THE INTERNET IS SCARY

Such a great talk with @tilmonedwards.com!

The @internetisscary.org is such a fantastic project that needs to be shared widely.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE with Sean Edwards from @internetisscary.org

Sean shares practical insights on protecting yourself online, while keeping the conversation accessible and actionable.

Perfect for anyone looking to build confidence in their digital life! 🎯

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#Cybersecurity #DigitalSafety #TechTalk

The Algorithm Unlike our other personas, the Algorithm isn’t human – yet it might be the most influential force shaping online behavior. Think of it as an invisible broker, constantly watching, learning, a…

The Algorithm: The invisible puppet master shaping what we see to maximize engagement regardless of impact - it learns your vulnerabilities to keep you scrolling, clicking, and sharing.

The Stalker Among the dangerous personas we’ve explored, the Stalker represents a uniquely invasive threat. While Trolls seek reaction and Scammers pursue quick profits, Stalkers fixate on specific targe…

The Stalker: Fixated pursuers who refuse to accept boundaries, treating digital persistence as license for ongoing surveillance - what they frame as dedication is actually a form of abuse.

The Troll Where Scammers seek money and Grifters pursue power, Trolls chase something more abstract: reaction. They deliberately provoke emotional responses from others, finding entertainment in the disrupti…

The Troll: Chaos agents who derive entertainment from provoking emotional responses and derailing productive conversations - they celebrate rather than regret when they cause distress.

The Grifter Where Scammers strike quickly and move on, Grifters play a longer, more sophisticated game. They build communities, cultivate authority, and create ecosystems of trust – all to enable sustained exp…

The Grifter: Building elaborate schemes of trust exploitation, they start with genuine value before gradually mixing in fraudulent claims - they sell salvation rather than solutions.

The Scammer Just as pickpockets and con artists operate in physical spaces, Scammers prowl the digital world looking for victims. Unlike Grifters who build elaborate long-term schemes, Scammers focus on quick …

The Scammer: Digital predators running constant experiments in deception, using artificial urgency to bypass critical thinking - they play the numbers game, knowing some percentage will fall for it.

The Influencer Where Creators focus on producing specific content and Builders craft tools, Influencers craft themselves into products. They transform their personalities, lifestyles, and daily experiences into c…

The Influencer: Transforming their personality and lifestyle into a product, manufacturing parasocial relationships - they sell feelings rather than things, blurring authenticity and performance.

Anonymous In the digital world, true identity can be as fluid as water. While many users maintain consistent personas across platforms, Anonymous actively cultivates uncertainty about who they are. This isn&…

Anonymous: Masters of shifting identity who actively resist being tracked or profiled - their motives range from self-protection to manipulation, making them challenging to evaluate.

The Guardian In a digital landscape rife with threats and exploitation, Guardians stand as defenders of individual privacy, security, and digital rights. These cybersecurity researchers, privacy advocates, and …

The Guardian: Working tirelessly to protect individual privacy, security and digital rights - they fight to preserve the internet as a space for empowerment rather than exploitation.

The Builder While Creators shape content and Digital Citizens inhabit online spaces, Builders construct the very foundations of our digital world. They are the engineers, developers, and technical architects w…

The Builder: The engineers and developers crafting our digital infrastructure with a commitment to transparency and community benefit - they hold immense power but choose to use it ethically.

The Creator In the vast landscape of digital content, Creators stand out as the architects of value. Unlike Digital Citizens who primarily consume content, or Influencers who focus on personal brand, Creators …

The Creator: Building genuine value through expertise and craft, Creators focus on their work rather than personal brand - but platform pressures can tempt them to compromise quality for attention.

The Digital Native Digital Natives thrive online, seeking genuine connections due to personal circumstances. They navigate digital spaces thoughtfully, fostering communities and advocating for digital safety.

The Digital Native: Those who find their primary social connections through digital spaces, sometimes because physical spaces present barriers.

The Digital Citizen At the heart of the internet’s vibrant ecosystem is its most numerous yet often overlooked participant: the Digital Citizen. These are the everyday people who make up the vast majority of onl…

The Digital Citizen: The everyday person just trying to live their life online - their authentic engagement makes them both valuable community members and tempting targets for manipulation.

We just published some new artwork for each of the personas, so here's a thread introducing our cast of characters:

Emily is right. In the attention economy, getting mad amplifies the message that you're mad about. Share something constructive instead. 💯

These hashtags are filled with bots trying to build followings so that they can sell the accounts to spammers or spread disinformation and hate #NoDemUnder5k #NoDemUnder20k #NoDemUnder10k #BlueWave #FollowBack #BlueCrew #Follow4Follow

Read more ⬇️

How China Uses Social Media for Psychological Warfare China's military uses social media and AI for psychological warfare and influence operations.

Yes, they really call it "mind dominance"

When “Animal Rescue” Videos Are Actually Abuse: Understanding Fake Rescue Scams Scammers exploit emotional responses by staging fake animal rescues on social media, misdirecting funds and harming animals in the process.

Not all animal rescue content is what it seems. Scammers are deliberately putting animals in danger to film "rescue" videos for views and donations. Learn how to spot fake rescue content and protect animals from exploitation.

Buster from author makes an incredulous face

"You really think someone would do that? Anonymously provoke reactions that make problems worse for a laugh?"

Some of these drones are sent up by people to deliberately stir moral panic. We wrote about that sort of behavior here ⬇️

/sigh...

🚫 DO NOT SHOOT DOWN DRONES! 🚫
🚫 DO NOT SHOOT DOWN DRONES! 🚫
🚫 DO NOT SHOOT DOWN DRONES! 🚫

These hashtags are filled with bots trying to build followings so that they can sell the accounts to spammers or spread disinformation and hate #NoDemUnder5k #NoDemUnder20k #NoDemUnder10k #BlueWave #FollowBack #BlueCrew #Follow4Follow

Read more ⬇️

🧵 to read more about the dangers of follow farming hashtags

follow back parties is how bad actors make their way into communities and hide in plain sight. be careful with things like #nodemunder1k

The Windshield-Pitting Mystery Of 1954 For some strange reason, people across America began to notice that thousands of automobile windshields were dotted with teeny-tiny pockmarks.

A close parallel is the "pitted car window" panic of 1954, one that went all the way up to the white house. Suddenly, MYSTERIOUS PITTS were appearing on windshields!

But pitted windshields have always been common, except people never looked for them, until then.

www.npr.org/sections/npr...

Hi Ed, thank you for all your work on this problem! The mission of THE INTERNET IS SCARY is to build a brand that educates people about the perils of algorithmic content discovery and the hazards they expose people to. Happy to have you on our side!