02
Apr
25
Mar
NFT: Non-Fungible Token (or Newly Found Twitter?)
By Scott Mortman
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), largely unknown a month ago, appear to be the latest investment craze. For those still unfamiliar, NFTs are one-of-a-kind cryptocurrency tokens that represent a digital asset, such as an online work of art or a prominent Tweet, which can be purchased, sold, or traded. NFTs rely on decentralized blockchain technology to track authenticity and ownership.
NFTs grabbed the public attention earlier this month when Christie’s auctioned an NFT-based digital art collage from the artist known as “Beeple” for over $69 million. Significantly, it was the first time that Christie’s accepted cryptocurrency as payment. On the back of that well-publicized auction sale, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet (which reads “just setting up my twttr”) as a NFT for over $2.9 million, the proceeds of which were converted to bitcoin and donated to charity.
As with “meme stocks”, social media quickly has taken to discussing and promoting NFTs in an effort to draw attention to and elevate pricing for particular works of digital art. A preliminary search by Cyabra on Twitter revealed well over 50k accounts discussing NFTs. Many of these accounts were created by artists who newly found Twitter and opened accounts for the express purpose of promoting their digital art in the hope of cashing in on the current NFT hype.
Whether NFTs become a long-term investment vehicle or a short-term fad remains to be seen. What’s clear at the moment is that social media users, including those new to the platforms, are using the digital space to capitalize on the sudden interest in digital art as represented by NFTs. And Christie’s recent cry online of “sold” for NFT art may not be the last word at auction.
03
Mar
Vaccine Disinformation: Part Three
Following the global rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the world has experienced an alarmingly high level of disinformation campaigns on social media platforms. Bad actors and fake profiles are pushing a negative anti-vaxxer narrative regarding the vaccine, and its alleged side effects.
Within the UK, black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME), have been targeted with misinformation campaigns stating that there are traces of pork and alcohol in the vaccine.
Cyabra analyzed and sampled the online discourse of the UK population regarding the vaccine on social media. Through sampling almost 66,000 profiles over Facebook and Twitter, Cyabra was able to detect nearly 6500 fake profiles spreading disinformation about the contents of the vaccines, and communities of profiles that spread claims of the vaccines containing a micro chip.
Findings
Cyabra analyzed and scanned social media groups and pages that are a part of the vaccine disinformation discourse in the UK on Twitter and Facebook and analyzed the online behavior, connections, and messaging of the profiles that interacted with the discourse. From the sample of 65,452 profiles scanned, Cyabra found 6,425 fake profiles (9.8%) and 18,865 bad actors (28.8%) who are spreading negative narratives about the vaccine.
Understanding the Authenticity of the Online Narrative
To identify the key players involved in the social media discourse, Cyabra categorizes profiles by engagement, text, and connectivity to other profiles. Cyabra aggregates all relevant users, categorizing them by their name, sentiment (positive, neutral, and negative), profile authenticity status, their maximum exposure (which shows the potential reach), and their engagement (Likes/Replies/Shares). Given the sheer amount of data involved when evaluating online narratives, it is integral to not only organize the flow of information, but also to prioritize the most important narratives within the online ecosystem. Cyabra gives the exact link of the post identified while also providing users important information about the false user linked to it.
Fake Narratives
The Vaccine Contains Eggs
Cyabra analyzed the social media discourse surrounding the disinformation about the vaccine in the UK and identified many profiles that are spreading false content and conspiracies against the vaccine. One conspiracy theory is that the vaccine contains eggs in it, so people on vegan diets cannot receive it. Below are examples of the content of the profiles from the UK.
The Vaccine Contains Pork and Alcohol
Cyabra also found several profiles that are spreading misinformation about the vaccine containing alcohol and pork, so people of certain religions refuse to take it. Below are examples of the content.
Impactful Fake vs. Real Profile
Cyabra analyzed the online behavior of the scanned profiles and categorized them by their number of engagements. Cyabra detected several real and fake profiles that are spreading disinformation about the vaccine and are getting the highest number of engagements (Likes, Comments and Shares).
Below are examples of the real and fake profiles with the highest number of engagements the platform scanned.
Real Profile
Jamison Scott || 275 engagements (233 likes, 42 replies)
The real profile is spreading content against the government’s will to vaccinate all of the citizens. Also, he is spreading content against the lockdowns.
