Tuesday, April 16

POLITICS

Social Media Companies Rely On Young Users — But Do They Fail To Protect Them?
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POLITICS, VIDEO REELS

Social Media Companies Rely On Young Users — But Do They Fail To Protect Them?

Are social media apps ‘dangerous products’? 2 scholars explain how the companies rely on young users but fail to protect them. “You have blood on your hands.” “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through.” These quotes, the first from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaking to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and the second from Zuckerberg to families of victims of online child abuse in the audience, are highlights from an extraordinary day of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about protecting children online. But perhaps the most telling quote from the Jan. 31, 2024, hearing came not from the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, X, Discord or Snap but from Sen. Graham in his opening statement: Social media platforms “as they are currently designed and operate are dangerous products.” We ...
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Florida School District Takes Aim At Dictionaries And Encyclopedias
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EDUCATION, POLITICS

Florida School District Takes Aim At Dictionaries And Encyclopedias

Even dictionaries aren’t safe from censorship in this Florida school district. In the digital age — when the meaning of any unfamiliar word can be found with the click of a button — printed dictionaries have suffered a steep decline in usage. But the waning popularity of reference books hasn’t spared them from the spate of censorship that’s swept school districts nationally in recent years. In fact, five dictionaries as well as eight encyclopedias and other reference materials including “The Guinness Book of World Records” and “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” are among over 1,600 books that Escambia County Public Schools removed from its library shelves in December and flagged for review, according to free expression advocacy group PEN America and the Florida Freedom to Read Project. The re...
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Congressional Hearing Or Real Housewives
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POLITICS, TOP FOUR

Congressional Hearing Or Real Housewives

A ‘Real Housewives’ speech was quoted word-for-word at a congressional hearing. It’s not often that Bravo fan accounts post on Instagram about congressional hearings. But then again — it’s not every day that a congressional hearing features a lawmaker quoting directly from the Real Housewives. This is in fact exactly what happened Wednesday when Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, recited part of Heather Gay’s now-iconic monologue from the finale of “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” during a House Oversight Committee hearing. The hearing was called by House Republicans to discuss Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings — an occasion quickly seized upon by their Democratic colleagues to pivot the conversation to former President Donald Trump’s record while in the White House...
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The Unwilling Stars Of Viral Videos
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POLITICS

The Unwilling Stars Of Viral Videos

‘You don’t know why they’re filming or what they’ll do with it’: flight attendants on being unwilling stars of viral videos. As any frequent social media user knows, airline passengers often record and post in-flight incidents – from frightening turbulence to unruly members of the public. Often, these viral videos feature flight attendants just trying to do their duties, while being filmed without their consent. These videos usually portray flight attendants either as heroes effortlessly managing difficult passengers or “villains” accused of being rude and unprofessional. Either way, the trend is emerging as an industrial issue, with unions arcing up about it and airlines bringing in new rules aimed at curbing the practice. Unkind comments about appearance and age Going to work knowing...
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A Closer Look At Trump’s Immunity Claim
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POLITICS

A Closer Look At Trump’s Immunity Claim

Trump claims Constitution gives him immunity − here’s why judges and the Supreme Court may not agree. Former President Donald Trump has claimed he is immune from prosecution – specifically on the federal charges that he tried to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election. He says that his actions in connection with the 2020 election were part of his official duties, and he also argues that because he was not convicted during either of his impeachments, he cannot be tried in a criminal court for his actions. The trial judge, Tonya Chutkan, rejected both of those arguments on Dec. 1, 2023, and Trump has appealed her ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which plans to hear the case on Jan. 9, 2024. Special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecutin...
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What Are The Benefits Of Turning Annual Performance Reviews Into Humble Encounters?
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BUSINESS, POLITICS

What Are The Benefits Of Turning Annual Performance Reviews Into Humble Encounters?

Turning annual performance reviews into ‘humble encounters’ yields dividends for employees and managers. Every year, employees worldwide enter annual performance reviews with mixed feelings. Do employees enter these conversations with enthusiasm to learn new things? Rarely. Are managers eager to have these conversations and coach their employees on how they can improve in the coming year? No. These meetings are typically experienced as difficult conversations. Opportunities for learning and relationship-building are often missed. In an ideal world, employees would learn and improve from the feedback their manager provides in the annual review. But there are at least two obstacles that can stand in the way of that best-case scenario. It can be hard to hear painful truths. Critical feedba...
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The Dangers Of Online Likes For Toxic Social Media Posts
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POLITICS

The Dangers Of Online Likes For Toxic Social Media Posts

Online ‘likes’ for toxic social media posts prompt more − and more hateful − messages. The rampant increase of hate messages on social media is a scourge in today’s technology-infused society. Racism, homophobia, xenophobia and even personal attacks on people who have the audacity to disagree with someone else’s political opinion – these and other forms of online hate present an ugly side of humanity. The derision on social media appears in vile and profane terms for all to see. Obviously, the sole purpose of posting online hate is to harass and harm one’s victims, right? Not necessarily, according to recent studies about hate messaging in social media. Although seeing hate comments is unquestionably upsetting, new research suggests there’s a different reason people post hate: to get att...
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Regulating AI: The US Just Issued The World’s Strongest Action Yet, Here’s What To Expect
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AI, POLITICS

Regulating AI: The US Just Issued The World’s Strongest Action Yet, Here’s What To Expect

The US just issued the world’s strongest action yet on regulating AI. Here’s what to expect. On Monday US President Joe Biden released a wide ranging and ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) – catapulting the US to the front of conversations about regulating AI. In doing so, the US is leap frogging over other states in the race to rule over AI. Europe previously led the way with its AI Act, which was passed by the European Parliament in June 2023, but which won’t take full effect until 2025. The presidential executive order is a grab bag of initiatives for regulating AI – some of which are good, and others which seem rather half-baked. It aims to address harms ranging from the immediate, such as AI-generated deepfakes, through to intermediate harms such as job losses, ...
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Democrats And Republicans Have Different Attitudes About Removing Misinformation From Social Media — It’s Not Just About Facts
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POLITICS

Democrats And Republicans Have Different Attitudes About Removing Misinformation From Social Media — It’s Not Just About Facts

It’s not just about facts: Democrats and Republicans have sharply different attitudes about removing misinformation from social media. Misinformation is a key global threat, but Democrats and Republicans disagree about how to address the problem. In particular, Democrats and Republicans diverge sharply on removing misinformation from social media. Only three weeks after the Biden administration announced the Disinformation Governance Board in April 2022, the effort to develop best practices for countering disinformation was halted because of Republican concerns about its mission. Why do Democrats and Republicans have such different attitudes about content moderation? My colleagues Jennifer Pan and Margaret E. Roberts and I found in a study published in the journal Science Advances that Dem...
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Black And Latino Parents Push For Parental Rights Over School Standards Back In The 60s
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POLITICS

Black And Latino Parents Push For Parental Rights Over School Standards Back In The 60s

Back in the 1960s, the push for parental rights over school standards was not led by white conservatives but by Black and Latino parents. A key issue underlying the 2023 Virginia election first drew statewide – and national – attention in a debate two years ago. During a 2021 Virginia gubernatorial debate, Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe made a critical mistake that led to his defeat by GOP challenger Glenn Youngkin. Instead of acknowledging concerns that parents were having over school curriculum, McAuliffe dismissed them. “I’m not going to let parents come into schools and actually take books out and make their own decision,” McAuliffe said during the debate. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” McAuliffe’s remarks sparked a backlash among white...
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