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Thank God for Donald Trumps war on censorship.

Go to any Trump rally and youll not only hear Christians roaring approvingly when Trump uses obscenities that are unprintable in this newspaper, but you will also see Christians young and old wearing T-shirts that say things like F--- Joe Biden. Back in the day, you could see Hillary Is A Bihct T-shirts on little Christian tykes roaming about Trump gatherings, but with the operative word spelled correctly. I actually saw a baby in a onesie recently with F--- Biden on it, but again with all the necessary letters to sufficiently offend tender hearts. I cant confirm the infants religious preference, but she was white and professing hatred for Joe Biden, so she was either a right-wing Christian or a QAnon disciple, the line between which has become as nonexistent as reality at a Trump rally.

I never expected Christians to rail against censoring obscenity so openly, but Christian children sporting F--- Biden apparel makes it more acceptable, as pervasive use of profanity dilutes its power to offend. The F--- Biden flags and yard signs commonly seen in South Dakota may not be my preferred political message, but Im all for it if it means defeating the faux-Puritan censorship so pervasive in America.

With Trumps assistance, all manner of obscenity may soon be accepted as banal in the Press & Dakotan. We may even stop targeting bans on a certain caliber of books when obscenity loses its firepower.

Excerpt from:
Letter: War On Censorship | Letters to the Editor - Yankton Daily Press

Theres a joke, playing on the quantum worlds unique properties, that goes, There are three types of people in this world: Those who understand quantum computing, those who dont understand quantum computing, and those who simultaneously do and do not understand quantum computing. All kidding aside, Weiwen Jiang sees a world in which quantum computing is in widespread use; with new funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), he is taking steps toward that goal.

Jiang, an assistant professor in George Mason Universitys Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is leading two recently awarded NSF projectsworth a total $900,000for work on the development of these complex devices and on building the quantum workforce of tomorrow.

Quantum computers differ from classical computers in that they use elements of quantum mechanics to perform calculations, allowing them to operate much faster and crunch more data. While there are several operational quantum computers in useIBM and Google are among the top manufacturersthey currently are far from their promised potential and simply cannot yet make the large-scale calculations predicted of them.

Jiang said one key problem is, They are not stable. We can use them for computations, but you might get one answer today and then get an entirely different answer tomorrow.

Quantum devices are notoriously susceptible to noisespecifically, things like cosmic rays, changes in the Earth's magnetic field, radiation, and even mobile wi-fi signals. The noise contributes to the devices instability.

The $600,000 collaborative grant will fund the work of Jiang and his collaborators from Kent State University in developing an adaptor that will adjust to fluctuating noise, improving the performance of applications on quantum devices. Jiang is well versed on the topic, having recently won the Best Poster Award for System-level optimizations in improving the robustness of quantum applications on unstable quantum devices at an event at Oak Ridge National Lab.

According to Jiangs preliminary works, the deployment of the quantum applications faces several challenges, including: sustainabilityon one quantum processor, most quantum applications are sensitive to the temporal changes of quantum noise; portabilitydifferent quantum processors (even from the same vendor) with specific properties will lead to variation of model uncertainty; and transparencya lack of visualization tools can block users from tailoring their quantum applications to quantum computers for higher reliability. The NSF project will systematically provide solutions in response to these challenges.

Jiang is optimistic about the future of quantum computing: Every year, we see a lot of breakthroughs. Just a couple of months ago IBM published a paper on noise reduction. And every year, we see that the number of qubits in quantum computers increases from five in the year 2000 to over 400 on a new computer from IBM. (A qubit is the basic unit of information used in quantum computing, much like a 1 and 0 for traditional computing.)

Another grant, which Jiang shares with collaborators MingzhenTian and JessicaRosenberg in the College of Science, provides $300,000 from NSF to bolster the quantum workforce pipeline. The grant is for an end-to-end quantum system integration training program. The faculty members are developing a new course at Mason, organizing workshops at the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing in September (where Jiang is the quantum system track co-chair), and conducting tutorials at international conferences. Recently the team, led by Rosenberg, coordinated a summer immersion program at Mason for high school students. In addition, in the coming months, Jiang will be conducting seminars at a variety of minority-serving institutions in the DC region.

Jiang said the opportunities for quantum-trained engineers are robust and growing. I have collaborations locally with Leidos and MITRE, for example, and they have needs in this field. Further, we know that quantum will make a difference in everything from finance to drug discovery to machine learning and beyond.

He is encouraged about the quantum futureboth in the world and here at Mason. He stressed that as student demand grows for this technology, we need to provide the appropriate materials for our students, because were seeing a lot of strong interest in this field.

More:
Quantum Conundrums: Navigating Noise and Enhancing Expertise - George Mason University

Vladimir Putins time as Russian president has long featured a quiet campaign of disinformation and censorship at home. However, it is only since Russia began its all-out war on Ukraine that the world has truly woken up to this. In recent months, the Russian authorities have shuttered the countrys last independent media outlets, banned platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and implemented laws that make free speech in the form of anti-war statements punishable by as much as 15 years in prison. So far, the regime has arrested more than 15,000 people for demonstrating against the war, which is acting as a powerful deterrent. For those willing to risk arrest, censorship makes it difficult to discover how many others share their opposition to the war, and hinders the organisation of protests.

