Investigations of an itinerant scholar, mostly trying to make sense of this crazy place called South Africa through data science and culture.
South Africa
Joined December 2016
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Pinned Tweet
THREAD/ Here's a map of the main groups pushing #SouthAfrica's vote rigging "Big Lie" conspiracy on X. Note: not all users shown are pushing the conspiracy. Some, like @tshidi_lee are just doing their job and reporting on what politicians say. #SADecides2024 #SAElections2024
Superlinear retweeted
AmaBhungane is deeply concerned by reports that our former colleague, South African journalist Micah Reddy, and his local fixer, Kooki Mahmoud, are missing in Djibouti.
Micah is a former amaBhungane journalist and a valued member of the investigative journalism community in South Africa and across the continent.
We join the Committee to Protect Journalists in calling on the Djiboutian authorities to urgently clarify Micah and Kooki’s whereabouts and ensure their safety.
We call for their immediate safe return.
xitter.cf/cpjafrica/status/21014…
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🔒NICOLE FRITZ | Paid influencers and fake news threaten SA democracy businessday.co.za/opinion/20…
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1/ New @Nature! We study how powerful institutions shape the information environment for LLMs. Commercial LLM training is opaque, so we trace a path from state-coordinated media -> training data -> model responses.
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We do a lot of work in the misinformation space, and something in it has been bothering us: a gap between what the industry targets and what the problem actually is. Our co-founder Aldu Cornelissen wrote three short articles trying to work it out. Here's a thread on the first: the problem with "truth", starting from Shannon's 1948 definition of information...
murmurint.com/blog/disinform…
1/7
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Dear Americans
This is what you will be dealing with now on a daily basis with the White Afrikaners.
They are now your problem, goodluck!!!
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The 7th most popular country in the world? That is, ranked 7th among countries viewed most positively by the global community. The southernmost tip of Africa, the Republic of South Africa, Mzansi, Southy, Msawawa. The 2025 Perceptions of Democracy Index. 🇿🇦
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Psychiatric disorders can be perceived as energy landscapes.
OCD has deep valleys - neural activity gets stuck.
Schizophrenia has shallow valleys - neural activity roams too freely.
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The impact on media, the lifeblood of democracies and of anti-authoritarian information.
"In 2023 [USAID] funded training and support for 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state news outlets, and supported 279 media-sector civil society organizations dedicated to strengthening independent media.
"All over the world, media outlets and organizations have had to halt some of their activities overnight."
rsf.org/en/usa-trump-s-forei…
Superlinear retweeted
The average life expectancy of a Russian assault trooper after signing a contract is from two weeks to a month. The Russian offensive continues and it has made advances in several areas at once. Russian troops have advanced to the areas of Kurakhove, Rozdolne,
1/11
📢 Workshop Announcement 📢
"Better open-source investigations with Ubikron" -6 December - 13:00-18:00- @RoelofTemmingh
Learn how to conduct open-source intelligence investigations and research using the new Ubikron system.
Buy workshop tickets now: ow.ly/mWHy50TPEzM
Superlinear retweeted
Money launderers and bankers must be shitting themselves now that Dewald is on the case. I've never seen a forensic investigative journalist more capable.
The #Laundry. Tomorrow amaBhungane is launching a major new series on money laundering in South Africa. See here what to expect in the coming weeks :
amabhungane.org/the-laundry-…
Superlinear retweeted
[HAPPENING NOW] ActionSA National Chairperson @ME_Beaumont & Gauteng Provincial Chairperson @Funzi_Ngobeni meet with @ActionSATshwane Regional Executive Committee members & councillors to discuss strategic matters.
#WeAreActionSA
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Anton Harber | Two back-door attacks on journalistic freedom this week. Be alert! news24.com/news24/opinions/a…
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In a time in which social media popularity can drive consumer choices and sway public opinion, political parties, organisations, and individuals have quietly turned to an increasingly influential yet shadowy force: anonymous influencers. dailymaverick.co.za/article/…
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Does astrology work? We tested the ability of 152 astrologers to see if they could demonstrate genuine astrological skill.
Here is how the study was designed and what we found (including a result that really surprised me):
🧵
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🧵🚨New analysis showing ALL tweets mentioning both "Muslim" & "UK" with over 500 retweets since 29 Jul. Graph shows which accounts got most impressions over time. Red/pink dots show anti-Muslim &/or anti-immigrant tweets, brown=neutral, green=tweets defending Muslims #UKRiots
