[Air-L] Literature on fake profiles on Facebook and Twitter

Tue May 16 06:00:10 PDT 2017

Dear all,

There were protests a couple of years ago emerging from the drag community,
Native Americans, and trans people around the 'real name' policy and
allegedly FB loosened its policy at that time.

See:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/02/facebook-real-name-policy-protest

However, FB is recently tightening the policy again as I have discovered
after personal experience I outline below and in discussions that emerged
when I resolved not to return to FB because I don't agree that I should be
forced to scan my ID to a social networking platform in order to use it
(which is what FB requires of me now to log back in to my account).

In fact, the policy is that one has to be called the name used for a FB
profile rather than one's legal name. So,* why is FB requiring people to
send evidence of real names*?! This is an extremely dangerous terrain.

This *mission creep* is very worrying and one that civil
liberties/surveillance specialists have warned we should cautious about for
many years, and frankly, Big Brother is here.

Here is my experience:

I set up a profile called Quantified Worker about six months ago as part of
an *experiment in extreme self branding. *

My profile was a *personal* profile rather than a business page because it
is intended as an activist comment on work becoming life becoming work.
Work/life integration is almost always required in workplaces today and of
course quantification is part of that. My research looks into this at
length. (See some abstracts and links to my research here:*
https://phoebevmoore.wordpress.com/ <https://phoebevmoore.wordpress.com/>* )

I  decided not to use the business profile option, because I want to curate
my audience in extreme self branding. My book comes out this year
(Quantified Self in Precarity: Work, Techology and What Counts) so it is
also part of that.

I could have opted for a 'closed group' but given the grey area between the
person as separate from brand I'd decided to experiment with, I decided I
would curate my audience by only accepting friends I actually know, the
message being that I am my work and I am the quantified worker.

Two weeks ago, I received an email from FB saying:

*Hi,*

*We ask everyone on Facebook to use the name they go by in everyday life –
what their friends call them. You can keep your current name if it's the
name you're known by. Otherwise, we'll ask you to edit it.*

*We'll need you to review your name at some point in the next seven days.
After this time, you won't be able to log back in to Facebook until you
update your name.*

*Is Quantified Worker the name you use in everyday life?*

*View updates from your Support Inbox: https://fb.me/c0MaTEbVPq8eFK
<https://fb.me/c0MaTEbVPq8eFK>*

A week later, I received an email from FB requiring me to say what name
people call me in every day life and requiring I send copies of my ID
(passport, driving license, etc.).

In requiring us to use real names, FB is telling consumers that they are
the only ones permitted to profile us and permitted to make a profit from
our digital labour... not to mention giving this information to the
government if/when requested. Nice one, Zuckster!

I have not sent my ID to FB and so have not logged back on and I don't plan
to. I really think a mass exodus from Facebook would be a good idea.

Thanks
Phoebe

Dr Phoebe V Moore
Personal email pvm.doc at gmail.com
Work email p.moore at mdx.ac.uk
Twitter @phoebemoore
Profile
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-directory/profile/moore-phoebe
<http://www.mdx.ac.uk/aboutus/staffdirectory/phoebe-moore.aspx>
Biolog http://phoebevmoore.wordpress.com/

On 16 May 2017 at 12:32, Johan Dam Farkas <jjfs at itu.dk> wrote:

