Wikipedia and phony memory creation

Because no one else is doing it--not even the media.
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disembodiedcathead
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Wikipedia and phony memory creation

Post by disembodiedcathead » Tue Mar 10, 2020 3:39 pm

i discovered the author of this article (https://www.nature.com/news/how-faceboo ... ry-1.21596) contributing heavily to the Wikipedia article on the Spanish Flu pandemic, working with a team of single-purpose accounts to insert material from her book hypothesizing that the pandemic was China's fault. the article itself is worth a read because it discusses how easy it is to implant (or correct!) fake memories in a population. one of the easiest ways to do so being to supply the desired information through people similar to the target (such as an encyclopedia edited by "regular people just like you"). her name is Laura Spinney (not to be confused with Laura Hale...).
it seems clear Spinney is using Wikipedia as her own private experimental laboratory - are there any statistics on how widespread this is (with independent operators - it's pretty clear Wikipedia itself IS an experimental laboratory, for reasons the article does a good job outlining - populations willing to trust editors "just like them" more than separate authority figures etc)?

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Abd
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Re: Wikipedia and phony memory creation

Post by Abd » Tue Mar 10, 2020 7:43 pm

The topic has long been of interest to me, beginning recognizing that what might be called "propaganda science" had exploded in the twentieth century, with the manipulaton of public opinion becoming more and more accessible through mass media. Wikipedia is simply another manifestation of this, not necessarily the most important.

However, the example here is quite unclear. Claims without evidence. So common in wikipedia criticism. So, first of all, who are we talking about?
Laura Spinney, notable journalist. (Well, maybe not. I see insufficient independent coverage there. But, hey, beautiful person, and smart, the best kind. So what is she up to?

Okay, Wikipedia editor, Contributions.

This is about the Spanish Flu editing.

There were socks editing the Spanish Flu article. In particular:
Laputa-skye
Interracial-is-best
I saw no evidence connecting these with Spinney, nor that she is "using Wikipedia as a laboratory." So who is disembodiedcathead and why am I paying any attention at all to this? I dunno. Maybe a little bored, putting off doing something that resembles work.

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Graaf Statler
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Re: Wikipedia and phony memory creation

Post by Graaf Statler » Tue Mar 10, 2020 7:51 pm

Deleted.

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