Number of Posts: 17
Posts 1 - 10
Twitter founder: Trump presidency is product of short attention spans
Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 13.9.2017
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | politics, social media, threat, Twitter
Summary | Evan Williams, one of Twitter's founders, claims that Donald Trump's online behavior is showing how social media platforms are making us dumber. Indeed, social networks are based on short attention spans, and they also undermine open-mindedness and our sense of truth. According to Williams, advertising models are to be blamed.
Image Description | Portrait of Donald Trump.
Image Tags | male(s)
The limits of instant activism
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 28.5.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | politics, social media
Summary | A new book titled "Twitter and Tear Gas" by Zeynep Tufekci is coming out. It discusses the infuence of social media on protest culture. The author has been present in many recent protest movement: Occupy Wall Street, the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, the Tahrir Square protests, and many more. In her book, she concludes that social media help mobilize many people very quickly, as the anti-Trump marches have shown. However, this ease with which people are mobilized to attend a protest make the ties within the protest community looser making it difficult for the movements to overcome issues later on in the process.
Image Description | Image of the March on Washington in 1963.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), text
Review: When the Digital World Is Judging Your Every Thought
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 17.3.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | marketing, politics, social media, threat
Summary | The new novel "I Hate The Internet" by Jarett Kobek poses a lot of interesting questions about how social media is affecting our society. The main question is: why is everyone willingly giving away their intellectual property on platforms owned by for-profit corporations? How did these capitalist platforms become to be perceived as the most appropriate space to exercise one's freedom of speech? Wannabe social activists think they are helping a cause by posting provocative comments on social media but few people are getting active for real social change.
Image Description | Image of the book and a portrait of the author holding a giant plush emoji.
Image Tags | emojis, male(s)
To Fight Critics, Donald Trump Aims to Instill Fear in 140-Character Doses
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 27.2.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | cyberbullying, politics, social media
Summary | Donald Trump is known for his bullying, he is very good at finding other people's greatest weaknesses and repepatedly hitting them right there. One case of a woman who criticized him on Twitter for being a poor debater has shown how stubbornly he keeps insulting and degrading his critics. He behaves exactly like a stereotypical "mean girl" and recruits his followers to help him with his cyberbullying.
Image Description | Donald Trump speaking to a crowd of people.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)
Obama Shifts Online Strategy on ISIS
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 9.1.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | censorship, law, politics, social media, threat
Summary | President Obama is sending his representatives to California to speak to the major social media platforms in order to find ways to stop ISIS from recruiting new members on social media. The terrorist organization has proven to be very successful on social media and stopping their success on social media is a good proactive measure in defeating ISIS. Removing threatening content from social media however always risks being likened to censorship.
Image Description | Portrait of an Apple representative.
Image Tags | male(s)
Germany springs to action over hate speech against migrants
Newspaper | Washington Post
Date | 6.1.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | censorship, cyberbullying, Facebook, law, politics, social media
Summary | Facebook has recently decided to comply with German law rather than their own corporate policies when it comes to hate language on their platform contributed by users from Germany. Germany is very strict about prohibiting hate language against minorities. Critics say this is a step in the wrong direction towards censorship.
Image Description | Protest crowd holding a canvas.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), text
"Für viele ist Politik wie Bärchenwurst"
("For many, politics is like bear deli meat")
Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 6.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | politics, social media, youth
Summary | It is very difficult to get young people today engaged in politics. Political parties operate with archaic patterns of communication and youths do not identify with them anymore. Some young politicians try to address young people on social media to animate them to at least go vote. The tried to imitate the Ice Bucket Challenge and tried to launch an "I'm voting" challenge where users nominate each other to vote.
Image Description | Image of a pro EU protest in the UK.
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)
La méthode Suzi LeVine: connectée
(Suzi LeVine's method: connected)
Newspaper | Le Temps
Date | 25.11.2016
Language | French
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | politics, social media
Summary | The future ex US ambassador in Switzerland used social media a lot during her mandate. Being active on social media allows proximity, intuitivity, and freedom. Suzi LeVine said that social networks are the perfect example of direct democracy.
Image Description | Photograph of Suzi Levine and three other people dressed up for Halloween
Image Tags | female(s), male(s)
"Heute wird einfach gute Stimmung gemacht"
("Nowadays, it's all about creating a good mood")
Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 6.6.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | emojis, politics, selfie, Snapchat, social media
Summary | Selfies on social media can have huge currency. They serve celebrities and politicians to style themselves as down-to-earth. Taylor Swift further includes cats in her selfies for the additional cuteness factor. Angela Merkel's selfie with a refugee has served to send the message that refugees are welcome in Germany. Selfies can also be seen as inspired by emojis; people mimick the facial expressions or use a Snapchat filter to emulate emojis.
Image Description | Portrait of the interviewee holding a smiley balloon.
Image Tags | emojis, male(s)
Ignoranz ist Stärke
(Ignorance is strength)
Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 3.2.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | fake news, politics, privacy, smartphone, social media, threat
Summary | Kellyanne Conways term "alternative facts" remind of Orwell's fictional language Newspeak which also changes meanings by renaming. Many facts of contemporary life (especially under the Trump administration) remind of dystopian novels "1984" by G. Orwell and "Brave New World" by A. Huxley. We all carry smartphones with us at all times with which we can send information but which also receive and document information about us like our location, who else is in that location, our communications, purchases, and so on. Privacy has become impossible in the digital age.
Image Description | Images and videos of the film "1984" and George Orwell as well as the news clip where Kellyanne Conway mentions "alternative facts".
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), TV
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