Rebekah Tromble's guest appearances

Rebekah Tromble

Tech Policy Leaders

Mass for Shut-ins: The Gin and Tacos Podcast

Kevin Clark

Jessica Gonzalez

Kim Scott

Meredith Broussard

Danielle Citron

Jessica Lee

Ron Busby

Matt Wood

Sarah Morris

Rachel Rodgers

Larry Miller

David Robinson

Anindya Ghose

Melinda Epler

Andrew Johnson

OwlTail

Guest: Dr. Rebekah Tromble (Leiden University), professor of political communication, led a team chosen by Twitter to conduct research on overall "health" of conversation on the platform. As soon as the company announced its plan to sponsor research, right-wingers flipped out and began a campaign of threats and harassment aimed largely at Rebekah. Six months later, her life is (mostly) back to normal and the research is moving ahead as planned. This is a fascinating story about how becoming a target of a coordinated online harassment effort is so much worse and more overwhelming than we imagine.  Question Cathy returns with the mailbag. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, via Patreon. Contact me via Facebook, Twitter (@gin_and_tacos), or the venerable website Gin and Tacos.  Thanks: Dr. Tromble, all the bands that contribute music (Waxeater, IfIHadAHiFi, The Sump Pumps, Oscar Bait), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.

Guest: Dr. Rebekah Tromble (Leiden University), professor of political communication, led a team chosen by Twitter to conduct research on overall "health" of conversation on the platform. As soon as the company announced its plan to sponsor research, right-wingers flipped out and began a campaign of threats and harassment aimed largely at Rebekah. Six months later, her life is (mostly) back to normal and the research is moving ahead as planned. This is a fascinating story about how becoming a target of a coordinated online harassment effort is so much worse and more overwhelming than we imagine.  Question Cathy returns with the mailbag. Please support Mass for Shut-ins, an independent and ad-free podcast, <a href="http://www.patreon.com/ginandtacos" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">via Patreon</a>. Contact me via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ginandtacos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/gin_and_tacos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@gin_and_tacos</a>), or the venerable website <a href="http://www.ginandtacos.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gin and Tacos</a>.  Thanks: Dr. Tromble, all the bands that contribute music (<a href="https://waxeater.bandcamp.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Waxeater</a>, <a href="https://ifihadahifi.bandcamp.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">IfIHadAHiFi</a>, <a href="https://sumppumps.bandcamp.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Sump Pumps</a>, <a href="https://oscarbait.bandcamp.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Oscar Bait</a>), Zachary Sielaff, Question Cathy, and all Patreon supporters, subscribers, and listeners.

014 - Dr. Rebekah Tromble / Civility on Twitter

Rebekah Tromble: How to Combat Misinformation (Ep. 154) Leiden University's Rebekah Tromble joined Joe Miller to chat about ways to combat misinformation on social media.   Bio Rebekah Tromble (@RebekahKTromble) is an assistant professor in the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where she teaches and conducts research on media and politics, digital research methods and ethics, and computational social science. Dr. Tromble is deeply committed to understanding and promoting responsible and ethical uses of data and technology and has founded the Data in Democracy Initiative at Leiden University to pursue that commitment through teaching, research, and public outreach. Previously, she conducted extensive fieldwork in former Soviet Central Asia, where she focused on political discourses about Muslims and Islam. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Bloomington, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Knox College.   Resources Rebekah Tromble  Leiden University, Institute of Political Science  Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity by Lilliana Mason   News Roundup U.S. sanctions Russian and Chinese firms over North Korea The U.S. has  sanctioned tech firms in Russia and China for funneling money to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions, by using fake social media profiles  to solicit work from North Koreans. The sanctions target Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Company, whose CEO is North Korean, and a Russian subsidiary called Volasys Silverstar. Arizona is investigating Google’s location data practices Arizona’s Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich has  initiated an investigation into Google’s location data practices, according to The Washington Post. Google was accused recently of recording the location data of Android users even when the location setting was turned off. The company denies the allegation saying that it is transparent with users by giving them the option to toggle what gets collected and delete their location history. FCC stops review clock on T-Mobile/Sprint merger review The FCC has  stopped the clock on its review of the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Traditionally the FCC sets the clock at 180 days. But, citing the transaction’s complexity, the FCC paused the T-Mobile/Sprint review 60 days in. Trump has signed off on election interference sanctions President Trump has signed off on a set of sanctions against foreign actors who engage in election interference. The executive order  gives federal law enforcement officials 90 days to review instances of potential interference and act on them if they determine that doing so would be necessary. Google under scrutiny for China plans Reuters reports that Google and its parent company Alphabet are  under scrutiny by 16 lawmakers regarding its plans to expand into China. China has banned the company since 2010. In a letter, both liberal and conservative members of Congress asked Google how they would protect its users in light of China’s censorship laws. Google said that its ambitions in China are merely exploratory and not close to launching. Some 1,000 Google employees wrote a letter questioning Google about its ambitions in China. At least one research scientist has resigned in protest. European Union adopts draft copyright bill The European Union has adopted a  draft copyright bill that would require tech companies to pay higher royalties to media companies for the right to host their content. Under the new law, publishers would have the right to negotiate payment for content posted on sites like YouTube. Tech giants would also have to pay “proportionate remuneration” to large media companies for hosting their content. Big tech is pushing back saying that keeping track of every piece of content would be unwieldy. CBS sets aside $120 million in severance for Les Moonves Finally, CBS wrote in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it is setting aside $120 million in severance for their departing CEO Les Moonves—but the company has a year to decide whether to let him go for cause. If they do, he’ll get nothing. This $120 million is down from an original severance amount of $238 million. Twelve women have accused Moonves of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, or sexual harassment. CBS will also be contributing $20 million to causes that support the #MeToo movement.

