The 246th Block: Is this technofeudalism?
Also, do you all watch Severance?
This week…
Your reading time is about 5 minutes. Let’s start.
First, Severance is back so here are two things to talk about it:
How Severance pulled off that dizzying Season 2 opening by Proma Khosla for IndieWire.
If you haven't seen the opening, Omar Tafur posted the clip on Threads (if it hasn’t been taken down by the time this lands in your inbox).
Severance: the real cognitive neuroscience behind the show’s ‘severance procedure’ by Rachael Elward (London South Bank University) and Lauren Ford (London South Bank University for The Conversation.
Second, the U.S. TikTok thing? That is just a techbrolitical ploy. Trust.
Your Wikipedia this week: Deal with the Devil
And now, a selection of top stories on my radar, a few personal recommendations, and the chart of the week.
ICYMI: The Previous Block was about not fact-checking and quietly calling for the return of another season of Borgen.
CORRECTION NOTICE: None notified.ON DEMOCRACY
Much of the world voted in 2024: What did we learn?
Heidi Tworek and Chris Tenove for CIGI:
One key observation is that concerns about digital campaigning should not be limited to foreign disinformation and domestic outrage campaigns. While foreign interference and online toxicity remain important, the Indonesian election showed the importance of influencers and manipulated positivity. Ross Tapsell described that election as “a fake campaign without fake news. AI was used to sanitise discourse rather than muddy it.”
Debates about digital technologies also revolved around whether generative AI would be the killer app for elections in 2024. Wired tracked the extensive experimentation with AI in campaigns, from resurrecting dead politicians to deepfakes to bots. However, most evaluations suggest that AI empowered existing anti-democratic tactics—including sexualised harassment of candidates—rather than creating completely new ones. Our co-authored report on this issue concluded that generative AI would become pervasive, but not necessarily persuasive. Nevertheless, AI has changed the game: AI’s role in flooding or faking content—and suspicions of this happening—is now baked into the information environment.
Problematic digital content may be prevalent, but it does not necessarily win elections. A more profound factor appears to have been a global anti-incumbent vibe.
When authors use words like ‘vibe’ in a serious article, I actually really vibe with their writing. Please read on! Loosely linked:
How memories of struggle spurred the defence of South Korea’s democracy by Yejin Gim for New Lines Magazine.
Ten years after umbrella protests, what has changed for Hongkongers? by Yasemin Yam for Global Voices.
What unites the right in the European Parliament? by Philipp Broniecki and Bjørn Høyland for LSE Blog.
The age of the multi-centibillionaire by Oliver Bullough for Coda.
ON PLATFORMS
Platforming extremism: How Brazilian media has contributed to the rise of the far right
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia for IJNet:
In the wake of alarming revelations that members of the Brazilian military allegedly planned a coup to overturn the country’s 2022 election, as well as an assassination attempt on the lives of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his vice president, and a Supreme Court judge—and that former President Jair Bolsonaro was aware and possibly involved with the plan—Brazil is grappling with what comes next.
The mainstream media, in Brazil long considered a pillar of democracy, is under renewed scrutiny for amplifying radical narratives and failing to critically examine anti-democratic rhetoric. To attract audiences, many Brazilian outlets have turned to misleading or sensationalist clickbait headlines which at times have also promoted hate speech by actors on the far right, leading to fears that the press is normalizing the harmful discourse.
Understanding how mainstream media has contributed to these dynamics is essential for assessing its responsibility to chart a path toward greater accountability.
Learning from global lessons, or nah? Loosely linked:
The death of truth was by design by Natalia Antelava for Coda.
At what cost are we bridging Africa’s digital divide? by Muhammed Bello Buhari for Global Voices.
Everything you need to know about Xiaohongshu by Rest of World.
ON RESEARCH
Imposter participants challenge research integrity in the digital age
Alan Santinele Martino (University of Calgary) and Arielle Perrotta (University of Calgary) for The Conversation:
The rise of digital platforms has transformed the way researchers recruit participants. “Platforms” means not only social media channels such as X, Facebook and Instagram, but also specialised participant-recruitment websites.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online recruitment and data collection became a vital method for researchers to maintain a safe distance and protect both participants and their own health. The shift also enabled participation in research from virtually anywhere. Online methods have proven both efficient and cost-effective, by eliminating travel expenses, reducing logistical overhead and allowing researchers to reach larger participant pools more swiftly.
However, a new problem has emerged: imposter participants. These are individuals who pretend to meet the eligibility criteria for research studies, presumably to gain compensation, jeopardising the validity of the data—and presenting challenges for researchers. A related problem is “research bots”—AI bots that can automatically complete online surveys.
Everybody can carry out a ‘survey’ these days… Loosely linked:
When industry manipulates science to prevent a PFAS ban by Stéphane Horel for Le Monde via Pulitzer Center.
Despite tensions, U.S.-China AI research collaborations are alive and well by Khadija Alam for Rest of World.
Reflecting on the risks of ‘mirror life’ by Michael Kay for Undark.
Other curious links, including en español et français
LONG READ | The chaotic power of Elon Musk’s foreign political interventions by Jos Betts and Lydia Wilson for New Lines Magazine.
INFOGRAPHIC | Mapping what remains of Gaza by Mariano Zafra and Prasanta Kumar Dutta for Reuters.
PHOTO ESSAY | Scrawled on walls of Assad’s prisons, graffiti express fears, loves of tormented Syrians by Mosa’ab Elshamy for AP.
Terrorismo incel: una historia de blanqueamiento por Diego Delgado en CTXT.
Mi Jesucristo digital: ¿llega la ciberreligión? por Fabian Acosta Rico (Universidad de Guadalajara) en The Conversation.
Qué ha pasado para que ahora se tolere llamar enfermo a alguien homosexual cuando la OMS lo rechazó hace 35 años por Marta Borraz en elDiario.es.
Jeux vidéo, films, réseaux sociaux : la propagande russe tout-terrain par Christine Dugoin-Clément (Paris – Sorbonne Business School) dans The Conversation.
« Des médias de désinformation » : les titres de presse de Bolloré bannis de Reddit France par Bastien Loeuillot dans Libération.
« On ne donne pas la parole à l'extrême droite » : petite histoire du cordon sanitaire belge par Mathieu Deslandes dans La revue des médias.
What I read, listen, and watch
I’m reading Everything I Need I Get From You (2022) by Kaitlyn Tiffany about how fangirls created the Internet as we know it. Spoiler: Tumblr is the Internet. Unlike other platforms, there are no real Tumblr influencers or Tumblr content creators—just pure, unadulterated meme-worthy good soup by irreverent anons. Tumblr was how I learned about the Omegaverse (RIP teen-aged me).
I’m listening to Bryan Johnson’s tech-bro mormonism with Blair Hodges on Conspirituality. Everything I learned about this guy has been against my will. I wish the media would stop platforming him.
I’m watching ARTE’s coverage of Elon Musk’s icky influence in Europe.
Chart of the week
From Reuters Institute’s survey, Nic Newman and Federica Cherubini predict that newsrooms will see more AI use, focusing on back-end efficiencies (96 per cent), personalisation and recommendations (80 per cent), content creation (77 per cent), and newsgathering functions (73 per cent) such as verification, data journalism and investigations.