#false data

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said on April 6 that it had “incomplete data” for 11,371 of the 33,091 Palestinian fatalities it claims to have documented. In a statistical report, the ministry notes that it considers an individual record to be incomplete if it is missing any of the following key data points: identity number, full name, date of birth, or date of death. The health ministry also released a report on April 3 that acknowledged the presence of incomplete data but did not define what it meant by “incomplete.” In that earlier report, the ministry acknowledged the incompleteness of 12,263 records. It is unclear why, after just three more days, the number fell to 11,371 — a decrease of more than 900 records.

Prior to its admissions of incomplete data, the health ministry asserted that the information in more than 15,000 fatality records had stemmed from “reliable media sources.” However, the ministry never identified the sources in question and Gaza has no independent media.

Expert Analysis

“The sudden shifts in the ministry’s reporting methods suggest it is scrambling to prevent exposure of its shoddy work. For months, U.S. media have taken for granted that the ministry’s top-line figure for casualties was reliable enough to include in daily updates on the war. Even President Biden has cited its numbers. Now we’re seeing that a third or more of the ministry’s data may be incomplete at best — and fictional at worst.” — David Adesnik, Senior Fellow and Director of Research

“It is important to recognize that Hamas is deeply invested in shaping the narrative that emerges from Gaza, particularly regarding the number of casualties in the war. Moreover, this control of data extends beyond the statistics provided by the Hamas-controlled health ministry, as there is also a deliberate effort to downplay the number of terrorists who have been killed by Israel in the war, potentially numbering more than 10,000.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

[tenth-sentence]

Just to be sure that Fate did not muddle through to a victory, he arranged to have false data inserted in the Purgatory computer.

"Incarnations of Immortality: For Love of Evil" - Piers Anthony

[indigorain54]

Ok so I haven't seen anyone post about this new issue yet but it needs to be talked about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you have seen posts like this one DON'T CLICK THE LINK!!!! It's a phishing attack and is considered spam. They will steal your data and this is not a real job ad. Please report them when you see them and block them. If you see a post with a suspicious link don't click it.

Their blog page will usually look like this, with multiple posts of the same false ad. With the wrong tags to it.

Be safe online everyone!

Don't fall for phishing and scams!

[omegaphilosophia]

The Social Consequences of Marketing

Marketing, while essential for businesses and economies, has also been criticized for causing harm to society in various ways. Here are some significant ways in which marketing has negatively impacted society:

1. Promotion of Consumerism

Excessive consumption: Marketing often encourages the idea that happiness and success are linked to material goods, promoting a culture of consumerism. This has led to excessive consumption, debt, and environmental damage, as people are driven to buy more than they need.

Planned obsolescence: Companies sometimes design products with limited lifespans, encouraging consumers to buy new versions frequently. This practice contributes to waste, depletion of resources, and increased consumer spending.

2. Exploitation of Insecurities

Body image and self-esteem: Advertising in industries like fashion, beauty, and fitness often exploits people's insecurities by promoting unrealistic beauty standards. This can lead to mental health issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and even eating disorders.

Fear-based marketing: Some marketing strategies use fear to sell products, such as insurance, security systems, or health products, by making consumers feel unsafe or inadequate without them.

3. Targeting Vulnerable Populations

Children: Marketing often targets children, who are particularly susceptible to persuasive messages. This leads to the commercialization of childhood, with kids exposed to unhealthy food, consumerist values, and a materialistic mindset from an early age.

Low-income groups: Companies sometimes market harmful products, such as payday loans or unhealthy foods, more aggressively to low-income populations, exacerbating financial hardship or health problems.

4. Perpetuation of Stereotypes and Social Divides

Gender roles: Marketing often reinforces gender stereotypes, portraying women as caregivers or men as breadwinners, thereby perpetuating outdated norms that limit gender equality and diversity.

