Observatory on Social Media

Observatory on Social Media The Observatory on Social Media (OSoMe) studies the spread of (mis)information & online manipulation

Weapons can be used for attack and defense.Does AI Fight or Fuel Election Disinformation?
08/17/2026

Weapons can be used for attack and defense.

Does AI Fight or Fuel Election Disinformation?

As the midterms approach, our tests reveal that popular chatbots challenge conspiracy theories. Still, they offer users the ability to create deceitful images, audio, and video.

Yet more evidence, if we needed it, that disinformation on social media kills. How Social Media Spurred a Refugee Crisis...
08/17/2026

Yet more evidence, if we needed it, that disinformation on social media kills.

How Social Media Spurred a Refugee Crisis Between Spain and Morocco

A wave of disinformation online contributed to a surge of migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta who were trying to reach Europe, resulting in about 90 deaths.

Long but worth the read: This is medical advice*The AI slop doctors of YouTube, the health disinformation they spread, t...
08/15/2026

Long but worth the read: This is medical advice*

The AI slop doctors of YouTube, the health disinformation they spread, the harm they cause, and the prompts instructing them to lie

The AI slop doctors of YouTube, and the prompts instructing them to lie

Political deepfake and AI-generated personas have persuasive power and many followers. Who's behind their influence camp...
08/08/2026

Political deepfake and AI-generated personas have persuasive power and many followers. Who's behind their influence campaigns? No way to know, and that's the point.

https://substack.riddance.ai/p/this-ai-generated-persona-is-a-viral

h/t .media

"Marwane" is an AI commentator with a brand, website, and a disciplined pro-Trump message.

2 examples of AI swarms—influence campaigns by AI-generated personas we described in Science:1. Hundreds of fake influen...
07/26/2026

2 examples of AI swarms—influence campaigns by AI-generated personas we described in Science:

1. Hundreds of fake influencers selling snake oil
https://www.nytimes.com/video/technology/100000011001849/ai-influencers-health-supplements-fake-ads.html

2. Fake soldiers, veterans, recruiters, religious figures spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda
https://letsdata.net/resources/blog/ai-generated-synthetic-personas-ukraine-social-media

A rotating cast of AI-generated soldier, veteran, recruiter, and rabbi personas racked up 20+ million views pushing anti-military and anti-migrant narratives across Ukrainian social media in early 2026.

Trump pushes UN ‘free speech’ declaration in veiled attack on EU tech regulation
07/25/2026

Trump pushes UN ‘free speech’ declaration in veiled attack on EU tech regulation

The White House has repeatedly condemned EU rules that govern online platforms as censorship. Now they want the world to put the critique into writing.

A Voter Guide to Trump’s Election Claims
07/17/2026

A Voter Guide to Trump’s Election Claims

In a primetime address last night, President Trump advanced alarming claims about the integrity of U.S. elections. Here are the facts.

Can AI equalize political campaign ads – or will it remain a tool for spreading lies?
07/12/2026

Can AI equalize political campaign ads – or will it remain a tool for spreading lies?

Political campaigns are increasingly deploying AI and deepfakes to further their messaging, and the scale of spread has experts concerned

Health misinformers falsely claim that sunscreen causes skin cancer. I think the proper treatment for these modern plagu...
07/06/2026

Health misinformers falsely claim that sunscreen causes skin cancer.

I think the proper treatment for these modern plague spreaders (Nicholas Hulscher, Matt Gaetz) would be to let them bake in the sun for hours a day without sunscreen.

Health misinformers misrepresent a study to claim that sunscreen causes skin cancer — NewsGuard’s False Claim of the Week

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