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Articles on Social networks

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Former US president Donald Trump’s repeaded false statements about the 2020 election having been “stolen” from him eventually led supporters to attack the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Wikimedia

Conspiracy theories: how social media can help them spread and even spark violence

Conspiracy theories may be baseless, but they can have a range of harmful real-world consequences, including spreading lies, undermining trust in media and government and inciting violence.
Older monkeys still hang out, just with a smaller circle of intimates. Lauren Brent

Macaque monkeys shrink their social networks as they age – new research suggests evolutionary roots of a pattern seen in elderly people, too

Many older people tend to trim their social circles and focus their social efforts on family and close friends. New research on our close primate relatives may help explain why.
Beset by advertisements and noxious information, our attention is increasingly fractured. Shutterstock

When critical thinking isn’t enough: to beat information overload, we need to learn ‘critical ignoring’

Lateral reading, self-nudging and a persistent refusal to feed the trolls are some of the ways one can better manage information.
The Internet is anything but immaterial, as all those messages, images, and videos live in data centres, which consume immense amounts of energy. Rawpixel

Could video streaming be as bad for the climate as driving a car? Calculating Internet’s hidden carbon footprint

The energy consumption of Internet use has multiplied by a thousand-fold in 20 years. So how can we better visualise our energy ‘spending’ and reduce carbon emissions?
Ian resulted in the deaths of at least 44 people in Florida and tens of billions of dollars in damage. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

How Hurricane Ian and other disasters are becoming a growing source of inequality – even among the middle class

Research on Hurricane Harvey found that flood insurance and strong social networks were key factors in determining how quickly people recovered, regardless of socioeconomic status.
TikTok’s popularity continues to rise, while other social media networks have seen a decline. (Shutterstock)

As pandemic measures are lifted, social media use has declined with the exception of TikTok

The Chinese-owned app TikTok continues its growth as one of the most popular social media networks. After pandemic health measures were lifted, other social media networks saw a decline in use.
Far-right candidates Eric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen have both benefited from substantial support by media groups sympathetic to their ideas. Thomas Coex/AFP

Behind French election tweets, the far right is hidden in plain sight

While many progressive movements have organised online, conservatives dominate because of better organisation, capital, and social inequality. France’s presidential elections are a case in point.
Together with artifacts from the past, ancient DNA can fill in details about our ancient ancestors. Nina R/Wikimedia Commons

Ancient DNA helps reveal social changes in Africa 50,000 years ago that shaped the human story

A new study doubles the age of ancient DNA in sub-Saharan Africa, revealing how people moved, mingled and had children together over the last 50,000 years.

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