Cultural appropriation and tokenism: Some brands use cultural symbols or minority groups in marketing campaigns without understanding their significance, which can lead to cultural appropriation and tokenism, alienating and misrepresenting marginalized communities.

5. Environmental Damage

Overemphasis on fast fashion and disposable goods: Marketing has contributed to the rise of fast fashion and a throwaway culture, promoting short-term use of cheap, disposable products. This has serious environmental consequences, including pollution, resource depletion, and the generation of vast amounts of waste.

Greenwashing: Some companies falsely market products as "environmentally friendly" or "sustainable" in an attempt to capitalize on consumers' eco-consciousness, misleading the public and delaying genuine action on environmental issues.

6. Manipulation and Misinformation

False advertising: Companies sometimes make exaggerated or false claims about their products, misleading consumers and creating false expectations. This can be particularly harmful when it comes to health products, pharmaceuticals, or weight-loss treatments.

Addictive design: Marketing techniques are increasingly used to promote addictive behaviors, particularly in the context of social media, video games, or gambling. Companies manipulate users through behavioral nudges and psychological triggers that keep them hooked.

7. Invasion of Privacy

Data mining and surveillance: With the rise of digital marketing, companies have gained unprecedented access to consumers’ personal data. Many firms engage in data mining and targeted advertising based on individuals' online behavior, often without full transparency or consent, leading to concerns about privacy and data security.

Personalization and manipulation: Highly personalized marketing can lead to manipulation, as companies can target individuals with ads tailored to their specific vulnerabilities, making it harder for consumers to make objective decisions.

8. Promotion of Unhealthy Lifestyles

Junk food advertising: Aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods, particularly to children, has been linked to rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases.

Alcohol and tobacco marketing: Despite restrictions in some countries, marketing of alcohol, tobacco, and vaping products continues to glamorize these potentially harmful substances, leading to addiction and public health crises.

9. Contributing to Financial Instability

Credit and debt marketing: Marketing of credit cards, loans, and other financial products often promotes spending beyond one's means, contributing to personal debt and financial instability. Predatory lending practices, such as payday loans, are frequently marketed to those already in financial difficulty.

10. Reduction of Authenticity and Creativity

Commercialization of art and culture: Marketing can sometimes reduce art, culture, and creativity to mere products to be sold, stripping them of their authenticity. This can lead to the commodification of creative expression and a focus on profit over substance.

Trend exploitation: By constantly pushing new trends, marketing fosters a culture of superficiality and short-term thinking, where value is placed on what is fashionable or trending rather than what is meaningful or lasting.

While marketing plays a critical role in the economy by connecting consumers with products, it also has significant social, psychological, and environmental consequences. From promoting overconsumption and exploiting insecurities to targeting vulnerable groups and contributing to environmental degradation, marketing practices have often prioritized profit over societal well-being. Reforming marketing to be more ethical and socially responsible is essential for creating a healthier, more sustainable society.

[presdestigatto]

Which journalists are saying this ??

i wish i were making this up 🙏

to give credit where it’s due, even sainz himself isnt saying this lol

[vavuska]

I thought this one would be just another developer of mobile game that use The Sims 4 contents in its (fake) ads to fraud users by making people belive it is its game, when it has a completely different gameplay.

Unfortunately, Room Makover by FlyBird Casual Games is much more than this.

Room Makover has plenty of false ads. This time I actually tried the game, because the pictures and videos on Google Play were cute and I decided to give it a try.

I was so naive. Happens that the whole page on Google Play is full of fake contents.

It's just one of those mobile games in which you have to match and remove nails. Every time you pass a level, you will rewarded with bills that you can use to unlock part of a building under "makeover". You have just three option for every part of the building or the room to choose between.

There is nothing creative. Not actual building or cluttering rooms or decoring.

As, always, since I'm a curious little bitch, I decided to dig further into this FlyBird Casual Game and... Oh. God. Their site looks even less legit than LUCKY FORTUNE GAMES' one!

