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This Week's Updates:
Times Report Draws Attention to Crypto Health Impacts
In late 2023, the operators of a Bitcoin mine in Granbury, Texas finished building a 24-foot soundproofing wall, after residents complained to county commissioners about the noise generated by the facility’s cooling fans. Soon, it became clear that the wall had actually magnified sound in some areas, and noise complaints kept pouring in. In a new investigation, Time Magazine spoke to multiple local doctors who confirmed that they have seen an increase in cases that could be linked to the mine, including headaches, vertigo, and ringing in the ears. Outside experts who study the connection between noise pollution and health are also concerned, especially because the mine runs through the night and prevents residents from sleeping.
While Texas policymakers have created a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrency mining facilities, there are signs that the tide is turning. The lucrative energy deals that CfA’s Tech Transparency Project (TTP) documented in 2022 have come under scrutiny in Texas, as the state’s power grid struggles to serve regular consumers. Meanwhile, in Washington, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is developing a new plan to monitor the industry’s energy consumption, along with that of other data centers. The EIA’s initial proposal was staunchly opposed by cryptocurrency lobbying groups, who described it as “invasive.”
USAID Cites TTP Migrant Misinformation Research
This week, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) published findings from its Central America Digital Ecosystem Regional Assessment, which aims to identify broad trends in online communication and connectivity. One subsection of the report focused on digital threats to marginalized or vulnerable populations, including migrants traveling through Central America. As the USAID researchers noted, migrants must constantly seek information about changing route conditions, immigration laws, and border procedures. Their report cited TTP’s survey of migrants heading to the United States, almost 70% of whom said they used Facebook to access information. USAID researchers also noted that smugglers appear to be increasing their engagement with migrants on social media, and using platforms to recruit vulnerable individuals. It’s unsurprising, therefore, that two thirds of migrants surveyed by the Associated Press in 2023 reported being victimized by scams, fraud, or disinformation. The problem will only worsen as social media companies like Meta pull resources from teams working on scam prevention, user safety, and customer service, which were gutted as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency.”
X Throttles Bellingcat Research
On Monday, Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital was struck by a cruise missile, which killed at least two staffand left 50 people injured. Russian officials immediately denied responsibility for the attack, and claimed that the missile had been fired by Ukrainian forces. As disinformation began circulating on social media, the investigative journalism organization Bellingcat used video of the event to confirm that the hospital had been struck by a Russian projectile, and posted their findings on X (formerly known as Twitter). Soon, users attempting to view the article reported that X had flagged the link as “potentially spammy or unsafe,” despite Bellingcat’s reputation as a credible source. The restriction was eventually lifted, but it likely impacted the story’s reach on X; a popular post that blamed Ukraine and the United States for the attack received 6.6 million views, for instance, while Bellingcat’s fact-check only reached 3.4 million.
A day after the attack, the FBI announced that it had identified a large, AI-driven bot network on X, which had been developed with the Kremlin’s approval by senior staff at Russia’s state-run RT News. The fake accounts were used to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine, and often portrayed themselves as Americans. It’s possible that Bellingcat’s research was mass-reported by a similar bot network, in order to trick X’s systems into flagging it as spam.