> Dear Nathalie,
>
>
> Glad to hear that you could use the input.
>
> Our article on cloaked Facebook pages was accepted to New Media & Society
> in late March, and a final, proofread version was submitted 10 days ago.
> So, it should be online soon.
>
>
> I can send a link in this thread, when it comes out..
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> - Johan Farkas
>
>
> Johan Farkas
> Assistant Lecturer & Research Assistant
> IT University of Copenhagen
> University of Bergen
> Mail: jjfs at itu.dk
> Phone: +4561346209
>
> --- Latest article ---
> Schou, J. and Farkas, J. (2016). Algorithms, Interfaces, and the
> Circulation of Information: Interrogating the Epistemological Challenges of
> Facebook. KOME - An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry
> 4(1): 36-49.
> ________________________________
> Fra: Nathalie PATON <nathalie.paton at univ-toulouse.fr>
> Sendt: 16. maj 2017 13:03:29
> Til: MC Cambre; Johan Dam Farkas
> Cc: air-l
> Emne: Re: [Air-L] Literature on fake profiles on Facebook and Twitter
>
> Many thanks to those have responded by sharing references or explaining
> cases, this is very helpful!
>
> Johan, I really look forward to reading your paper! Any idea on when it
> will be published online?
>
> Best regards,
> Nathalie
>
> Nathalie Paton, PhD
> Junior Researcher
> University of Toulouse, France
> EHESS, Paris, France
>
> MC Cambre <mcambre at ualberta.ca> wrote:
> This is an interesting topic, with a number of logistical challenges, a
> bit of a rabbit hole, if you will. For example, I had a fake account for 10
> years, primary reason being that I was collecting data via Facebook, and
> also storing data there. Recently someone reported I had a fake name, and
> the account has been blocked, all evidence of it has disappeared across all
> groups, 'friends' and pages. To re-open it, I have to upload photo ID, 2
> pieces. There is a youtube video on how to create fake ID for facebook
> accounts, etc. etc.
>
> I want to highlight that mine was a fake profile, not a fake account
> (which I would define as a bot)
>
> Because of the facebook crackdown on fake profiles, people who wish to
> mask their identity have been forced to go deeper into cover. There are a
> number of mechanisms by which the platform seeks out and closes all fake
> profiles, both robotic and human managed. Even people who no longer work
> for facebook, maintain the 'party line' - hard to get them to talk.
>
> Kindly,
> carolina
>
> On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 4:42 AM, Johan Dam Farkas <jjfs at itu.dk<mailto:
> jjfs at itu.dk>> wrote:
>
> Dear Nathalie,
>
>
> Research on this topic is unfortunately still scarse, especially in the
> context of Facebook.
>
> Here are some articles on Twitter and social bots:
> <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2635800>
> https://arxiv.org/abs/1407.5225
> https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2635800
> <https://arxiv.org/abs/1407.5225>https://www.aaai.org/ocs/
> index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM16/paper/view/13015/12793
>
> Otherwise, to do a bit of shameless self-promotion, me and two collegues
> have a forthcoming article in New Media & Society entitled: Cloaked
> Facebook pages: Exploring fake Islamist propaganda in social media. Should
> be out very soon.
>
> Best wishes,
> - Johan Farkas
> <https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM16/paper/view/13015/12793>
>
> Johan Farkas
> Assistant Lecturer & Research Assistant
> IT University of Copenhagen
> University of Bergen
> Mail: jjfs at itu.dk<mailto:jjfs at itu.dk>
> Phone: <tel:%2B4561346209> +4561346209<tel:+4561346209>
>
> --- Latest article ---
> Schou, J. and Farkas, J. (2016). Algorithms, Interfaces, and the
> Circulation of Information: Interrogating the Epistemological Challenges of
> Facebook. KOME - An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry
> 4(1): 36-49<tel:+333649>.
> ________________________________
> Fra: Air-L <air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org<mailto:air-l-bounces@
> listserv.aoir.org>> på vegne af Nathalie PATON <
> nathalie.paton at univ-toulouse.fr<mailto:nathalie.paton at univ-toulouse.fr>>
> Sendt: 15. maj 2017 10:17:43
> Til: air-l
> Emne: [Air-L] Literature on fake profiles on Facebook and Twitter
>
> Dear Internet researchers,
>
> In the frame of research on political participation online, I am looking
> for recent literature on fake profiles. I am especially interested in fake
> profiles on Facebook and Twitter, or anything related that could be
> relevant.
>
> My understanding of the situation is that robots are mainly used on
> Twitter to create fake accounts; they're used to automatically transfer
> content and generate audience around certain hashtags. On Facebook however,
> this operation is more complex since people would beed to subscribe to the
> fake accounts. But, as some researchers will probably notice, my
> understanding of the phenomenon is very limited.
>
> Any information and literature would be very welcome. Many thanks in
> advance!
>
> Best regards,
>
> Nathalie Paton, PhD
> Junior Researcher
> University of Toulouse, France
> EHESS, Paris, France
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> --
> --
> Dr. Carolina Cambre PhD
> Assistant Professor
> Concordia University, Montréal
> https://concordia.academia.edu/mariacarolinacambre
> Co-chair IVSA 2017:   www.IVSA2017.com<http://www.IVSA2017.com>
> <http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-guevara-9781472505293/>
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