It is just a void page. There is nothing here. NOTHING. The only two working section are the privacy and conditions of use, in which they try to convince you that they didn't have any liability for damages or fraud committed.

The privacy one is curious, because mentions this Commissioner's Office in UK and a long list of partners. Both for ads and for data collection, which is hugely uncommon for this kind of games.

Sooooo... In this magical list of apps, I noticed a few tech nightmares, which I will explain briefly here:

Aarki is an AI company that builds advertising solutions to drive mobile revenue growth. Traslated from bullshit: they use AI to generate fake ads and sells it to shady corps.

Blind Ferret is the big deal here! Not only gave you digital marketing solutions, data collection and analytics, but also pays influencers and product placement on social media to promote the game and, hear me out, CREATE fake ads too! It's literally written in their site: "Our Creative Services don’t just make things look pretty. Our team uses data to guide us! How do we make brands shine? By turning the arts into a numbers game with top-performing creative content." This include: Graphic Design, Illustration, 2D Animation, Video Editing and Composition, Copywriting and conceptualizing.

InMobi is a big Corp that does native advertising, which means promoted contents, collabs with influencers, etc.

Ironsource. This one is a fucking cancer. IronSource Ltd. is an Israeli software company that focuses on developing technologies for app monetization and distribution, with its core production focused on the app economy. That would sound harmless, but Samsung use it in its budget and midrange smartphone to install multiple third-party apps during the set-up process. This platform slips bloatware on the pretext of recommended apps, leading to apps clutter and reduction in on-board storage space. The only purpose it exists on Samsung phones is to download games without your consent with no way to remove it (no app installed).

Mintegral is another fucking tech nightmare. Not only poses serious threats to your privacy and datas, but also uses malicious codes to spy your activity and when you seem intentioned to install a mobile app, Mintegral’s software would then fire off fake clicks on non-existent ads to claim credit for the install and essentially collect a bounty from app publishers who pay ad networks to promote their apps.

Mistplay is one of those "play to earn bucks" that I find very very dangerous. Because YOUR data are their revenue.

Tapjoy does monetization of ads and also surveys, that force users to download one from a long list of games, download it and playing for hours or since it is gained some in-game prize. This surveys are rewarded with credits and user can spend on the mobile game they actually want to play. Tapjoy has a huge market among IMVU users, who need credits to buy piece of clothing and accessories for their avi.

The other apps do mobile app marketing, using data collection that allow shady corps to target more gullable and naive people to scam. Plus they do also monetization surveys to earn money and at the same time forcefully grow the engagement of this shady corps.

Obviously, there is no user support mail listed in their Google Play page, but at least this has a contact mail listed on their website: flybirdgames2022@gmail.com

As always, stay safe and please tell me if you know more about everything above or know the person who create this build first.

Help people to stay safe.

Thank you.

<<< previous Coloring app uses design of The Sims 4 builds without the consent of the creators and other mobile developers steal TS4 speed build contents and claim it's the actual gameplay of their mobile game.

[my-timing-is-digital]

@lettherebemonsters continued from [ x ]

Nonplussed by his brother’s unexpected semi-hospitable comportment, he let himself be ushered into the other android’s personal quarters, a quizzical frown warped the epidermal layer of pearlescent bioplast.

‘A feline?’ Data iterated to receive a definitive affirmation that what his auditory sensors had initially registered was correct ⸺ a strategy often employed by conversing humans.

He followed Lore’s gaze up to the ceiling, modifying his auditory processors to enhance his reception; and, after several hydraulic circulations of complete silence, he perceived the distinct vocalisations of a feline incarcerated in the panels overhead, calling for aid.

‘It appears, you are correct, brother. Somehow, a cat has escaped its confines and accidentally managed to ensare itself in one of the smaller ventilation vents that runs above your personal quarters,’ Data inferred, tossing a sideward glance at Lore. ‘The most prudent course of action would be to liberate the feline and reunite it with its family ⸺ if it has a family.’

