Category: Social Media

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Peter Biles
Date
April 19, 2025

Categorized
Addiction, Social Media

Tagged
After Babel, Apps, Jonathan Haidt, mental health, Snapchat, social media, Substack, Tech, Technology}

Snapchat Has Been Totally Exposed

_{Employees admit the harms of the camera app} _{Peter Biles
April 19, 2025

3

Addiction, Social Media}

Inside messages among employees at Snapchat, the popular camera messaging app that primarily teens and young adults use, demonstrates how the organization knowingly targets and harms young people. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the bestselling book The Anxious Generation, published a Substack article last week detailing how Snap Inc, the owner of Snapchat, receives thousands of reports about “sextortion” each month. Haidt and his research partner, Zach Rausch, write, The authors go on to discuss their findings in detail, and the revelations are grim. As stated above, executives at Big Tech companies are oftentimes totally aware of how their product hurts users. The 2020 documentary The Social Dilemma features a number of former Big Tech executives who now forbid Read More ›

a sticky note with an angry face drawn on it by a disgruntled employee

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
April 8, 2025

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Anjana Susarla, Anna Lazarus Caplan, Community Notes, Fact-checking and Facebook, Featured, Joel Kaplan, Mark Zuckerberg, Omar Gallaga}

Facebook Ends Fact-Checking, Moves to Community Notes Format

_{Top executive admits that there was "too much political bias" at Facebook, Instagram, Threads…} _{Denyse O'Leary
April 8, 2025

5

Censorship, Social Media}

For the social media user at X, the advantage of a Community Notes approach is that the volunteer contributors address specific claims, not overall worldviews. Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
March 21, 2025

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Books, Cal Newport, Distraction, Gen Z, Literature, Maryanne Wolf, mind, Reading, Reading Skills, Reasoning skills, Substack, Technology}

Are We Experiencing a Universal Cognitive Decline?

_{People are increasingly having trouble reading, focusing, and solving complex problems.} _{Peter Biles
March 21, 2025

4

Social Media}

A new study shows that people are struggling more than ever to read, concentrate, and solve problems. The research comes just a few months after Oxford’s indicative decision to make “Brain Rot” its 2024 “Word of the Year.” Common experience itself lends itself to the conclusion that we are struggling to focus, that our attention is fragmented, and that simply thinking about one issue for more than a few seconds is difficult. The Financial Times reported that intelligence and reasoning capacities have declined since the early 2010s. While the COVID-19 pandemic is commonly blamed for the plummet and is indeed responsible for much of the cognitive decline, the downward trend preceded the crisis according to the study. John Burn-Murdoch reports: Read More ›

Antique Wooden TV Stand with Decorative Frame Cut-Out for Historical Display

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 6, 2025

Categorized
Media, Politics, Social Media

Tagged
Media landscape, User-directed media}

Stop Moaning About the ‘Mainstream Media’. You Are the Media Now

_{Social media have become much more important, relative to traditional news media and we are only beginning to grasp the profound implications} _{Denyse O'Leary
March 6, 2025

6

Media, Politics, Social Media}

People can now build in their own spare rooms an audience that used to require printing presses or big TV studios. No surprise, governments want control. Read More ›

A wall filled with various types of televisions. Perfect for illustrating technology, entertainment, or media concepts

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News
Date
March 4, 2025

Categorized
Media, Social Media

Tagged
Andrey Mir, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Journalism decline, Post-journalism, Volodymyr Zelensky}

A Careful Autopsy on Legacy Mainstream Media

_{The new digital world is horizontal. You — not just a White House press correspondent — can watch a top-level White House meeting from anywhere in the world} _{News
March 4, 2025

5

Media, Social Media}

Andrey Mir tells us that legacy media had tried entering the digital world but were captured by online progressives who ruled them but did not subscribe. Read More ›

Happy tween girl making dancing video for tiktok social media on cell phone in bedroom

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Heather Zeiger
Date
January 27, 2025

Categorized
Addiction, China, Social Media

Tagged
TikTok, TikTok algorithm, TikTok and China, TikTok and Donald Trump, TikTok and US Congress, TikTok and US First Amendment, TikTok vs other social media}

TikTok Is Banned in the U.S. No It’s Not. Yes It Is. No It’s Not…

_{The political stew aside, we need to look at the key ways TikTok differs from typical social media} _{Heather Zeiger
January 27, 2025

6

Addiction, China, Social Media}

When the app serves up extreme, sometimes perverse, content to a young user, that data is stored on Chinese servers and could be used later. Read More ›

