study names as intended, and frequently see the names as belonging to white individuals. Further, those individuals most likely to make hiring decisions make just as many errors as others. The level of error is sufficient that the 2016 study is not merely invalidated. Rather, its results, properly interpreted, suggest that black job applicants need to send out about 50 percent more applications to have an equal chance of response. Overall, the findings suggest that racial discrimination remains an important concern that individuals, employers, and government should address. If you're interested in talking with Professor Ghoshal as you continue to cover this important topic, please reach out to Owen Covington, director of the Elon University News Bureau, at ocovington@elon.edu or (336) 278-7413. Professor Ghoshal is available for phone, email and broadcast interviews.

2 min

West Bank settlements

This month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a shift in U.S. policy toward settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Pompeo announced that the Trump administration does not view the settlements as inconsistent international law, and rescinded a 1978 state department legal opinion that held that view. The move now leaves the issue of individual settlements up to Israeli courts.  Assistant Professor Sandy Marshall has spent time as a volunteer instructor in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank and returned to the region this past summer to advance his research into the experiences of Palestinian refugee children. A human geographer, he has conducted extensive research into the impact of conflict, division and displacement on children and youth in the Middle East.  Asked for a brief comment on the shift in U.S. policy, here’s what Marshall had to say: “Coming on the heels of the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the change in policy on West Bank settlements is another nail in the coffin of a negotiated peace-settlement based on the two-state solution, represent U.S. rejection of broad international legal consensus . This move undermines any remaining legitimacy the U.S. has in the region as a peace-broker and threatens further destabilization of the region.” If you're interested in talking with Professor Marshall as you continue to cover this important topic, please reach out to Owen Covington, director of the Elon University News Bureau, at ocovington@elon.edu or (336) 278-7413. Professor Marshall is available for phone, email and broadcast interviews.

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The Future of the Internet

Fifty years ago, the first computer-to-computer connection was made through ARPANET, the precursor to the modern internet. What will the internet look like 50 years from now? That's the topic of a new report by Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center and Pew Research. The report, "The Next 50 Years of Digital Life," is part of a series on the future of the internet and features insights from 530 technology pioneers, innovators, developers, business and policy leaders, researchers and activists. They were asked to respond to a series of questions about how individuals' lives might be affected by the evolution of the internet during the next 50 years.   “In just 50 years the internet grew from a handful of interlinked computers to a worldwide network connecting billions of active users across all corners of the globe,” said Kathleen Stansberry of Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center, the lead author of the report. “This vast experiment in human collaboration has not been without cost, but these experts believe that by enacting thoughtful reform today the vision of the internet as a tool of equality and enlightenment can still be realized.” Overall, 72 percent of these respondents said they hope and expect that the next 50 years might bring significant change for the better; 25 percent say they fear there could be significant change for the worse and 3 percent said they expect there will be no significant change. You can find a list of key themes from the report here, and the full report, including scores of comments from experts, here. If you're interested in talking with Professor Stansberry about the report, please reach out to Owen Covington, director of the Elon University News Bureau, at ocovington@elon.edu or (336) 278-7413. Professor Stansberry is available for phone, email and broadcast interviews.

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