Along with the repression of dissent, the Kremlin has manipulated Russias already twisted information ecosystem to promote its own version of events in Ukraine. This goes beyond the daily state-media lies about defeats, casualties, and objectives. The Russian authorities have also gone to great lengths to manufacture photographs and videos, including deepfakes (albeit those of questionable quality). For example, the Kremlin published photos and videos purporting to show that the flagship of Russias Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva, sank after catching fire in a storm when all the evidence seems to indicate that it was hit by Ukrainian missiles. Moreover, school-aged Russians are now subjected to the Ministry of Educations mandatory videos explaining the war.

This toxic marriage of censorship and disinformation damages the prospects for peace in Ukraine. It is difficult to see why a critical majority of Russians would pressure President Vladimir Putin to end his brutal obsession with Ukraine when they are made to believe that the war is a limited special operation, exaggerated by a Russia-hating West, a necessary act of self-defence, and a heroic bid to liberate decent Ukrainians from their neo-Nazi government. But understanding how and why these beliefs pervade Russian society will be fundamental to overcoming them. Here, psychology can help policymakers understand, predict, and modify censored and misinformed behaviour.

Social identity is particularly decisive in Russian repression. The Kremlin has skilfully exploited peoples need to belong to an in-group, tendency to resent an out-group, and desire for a prestigious identity. Throughout his reign, Putin has repeatedly referred to a shared community of iskonnye rossiiskie (primordial Russian) values along the same lines as his imperial and Soviet predecessors to establish a nationalist in-group while dramatically increasing hostility towards the West. For instance, in his recent Victory Day speech, he portrayed himself as a katechon a force that prevents the coming of the Antichrist to crystallise Russians sense of group identity.

This toxic marriage of censorship and disinformation damages the prospects for peace in Ukraine

Cognitive biases can help facilitate information warfare. For instance, availability bias can cause people to engage almost exclusively with readily available information and thereby avoid critical thinking (or further thinking of any kind). Similarly, confirmation bias the tendency to believe information that confirms pre-existing beliefs helps explain why a recent public opinion poll found that 89 per cent of Russians believed the aim of the current military operation was to protect and defend civilians in Ukraine, prevent an attack on Russia, or combat Ukrainian nationalists and denazify Ukraine. These responses which to the West may be blatant disinformation reflect what most Russians see as a heroic truth, as it confirms the group identities they have been fed by the Kremlin. Counter-narratives, which are the current defence of choice for key media outlets and EU initiatives such as the East StratCom Task Force, will not be enough to overcome this by themselves.

Of course, Ukrainians and EU citizens are also subject to cognitive biases and the dynamics of social identity. For example, Ukraine has sometimes used group psychology to create imaginary heroes such as an ace fighter pilot in Kyivs skies, aiming to boost morale and discredit Russia. Meanwhile, sensationalist headlines that label Russia a terrorist state draw a large audience not just because there is some truth to them but also because they satisfy readers desire to confirm pre-existing beliefs.

It is unsurprising that such techniques succeed in conflict zones and a repressive Russia at a time when conspiracy theories have even become widespread in some of the worlds freest media environments, making it harder for governments to contain a deadly pandemic and leading millions to reject the legitimacy of the 2020 US presidential election. As technology expert and former MEP Marietje Schaake argued in a recent ECFR policy discussion: disinformation and state propaganda doesnt just start when a tanks roll over a border.

However, there are also reasons for hope. Despite the Kremlins propaganda, demonstrations recently unfolded in more than 60 Russian cities. This is remarkable not just for the bravery of the organisers and other participants but also for their potential impact: protests in highly repressive contexts tend to be more successful than those in less repressive ones, because the signal of dissent is stronger. And many Russians are on a quest for the truth. Downloads of virtual private networks online tools that allow for some degree of freedom of expression increased by 2,692 per cent between 24 February and 31 March, making up Russias top three app-store searches during roughly the same period. Meanwhile, George Orwells works on repression are popular in Russia perhaps prompting the Russian Foreign Ministrys recent revival of the Soviet claim that 1984 is about the end of [Western] liberalism rather than totalitarianism.

In the context of Russias war on Ukraine, in which public perceptions are linked to the prospects for peace, European states need to adapt their information campaigns to the realities of information warfare. So far, their attempts to combat the Kremlins tactics have come from intelligence sharing, open-source fact-checking, and messaging. But disinformation and censorship cannot be countered purely through efforts to promote accurate information. If European states are to succeed in the task, their policies will need to account for the individual and group psychology that shapes the information landscape.

The European Council on Foreign Relations does not take collective positions. ECFR publications only represent the views of their individual authors.

Visit link:
Putins war at home: Censorship and disinformation - European Council on Foreign Relations

Whats the best time to post on Instagram? Hootsuites Senior Social Marketing Manager, Amanda Wood, and her team seek the answer.

Have you ever wondered what the most optimal time to post on Instagram is? We certainly have. Were excited to bring you another round of insights and learnings from our latest social media experiment this month!