Rebekah Tromble: How to Combat Misinformation (Ep. 154) Leiden University's Rebekah Tromble joined Joe Miller to chat about ways to combat misinformation on social media.   Bio Rebekah Tromble (<a href="https://twitter.com/RebekahKTromble" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@RebekahKTromble</a>) is an assistant professor in the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where she teaches and conducts research on media and politics, digital research methods and ethics, and computational social science. Dr. Tromble is deeply committed to understanding and promoting responsible and ethical uses of data and technology and has founded the Data in Democracy Initiative at Leiden University to pursue that commitment through teaching, research, and public outreach. Previously, she conducted extensive fieldwork in former Soviet Central Asia, where she focused on political discourses about Muslims and Islam. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Bloomington, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Knox College.   Resources <a href="https://www.rebekahtromble.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rebekah Tromble</a> <a href="https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/social-behavioural-sciences/political-science" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Leiden University, Institute of Political Science</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Uncivil-Agreement-Politics-Became-Identity-ebook/dp/B07C13LC3N" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity</a> by Lilliana Mason   News Roundup U.S. sanctions Russian and Chinese firms over North Korea The U.S. has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-sanctions/u-s-imposes-north-korea-related-sanctions-on-russian-chinese-tech-firms-idUSKCN1LT2BO" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> sanctioned tech firms in Russia and China</a> for funneling money to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions, by using fake social media profiles <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-koreans-exploit-social-medias-vulnerabilities-to-dodge-sanctions-1536944018" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> to solicit work from North Koreans</a>. The sanctions target Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Company, whose CEO is North Korean, and a Russian subsidiary called Volasys Silverstar. Arizona is investigating Google’s location data practices Arizona’s Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/09/11/googles-location-privacy-practices-are-under-investigation-arizona/?utm_term=.f346012f3305" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> initiated an investigation into Google’s location data practices</a>, according to The Washington Post. Google was accused recently of recording the location data of Android users even when the location setting was turned off. The company denies the allegation saying that it is transparent with users by giving them the option to toggle what gets collected and delete their location history. FCC stops review clock on T-Mobile/Sprint merger review The FCC has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fcc-pauses-clock-for-reviewing-t-mobile-sprint-deal-1536703312" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> stopped the clock on its review of the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint</a>. Traditionally the FCC sets the clock at 180 days. But, citing the transaction’s complexity, the FCC paused the T-Mobile/Sprint review 60 days in. Trump has signed off on election interference sanctions President Trump has signed off on a set of sanctions against foreign actors who engage in election interference. The executive order <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/406290-trump-authorizes-sanctions-against-foreign-governments-that-interfere-in" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> gives federal law enforcement officials 90 days to review instances of potential interference</a> and act on them if they determine that doing so would be necessary. Google under scrutiny for China plans Reuters reports that Google and its parent company Alphabet are <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-google-lawmakers/googles-china-plan-spurs-inquiry-from-u-s-lawmakers-staff-departures-idUSKCN1LT32O" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> under scrutiny by 16 lawmakers regarding its plans to expand into China</a>. China has banned the company since 2010. In a letter, both liberal and conservative members of Congress asked Google how they would protect its users in light of China’s censorship laws. Google said that its ambitions in China are merely exploratory and not close to launching. Some 1,000 Google employees wrote a letter questioning Google about its ambitions in China. At least one research scientist has resigned in protest. European Union adopts draft copyright bill The European Union has adopted a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-takes-step-toward-copyright-law-that-could-hurt-silicon-valley-1536761153" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> draft copyright bill</a> that would require tech companies to pay higher royalties to media companies for the right to host their content. Under the new law, publishers would have the right to negotiate payment for content posted on sites like YouTube. Tech giants would also have to pay “proportionate remuneration” to large media companies for hosting their content. Big tech is pushing back saying that keeping track of every piece of content would be unwieldy. CBS sets aside $120 million in severance for Les Moonves Finally, CBS wrote in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it is setting aside $120 million in severance for their departing CEO Les Moonves—but the company has a year to decide whether to let him go for cause. If they do, he’ll get nothing. This $120 million is down from an original severance amount of $238 million. Twelve women have accused Moonves of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, or sexual harassment. CBS will also be contributing $20 million to causes that support the #MeToo movement.

Rebekah Tromble: How to Combat Misinformation