Todd Helmus
@toddhelmus.bsky.social
Research analyst focusing on foreign influence, #terrorism, #propaganda and social media. Speaker. My opinions; Not my employer’s. RTs not endorsements.
Reposted by Todd Helmus
So much great work coming out on people-first tech lately! Today from KGI, an incredibly detailed report on recommender systems by a collection of rockstar technologists. We focus so much on moderation, but *curation*- particularly recommendation- really matters!
kgi.georgetown.edu/research-and...
kgi.georgetown.edu/research-and...
Better Feeds: Algorithms That Put People First – Knight-Georgetown Institute
kgi.georgetown.edu
March 4, 2025 at 9:39 PM
So much great work coming out on people-first tech lately! Today from KGI, an incredibly detailed report on recommender systems by a collection of rockstar technologists. We focus so much on moderation, but *curation*- particularly recommendation- really matters!
kgi.georgetown.edu/research-and...
kgi.georgetown.edu/research-and...
I am writing up talking points for a int’l symposium event on what the west must do to deter adversaries from using disinformation in conflict.
Realizing tho that the notion of a unified “west” is an increasingly an antiquated and out of date notion. And it blows my mind.
Realizing tho that the notion of a unified “west” is an increasingly an antiquated and out of date notion. And it blows my mind.
March 4, 2025 at 8:45 AM
I am writing up talking points for a int’l symposium event on what the west must do to deter adversaries from using disinformation in conflict.
Realizing tho that the notion of a unified “west” is an increasingly an antiquated and out of date notion. And it blows my mind.
Realizing tho that the notion of a unified “west” is an increasingly an antiquated and out of date notion. And it blows my mind.
Reposted by Todd Helmus
Disinformation & propaganda reinforce social identity.
Emotional need for belonging seems to dominate the need to understand what’s really going on.
RAND Corporation Sr Scientist @toddhelmus.bsky.social discussed this in the context of terror groups.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=GvC2...
Emotional need for belonging seems to dominate the need to understand what’s really going on.
RAND Corporation Sr Scientist @toddhelmus.bsky.social discussed this in the context of terror groups.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=GvC2...
RAND Corp's Sr Behavioral Scientist Todd Helmus on how propaganda reinforces community, 27 July 2023
YouTube video by Cambridge Disinformation Summit
m.youtube.com
February 9, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Disinformation & propaganda reinforce social identity.
Emotional need for belonging seems to dominate the need to understand what’s really going on.
RAND Corporation Sr Scientist @toddhelmus.bsky.social discussed this in the context of terror groups.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=GvC2...
Emotional need for belonging seems to dominate the need to understand what’s really going on.
RAND Corporation Sr Scientist @toddhelmus.bsky.social discussed this in the context of terror groups.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=GvC2...
Reposted by Todd Helmus
As a reporter who covered the Facebook apology tour circa 2016, and spent HOURS on the phone with FB flak and executives earnestly telling me Zuckerberg was torn up over Russian election interference and was making it a top priority to fix misinfo on FB, this week’s developments are 🙃
January 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
As a reporter who covered the Facebook apology tour circa 2016, and spent HOURS on the phone with FB flak and executives earnestly telling me Zuckerberg was torn up over Russian election interference and was making it a top priority to fix misinfo on FB, this week’s developments are 🙃
Emily Gross and I shared beers while chatting on her podcast, @beerocracy.bsky.social. Beers aside, we spoke about a deadly serious topic, extremism and suicide-protest among veterans. We also spoke about how my participation in a One-Wheel Facebook group explains online radicalization.
Check out the latest Beerocracy! where @toddhelmus.bsky.social and I discuss a poignant topic in the wake of the tragedies on New Years Day.
A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
youtu.be/gCG9eonpRyI
A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
youtu.be/gCG9eonpRyI
A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
YouTube video by Beerocracy! with Emily Gross
youtu.be
January 10, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Emily Gross and I shared beers while chatting on her podcast, @beerocracy.bsky.social. Beers aside, we spoke about a deadly serious topic, extremism and suicide-protest among veterans. We also spoke about how my participation in a One-Wheel Facebook group explains online radicalization.
And this story is heartbreaking. A devil’s brew of PTSD, depression, paranoid delusions and TBI.
Was he getting the care he needed or was he left out in the lurch by the Army?
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Was he getting the care he needed or was he left out in the lurch by the Army?
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Tesla Cybertruck driver struggled with mental health, investigators say
Authorities say U.S. soldier Matthew Livelsberger died by suicide in a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 4, 2025 at 2:08 PM
And this story is heartbreaking. A devil’s brew of PTSD, depression, paranoid delusions and TBI.
Was he getting the care he needed or was he left out in the lurch by the Army?
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Was he getting the care he needed or was he left out in the lurch by the Army?
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Fascinating story about the New Orleans attacker’s deepening spiral to isolation and puritanical Islam.
But still no public evidence that he consumed extremist propaganda or connected with recruiters or other followers. So the big question still remains. Why ISIS?
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/u...
But still no public evidence that he consumed extremist propaganda or connected with recruiters or other followers. So the big question still remains. Why ISIS?
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/u...
Tracing the New Orleans Attacker’s Secret Radicalization
Recordings and interviews detail Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s growing discontent with American society and increasing isolation even within his local Muslim community.
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Fascinating story about the New Orleans attacker’s deepening spiral to isolation and puritanical Islam.
But still no public evidence that he consumed extremist propaganda or connected with recruiters or other followers. So the big question still remains. Why ISIS?
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/u...
But still no public evidence that he consumed extremist propaganda or connected with recruiters or other followers. So the big question still remains. Why ISIS?
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/u...
A provocative little tidbit here that the United Health Care assassination suspect was captured with document that indicates “ill will towards corporate America.”
Could this broader than a targeted killing and veer into the terrorism arena?
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Could this broader than a targeted killing and veer into the terrorism arena?
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Live updates: Police say 26-year-old man in custody in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
The latest news in the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 9, 2024 at 8:18 PM
A provocative little tidbit here that the United Health Care assassination suspect was captured with document that indicates “ill will towards corporate America.”
Could this broader than a targeted killing and veer into the terrorism arena?
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Could this broader than a targeted killing and veer into the terrorism arena?
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...