social media

An architecture for destruction? What 8 January in Brazil tells us about the use of social media platforms against democracy
An architecture for destruction? What 8 January in Brazil tells us about the use of social media platforms against democracy 28 March 2023 Oona Castro

On 8 January 2023, there was a shocking and violent coup attempt in Brazil that came on the heels of years of accelerating mass disinformation and fake news, reinforced through social networks and messaging apps. Our member and board director analyses this urgent test case of how a democracy can fight such information corruption and hold digital platforms accountable for moderating illegal content.

Bodily autonomy and censorship: Snippets from South Asia
Bodily autonomy and censorship: Snippets from South Asia 03 March 2023 Seerat Khan for GenderIT.org

The overregulation of women's and gender-diverse folks' bodies in South Asian culture has found its way into online spaces and heavily polices how bodily autonomy is expressed and regarded. Seerat Khan discusses barriers to this autonomy and their impact on self-expression.

Interview with CIJ (Part II): “Hate speech numbers alone will not do, we need to contextualise the stories within the numbers”
Interview with CIJ (Part II): “Hate speech numbers alone will not do, we need to contextualise the stories within the numbers” 15 February 2023 Zana Fauzi

In part two of our interview with the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Malaysia, about their innovative hate speech monitoring tool, we dive deeper into the nuances and challenges of hate speech, biases both algorithmic and human, as well the as the possibilities for civil society and citizens to fight hate speech.

Interview with CIJ (Part I): “It’s scary that young, first-time voters are grappling to shape their political beliefs and what they are able to hold on to is hate”
Interview with CIJ (Part I): “It’s scary that young, first-time voters are grappling to shape their political beliefs and what they are able to hold on to is hate” 13 February 2023 Zana Fauzi

This is part one of our interview with the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Malaysia, about their innovative hate speech monitoring project, launched ahead of the recent national elections in the country. As the project gears up to monitor another six state elections, we discussed the tool's origins and processes, resulting trends and insights and ways ...

Hashtag Palestine 2022
Hashtag Palestine 2022 07 February 2023 Ahmad Qadi, Mona Shtaya and Cathrine Abuamsha

7amleh's eighth annual “Hashtag Palestine” report sheds light on the violations of digital rights that Palestinians and their supporters are subjected to in the digital space by various governments and big technology companies.

Towards digital authoritarianism in Nepal: Surveillance, data collection, and online repression
Towards digital authoritarianism in Nepal: Surveillance, data collection, and online repression 05 December 2022 Samik Kharel

The government’s COVID-19 response opened the door to various threats to human and digital rights. With the influence of its neighbours with poor rights records, Nepal must decide on its own path if it envisions a democratic digital ecosystem.

The Hidden Codes that Shape Our Expression: Understanding How Social Media Algorithms Obstruct Feminist Expression and How Malaysian Women Navigate the Challenges
The Hidden Codes that Shape Our Expression: Understanding How Social Media Algorithms Obstruct Feminist Expression and How Malaysian Women Navigate the Challenges 01 December 2022 Serene Lim

This research intends to better understand the barriers and biases resulting from algorithms in women’s access to freedom of opinion and expression, and to examine how they navigate these algorithms to create the much-needed space to speak out, to be heard, and to occupy digital spaces.

Rich white boys’ takeover of spaces of organising: Should you stay or should you go?
Rich white boys’ takeover of spaces of organising: Should you stay or should you go? 10 November 2022 Nyx McLean for GenderIT.org

As rich white men like Elon Musk own and control online platforms, these spaces are becoming more and more unwelcoming for queer and marginalised people. As individuals who have made and found communities in these spaces, should we leave our place on platforms like Twitter?

Brazilian web portal issued warning for spreading disinformation about the Amazon
Brazilian web portal issued warning for spreading disinformation about the Amazon 20 September 2022 Raquel Santos and Viviane Tavares

A campaign launched on Amazon Day seeks to prevent the financing of Brazilian news sites that are presented as journalistic, but which promote information disorder in the Legal Amazon region.

Mirror, mirror on the phone: How social media beauty filters impact South Asian women
Mirror, mirror on the phone: How social media beauty filters impact South Asian women 15 September 2022 Areej Akhtar for GenderIT.org

Young women in South Asia struggle with the society's obsession with fair skin and Eurocentric features all their lives, so beauty filters on social media apps have been providing them what many home remedies have failed to offer. But how are these tech solutions impacting their self-esteem?

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