Geek City at 8 AM:

8:00 AM --- The Geekbox:

Wherein we discuss tromping through the wilds of Ireland, eating blood, the angry streets of London, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Doctor Who, Injustice 2, Heroes of the Storm, Twin Peaks, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Better Call Saul, and name changes. Starring Ryan Scott, Justin Haywald, Ryan Higgins, and Alice Liang.

9:00 AM -- Partially Derivative:

Jonathon talks with special guests C E Carey and Kris Shaffer about their research into “influence operations” – the propaganda campaigns that are changing the way conversations happen on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and the other places we hang out online. Both Kris and Carey are Data for Democracy volunteers, and Carey is a computational biologist in her dayjob, while Kris is a professor at the University of Mary Washington where he teaches computer science and digital studies.

Here’s links to the research projects discussed in the episode:
Continued Bot Infiltration of Trump’s Facebook Pages (CE Carey)
The Business of Hate Media (Kris Shaffer)
Sockpuppets, Secessionists, and Breitbart

Download the episode

Make a Difference We started a community for data people who want to find impactful projects and meet collaborators. Check out Data for Democracy, and come hang out with us!

Sponsors! We’d also of course like to thank this week’s sponsors, Veera and Periscope Data.

Veera is a data synthesis platform that makes working with data easier and more fun. Check out Veera, and go be a data superhero!

Periscope Data lets you go from SQL query to analysis in seconds. Sign up for a trial to get an adorably geeky mug!