The 39th Block: A meditation on the near future
"And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us."
So where is the switch for this light?
I had my first deaf delivery driver last night, and of course, everything that could go wrong went wrong. It started raining, the streets were exceptionally dark, and when he got to my place, he couldn’t get in because the management switched off the boom gate to prevent visitors from entering.
I was already waiting at the lobby so I had to go back upstairs to take an umbrella and meet him by the roadside. I signed my name and my order, which, thankfully was just finger-spelling K-F-C (of all days I decided to have some junk food, it turned out to be the only good thing that happened that evening), and received my order from a despondent but appreciative man. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he signed back, over and over again, and I wish I could return the gesture, but one hand was holding my umbrella and the other my cold chicken. I smiled instead, but he couldn’t have seen it because the street lamps were out and I was wearing a mask.
Facebook oversight board overrules company on most cases in first test
Elizabeth Culliford for Reuters with the full list of the board’s rulings:
Decisions overturned:
A post from a user in Myanmar with photos of a deceased child that included commentary on a perceived inconsistency between Muslims’ reactions to killings in France and to China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims.
An alleged quote from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels that Facebook removed for violating its policy on “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
A post in a group claiming certain drugs could cure COVID-19, which criticized the French government’s response to the pandemic. This case was submitted by Facebook, rather than a user.
Instagram photos showing female nipples that the user in Brazil said aimed to raise awareness of breast cancer symptoms. Facebook had also said this removal was an error and restored the post.
Decision upheld:
A post that purported to show historical photos of churches in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a caption that Facebook said indicated “disdain” for Azerbaijani people and support for Armenia.
The board has yet to decide on whether Facebook was right to ban Donald Trump and the case would be opened for public comment on Friday.
Truth, lies and social media accountability in 2021
Sam Gregory for Witness:
Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, we must defend the truth of experienced reality at both a grassroots and systems level and fight commercialized and politicized incentives that discriminate against that truth and promote lies. We must focus on how activists and journalists can enhance the trustworthiness of their content, ethically respond to the weaponized strategies of commercialized and partisan lies, and engage with both allies and enemies on the narrative front of emotions and persuasion.
The antidote to fake news is to nourish our epistemic wellbeing
Kenneth Boyd for Psyche:
There are three components of epistemic wellbeing: access to truths; access to trustworthy sources of information; and opportunities to participate in productive dialogue. Let’s think about these each in turn.
What I read, watch and listen to…
I’m reading how The Guardian made Typerighter their style guide checker.
I’m watching Contrapoints’ video essay on J.K. Rowling. It’s an hour and a half long, but it hit one million views in three days – that’s top-quality engagement.
Chart of the week
It’s not a chart, but has this 2015 record been broken yet?