Impactful Fake vs. Real Profile
Jamison Scott || 166 engagements (100 likes, 66 replies)
The fake profile is spreading content against the COVID- 19 vaccine.
Fake Profile Content Creator
Cyabra analyzed the scanned content relating to the vaccine in the UK. Below is the fake profile Cyabra discovered with the most UK vaccine-related content. The profile’s name is Andrew Hand, who is spreading a large amount of content regarding the vaccine, claiming the vaccine companies didn’t conduct thorough testing regarding the vaccine’s efficacy.
Connections Between Fake vs. Real Profile
Cyabra also analyzes the connections between real and fake profiles and divides them into communities. Cyabra’s “community” function highlights interlock profiles and how they are connected. The community below is based on followers. The profiles inside this community follow each other to a high degree. Often, a community of profiles following each other indicates they are spreading the same message.
Group Messaging
The community contains 245 profiles, 135 (55.1%) are bad actors (spreading content with negative sentiment on social media). The communities’ profiles were spreading negative content against the vaccine, claiming that it contains a chip in it. Several profiles claimed that Elon Musk is responsible for this. Below is the community displayed on Cyabra’s platform, and examples of the content that was shared within.
Conclusion
Cyabra analyzed the social media discourse of the vaccine-disinformation in the UK, aiming to understand the public’s opinion. Cyabra scanned key phrases and hashtags on Facebook and Twitter and detected an orchestration of real and fake profiles on both social media platforms, spreading disinformation regarding the the vaccines. These campaigns included the following topics:
- The vaccine contains a microchip
- The vaccine has traces of pork, hence, religious group are refusing to take the vaccine
- The vaccine contains alcohol, hence, religious group are refusing to take the vaccine
Lastly, Cyabra identified the main leaders spreading fake information, analyzed their online behavior and measured their level of impact.
These fake campaigns can drive dangerous action within targeted communities online. Cyabra’s technology is able to detect coordinated misinformation campaigns at early stages to protect the public from taking action on false narratives, and to prevent the “snowball effect” of growing conversations from taking place .
22
Nov
Meet Cyabra
Who We are
We’re a group of like-minded, analytical thinkers who are passionate about identifying and countering online disinformation in all its forms. Led by former information warfare and cyber security experts, Cyabra offers a unique approach to the war against disinformation.
What We Do
A combination of “cyber” and “abracadabra,” Cyabra works with consumer brands, the public sector and media outlets to offer an AI-driven open source intelligence platform to detect fake accounts spreading disinformation and fake news. Cyabra breaks down the billions of online conversations in real time to provide a deeper understanding of what’s hidden behind these conversations.
How We Do It
Cyabra’s SaaS platform uses its AI lens to expose disinformation and seperate the real from the fake. We do this by analyzing the billions of conversations taking place across the internet to unravel hidden insights. Our platform breaks through the layers of online content to pinpoint patterns, make connections, measure impact and detect authenticity.
Why We Do It
We created Cyabra to meet the very real and very immediate need of combating fake news and its influence. Over the past several years, we’ve seen the harmful effects of disinformation invading our daily online lives. Between the news, public figures and even corporations, disinformation campaigns can create significant damage before brands even have time to react. Our solution empowers global brands and media outlets to understand narratives, learn who’s speaking about them, discover trends and reach true audiences–all to make smarter, data-driven decisions.
What We Believe
When it comes to values, our priorities are clear. Every day we strive to embody authenticity, social responsibility, innovation and customer service.
In a loud world filled with content overload and diverging messages, Cyabra believes in bringing authenticity to the digital realm, offering a lens of truth to filter through the noise. We enable companies to not only navigate the chatter around their brands, but also identify and weed out bad actors before they can make an impact. Our goal of keeping the internet safe and honest informs everything we do, developing tools to improve public discourse and informed media consumption, while holding the right entities accountable. We recognize that we are working to achieve that goal in a digital space that is always evolving. In turn, we work diligently, constantly innovating, to ensure that our platform remains two steps ahead of current technology. We understand that brands need to assess their perception in real time, so we are relentless in making sure they are in the position to anticipate disinformation buzz rather than deal with the aftermath. And finally, we are dedicated to serving our clients by listening and responding to their needs.
What’s Next
Currently based in Israel, Cyabra is excited to begin expanding our reach across the globe, specifically with an office in the United States to continue best serving our American partners. Our team is always on the lookout for new talent with can-do attitudes.