September 12th Issue of Nature carries two interesting reports. First one is a feature article on how Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is reeling under the burden of ebola virus. The second one is a scientific analysis of the dynamics of online hate activity. These two reports, from totally different domains provide valuable insights into how to contain a mighty foe in real and virtual worlds.
Timely diagnosis and immediate medical care can contain ebola outbreak to a very large extent; yet the prevailing conditions in DRC posed major obstacles. Political instability, tribal rivalries, turf wars and armed uprisings exasperated the health workers. Illiterate communities were and still are ignorant of the danger they are in; they mistrust strangers, especially healthcare workers and the vaccines they bring along. In many cases, after first round of vaccination the recipients can't be traced, hampering follow up work thus making the entire effort futile and perhaps even more dangerous. Hence the first step before the WHO
team towards containing Ebola virus in DRC was to earn trust. This necessitated the creation of a network of healthcare workers partnering with community/religious leaders, survivors etc. UNICEF official Beigebieder observes that when survivors recount their experience, community members sit up, listen and are convinced. Thus DRC has been successful in resisting the spread of ebola virus. According to the WHO website the 1000th survivor has safely returned home. Indeed a success story.
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| Ebola virus particle : Courtesy: wikipedia |
Could we similarly contain and prevent the spread of hate in cyberspace? Obstacles loom large even before we start. DRC is a country with well defined boundaries and government in place. The ebola virus and the victims are real, tangible, and there is a vaccine. In contrast cyberspace is a virtual reality without boundaries and everything that happens there shares the same characteristics. Above all in many countries strict privacy laws govern and protect this virtual world.
But that didn't deter Neil Johnson Professor of Physics at the George Washington University. He and his team set out to understand the seeding and proliferation of hate networks in cyberspace; to be precise how clusters sprout and how they establish connectivity at multiple levels. Banned clusters adopted multiple mutation strategies to survive: regroup into new avatars or migrate to new platforms or even adopt a new language. Johnson et al cites the example of KuKlux Klan, the White Supremacy Group generally abbreviated as KKK. When Ukrainian authorities banned the group, it reppeared elsewhere, with the name written in Cyrillic and English language detection algorithms couldn't nab it.
Johnson's team puts forward different encounter methods which could be used singly or in combination without infringing upon privacy laws. Eliminate smaller clusters totally or partially that feed into a much larger node. With the support system wiped out the larger node will automatically shrivel away. Or set up rival groups against hate groups so that the time and energy of the targeted hate group is wasted away. Encourage dissent within hate groups thus disrupt their activities. Are these doable? Well, not everybody is in agreement with this strategy.
TAILPIECE
Johnson's team puts forward different encounter methods which could be used singly or in combination without infringing upon privacy laws. Eliminate smaller clusters totally or partially that feed into a much larger node. With the support system wiped out the larger node will automatically shrivel away. Or set up rival groups against hate groups so that the time and energy of the targeted hate group is wasted away. Encourage dissent within hate groups thus disrupt their activities. Are these doable? Well, not everybody is in agreement with this strategy.
TAILPIECE
And what physicians say about disease is applicable here: that at the beginning a disease is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; but as time passes, not having been recognized or treated at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure. The same thing occurs in affairs of state; for by recognizing from afar the diseases that are spreading in the state (which is a gift given only to the prudent ruler), they can be cured quickly; but when, not having been recognized, they are not recognised and are left to grow to the extent that everyone recognizes them, there is no longer any cure.
Machiavelli: The Prince
REFERENCES:
1. The Ebola Wars : Amy Maxmen, Nature 12 Sept. 2019, vol 573, pp.178-183
3. Hidden resilience and adaptive dynamics of the global online hate ecology: Johnson et al, Nature 12 Sept.2019, vol.573, pp.261-265
4. Hate in cyberspace: Regulating hate speech on the internet
5. Researchers propose a new approach for dismantling online hate networks
6. Researchers model hate networks in effort to battle them
5. Researchers propose a new approach for dismantling online hate networks
6. Researchers model hate networks in effort to battle them
