Online Privacy and Why it's Dead

Why Online Privacy is Dead'

Photo Credit to Smart Cities World

In 2019 America, the concept of online privacy is almost entirely a thing of the past. Due to enhanced surveillance technologies, government and third-party spying, and everyone having a phone in their pocket; one could fairly easily track a person, then know their hobbies, interests, family records, and web search history. 

With the rise in popularity of social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, users are willingly giving over their private information in the name of finding like-minded people. This is vastly wrong because these social media companies do not have secure servers, and they can be either purged or hacked by opposing governments or groups with ease. As a result, millions of profiles have had their private information leaked out into the public sphere. 

Government spying on civilians is also to blame for the death of online privacy. Since the passage of the US PATRIOT Act after 9/11, the NSA, CIA, and FBI have been among a group of agencies tasked with gathering information on American citizens in the name of public safety. When teamed up with companies such as Facebook, the government's knowledge on average citizens is alarmingly high. 

Is online privacy fully dead? For the most art, due to the ability to track an individual's online footprint and IP Address. While there has yet to be any widespread catastrophic misuse of this information by the government, it is not their right to have private information on the citizenry. If an individual were attempting to hide from the government, their efforts would be in vain due to the tracking power available through the internet. 

Photo Credit to Smart Cities World. 

Fake News vs. Disinformation/Misinformation

Fake News vs. Disinformation/Misinformation

Photo Credit to David Kleinschuster

What exactly is the difference between the more-contemporary term 'fake news' and traditional disinformation or misinformation? 

'Fake news' as popularized by candidate-turned-president Donald J. Trump, most commonly refers to "fabricated news with no basis in fact but is being presented as factually accurate." Fake news can be found in traditional media sources such as television, print, or radio, or can be on social media or websites dedicated to spreading lies. Fake news is almost always politically-fueled, trying to benefit one person, party, or group at the expense of another. 

Disinformation is defined as 'false information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media." People who spread disinformation do so intentionally, as they are unethically reporting lies about an opposing person, party, or group. 'Fake news' by definition does fall under disinformation, as it deceives public opinion with warped facts and figures. 

Where misinformation differs from disinformation is in the impetus or reasoning behind the action. Misinformation is still spreading false news, but the inaccuracies are recorded due to error or misunderstanding. While misinformation is just as bad as disinformation or 'fake news,' it is not done under malice but rather through carelessness and incompetence. 

All three aforementioned forms of reporting are all unethical media practices of spreading lies. Any reporter must be 100% sure that their facts, figures, statistics, or other material is absolutely truthful before either broadcasting or publishing. In today's hyper-partisan America however, these malpractices run rampant among mainstream media, as both the left and the right actively report on lies about each other. 

Link to this PowerPoint Presentation.

False Flags

False Flags, What are they and Why do they Matter?

A false flag is defined as an operation which is meant to mislead information. This is a fairly common tactic used to put blame on another group, nation, political party, or individual.

Often times, false flags are precursors to wars, as was the case with World War II. The German Nazi party had spread false information about Poland attempting an attack, in order to rally public support for the invasion of Warsaw in 1939 which was the catalyst for the war.

False flags may also be used as political strategies, albeit unethical ones, to pin misleading claims or accusations on opponents. This has especially been prevalent in contemporary American politics.

One other notable example of a false flag being used for a political cause occurred in 1954 in Egypt. A group of Egyptian Jewish citizens were hired by the Israeli Army to bomb various embassies. This was in an effort to repel the British occupation of Egypt, as the attacks were wrongly blamed on the Brits.

Modern-day conspiracy theorists also subscribe to false flag beliefs. There are large segments of the population who believe that attacks suck as 9/11, the Sandy Hook shooting, the Las Vegas massacre, or the Pulse nightclub shooting were all false flag operations. This disbelief in official recounts of these attacks is due to mistrust in the federal government, as well as little information provided for some of these attacks.

False flags have been a virulent part of communication, politics, and espionage for decades. Political groups, nations, powerful individuals, or other groups have long been willing to put their opposition down, whether or not their claims were truthful. False flags must be handled carefully though, as they could quite literally lead the world into a massive conflict.

How Big is My Online Footprint?

How Big is My Personal Online Footprint?

Photo Credit to WoBlogger.com

As a college student and an up-and-coming Motorsports journalist, exactly how large is my online footprint? How in-depth is publicly-accessible data on my personal interests, my political views, private information, or my friends/family? 

As a writer and editor for TSJ101Sports.com, I am a content creator for that website, as well as very active on both their NASCAR Department's Twitter and my personal account. In addition, I am active on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. 

I would say that my activity is mostly centered on Twitter, where I post racing news among other information daily. I would then list Instagram as my second-most used social media app, though I hardly post on it. I would put Facebook next, as I only use Facebook to post photo albums and be a member of various groups. 

Have I been careful with what information I do or do not post publicly or give to these social media companies? I would say that I am very privy to keeping my personal information close to the vest now, but I was not when I first joined these apps. As a result, most of my social media is racing-centric rather than personal data. 

