A recent study in Applied Cognitive Science shows that people believed the video taped account of an event even when it differs from the reality that they witnessed. In a time when even experts have trouble telling when a video has been doctored, this could present an evidence problem.
The Study
The study put 60 participants into a gambling game making bets on correct answers to trivia questions. The player next to each participant was a researcher. Later, the participants were shown doctored video of the game making it look like the researcher had cheated. One third of the subjects were told that the person next to them may have cheated, one third were gold that the person next to them was caught on camera cheating, and one third was shown the fake footage of the other player cheating. Then, they were all asked to sign a statement only if they had seen the act of cheating taking place.
Conclusion
1. Five percent of those who were told about the cheating signed the statement.
2. Ten percent of those told that the cheating was caught on camera (but didn’t actually see the video) signed the statement.
3. Forty percent of those who saw the altered video signed. Plus, another ten percent signed after being asked again by the researcher.
Source: Scientific American
The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission recently announced that it would stop its $200-a-day fine on Facebook for refusing to comply with an airline’s subpoena for information about a flight attendant who used to work for the airline. The airline claimed that Facebook photos proved that the ex-flight attendant had posted holiday photos.
Source: CNET
The Chinese government had mandated that a filtering software be put on to all computers sold in the country earlier this year. The Green Dam software prevented sites from being viewed and is essentially a filter blocking access to what the Chinese government deemed inappropriate material. Critics also have claimed the government could also use Green Dam to spy on the computer activities of its users.
This idea started to buckle almost immediately from computer manufactures who balked on including such software on the PCs they sold in the country. China relented and allowed computer manufactures to ship computers without Green Dam installed in early July. Now Chinese schools are also tossing out the filtering software due to complaints of it buggy nature. Green Dam still must be installed in all internet cafes and other public places that provide access to the internet.
Whats your take on Green Dam? Let us know in the comments!
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China’s government is requiring music sites to seek approval from censors for all foreign songs distributed on the Internet. China’s Ministry of Culture is requiring all music providers out of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan submit lyrics translated into Chinese (along with other documents) for every song they wish to sell in China to prevent the “intermingling of good and bad content” online. Search engines like Baidu and Google will be fall under the providers regulated.
Google already began cooperating with Chinese law blocking songs that have been banned by the government in its role as a music provider. Still, providing documentation for every song that shows up in a Google search seems tough. To do business in China, Google might have to find a way.
Source: ARS Technica