The guy is dancing on the phone camera. A view of the phone screen standing on a tripod. Social network. Blogger

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Richard W. Stevens
Date
January 23, 2025

Categorized
Addiction, Social Media

Tagged
First Amendment and TikTok, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Free speech and Tik Tok, TikTok and China, TikTok and USSC decision 2025, TikTok Inc. v. Garland}

TikTok Is Not Just Overgrown Chatting and Email

_{Foreign adversary’s AI-empowered threats to national security tip Supreme Court scales against TikTok} _{Richard W. Stevens
January 23, 2025

5

Addiction, Social Media}

Social media like TikTok today interconnect active speakers and active viewers in all directions. The system monitors and stores all the communications, extracting volumes of data for each individual user. In China where the law allows it, the government can scan and analyze not only the speakers and viewers but can also retrieve specific facts about all of them. The government can restrict messages based upon speaker, viewer, and content — and use AI to craft and send personalized, tailored messages aiming to influence users’ buying and voting decisions, not to mention their psychological well-being. TikTok and the First Amendment Broad-band internet services, multi-billion-dollar social media, and expanding central government are merging into a muscular octopus of surveillance, data Read More ›

Canadian maple leaf flag seen flying half mast on a flag pole in northern Canada during fall, autumn season with stunning snow capped mountains in background.

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 10, 2025

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Politics, Social Media

Tagged
Bill C-11 (Canada), Bill C-63 (Canada), C-413 (Canada), Catherine Lévesque, Justin Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre, Residential schools (denialism claims), Section 13 (Canada)}

Trudeau Resigns: Canada’s Media Control Bills Are Stymied For Now

_{Is the Woke war on reality beginning to stall? In Canada, it is a war not only on math, science, and biology, but also history} _{Denyse O'Leary
January 10, 2025

5

Censorship, Media, Politics, Social Media}

Bill C-413, which might criminalize honest scrutiny of extraordinary claims re residential schools, is part of a larger war on the primacy of fact over feelings Read More ›

influence of political bias in media reporting and its impact on democracy

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 8, 2025

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee and fact-checking, David Gilbert, Fact checkers dropped by Meta, International Fact-Checking Network, Laura Powell, Mark Zuckerberg and censorship, New York Times and fact-checking, Pranav Dixit, Seth Dillon on fact-checking}

Facebook Fact-checkers, Facing Doom, Call Urgent Meeting

_{One possible interpretation is that Zuckerberg was as afraid of these freelance censors as anyone else and saw a chance to neutralize the threat} _{Denyse O'Leary
January 8, 2025

5

Censorship, Social Media}

Seth Dillon notes that the goal of fact-checking isn't to eliminate misinformation but dissent, to make it impossible to challenge preferred narratives. Read More ›

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 7, 2025

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Community notes vs moderation, Facebook and censorship, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg on social media moderation, Ted Johnson, Threads}

Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook To Lighten Up on Censorship

_{He wants to move away from moderation and more towards a Community Notes approach} _{Denyse O'Leary
January 7, 2025

4

Censorship, Social Media}

While some think he is merely placating Trump, we may well ask why he should WANT to impose government censorship on the social medium he had built up himself. Read More ›

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Peter Biles
Date
December 18, 2024

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Bluesky, social media, society, X}

Is Bluesky Any Better than X? Social Media’s Real Problem Remains

_{Whatever platform it is, social media will always have toxicity} _{Peter Biles
December 18, 2024

3

Social Media}

Singal wisely concludes the essay by saying that we don’t have a right-wing or a left-wing problem but a human problem. Read More ›

Cellphone, mental health and woman in her bed with depression while watching videos on social media. Tired, sleepy and depressed female with insomnia networking on a phone in her bedroom at home.