I have given my personal Gmail address to each of the aforementioned apps, as emails are required to log in. I have since unsubscribed from email updates, as they were a constant barrage in my inbox. 

As a result, some but not much personal information can be found from my social media profiles. Since I am nowadays much less prone to post semi-private data, detecting my personal info would take some digging back into the past. 

As a racing journalist, having an online social media presence is now a part of the job description. However, my career choice does not mean that I am able to post whichever personal information I want, big tech companies are still to not be trusted with some matters. It is certainly a difficult balance to determine what I should or should not post publicly, let alone share with social media apps. 

Photo credit to WoBlogger.com 

Diffusion of Innovation: Autonomous Cars

Diffusion of Innovation: Autonomous Cars



Autonomous or self-driving cars are a modern transportation innovation that is truly revolutionary in how it could simplify everyday life. However, this technological phenomenon has been slow to catch on with Americans, despite great advances in its feasibility and performance. Let's take a look at the diffusion of innovation for self-driving cars.

Pioneers: Early automotive innovators, engineers in Japan, and contemporary figures such as Elon Musk.

Early Adopters: People in foreign countries with larger populations and more drivers (European cities), rich people in America, and Uber.

Late Adopters: The general American public is still skeptical of autonomous vehicles, due to safety concerns and our deeply ingrained car culture. Racing legend Mario Andretti famously said "I'd rather be dead before self-driving cars take over, I just love driving so much."

Laggers: American auto manufacturers have also been slow to develop self-driving cars for sale in the states, due to them not being street-legal in every state quite yet.

We are still in the midst of the experimental/launch phase of autonomous cars/vehicles. There have been very few early adopters of this technology, due to its current impracticality and legality. It is tough to say whether or not self-driving will be the next big breakthrough, but with the rich car culture in America and the freedoms given by driving oneself, it is not likely to take over society in the near future.

Marketplace of Ideas is Integral to Democracy

Why the Marketplace of Ideas is Integral to a Free Democracy

Photo Credit to Eddie Playfair

In my opinion, the marketplace of ideas is the most important value of free expression for a few major reasons.

This concept of a marketplace of ideas was borne out of the early American debate over whether or not printing or publishing should require a government-issued license. In his work entitled Areopagitica, John Milton argues that when truth and falsehood are allowed to freely grapple, truth will win out. And the grappling makes the truth even stronger. In short, this was the winning argument against the government requiring a publishing license for journalists and publications. 

Also known as the Discovery of Truth, a marketplace of ideas must be protected under a free democracy in order for all people's views to have an equal voice and presence in society. Whether an individual leans right or left politically, they should have the ability to watch or read viewpoints that either support or dispute their claims. If there are two people, one who voted for President Trump and one who voted for Hillary Clinton, they should both have the same ability to watch either Fox News or MSNBC. 

Along with free press protections, the marketplace of ideas is a vital part of the First Amendment's free speech clause. If the U.S. government required publishing licenses, they would effectively have control over who has a voice in mainstream media and what viewpoints are socially relevant. Since no such requirements exist, American society truly is a melting pot with a wide swath of political and social viewpoints, creating a truly free marketplace of ideas. 

Photo Credit to Eddie Playfair

The Autonomous Automobile's Slow Rise

The Slow Rise in Popularity of Autonomous Cars

• An autonomous car is a vehicle that is capable of driving itself with
  little or no human interaction.

• Self-driving technology was first experimented with in the 1920s,
  heavily tested in the 1950s, and the first semi-autonomous car was
  introduced in Japan in 1977.

• Numerous auto manufacturers have attempted to perfect the autonomous
  vehicle, such as Mercedes-Benz, GM, Nissan, Toyota, Audi, and Volvo.

• Uber has tested out their services with “driverless” cars.

• Currently, driverless cars are being tested more in Europe than in the
  US, 29 states have passed laws allowing autonomous vehicles.
  
  
• Problems involving self driving cars include the inability to detect
  pedestrians, some have been killed as a result of this.
  
  
• Self driving cars have been slow to catch on in America, due to our
  car culture and the fact that so many of us love the freedom of
  driving ourselves.

• In the words of auto racing legend Mario Andretti, "I would rather die before self driving cars take over."

• As digital technology/Artificial Intelligence becomes more advanced,
  so will the capabilities of driverless cars.

• In our lifetimes, trucking, one of the most prolific job industries in
  America, could become all-digital/driverless.

• Proposals for autonomous car racing series have been announced. This could be a success, as auto manufacturers have always been drawn to racing due to the concept of 'Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.'
  
  
• The popularity/appeal of this idea may be slow to catch on, as the
  Formula E electric racing series is not as prevalent as traditional
  motorsports such as NASCAR, IndyCar, or Formula 1.
  
  
• Fully driverless cars may not occur in our lifetime, but
  semi-driverless vehicles that have ‘autopilot’ features are being
  tested successfully.

Link to this PowerPoint presentation