Facebook is a newstand. But no one can see which news Facebook is pushing to the top.

So we built an app for that called #CitizenBrowser. Our first finding: the sharp impact of Facebook’s political ad ban reversal in the Georgia Senate elections.
https://t.co/GZNdwZOlHW /1

This is the first report from our #CitizenBrowser project. There will be many more to come. But first, I want to tell you a bit about how we did it because it’s the most ambitious thing we’ve ever done @themarkup – and we do a lot of ambitious projects. /2
#CitizenBrowser grew out of conversations @suryamattu and I had about how to audit Facebook. We had both worked on browser extensions to collect data from Facebook, but FB always threatened to shut those down, just like their recent threats against the NYU AdObservatory. /3
But the bigger problem is that browser extensions don’t capture most FB activity. Most people use FB on mobile and browser extensions only work on desktop or laptop computers.

So one night, late at the WeWork, @suryamattu said to me: “We’ll have to build our own browser.” /4
“No way,” I said. “That’s insane.” But slowly, I came around. Here’s why: browsers are good at running in the background. Users could log into FB once through the browser and never use it again.

Then we wouldn’t be monitoring users. We would only be monitoring their feed. /5
So we built a browser. Ok, not quite. We built an Electron app that automates data collection using the Chrome web browser. Then we built tools that remove personal identifiers from that data, such as users’ names and their friends’ names, and discard them. /6
Then we hired a survey research provider to invite a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults to install the app. Panelists are paid to participate and yes, they understand the privacy issues—here is the Privacy FAQ we provide for panelists.

https://t.co/nExS6efQtc /7
Our panel consists of around 1,000 paid participants from 48 states. It's reasonably representative although we could use more Latinos and Trump voters and our crew is older and more educated than the U.S. population, which reflects desktop computer usage. /8
The panel gave us our first peek inside the black box of Facebook’s algorithms. In the past month we saw how news feeds in Georgia changed dramatically when Facebook flipped the switch to turn on political ads. https://t.co/GZNdwZOlHW /9
And we have much more to share with you in the coming weeks. Sign up for our #CitizenBrowser newsletter to follow along as we try to understand the social media algorithms that shape our lives. https://t.co/vFHrOjCNUm /10
As always, we show our work. For more details on how we built our app and assembled our panel, read our methodology. https://t.co/HQVkAH9s6d /11
I couldn’t be prouder our insanely dedicated team who made this happen: @suryamattu @leonyin @corintxt @angiewaller @jonkeegan @sammorrisdesign @mynameisfiber @magiccia @cortesi @jeffcrouse @iaaaan @rinapalta @simplysecureorg /end
P.S. If you want a TL;DR version of the #CitizenBrowser project, today's newsletter is a good place to start. https://t.co/7dmFtMCKDt

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Or, you could let us know when you figure out why it was trending yesterday and the users are complaining which is why Vice wrote about it. Why I'm saying what I am.

There's an assumption here that this problem is fixed bc it was already hacked.

It's not.


We have ppl freezing and dying in TX right now because some ppl who thought they were really smart never spoke to anyone with actual experience with energy systems in extreme cold climates.

Texans are waiting for a solution to a preventable problem.

Farmers are saying that now, not during a crisis, they have to wait for a JD tech to arrive to help them.

The assumption that bc SOME farmers said screw this and used hacked firmware to get around that obstacle doesn't mean that all farmers are doing that.

If all farmers were using hacked firmware we wouldn't be discussing this right now would we?

Of course no one has pointed out that another issue here is that no one at John Deere has figured out they don't have enough staff to quickly and reliably SOLVE problems.

The locked firmware is just one of many issues here.

By not giving people a fast solution they're causing this and other issues.

So what I'm saying is somebody at John Deere needs to examine all of this.

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Following @BAUDEGS I have experienced hateful and propagandist tweets time after time. I have been shocked that an academic community would be so reckless with their publications. So I did some research.
The question is:
Is this an official account for Bahcesehir Uni (Bau)?


Bahcesehir Uni, BAU has an official website
https://t.co/ztzX6uj34V which links to their social media, leading to their Twitter account @Bahcesehir

BAU’s official Twitter account


BAU has many departments, which all have separate accounts. Nowhere among them did I find @BAUDEGS
@BAUOrganization @ApplyBAU @adayBAU @BAUAlumniCenter @bahcesehirfbe @baufens @CyprusBau @bauiisbf @bauglobal @bahcesehirebe @BAUintBatumi @BAUiletisim @BAUSaglik @bauebf @TIPBAU

Nowhere among them was @BAUDEGS to find
First thread of the year because I have time during MCO. As requested, a thread on the gods and spirits of Malay folk religion. Some are indigenous, some are of Indian origin, some have Islamic


Before I begin, it might be worth explaining the Malay conception of the spirit world. At its deepest level, Malay religious belief is animist. All living beings and even certain objects are said to have a soul. Natural phenomena are either controlled by or personified as spirits

Although these beings had to be respected, not all of them were powerful enough to be considered gods. Offerings would be made to the spirits that had greater influence on human life. Spells and incantations would invoke their


Two known examples of such elemental spirits that had god-like status are Raja Angin (king of the wind) and Mambang Tali Arus (spirit of river currents). There were undoubtedly many more which have been lost to time

Contact with ancient India brought the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism to SEA. What we now call Hinduism similarly developed in India out of native animism and the more formal Vedic tradition. This can be seen in the multitude of sacred animals and location-specific Hindu gods