As always, we worked with our lovely partner Stacey McLachlan to test the effectiveness of post timing on Instagram engagement rates. In this experiment, we tested Hootsuites recommended time to publish feature to see if it would improve engagement instead of posting at random times.

The ExperimentAs a social media strategist, Ive always been a firm believer in scheduling posts to engage audiences when they are online. So, our hypothesis for this test was that timing would be a component in a successful social media campaign and that posting when audiences are online would improve the overall engagement rate on Instagram.

We also wanted to figure out when was the optimal time to post. Tools like Hootsuites recommended time to publish were useful in helping us automate the process.

Stacey created and posted some wedding photos on Instagram at random times with a non-methodical cadence throughout the week on a wedding magazine Instagram account with roughly ten thousand followers.

The week after, she posted another selection of beautiful wedding photos using similar captions and images but utilized Hootsuites recommended time to publish feature. The way the feature works is Hootsuite bases suggestions on when your followers are most likely to be on a particular social network and when your account has accumulated the most engagement and views in the past using an algorithm.

Key LearningsDuring the two weeks, we monitored the performance of the posts and consolidated the findings. Heres what we found:

Hootsuites recommended times still helped the posts perform better, with higher impressions, comments, and likes on average than the random cadence of posting from the first week. For example, we saw a 30% increase in impressions, from 2,200 the week before to 2,900 during the Hootsuite Recommendation week.

The best-performing post got 30% more likes than the best-performing post the week prior.

Its safe to conclude that posting when your audience is online will generate more engagement on Instagram. While this may seem like a basic principle, its easy to get caught up in producing quality content itself that you dont stop to think about getting the maximized engagement on all your hard work by posting at the best time. So, what does it mean to post at the best time?

First, its essential to recognize that the best time will look different for everyonedepending on your brand, your goals, and the platform that you choose. Secondly, once youve nailed down an optimal time, understand that your audiences habits will evolve over timeand thus, so will your optimal time.

As you build out your social media strategy for the year, consider your goals and the audience you are trying to target. Then, research your audiences social media behaviors and get acquainted with them when they are active on social. You can also tap into your insights natively through Instagram or use Hootsuites automated scheduling tools for recommendations.

I encourage you to analyze test times on different platforms over different times. Every social media platform has its own user behaviors and may have suggestions on the best times to post you may be surprised with your findings!

At Hootsuite, we publish quarterly Digital Reports that include great in-depth data on different audiences and their internet/social media usage habits.

We hope these insights are useful as you schedule your next social posts! You can also check out our Hootsuite blog to read up on some of our other experiments, learn more about digital strategy and keep up with notable industry news!

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Continued here:
What's The Best Time To Post On Instagram? - We are Social Media

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WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) corrected the record on U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens remarks about the Democrats socialist, big government agenda during a Senate Banking committee hearing today. Senator Cramer specifically discussed the Congressional Budget Offices (CBO) score on Democrats Build Back Better agenda, the lack of work requirements for tax credits and new entitlement programs in the bill, and the current state of inflation with Secretary Yellen and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell.

I want to read directly from the Congressional Budget Offices score. CBO estimates that enhancing this legislation would result in a new increase in the deficit totaling $367 billion over the 2022 through 2031 period,said Senator Cramer.Its $155 billion next year alone, and it continues for five years.

In response, Secretary Yellen acknowledged that the Democratstax and spending spree would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit over the ten year period in CBOs score.

It does say $360 billion over ten year effect on the deficit,said Secretary Yellen.

Yellen also pointed to enhanced resources for tax enforcement to whichSenator Cramer responded,and fairy dust creates energy. The senator then pivoted to discussing the tax credits in the proposal noting the lack of work requirements to receive the credits.

If all of those credits and giveaways and incentives are going to help increase workforce participation, is there a work requirement tied to all of those?asked Senator Cramer.

There are places where there are not workforce requirements, like the child tax credit,replied Secretary Yellen.

Were talking about a workforce participation rate that needs to be increased, do any of these incentives require people to work to get them or is this just going to be added on to whatever theyre already getting regardless of their employment situation?asked Senator Cramer.

When Secretary Yellen did not answer the question, Senator Cramer answered it for her:They arent, just so you know,said the senator.

Senator Cramer wrapped up his questioning by discussing inflation with Chairman Powell, specifically noting the benefits of investing in the capacity of the economy rather than paying people not to work.

In North Dakota, inflation is over 7%... By the time we got to early this year, the winds of inflation were already blowing and the economy was already expanding, but the Democrats added $2 trillion more dollars to the debt and deficit as well as stimulating the economy without any requirement on the other side. Now were doing another whatever its going to be $2, $4, $5 trillion Democrats are going to push through,said Senator Cramer.[Stimulation] may help people pay for some things, but the cost does not come down.

Do you know of an economic model where costs come down when people have more money to spend on it?asked Senator Cramer.

Chairman Powell couldnt name an example, but hestatedthere are benefits to investments which create more capacity in the economy.

See original here:
Sen. Cramer Corrects the Record with Treasury Secretary Yellen on Democrats' Socialist, Big Government Agenda at Banking Hearing - Kevin Cramer