Many are calling for government to step in to stop bots and the spread of fake news on sites like Facebook and Twitter. A media expert explains why this is a slippery slope.
Who needs ‘friends’?
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Twitter can be a useful tool in trying to predict what people think on an issue. So why did a study of almost half a million tweets on the same-sex marriage survey get it wrong?
Media education opportunities should be more frequently available in schools to ensure young Australians meaningfully engage with news media.
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New research shows that Australians from diverse backgrounds are turning away from traditional media and heading online, a trend that has great significance for media companies.
With levels of political discourse reaching new lows, some might say the country could use a dose of shame and humility. At the same time, social media have unleashed a torrent of online shaming.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg initially dismissed as “crazy” the warnings that Russia had been using Facebook to spread propaganda in the 2016 U.S. election. He has since apologized and introduced plans and tools aimed at fighting false information on the platform. In this file photo, he delivers the commencement address at Harvard University in May.
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In a fight for the global flow of information, social media firms must be regulated. Their billions of dollars in revenue put their financial interests in conflict with truth and democracy.
Some of the Facebook and Instagram ads used in 2016 election released by members of the U.S. House Intelligence committee.
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Gordon Hull, University of North Carolina – Charlotte
A scholar asks whether democracy itself is at risk in a world where social media is creating deeply polarized groups of individuals who tend to believe everything they hear.
An Australian Bureau of Statistics postal vote for marriage law reform, yes or no.
AAP Image/Sam Mooy
Women and girls used the #MeToo hashtag more than 12 million times on Facebook in one day in October. It marked the rise of a new feminist consciousness and solidarity.
Facebook: what are they really thinking?
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Mass evacuations in response to natural disasters like Hurricane Maria are a logistical challenge, but also face psychological barriers to residents being willing and able to leave.
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Dozens of voluntary researchers in nine Indonesian cities mapped digital literacy activities and they found the country needs much more to solve their digital media problems.