#Fake You: An Activist's Guide to Defeating Disinformation - Comprehensive Study Notes

Introduction: George Orwell and the False Narrative of Digital Reform

• George Orwell’s Observation (1943): In Looking Back on the Spanish War, Orwell observed newspaper reports unrelated to facts, battles where no fighting occurred, and silence where hundreds died. History was written based on what ‘ought to have happened’ according to party lines rather than what actually happened.

• The Disinformation Conference ‘Formula’: Modern institutional conferences on disinformation typically feature a star speaker with a fashionable biography (hiding ties to political parties) who blames technology (AI and the Internet) for disinformation. They conclude that institutions must ‘regulate’ freedom of expression for the sake of ‘Truth’.

• The Central Argument: This book argues that fake news is an excuse used by power to curtail civil rights. Measures currently focus on Internet users and censorship, neglecting the primary generators: political parties, institutions, mass media, and large corporations.

• Accountability over Technophobia: Systems of systemic disinformation are affordable only for those with massive resources. The solution lies in institutional accountability, more democracy, and an empowered public rather than the criminalization of technology or freedom.

Part 1 - History of Propaganda: Pre-Internet Origins

• Definition of Propaganda: Noam Chomsky defines propaganda as violence exercised by the state in a democracy. It is a method used to achieve goals previously realized through physical force.

• Neolithic Origins: Archaeological records from Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey suggest statehood and propaganda began in the Neolithic or even Palaeolithic periods. Gigantic temples were built by at least $60$ people who were fed without agriculture, suggesting an authority radiating a religious worldview—the first fossil of propaganda.

• Classical Period:

  • Aristocratic Greece: Lying was considered part of intelligence. The god Zeus lied to Hera; the Trojan Horse was a political deception.

  • Greek Democracy: Aristophanes’ Assembly Women illustrates formulae for real-time manipulation of citizens using language and rhetoric.

• Christianity and Absolute Truth: The arrival of Christianity introduced the concept of ‘Absolute Truth.’ Grounded in the personification of God, the state defended this truth, labeling anyone in the way as ‘the lie.’ This was cheaper than using force.

• Humanism and Visuals:

  • Art and Reason: Humanist dialogues (e.g., Alfonso de Valdés’ Diálogo de las cosas acaecidas en Roma) used arguments to justify political acts like the sacking of Rome.

  • 18th Century Visuals: Benjamin Franklin used engravings, like the famous snake icon, as political ‘pop art’ to unite the $13$ colonies.

• Foundational 20th Century Propaganda:

  • World War I: Allied and Central powers needed to mobilize citizens without granting voting rights. Woodrow Wilson used full-color posters and cinema (e.g., Tearing Down the Spanish Flag, shot in New York in $1898$) to manufacture a social majority for war.

  • Nazism and Joseph Goebbels: Goebbels recognized that propaganda must be fun and integrated into variety shows. He introduced the inexpensive consumer radio to broadcast into every home and utilized ‘weighted viewers’ (the function now held by talk-show hosts and influencers) to validate content.

• Cognitive Linguistics: Reality is less important than the perception of reality. Mental frameworks and neural pathways are created via metaphors. Once a framework like ‘the Trojan Horse was a gift’ is accepted, it generates pleasure in the brain, resisting reasonable analysis even when proven false.

Part 2 - The Contemporary Disinformation Industry

• Follow the Money: Disinformation is a full-blown industry. Producers include governments, parties, shareholders of mass media, and corporations. Those paid to disseminate it include communications consultants, algorithmic governance companies, and online platforms.

• The Steve Bannon School: Derived from the ‘Leni Riefenstahl of the Tea Party,’ this methodology uses personalized propaganda for segmented populations. The 2016 US election outcome was affected by Cambridge Analytica, where Christopher Wylie revealed that millions of Facebook users' data were extracted without permission.

• Filter Bubbles and Algorithms: Algorithms from Facebook, Twitter, and Google discriminate information without consulting users. They exacerbate ideological tendencies to increase time spent on the service, favoring advertisers over users.

• Complex Contagion (Mathematical Model): Social actors have activation thresholds. If a specific fraction of ‘neighbors’ in a contact network shares information, the actor becomes convinced. Echo chambers with low activation thresholds spread information faster when polarized against external actors.

