How Can Platforms Improve Moderation Without Affecting Free Speech?
“You click report and it's like sending out a prayer, you hope for the best,” Nathalie Van Raemdonck, a doctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, tells me.
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Think Logically (8)
How to Rehydrate the Media
At the start of a Simpsons episode from 1993, Bart pulls a prank on his teachers and Mrs. Krapabbel decides to punish him by calling on him first for every question she asks the class. Ostensibly, this punishment will last for the rest of the school...
Why Are Gamers Taking a Stand On Palestine?
For two days, the front pages of the biggest gaming sites weren’t focused on Overwatch or the giant vampire belle from Resident Evil 2 that everyone seems to be really horny for. Instead, they were about Palestine. The editorial staff of IGN,...
Palestinians Bear The Brunt Of Big Tech Moderation
A Facebook group titled #SaveSheikhJarrah with 132k members taken down for review. A Palestinian writer who lost access to her Twitter account for posting footage of attacks on Gaza. A photograph of the al-Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites in...
Fandom as Religion – AKA, How To Astral Project Yourself to Hogwarts
So let’s say there are infinite parallel universes. Everything that could possibly exist does exist — just in some other dimension. It’s quantum physics; you don’t think too hard about it. You just think about how cool it would be to take a vacation...
Clubhouse Faces New Antisemitism Accusations
The audio-only app Clubhouse is facing new accusations of antisemitism. Venture capital investor Michaela Hirsch tweeted out audio clips and descriptions of some of the antisemitism she’d heard in a room discussing Louis Farrakhan’s legacy.
Communities of Color Are Fighting Back Against Online Vaccine Misinfo
A month ago, I finally got my second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. As a health professional who has been deployed to the frontline since the start of the pandemic, this not only offered some hope to break the endless cycle of loss and...
Updated UK Guidance on Vaccination in Pregnancy: Too Little Too Late?
On December 8, when Britain’s first COVID-19 vaccination was delivered, official government guidance stated that people who were pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant should not receive it. The reason given was that these new...
Line of Duty’s Fantasy of Accountability
At one point in season six of Line of Duty, which is currently airing on BBC One, Superintendent Ted Hastings – the proud, determined, grouchily folksy Northern Irish head of Anti-Corruption Unit 12 – is called into the office of some of the...