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News
Date
December 17, 2024

Categorized
Addiction, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Social media addiction}

Australia’s Social Media Ban and Children’s Mental Health

_{An Australian psychiatrist hopes that his job might become easier in the future due to Australia's coming ban on underage use of social media} _{News
December 17, 2024

9

Addiction, Law, Social Media}

Is it any wonder that Silicon Valley CEOs ban their own children from social media? When did a phone become more fun than parties and people? Read More ›

People with TV screens on the brain, addicted to social media, manipulation and mind control, by media, teenager disconnected to reality

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Robert J. Marks
Date
December 2, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Dawn Wible, Featured}

Australia’s Social Media Ban: The Law of Forbidden Fruit

_{Where minors are concerned, restrict and talk — but don’t ban} _{Robert J. Marks
December 2, 2024

5

Censorship, Social Media}

Outright banning alone does not work and will not have the outcome its Aussie supporters believe it will. Give kids reasons for limits and rules. Read More ›

The Spread of Misinformation on Social Media, Examining the role of social media in the dissemination of false information and its consequences on society

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News
Date
November 27, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Australia and internet censorship, Featured, Matt Ridley, Steven Nelson}

Why Laws Against “Misinformation” Just Can’t Work

_{Australia has had to back down from fining social media companies for users' alleged misinformation} _{News
November 27, 2024

5

Censorship, Social Media}

Government experts may not be better informed than non-government ones. Banning alternative information multiplies the effect of government misinformation. Read More ›

Asian woman playing game on smartphone in the bed at night,Thailand people,Addict social media

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Peter Biles
Date
November 18, 2024

Categorized
Social Media}

Fighting the Algorithms of Social Media: When Engagement Overrides Ethics

_{No one is safe from harmful internet content anymore, especially not on algorithm-driven social media sites} _{Peter Biles
November 18, 2024

3

Social Media}

No one is safe from harmful internet content anymore, especially not on algorithm-driven social media sites. It’s no secret that the internet is stuffed with smut, pornography, and other graphic media, but the algorithms that prize engagement over the quality of the content takes the danger to a whole new level. Anthony Bradley, a scholar at the Acton Institute who writes often on fatherhood, masculinity, and religion, warns about the dangers of social media in his latest Substack post. He urges fathers to intervene on behalf of their sons and train them to literally war against these algorithms feeding them total garbage. Bradley writes, While girls are generally recommended content about makeup, music, or social topics, boys are funneled toward Read More ›

Word Сanceled and hashtag sign on wood bloks with lettering on red background. Cancel culture concept. Copy space.

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 24, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Disinformation, Social Media

Tagged
Kurt Mahlburg, Michael Shellenberger, Seth Dillon, US First Amendment}

Could Cancel Culture Be Replaced By Something Worse?

_{Claims that it has "run its course" come too often from those who have abandoned their colleagues and merely hope not to be next themselves} _{Denyse O'Leary
October 24, 2024

5

Censorship, Disinformation, Social Media}

Mahlburg on the open triumph of Cancel Culture: “not only is the emperor naked — he’s self-consciously streaking around the town square.” Read More ›

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 12, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Facebook and censorship, Featured, Jeffrey A. Tucker}

Why Was the Telegram CEO — 900 Million Users — Arrested?

_{Governments worldwide want a backdoor into social media, to target users where we spend so much time. But Durov said: nyet} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 12, 2024

6

Censorship, Social Media}

Pavel Durov’s arrest chilled social media bosses but elated those who think it is time for governments, worldwide, to exert more control over what we say. Read More ›

Online vlogger filming podcast episode with man in studio, using camera and soung production equipment to record. Content creator broadcasting live conversation on social media.

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 9, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Content Creators}

Media war: Journalists vs. content creators—Taylor Lorenz explains

_{A revealing skirmish erupted around the DNC Convention. Your ability to get real news may depend on who wins} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 9, 2024

5

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

The internet crashed the cost of independent content creation but it also crashed the cost of censorship via compliant big social media platforms. Read More ›

Concept of propaganda and fake news, TV addiction. A lot of retro TV in dark room with spiral illusion effect on screens. Politicians manipulate the population. Created with Generative AI

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 5, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Convoy 2022, Prebunking as disinformation tactic}

The Hot New Word for Propaganda: Prebunking

_{Misinformation experts don’t address the fact that prebunking would work just as well for “inoculating” people against correct information as incorrect information} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 5, 2024

5

Censorship, Social Media}

As governments increasingly attempt to control news, a question looms: What they will do when prebunking disapproved information doesn't prevent Wrongthink? Read More ›

A businessman stands with his turned back and looks into a cross-shaped hole in a concrete wall.

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 2, 2024

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Alexandre de Moraes, Enezio E. de Almeida Filho}

X Now Banned in Brazil; Huge Fines Threaten Secret Users

_{The Supreme Court’s ruling seems to be part of an international trend toward attempted government control of the news stream} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 2, 2024

5

Censorship, Social Media}

One of our readers writes to say, "I resisted the military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1960s, and I will resist the dictatorship of a judge in 2024." Read More ›