Category: society
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The threat of disinformation can be worse than disinformation itself
This article originally appeared in Dutch for SamPol Magazine. As several countries have introduced new legislation to put a stop to disinformation, those laws can also be abused to silence the independent press. According to the World Economic Forum, “AI-generated disinformation” will be the biggest threat for 2024. For its Global Risks report, experts and…
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“Play my damn song!” Social norm conflict over Spotify’s Jam feature
It had been a while since i’d been to a house party where we played music and danced. Back in the days (mostly pre-pandemic), houseparties with my predominantly Belgian friends would revolve around one laptop where people would add songs, or one phone that would get passed around. When folks would start dancing and hyperfocussing…
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Why is it so hard to let Musk’s leadership sink in?
(this piece previously appeared in Dutch in Knack) With a kitchen sink he entered Twitter’s headquarters on Friday, making it clear to everyone that they should acquiesce to his takeover. “let that sink in”. Why do so many people find it hard to let it sink in that Musk is now at the head of…
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What we can learn from conspiracists on social media
(Parts of this piece previously appeared in Dutch in Knack.) By relying solely on traditional media, we might not be able to create group immunity with a COVID-19 vaccine. A wave of conspiracies has washed over the information ecosystem and play into people’s deep seated fears. Science communicators can learn from conspiracy influencers how to…
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Anti-vaccination and the Tragedy of the Commons
For almost a year now I have been diving in, and have been kicked out of several anti-vaccination Facebook groups. There is an ever growing community of people who refuse to vaccinate against diseases like Measles, Chicken Pox, Tetanus, Polio, HPV,… It’s become so big that the World Health Organization even named vaccine hesitancy one…
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Banning online communities; is it too late to stop radicalization?
“Most women who claim they were raped were rapebaiting. If they just let ugly men have sex once in a while, the world would be better for everyone. It’s just sex, they need to get over it” This was a post from the now banned Subreddit /r/Incels. A community of men who claim to be…
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Is our “Digibesitas” giving us Technophobia?
(This article previously appeared in Dutch on Knack – Datanews) The tendency to curse smartphones isn’t new. But I am becoming fed up with the articles, cartoons and art that are going for the low hanging fruit of bashing new media technology. From criticizing the display of personal life on social media and fishing for…
Nathalie Van Raemdonck 