Number of Posts: 20
Posts 1 - 10
How Hate Groups Forced Online Platforms to Reveal Their True Nature
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 21.8.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | censorship, politics, social media, threat
Summary | Ever since the fatal Unite the Right protest in Charlotteville, social media and other internet companies seem to be washing their hands from any connection with far-right groups. Facebook has deleted such groups off of their platform, Reddit has done the same, Spotify is deleting white supremacist music from their libraries, and so on. Now far-right groups are building online alternatives for themselves and lamenting the censorship they have been victimized by.
Image Description | Illustration of hands around some crumpled-up paper.
Image Tags | hand(s)
Germany vs. Twitter
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 21.6.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, threat, Twitter
Summary | The German government demands that Twitter remove illegal content (some offensive language is illegal in Germany) from the platform within 24 hours. If they fail to do so, Germany threatens to fine them up to 50 million euros. Now social media platforms have begun deleting German accounts which are even just coming close to illegal content so as not to risk a fine.
Image Description | Hand holding a lens over the Twitter logo.
Image Tags | hand(s), logo, Twitter
Facebook takes a new crack at halting fake news and clickbait
Newspaper | USA Today
Date | 17.5.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | Facebook, fake news, threat
Summary | Facebook has announced that it will work on new strategies to flag fake news on their platform by labeling them "disputed". Facebook's activism will also target click bait stories which can be equally misleading. Click bait are headlines which leave out essential content or grossly exaggerate to lure people into clicking on the link.
Image Description | Getty image of a woman's hand holding a smartphone showing the Facebook logo in front of a screen showing the Facebook sign-in page.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, Facebook, female(s), hand(s), logo, smartphone
The big myth Facebook needs everyone to believe
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 28.1.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | censorship, diversity, Facebook
Summary | With its huge number 1.5 billion users, Facebook struggles not to impose American ideologies on the majority of their users, 80% of whom are not from the USA. Facebook claims not to promote culturally specific moral positions but just provides a neutral space for people to connect. This statement has shown to be faulty when Facebook made the mistake to suggest to their Spanish users that bullfighting is controversial enough for it to be reported as inappropriate content. Bullfighting is, however, a federally acknoledges national heritage in Spain so there are definitely American moral judgments being imposed here. Facebook should admit to the fact that they help shape public discourse.
Image Description | iStock photo of a Facebook-like hand symbol holding money and a screenshot of an image posted on Facebook.
Image Tags | Facebook, hand(s)
New ideas for treating concussions
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 12.4.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, smartphone, texting
Summary | Doctors are looking into new ways to treat concussions and one of those ways is to stop texting or using a smartphone. Concussion-related headaches are often visually triggered so staring at a screen for hours like many people routinely do does not help heal from a concussion.
Image Description | Hands of a woman placing a football helmet on a boy's head.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), male(s)
How to Protect Your Privacy as More Apps Harvest Your Data
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 2.5.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, marketing, privacy, smartphone, threat
Summary | Many smartphone apps can be used for free, or rather one does not have to pay money to use it. However, if the app is not from a non-profit organization, users pay in some other way that may be obscure to them. Usually free for-profit apps collect data abou their users that they can sell to advertisers. The only way to protect oneself from this is to carefully read the terms and conditions, even if they are in legalese. If one does not like the level of privacy provided by an app, the only certain way to avoid data exploitation is not to download the app.
Image Description | Illustration of a hand holding a smartphone where eyes are hidden behind the app icons.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone
Justice Dept. calls Apple's encryption fight 'a diversion'
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 10.3.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, marketing, privacy, smartphone, threat
Summary | Ever since the FBI asked Apple to unlock a terrorist's iPhone, a huge debate around user privacy has ensued. Other tech companies side with Apple with the position that aiding the FBI at the expense of user privacy would open the gate for masses of future cases. The Justice Department however accuses Apple of purposefully making unbreachable smartphones, which may be good for user privacy (and thus for profit) but a huge problem for the police to be able to investigate criminal cases.
Image Description | Hand holding an iPhone.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone
I swiped right and got a life coach, not a life partner
Newspaper | Los Angeles Times
Date | 6.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | (mental) health, online dating, smartphone, social media
Summary | The author of the article met a life coach/texting buddy on Tinder. They have now been texting each other for two years, and they have never met. Her life coach, a young Syrian man, regularly gives her tips about relaxation, meditation, and breathing. She likes the fact that her "therapist" is digitally accessible 24 hours a day.
Image Description | Illustration of a laptop and two hands touching each other
Image Tags | computer/laptop, hand(s), keyboard
Free Tools to Keep Those Creepy Online Ads From Watching You
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 18.2.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | marketing, privacy, threat
Summary | Many companies track potential customers' internet activity so that they find out when someone, for instance, has the flu and will likely respond to flu medication advertisements. They collect data about all users when they visit a tracking website and then tailor advertising to specific target groups. This is a violation of our privacy because this process is very obscure and it is difficult to protect oneself from it but there are a few softwares one can get to stop companies from tracking one's online activity.
Image Description | Hands typing on a laptop keyboard.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, hand(s)
Revenge Porn Must Be Criminalized
Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 6.4.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | cyberbullying, law, sexting, threat
Summary | There have been more and more cases of people posting intimate photographs of their ex-lovers on the internet. The practice is called revenge porn and it is horrible for the victims: their most intimate images are shared with the whole world without their consent and they cannot really erase the images from the internet afterards. New York CIty is now working on criminalizing the distribution of revenge porn - something that should already have happened long ago.
Image Description | Getty image of hands typing on a laptop.
Image Tags | computer/laptop, hand(s)
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