Hi

I have not heard that story and would think it very unlike Mozilla for that to be the case given the work that Mozilla does to make the web open and accessible to all.

Where did you hear about this from?

Firefox includes some features to filter dangerous, malicious, or privacy-invading web content. These features all offer the ability to turn then on or off. I imagine that is how any new filtering features in Firefox will work.

• How does built-in Phishing and Malware Protection work?
• What happened to Tracking Protection?

Hi

I have spoken to some fellow contributors and they believe you may have heard of:

https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/08/08/mozilla-information-trust-initiative-building-movement-fight-misinformation-online/

There is no intention to censor the news, just help people be more informed by working to remove the misinformation through a collaborative initiative.

This is categorically not true.

Please share the source of this misinformation. I feel it's important not to be spreading such false info. (I'll attempt to contact the author with a correction.)

Thanks!

For sure, here you go.

http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-14-firefox-browsers-will-soon-block-fake-news-flagged-by-george-soros-linked-left-wing-groups.html

It has quotes from Mozilla’s innovation director Katharina Borchert in a recent interview with AFP.

My problem is (if it is true), I see myself as a grown up, and I don't need anyone else making decisions on my viewing content on my behalf.

I really hope it isn't true, but it sounds like it is. And that would be a shame, as I've been using firefox for over 10 years, And while it has become prone to crashing over the last 2 years, up until now have rated it among the best.

Roddy

We are not going to censor information through Firefox. And Firefox won't soon block “fake news” flagged by George Soros-linked left-wing groups.

Your link is just a fake news.

roddy1234 said

For sure, here you go. http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-14-firefox-browsers-will-soon-block-fake-news-flagged-by-george-soros-linked-left-wing-groups.html It has quotes from Mozilla’s innovation director Katharina Borchert in a recent interview with AFP.

Thanks for sharing.

Something similar actually came up before. People were sharing links from a different site that strongly implied an association with and support by a project sponsored by George Soros.

I verified that this was false with multiple Mozilla employees and confirmed it directly with Katharina Borchert herself. The day she made the blog post was the first day she'd heard of the Soros project. There is no association or collaboration.

As you can see in the announcement post that someone else shared, there is no mention of filtering or censoring the web. And being familiar with Mozilla's M.O. that's something they'd be very much against.

Seburo said

Hi I have spoken to some fellow contributors and they believe you may have heard of: https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/08/08/mozilla-information-trust-initiative-building-movement-fight-misinformation-online/ There is no intention to censor the news, just help people be more informed by working to remove the misinformation through a collaborative initiative.

Hmm, so Mozilla "cleans" the internet for me? What if they clean content that I think is the truth? Who judges what is Misinformation? I can almost guarantee that they don't have the same world view that I do.

A dangerous slippery slope, and one that is going to significantly adversely affect the number of people using Firefox in the near future I suspect.

caspy7 said

roddy1234 said

For sure, here you go. http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-14-firefox-browsers-will-soon-block-fake-news-flagged-by-george-soros-linked-left-wing-groups.html It has quotes from Mozilla’s innovation director Katharina Borchert in a recent interview with AFP.

Thanks for sharing.

Something similar actually came up before. People were sharing links from a different site that strongly implied an association with and support by a project sponsored by George Soros.

I verified that this was false with multiple Mozilla employees and confirmed it directly with Katharina Borchert herself. The day she made the blog post was the first day she'd heard of the Soros project. There is no association or collaboration.

As you can see in the announcement post that someone else shared, there is no mention of filtering or censoring the web. And being familiar with Mozilla's M.O. that's something they'd be very much against.

Well, according to Seburo here, who I believe is a moderator, it does have a basis of truth. Please see above

Hi Roddy, first, see my previous reply.

Second, just think about how difficult it will be to identify fake news and implement a filter for it. The authors of that article know it will not be "soon" if they understand anything about technology or how Mozilla works, but their clickbait title got a rise out of you and their other readers and sold more ads. Cha-ching!