[tauforged]

the downside of working a full time job is i’m almost never online anymore. which is fucked. but alas i can’t exactly be blogging when i’ve got alkalinity titrations to run . such is life i suppose

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

This is getting ridiculous!

September 25, 2023

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

          Geez! This is getting ridiculous! Trump calls for the execution of the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and the Washington Post performs a botched poll that is so bad the Post acknowledges it is “an outlier.” Guess which one leads the news on Sunday? Hint: It is not the story that calls for the killing of a perceived political opponent by the leading candidate for the GOP 2024 nomination.

          Let’s get the WaPo/ABC poll out of the way, first. The results were simply implausible. They were so bad that Post included this disclaimer:

[A]lthough the sizable margin of Trump’s lead in this survey is significantly at odds with other public polls that show the general election contest a virtual dead heat. The difference between this poll and others, as well as the unusual makeup of Trump’s and Biden’s coalitions in this survey, suggest it is probably an outlier.

          If you were alarmed by the headlines about the WaPo/ABC poll, the most important thing you can do is read Simon Rosenberg’s post in Hopium Chronicles, The WaPo-ABC Poll Is A Clear Outlier. Dems Are Having A Very Good 2023. As Simon explains, the results are so wacky (my word, not his), the Post should have tossed the poll. But the Post spent the money on the poll, so it published a poll it did not believe. That makes perfect sense because . . . .?

          It doesn’t make sense. If there is anything good to come out of the WaPo/ABC poll, it seals the case that presidential “horse-race” polling is irretrievably broken, counterproductive, and misleading. And yet in the dozen articles I read about the poll on Sunday, all of them treated the poll as a legitimate exercise in polling. It is not. Indeed, the notion that multiple news organizations are conducting presidential horse-race polls more than a year before the election is a sign that they view politics as entertainment—just like sports scores, the daily horoscope, and advice columns. Pathetic.

          Folks, they are trying to mess with our heads. Don’t let them. Reject their infotaintmentization of politics. Ignore the polls. If you can’t ignore the polls, tell irresponsible media outlets what you think by posting comments on offending articles, write letters to the editor, and send emails to the journalists. Ignoring the polls is a reasonable approach to preserving your sanity. But ignoring the polls may give outlets a “free pass” on their irresponsible journalism. The Post’s poll is going to be added to Five-Thirty-Eight.com’s aggregation of polls and will affect the narrative of Biden’s prospects for winning. That is why it is irresponsible and dangerous for news outlets to conduct meaningless and misleading polls.

          The 2024 presidential election features two candidates who are surrogates for different visions of America: Democracy versus autocracy; liberty versus tyranny; dignity versus bigotry; science versus disinformation; personal autonomy versus subservience to Christian nationalism; sustainability versus ecological disaster; safety versus gun violence; global stability versus confrontational isolationism. All of that—and much more—is on the ballot in 2024. The WaPo/ABC “horse-race” poll captures none of that.

          Turning to the real story that should be the only thing any media outlet is discussing is Trump's not-so-veiled threat to execute General Mark Milley. As usual, Trump made the threat on his vanity social media platform and used oblique references to provide deniability that he made the threat. Trump's use of Mafia-style threats is so common that the comparison is becoming stale, but it is the equivalent of mobsters telling a small business owner, “Nice place you got here; it would be a shame if it burned down.”

          In the waning days of the Trump administration, the US intercepted intelligence indicating that the Chinese government believed the US might attack China. In military-to-military talks that are commonplace to avoid accidental conflicts, General Milley assured his counterpart in the Chinese military that the US was not planning to attack China.

Per the book Peril by Bob Woodward and Bob Costa, Milley said the following during the call with his counterpart:

General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable, and everything is going to be okay. We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you. General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise . . . If there was a war or some kind of kinetic action between the United States and China, there’s going to be a buildup, just like there has been always in history.

          That call was approved in advance by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Trump now claims that effort at “deconfliction amounted to treason. Trump wrote:

This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!