• Case Study: Mexico and ‘Peñabots’: Alberto Escorcia identified armies of automated computer programs (Peñabots) directed by President Peña’s entourage to hush activists. These were later replaced by ‘cyborgs’—human account operators working in troll farms (call centers for disinformation).

• Case Study: Brazil and Bolsonaro: In $2018$, with 92\text{%} of the mobile-using population on WhatsApp, Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign used closed chat ecosystems to spread disinformation. Corporations reportedly financed WhatsApp mass mailings for $3,000,000$ dollars, which is illegal under Brazilian law.

• Other Global Impacts:

  • Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters used ‘call center hubs’ to target critics.

  • Vietnam: ‘Force 47’ (a government cyber-army) used forced confessions to silence land-grab protesters.

  • Myanmar: Facebook’s algorithm was cited by Amnesty International as key to promoting the Rohingya genocide.

Part 3 - Institutional Failures and Legislative Biases

• The European Commission High-Level Expert Group (2018): This group forms the basis for EU policy but is highly biased. 46\text{%} of its members are linked to large media conglomerates. It excludes critical voices like the UN rapporteur David Kaye and focuses heavily on ‘online’ disinformation to protect the ‘offline’ malpractice of established media.

• Ineffectiveness of Fact-Checking: Fact-checking alone is insufficient. In the US, only 14\text{%} of study respondents had contact with fact-checking sites. In Spain, 86\text{%} of people could not distinguish fake news in a study, and only $5.8\text{/}$ actually verify information.

• Legislative Damage to Civil Rights:

  • Germany (NetzDG): Platforms face fines up to $50,000,000$ euros for failing to delete illegal content, leading to automated censorship and ‘over-blocking.’

  • Russia: Federal Law $No. 31-FZ$ punishes ‘disrespect for the state’ and false news, acting as a tool for political repression.

  • The Digital Services Act (DSA): While it prohibits ‘dark patterns’ and profiling of minors, it still allows for private platforms to act as ‘private censors’ under institutional pressure.

Part 4 - The Proposed Solution: Mandatory Labelling and Verification

• Preventive Labelling Model: Similar to nutritional labels on food (mandatory in the US since $1994$ and EU since $2002$), information industry products from institutions and paying entities should be required to carry a label or checklist.

• Labelling Parameters (Derived from IPSO/UNESCO Codes):

  • Citing and protecting confidential sources.

  • Verification methodology (checking political statements, tracing images).

  • Formal distinction between Information, Opinion, and Advertising.

  • Transparency of ownership and funding sources.

  • Agile rectification and right of reply.

• Defining Responsibilities:

  • The Duty of Verification: If information is offered as part of a business model or by an institution, it is not just ‘free speech’—it carries a legal obligation of truthfulness (facts contrasted with objective data).

  • Transparency of Income: Disclosure of payments made/received for communication services (bots, banners, AI, positioning) should be mandatory when it represents a relevant proportion of income.

• Algorithmic Governance:

  • Privacy by design/default.

  • Elimination of third-party tracking.

  • Interoperability as a fundamental requirement.

  • The ‘Blade Runner’ Law: Tim Wu suggests it should be illegal for programs to pose as humans; automated processes must state ‘I am a robot.’

Questions & Discussion

• Why focus on institutions rather than individual users? Because ordinary people lack the resources for massive reach; systemic lies require industrial-scale investment affordable only to power.

• Is fact-checking enough? No, because it is often ‘woke-coded’ by the public and applied only after viralization. Verification must be mandatory before issuance for institutions.

• What is the impact of ‘Follow the Money’? Groups like Sleeping Giants caused Breitbart to lose 90\text{%} of its projected revenue for $2017$ by contacting advertisers. Alex Jones was ordered to pay $1,500,000,000$ dollars in damages for spreading false claims about the Sandy Hook massacre.

• Conclusion - More Democracy: The Internet and AI are not the problem; the problem is the monopoly of manipulation by those in power. To combat disinformation, the public must be empowered to monitor what power says and does.

• Final Maxim: Don’t blame the people; don’t blame the Internet; blame the power.