经济学人精读 The Economist [64下]
选自| January 27 2018 | Business |商业板块
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It is unclear how exactly such misinformation spreads, not least because traffic is encrypted[还不清楚这样的错误信息到底是怎样传开的，最重要的是因为信息是加密的]. “It’s not that we have chosen not to look at it. It is impossible,” says Filippo Menczer of Indiana University’s Observatory on Social Media, which tracks the spread of fake news on Twitter and other online services[印第安纳大学社交媒体观察站在跟踪假新闻在推特和其他网上服务的传播，观察站的Filippo Menczer说，“我们无法选择不去看这些信息。这是不可能的”]. Misinformation on WhatsApp is identified only when it jumps onto another social-media platform or, as in India, leads to tragic consequences[WhatsApp上的错误信息只有突然出现在其他社交媒体平台上时，或是像在印度导致悲剧结果时，才会被发现].
o Not least：They refused to admit her, not least because (= there were several reasons but this was an important one) she didn't have her membership card with her.他们不让她进的一个重要原因是她没有带会员卡。
o Be identified…被确定，被发现
o Jump onto 突然出现
o Lead to 导致
Some patterns are becoming clear, however[然而，一些模式变得清晰起来]. Misinformation often spreads via group chats, which people join voluntarily and whosemembers—family, colleagues, friends, neighbours—they trust[错误信息通常通过群聊传播，这些群聊是人们自愿加入，并且群聊中的成员是他们信任的人——家人、同事、朋友和邻居]. That makes rumours more believable[这使得谣言更加让人相信].Misinformation does not always come in the form of links, but often as forwarded texts and videos, which look the same as personal messages ,lending them a further veneer[掩饰]of legitimacy[错误的信息不总是以链接的形式出现，但通常是以转发的文字和视频出现，看起来与个人信息一样，进一步使得错误信息拥有了合理的掩饰]. And since users often receive the same message in multiple groups, constant repetition makes them more believable yet[又因为用户通常在多个群聊中收到相同的信息，不断的重复也使它们更加可信].
o …spread via… 通过…传播…
o Join voluntarily 自愿加入
o Come in the form of… 以…的形式出现
o Make sth more believable… 让…更加让人相信/可信
Predictably, propagandists have employed WhatsApp as apotent[强有力的]tool[不出所料，宣传者利用WhatApp作为强有力的工具]. In “Dreamers”, a book about young Indians, Snigdha Poonam, a journalist, describes visiting apolitical party’s “social media war room” in 2014[在“梦想家”这本关于印度年轻人的书中，新闻记者Snigdha Poonam描述了2014年参观一个政治团体的“社交媒体作战室”]. Workers spent their days “packaging as many insults as possible into one WhatsApp message”, which would then be sent out to party members to be propagated within their own networks[员工们花费整天的时间“将尽可能多的辱骂打包到一条WhatsApp信息中”，之后这条信息会发送给党政成员，在他们自己的网络中传播]. Similar tactics are increasingly visible elsewhere[相似的伎俩在其他地方也日益凸显]. Last month’s conference in South Africa of the African National Congress, at which delegates elected a new party leader, saw a flood of messages claiming victory for and conspiracy[阴谋]by both factions[派别][上个月在南非的非洲人国民大会中——代表选举新的党政领导人的会议——双方派别都发送了大量声称胜利和阴谋的信息]. With elections due in Brazil and Mexico this year, and in India next year, expect more such shenanigans[/ʃəˈnæn.ɪ.ɡənz/诡计，把戏][今年巴西和墨西哥大选，明年印度大选，预计会有更多这样的把戏].
o Predictably：不出所料地，
o Employ…as…利用…作为…
o Increasingly visible 日益凸显
o A flood of… 大量的
Governments and WhatsApp itself are keenly aware of the problem[政府和WhatsApp都强烈意识到了问题的存在]. In India authorities now regularly block WhatsApp to stop the spread of rumours, for instance of saltshortages[印度官方现在定期限制WhatsApp使用来阻止谣言的传播，比如盐短缺]. Regulators in Kenya, Malaysia and South Africa have mooted[提出…供讨论] the idea of holding moderators of group chats liable for false information in their groups[肯尼亚、马拉西亚和南非的监管者已经提出这样的想法，让群聊群主为他们组内的错误信息负责]. WhatsApp is working on changing the appearance of forwarded messages in the hope that visual cues will help users tell the difference between messages from friends and those of unknown provenance[出处][WhatsApp正在改变转发信息的外观，希望有看得见的提示帮助用户区别来自朋友和那些出处未知的信息]. But ultimately it will be down to users to be more responsible and not blindly forward messages they receive[但是，最终是用户的责任去更加负责，并且不盲目转发他们收到的信息].
o Be keenly aware of the problem
o Hold sb liable for sth 让某人对某事负责
o Work on doing sth
o In the hope that…
o Down to sb 是…的责任
It is as yet unclear whether fake news on Facebook will be less of a problem after it changes its algorithms[我们仍不确定Facebook在改变算法后虚假新闻问题是否会减轻]. The experience of WhatsApp suggests, however, that the concerns will persist[然而，WhatsApp的经验表明，问题将会持续]. “Even with all these countermeasures[措施], the battle will never end,” Samidh Chakrabarti, a Facebook executive admitted on January 22nd[Facebook执行官SamidhChakrabarti在1月22日承认“即使采取了所有的措施，这场战斗将永远不会结束”]. “Misinformation campaigns are not amateur[业余的]operations. They are professionalised and constantly try to game the system.”[“错误信息运动不是一个业余任务。他们是专业而持久的企图想要钻制度的空子”]
o Game the system 钻制度的空子
#内容总结
WhatsApp上的虚假信息，大多通过群聊传播，而群聊里的成员大多是用户认为可靠的朋友同事或家人。另外，虚假信息的形式也与正常信息相似，让人难以分辨。虚假信息不仅仅涉足人们的生活，也涉及到了政府活动。除了Facebook需要有所作为外，每一位用户也需要尽到应有的责任，不转发虚假信息，人人有责。
#以上，个人翻译、理解和总结，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论
#有输出才有进步
Feb 06 | 439 words