Mark Scott

Personal update: I've now joined the Atlantic Council's @DFRLab's Democracy + Tech Initiative, as a senior resident fellow. You can reach me at mscott (at) atlanticcouncil (dot) org. You can find out what I'll be working on here (I rarely use Twitter) linkedin.com/feed/update/ur…

@daphnehk @mathver I *believe* that's a work in progress. Irish agencies, at least, are in discussion.

@mathver When you come back, @mathver, can you please explain if a reconciliation with the GDPR has already been negotiated with data protection authorities, or if that showdown/negotiation still lies ahead?

@vince_chow1 @mathewi actual scenes... I'm in good company.

Thought there was a glitch in the matrix for a second - then realised its just two big Douglas Adams fans using the exact same sign off. More importantly, two great newsletters which will be missed @markscott82 @mathewi

@Brad_L_Bowman @stevenleemyers @dnvolz @DavidKlepper @shannonpareil @jeffstone500 @nakashimae @Bing_Chris @lizzadwoskin @anneapplebaum @laraseligman @TaraCopp Thanks. I get the Russian IO stuff, but I have doubts on the CCP's ability to reach actual Americans. The global IO campaigns are kinda working, but I don't see much evidence of those same lines breaking into the US conversation. Ditto on Iran, tbh.

@stevenleemyers @dnvolz @DavidKlepper @shannonpareil @jeffstone500 @markscott82 @nakashimae @Bing_Chris @lizzadwoskin @anneapplebaum @laraseligman @TaraCopp Thought you'd be interested in this new FDD monograph.

@Leelum @KateDommett OK, ran some photoshopped images via TrueMedia and got this type of result. The Labour image has significantly higher chances of being GenAI, though a 63% confidence rate isn't exactly a slamdunk

@Leelum @KateDommett If you've got some examples, ping them over to mscott (@) politico.eu and I can feed them in for comparison.

This Labour Digital WhatsApp message is really quite something

@Leelum @KateDommett TBF, photoshop has a bunch of AI tools included, and this is what I got back when I ran the image via a multiple AI detection tool.

@KateDommett The original version of this image was handed out pillows to journalists. I'm with Sam here, I think this is a Photoshop. Some of the collar lines & ear are telltale signs. The actual amount of AI generated stuff this election has been, dare I say, limited...

@lexzard @clothildegouj See your point, but in an election — albeit one where VdL will be appointed by leaders, not the electorate — the emphasis, imo, should be on the politician, not the company. Did Google mess up? Yes. But VdL is likely to be the next Commission president. She should know better.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen failed to disclose if she was behind a Google ad campaign worth €70,000 that violated European Union rules endorsed during her time leading the EU executive. W/ @markscott82 politico.eu/article/ursula…

@lexzard @clothildegouj Here you go: politico.eu/article/ursula…. In this instance, I felt it was more important to highlight VdL's non-compliance than Google's ongoing problems, which are also reflected in the story.

@lilianedwards @MissIG_Geek 100% politico.eu/newsletter/dig…

@markscott82 @MissIG_Geek i agree & have been saying so for ages. Doesnt mean wont happen but isnt game changer. The big regulatory issues with deepfakes are non consensual porn & scams/ fraud, which are on the radar, and fake evidence , which really isn't (just did paper on this)

"For all the potential harm [electoral deepfakes] may represent, no one has yet connected it to unfair voter outcomes that skewed an election". Sense ! From ⁦@markscott82⁩ politico.eu/newsletter/dig…

@lilianedwards @MissIG_Geek My personal view is that you don't need AI to spread disinformation. Sure, it's a novel approach. But there are enough other ways to do it, at scale, that for most people, it'll not be worth the hassle.

@MissIG_Geek @markscott82 I dk honestly how you disaggregate influence of [deepfake images] from general disinfo or even AI generated disinfo. Or if there is a point.

@megangrA I'm a serious guy, obvs.

@markscott82 the "real" you doesn't even sound like you -- much too serious!

Such good reporting on deep fakes and elections. Kudos ⁦@markscott82⁩ politico.eu/article/deepfa…

@olgarosca hi Olga, I'm POLITICO's chief tech correspondent. What's the best way to reach you? My DMs are open and my email is: mscott@politico.eu. Thanks!

@charlesarthur @Amirmizroch @politico Watch this space.

@markscott82 @Amirmizroch @politico I totally understand the motivation to write the article/paragraph, but I think you’re trying to make bricks without straw there. You can’t hand on heart surmise *anything* there because pretty much nobody has access to the full data, or even to a useful snapshot of the data.

.@markscott82 sets things straight. politico.eu/newsletter/dig… @politico

@charlesarthur @Amirmizroch @politico I work with what I have. My point is it's currently unquantifiable how both sides are engaging with audiences online, mostly down to a lack of transparency on how these recommender systems display content to social media users. Counting hashtags is equally pseudoscience

@Amirmizroch @markscott82 @politico "Imperfect science" "surmise" "no evidence" "hypothetically". Yup, that's a convincing case - if you want to be convinced. Alternatively, it's a Jenga tower untroubled by data or inside information which can be added to the growing pile of unproven hypotheses.

@Gmvolpi more important, who's tall enough to take that photo?

This stopped being cute 9 hours ago

@Amirmizroch @antgoldbloom Couple of points. All this hashtag analysis needs to be quantified — and I'm working on that now. Asymmetry on messaging can work both ways politico.com/news/2023/12/0…

@antgoldbloom CC @markscott82

Puzzle: If social media merely reflects what society believes, why is the ratio of pro-Palestinian to pro-Israel content on @tiktok_us 54:1 in the US? According to @pewresearch, 60% of Americans aged 18-29 have an unfavorable view of Israel. Wouldn't this imply a 3:2 ratio?

@lilianedwards @halhod @rachelcoldicutt @edsaperia @wrklsshrd <<holds back from journalist vs lawyer joke>>

@halhod @rachelcoldicutt @edsaperia @wrklsshrd @markscott82 Well that's more journalists than lawyers there already..