Zack Whittaker. Facebook won't let you opt out of its phone number 'look up' setting. TechCrunch, March 2019. URL: https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/03/facebook-phone-number-look-up/ (visited on 2023-12-07).

When social media platforms show users a series of posts, updates, friend suggestions, ads, or anything really, they have to use some method of determining which things to show users. The method of determining what is shown to users is called a recommendation algorithm, which is an algorithm (a series of steps or rules, such as in a computer program) that recommends posts for users to see, people for users to follow, ads for users to view, or reminders for users.

Ableism. December 2023. Page Version ID: 1188412565. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ableism&oldid=1188412565 (visited on 2023-12-07).

Which abilities are expected of people, and therefore what things are considered disabilities, are socially defined [j1]. Different societies and groups of people make different assumptions about what people can do, and so what is considered a disability in one group, might just be “normal” in another.

2017 Equifax data breach. November 2023. Page Version ID: 1185471165. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2017_Equifax_data_breach&oldid=1185471165 (visited on 2023-12-06).

But while that is the proper security for storing passwords. So for example, Facebook stored millions of Instagram passwords in plain text [i8], meaning the passwords weren’t encrypted and anyone with access to the database could simply read everyone’s passwords. And Adobe encrypted their passwords improperly and then hackers leaked their password database of 153 million users [i9].

Kurt Wagner. This is how Facebook collects data on you even if you don’t have an account. Vox, April 2018. URL: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/20/17254312/facebook-shadow-profiles-data-collection-non-users-mark-zuckerberg (visited on 2023-12-05).

Social media sites then make their money by selling targeted advertising, meaning selling ads to specific groups of people with specific interests. So, for example, if you are selling spider stuffed animal toys, most people might not be interested, but if you could find the people who want those toys and only show your ads to them, your advertising campaign might be successful, and those users might be happy to find out about your stuffed animal toys. But targeting advertising can be used in less ethical ways, such as targeting gambling ads at children, or at users who are addicted to gambling, or the 2016 Trump campaign ‘target[ing] 3.5m black Americans to deter them from voting’ [h18].

Social media sites then make their money by selling targeted advertising, meaning selling ads to specific groups of people with specific interests. So, for example, if you are selling spider stuffed animal toys, most people might not be interested, but if you could find the people who want those toys and only show your ads to them, your advertising campaign might be successful, and those users might be happy to find out about your stuffed animal toys. But targeting advertising can be used in less ethical ways, such as targeting gambling ads at children, or at users who are addicted to gambling, or the 2016 Trump campaign ‘target[ing] 3.5m black Americans to deter them from voting’ [h18].

Is It Funny or Offensive? Comedian Impersonates FBI on Twitter, Makes MLK Assassination Joke. January 2020. URL: https://isitfunnyoroffensive.com/comedian-impersonates-fbi-on-twitter-makes-mlk-assassination-joke/ (visited on 2023-12-05).

Fig. 7.1 On Martin Luther King Day Jr. Day 2020, comedian Jaboukie Young-White, used his verified identity blue checkmark (before Elon Musk made blue checkmarks purchasable) to impersonate the official FBI account. He then made a trolling Tweet [g1], pretending to be the FBI and referring to the theory that the FBI was behind the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (note: while this theory [g2] is not confirmed, the FBI definitely tried to get MLK to kill himself [g3]). Twitter quickly suspended Jaboukie’s account after this post, but many viewed his Tweet as a heroic (and funny) act of protest.

The Take. A Tale of Two Jennifer Lawrences. April 2022. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7aq1bHXuY8&t=641s (visited on 2023-11-24).

Early in the days of YouTube, one YouTube channel (lonelygirl15 [f1]) started to release vlogs (video web logs) consisting of a girl in her room giving updates on the mundane dramas of her life. But as the channel continued posting videos and gaining popularity, viewers started to question if the events being told in the vlogs were true stories, or if they were fictional. Eventually, users discovered that it was a fictional show, and the girl giving the updates was an actress.

Kareem Carr [@kareem_carr]. In the summer of 2020, I got into a huge internet fight about math. It was such a big controversy that I ended up being profiled in Popular Mechanics. It was even discussed by the New York Times. Read this thread to find out why a little skepticism about math is good for you. July 2022. URL: https://twitter.com/kareem_carr/status/1551950155330600960 (visited on 2023-11-24).

Fig. 4.11 When viewing the fire emoji (🔥) close-up on a screen, you can see the bands of red, green, and blue that make up each pixel. If you try squinting your eyes or looking at the image from far away, it should blur back into the emoji. Note: These are actual photos taken by Kyle of his TV screen.

- Keep sending private messages to this person until they say "Stop it!" Copy to clipboard