Weapons of Mass Disinformation: Lessons Learned in the Internet’s Darkest Corners

Weapons of Mass Disinformation: Lessons Learned in the Internet’s Darkest Corners

We all do it. Make little snap judgments about everyday strangers as we go about our lives. Without giving it a second’s thought, we sketch minibiographies of the people we pass on the sidewalk, the guy seated across from us on the train, or the woman in line in front of us at the grocery…

Ending Anonymity: Why the WEF’s Partnership Against Cybercrime Threatens the Future of Privacy

Ending Anonymity: Why the WEF’s Partnership Against Cybercrime Threatens the Future of Privacy

With many focusing on tomorrow’s Cyber Polygon exercise, less attention has been paid to the World Economic Forum’s real ambitions in cybersecurity – to create a global organization aimed at gutting even the possibility of anonymity online. With the governments of the US, UK and Israel on board, along with some of the world’s most…

The Internet Once Offered a Promise of Free Speech for Everyone; Big Tech has Since Turned It into a Prison

The Internet Once Offered a Promise of Free Speech for Everyone; Big Tech has Since Turned It into a Prison

Wednesday’s decision by Facebook’s “oversight board” – a transparent attempt to outsource responsibility for censorship to an international committee – to extend the ban on 45th US President Donald Trump is just the latest example, but by no means the most egregious. Earlier this week, the banhammer descended on RT’s digital project Redfish over posts…

Social Media’s Erasure of Palestinians is a Grim Warning for Our Future

Social Media’s Erasure of Palestinians is a Grim Warning for Our Future

There is a growing unease that the decisions taken by social media corporations can have a harmful impact on our lives. These platforms, despite enjoying an effective monopoly over the virtual public square, have long avoided serious scrutiny or accountability.  In a new Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, former Silicon Valley executives warn of a…

Internet Resources Become Weaponized – High Tech Oligarchs Threaten Democracy

Internet Resources Become Weaponized – High Tech Oligarchs Threaten Democracy

The current electoral campaign differs from that of 2016 in that the media, both conventional and online, has realized its power and has been openly playing a major role in what might well prove to be a victory across the board for the Democratic Party. At least that is the expectation, bolstered by a flood…