See The Independent, Trump suggests Mark Milley should be executed in possible breach of pre-trial release conditions.

          There are two problems with Trump's statement: It is a veiled threat on the life of General Milley and it violates his pretrial release in the two felony prosecutions in DC and Florida.

          For those who believe I am engaging in hyperbole regarding Trump's threat against the life of General Milley, recall what happened in response to this Tweet:

Big protest in D.C. on January 6th!  Be there, will be wild!

          Trump has a feral instinct for urging his followers to action without directly telling them to do so. As his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified to Congress,

[H]e doesn’t give you orders. He speaks in a code.

          The response of the media—thus far—has been a collective yawn. Their listless response is due in part to Trump's exhaustive, daily threats against foes (real and imagined) that normalize his incendiary rhetoric to the point of background noise. It is not—as his January 6 incitement reminds us. The political press should be talking of nothing else until Republicans condemn and disavow the first major party presidential candidate to threaten a senior military officer with death.

          Recognizing that the media would rather cover a botched poll than a death threat, another avenue of accountability is for either Judge Chutkan or Cannon to revoke Trump's pretrial release or impose a gag order on him. Yes, a gag order. Trump is already the subject of a motion by the prosecution in the January 6 prosecution to refrain from intimidating witnesses. As the government said in its brief:

“The defendant continues these attacks on individuals precisely because he knows that in doing so, he is able to roil the public and marshal and prompt his supporters.”

          Trump obviously doesn’t care; he never has. He has crossed a line—another one. It is time for federal judges charged with the responsibility of protecting witnesses and jurors to act. Before it is too late.

[loamblogging]

a cute sweat bee enjoying a thistle and false rosemary we saw yesterday : )

[petrenocka]

I hate AI with a burning passion.

And above all else I hate the fact that I hate AI.

The thing is, AI is inherently inhuman, it's literally in the name. But that doesn't mean it can't be beautiful, or that somehow it's inherently artistically inert. Mountains aren't made by intelligent design, and yet they can be beautiful, mesmerizing, stunning. Waves on a surface of liquids happen on their own. Fire burns without human involvement. Same thing with AI.

There is so much potential for AI Art to have been a kind of novelty technique. Like those people who put oily paints on water surfaces to capture the movement of waves. Or the technique where you put fat blobs of ink on a canvas, let gravity do its thing, and then elaborate the resulting abstract shape into a full peace. Or like photography, picturing the wild and odd working of the machine. It could've been great.

Hell, do you people remember how much fun it was making weird distorted memes with DALL-E? We could've had that still.

But no. The tech industry just had to be run by ghoulish peaces of shit, looking for a new grift to scam investors with, now that the Crypto bubble has bursted. So AI Art is championed by people who hate art and artists. Chatbots by people who despise talking to humans.

And worst of all, there are people trying to use AI with good intentions. There are artists who do the thing I describe above, who are genuinely inspired by the possibilities. As in genuine art artists, not scam artists. And they have to deal with the just but often misinformed negativity aimed and any and all things AI related, which they don't deserve. If anything they are our only hope for a humane AI.

Now don't get me wrong: if we hope to see legal regulations or cultural shifts for the better, or frankly any movement of that kind at all, we have to vocally and viciously despise AI as it currently exists. Dragging Midjourney created images and people like the CEO of Nvidia through mud and rusted nails at every opportunity is the right thing to do.

But it's sill sad that it is.

[vixvaporub]

Whats going on in FL?

Before I share my list of stuff, I just want to say please do your own research so that you can really formulate your own opinion. I really urge you to do your research along with the links I'm providing cause I encourage everyone to keep themselves educated and not depend on other people.