In all seriousness, users of test versions of Firefox are not shy about sounding the alarm over every little change, so if such a filter ever actually goes into testing, you'll be able to learn all about it from their comments on how/whether it works and, if necessary, how to work around it. Maybe next year, maybe 2019, maybe never.

jscher2000 said

Hi Roddy, first, see my previous reply. Second, just think about how difficult it will be to identify fake news and implement a filter for it. The authors of that article know it will not be "soon" if they understand anything about technology or how Mozilla works, but their clickbait title got a rise out of you and their other readers and sold more ads. Cha-ching! In all seriousness, users of test versions of Firefox are not shy about sounding the alarm over every little change, so if such a filter ever actually goes into testing, you'll be able to learn all about it from their comments on how/whether it works and, if necessary, how to work around it. Maybe next year, maybe 2019, maybe never.

Hi, thanks for your reply. But sadly it seems that Natural News have it right. According to Seburo's post above, they are indeed going to "clean up" the internet of content someone deems to be "misinformation".

The thing that scares me is that some people find that perfectly acceptable. Worrying times indeed.

Kind regards,

Roddy

Hi

Mozilla is hoping to continue efforts to remove "fake news" so that people have faith in the news that they are seeing. The link that I posted sets out how that initiative is going to look into the issue.

You are right, this is a difficult area, but one in which Mozilla hopes to bring people together to work on solutions to benefit all web users, regardless of browser.

jscher2000 said

Hi Roddy, first, see my previous reply. Second, just think about how difficult it will be to identify fake news and implement a filter for it. The authors of that article know it will not be "soon" if they understand anything about technology or how Mozilla works, but their clickbait title got a rise out of you and their other readers and sold more ads. Cha-ching! In all seriousness, users of test versions of Firefox are not shy about sounding the alarm over every little change, so if such a filter ever actually goes into testing, you'll be able to learn all about it from their comments on how/whether it works and, if necessary, how to work around it. Maybe next year, maybe 2019, maybe never.

P.S. ISPs are already pretty proficient at blocking access to sites, and I don't have to think too far back to read about certain mainstream news friendly groups publishing lists of websites they deemed to be producing fake news; most of which were bonafide sites in my opinion e.g. Zerohedge, Natural News etc

Hi

This is a support forum for software issues with the Firefox web browser. Aside from the blog entry (which has contact details if you wish to learn more) there is not much more anyone can comment on or provide support with. Helping people with crashes, errors and malware is more the sort of thing we look at here.

I am going to be locking this thread, but if you have a support issue with Firefox, please start a new thread so that we can look into it and hopefully provide a solution for you.

(Full Disclosure, I am a Mozilla employee and administrator on the Mozilla support website).

First, let me set the record straight. Mozilla and George Soros have no affiliation, in anyway, whatsoever. Any attempt, implied or otherwise, to say that Mozilla's "Information Trust Initiative" is associated with George Soros or his project(s) is categorically false. As caspy said above, the only reason various websites are implying this is because we happened, due to random chance, to announce our research project around the same time his project was announced. We had no knowledge he was working on anything, and that we would announce our projects around the same time. These websites are implying that Mozilla is associated with Soros to drive clicks, and it's shameful to be honest.

Second, Mozilla's Project is a research project and it is not meant to censor the web in anyway. It is a research initiative meant to see how we can tell people what information they read on the web is trustworthy and reliable, and what is not. That being said, it is a research project, and may not ever turn into anything the average user sees. I strongly encourage you to read https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/08/08/mozilla-information-trust-initiative-building-movement-fight-misinformation-online/ and you will see there is not an actual product being launched. Meerly a research initiative is being begun.

If you have further questions please put them here (as seburo said, this forum is not mean for these type of questions but I will make an exception for this thread), but the facts are clear, there is no association with Firefox or Soros. In anyway. Period.

I noticed you said Firefox is crashing lately, if you would like help with that please let us know!

