In September, the Wall Street Journal unveiled many of Facebook’s secrets in the Facebook Files investigation. One of those findings relates to the nature of the 2018 algorithm change, which prioritized content from friends and family over the news. That decision has been partly responsible for today’s polarization, as it was the germ that created […]
Parler, an online home for conservatives
It’s a common catchphrase among the right that the left has captured social media. They argue that the platforms are only banning or tagging content from specific right-wing figures such as President Donald Trump, while not taking issue with leftist commentators. After the defeat of Trump in the elections, millions of users have decided to […]
Tech companies under the microscope
Last week, the US House Judiciary Committee published the report on tech companies’ monopoly in the digital space that we had been expecting since the summer. The report argues in favor of reducing tech companies’ power and reexamining the way antitrust laws are understood. However, it does not show a way forward on how to […]
The limits of freedom of speech on social media
Amid the pandemic, the police violence, and the riots, President Trump’s executive order (EO) against social media companies may have gone unnoticed. On May 28, Trump introduced a rule to limit social media platforms’ editorial power after Twitter tagged some of its tweets as “potentially misleading.” Although the order will likely be challenged in court, […]
The rise of the healthcare influencer
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown light to a trend that had gone largely unnoticed until now—a lack of medical experts on social media. Since the virus hit Western countries, citizens have turned to the Internet for solutions. But, with the rise of misinformation, most of them decided to put their trust in the few medical […]
How Covid-19 is feeding into the fake news problem
Since early February, fake news content surrounding Covid-19 has flooded the Internet. Citizens all over the world, trying to figure out how to face the crisis and protect their families, are turning to WhatsApp, Facebook, and videos/audios shared by friends with information on healthcare. While social media giants and news outlets try to tackle the […]
Fleets will change Twitter’s fate
On March 4, Twitter made its most significant announcement since its inception, much more consequential than the 280-character extension. The tech company started to test Fleets in Brazil last week, a version of the Stories’ feature already present in the other social media platforms. Fleets will consist of temporary posts that will appear on the […]
The deepfake, both beauty and beast
Last May, Nancy Pelosi appeared on a video slurring her words during a speech at the Center for American Progress. Although she sounded drunk, she wasn’t—the video was distorted and had been slowed down. As with Pelosi, thousands of other videos online are the result of video editing skills. They are fake, but it is […]