Florida Republicans Pass Bill Allowing Trans Kids to Be Removed From Their Families

Florida expands ‘Don’t Say Gay’; House OKs anti-LGBTQ bills

Collier teacher shows class "Confederate History Month" video

Florida at Center of Debate as School Book Bans Surge Nationally

Florida Senate passes 6-week abortion ban

Desantis war on ‘woke’ colleges sparks fear among professors, students

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs permitless carry gun bill into law

Florida bill would end diversity programs, ban majors, shift power at universities

What We Know About the DeSantis-Disney Dispute

Revisiting DeSantis, Martha's Vineyard, and the migrant flight controversy

Florida Republican pitches bill to eliminate the Florida Democratic Party

What is behind Ron DeSantis’s Stop-Woke Act?

Florida’s Trump-Loving Governor Just Made It OK to Hit Protesters With Your Car

Gov. DeSantis signs controversial death penalty legislation

DeSantis has nearly unchecked power for his anti-trans agenda — he built it that way

Ron DeSantis just notched a win in court. But the judge says he still violated a prosecutor’s free speech rights.

Equality Florida Issues Advisory Warning For Travel

NAACP Florida State Conference Recommends Travel Advisory on the State in Response to African American Studies Ban

Ron DeSantis backs Florida immigration crackdown ahead of 2024 launch

[advestager]

A/I STAN IN THE DASH. I REPEAT A/I STAN GOT THROUGH MY FILTERS INTO THE FUCKIN DASH THIS IS NOT A DRILL

[my-timing-is-digital]

sign, sender walks into a sign and receiver sees.

After disembarking the Enterprise-D, the corresponding crew dispersed to roam Starbase 133's recently opened mall; miscellaneous traders from all across the Alpha and Beta Quadrant offered all sorts commodities, authentically prepared delicacies, and an equally fascinating assortment of merchandise that could not be compartmentalised under the former or penultimate.

While the Enterprise underwent minor repairs to its secondary hull, the majority of its complement had been given permission to rejuvenate themselves on the starbase. The senior staff had agreed to meet outside the terminal and explore the station in one another's company and visit one of the restaurants afterward.

'And? What did the Captain say? Is he still coming?' Commander Riker enquired inquisitively when Data finally attached himself to the group.

'He promised he would join us later,' the android reported professionally, as if providing his superior officer with a briefing on important technical or engineering matters.

'Oh, well. The most important thing is: you tried,' Riker muttered, slightly disillusioned — if the android had interpreted his intonation correctly, and yet, he would appreciate an elaboration on the Commander's statement.

'Sir?'

Riker grinned mysteriously at the android and slapped him amicably on the shoulder, but an explanation was not forthcoming. A confounded expression corrugated Data's light brow as he parsed the Commander's exceedingly enigmatic response, but his endeavours to fathom his words were temporarily diminished to a mere background task when Deanna disrupted the silence between them:

'Perhaps, the Captain might stay true to his word this time. Either way, I think we should go ahead and see for ourselves what the fuss regarding this new mall is all about!'

'I agree,' Dr Crusher chimed in and all six of them set their itinerary for the mall.

The first 30 minutes, they goggled at the splendour of the architecture and the melange of shops and extraterrestrial shopkeepers, visitors and merchants. And as they were sauntering down the promenade, excitedly conversing about all manner of things, Data was occupied surveying the crowd, utterly astonished by the diversity of humanoids congregating at the starbase, and the way in which they interacted. He occasionally inserted remarks or made queries about matters being discussed among his friends, but his primary objective was to observe the strangers. It was during one such observation that he witnessed someone colliding with one of the transparent displays that contained directions and an interactive map of the area. Apparently, Commander Riker had been a spectator to this incident too, and muffled a chuckle — Worf glared at his superior officer reproachfully, probably finding it dishonourable to laugh at somebody else's misfortunes.

'Are you all right?' Data had detached himself from the group and approached the stranger. 'Do you require medical attention?'

[istherewifiinhell]

Am having fun comparing emh and data in terms mental health services received like oh you get a cat you get ur dream therapy and ur little philosophically bolstered hobbies. Hmm. And you... get chew the scenery with ur little necrosis.