Tyler Downer said

(Full Disclosure, I am a Mozilla employee and administrator on the Mozilla support website). First, let me set the record straight. Mozilla and George Soros have no affiliation, in anyway, whatsoever. Any attempt, implied or otherwise, to say that Mozilla's "Information Trust Initiative" is associated with George Soros or his project(s) is categorically false. As caspy said above, the only reason various websites are implying this is because we happened, due to random chance, to announce our research project around the same time his project was announced. We had no knowledge he was working on anything, and that we would announce our projects around the same time. These websites are implying that Mozilla is associated with Soros to drive clicks, and it's shameful to be honest. Second, Mozilla's Project is a research project and it is not meant to censor the web in anyway. It is a research initiative meant to see how we can tell people what information they read on the web is trustworthy and reliable, and what is not. That being said, it is a research project, and may not ever turn into anything the average user sees. I strongly encourage you to read https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/08/08/mozilla-information-trust-initiative-building-movement-fight-misinformation-online/ and you will see there is not an actual product being launched. Meerly a research initiative is being begun. If you have further questions please put them here (as seburo said, this forum is not mean for these type of questions but I will make an exception for this thread), but the facts are clear, there is no association with Firefox or Soros. In anyway. Period. I noticed you said Firefox is crashing lately, if you would like help with that please let us know!

Hi Tyler,

Thanks for opening this up again, if only to allow me to thank Seburo for his time; I was midway through my final post thanking him for his time, and pointing out what I believe were going to be some scary implications if his acknowledgement that the story had a significant basis in fact was true, when I got cut off in my prime.

Hey, I'm a grown up, and I recognise that, even though I trust Natural News, they may have sensationalised a connection with George Soros. To be honest, it's the deed itself that concerns me, not who may, or may not, be your partner in what sounds to me, will be a potential form of censorship.

If this is purely a research project (a scary one, one that makes me ask why a company would be devoting time to exploring), I assume that it will only involve a small test group of individuals who have consented, and want to, take part? Or is it getting rolled out to all users from the get go?

If Mozilla are going to be truncating, in any way, my access to the wider web, I would expect a company I have held in high regard for many years, to directly inform their customers prior to this rather big brother sounding initiative being implemented.

Thanks Tyler, for your reasoned response, and for the opportunity of thanking Seburo.

Kind regards,

Roddy

Tyler Downer said

I noticed you said Firefox is crashing lately, if you would like help with that please let us know!

Obviously, if and when I am assured that this new initiative doesn't lead to a universal implementation, regardless of personal preference, then yes please, I really would like some help in fixing the crashes, which are happening perhaps a couple of times per week. It is also much slower than it used to be.

Many thanks

Roddy

Seburo said

Hi Mozilla is hoping to continue efforts to remove "fake news" so that people have faith in the news that they are seeing. The link that I posted sets out how that initiative is going to look into the issue. You are right, this is a difficult area, but one in which Mozilla hopes to bring people together to work on solutions to benefit all web users, regardless of browser.

Hi Seburo, your reply suggests that Mozilla is already making efforts in removing what someone deems to be "fake news"?

I do so hope that isn't the case?

Roddy

If you carefully read Mozilla's announcement, you will see that there is no mention of rolling any sort of product out to any users. This is because this is simply a research project at this point, the best and the brightest getting into a room and thinking about what we can do to help the average internet user know what websites and sources are trustworthy, and what needs to be read with a grain of salt. If there is ever a tool that can be tested by users, it will be announced along with what exactly it does, but such a tool does not exist at this time.

As for the why Mozilla is doing this, well, the Mozilla Foundation's mission is clearly stated at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/. I think that finding a way for users to know when a website is trustworthy or when it isn't is very much in line with our principles. Keep in mind, there is no mention of any censorship, simply helping people know what to trust.

Again though, I need to reiterate, there is no product that anyone anywhere in the world is using from Mozilla to serve this purpose because it doesn't exist yet, and possibly will never exist.