Opinion: The Most Pointless Twitter Discourses Of 2022
by Moya Lothian-McLean
For all the complaints of Twitter’s early death, a hell of a lot of us have remained sadly logged on.
Tag: social media
Opinion: Maybe Twitter Should Die?
by Moya Lothian-McLean
For those interested in creating a more progressive, equal society, Twitter’s 'demise' would actually be a blessing in disguise.
Report: The Dairy Industry is Blaming Vegans for Its Decline
by Sophie K Rosa
The UK’s biggest dairy company is begging consumers not to “cancel the cow”. Yet with only around 2-3% of the population cutting out dairy, vegans aren't what’s hurting the industry. Sophie K Rosa reports.
Opinion: Musk Buying Twitter Would Be the Defining Deal of Our Era
by Aaron Bastani
Elon Musk buying Twitter, even more than Jeff Bezos flying into space, would perhaps be the greatest statement of plutocratic intent in history, argues Aaron Bastani.
Opinion: Self-Help Culture Is a Lie – But Its Opposite Is Just As Bogus
by Daisy Schofield
Kim Kardashian says get off your ass and work. Fail, says Elizabeth Day – but only if failure fuels further success. Daisy Schofield looks at our maddening inability to think beyond self-improvement.
Downstream: Influencers, Exploitation and Capitalism. Ash Sarkar Meets Symeon Brown
How far would you go to get famous and escape poverty? Ash Sarkar is joined by Symeon Brown to discuss how the democratic promise of the internet has reinvented the pyramid scheme. From cryptocurrencies to botched Brazilian butt lifts, they look at how the new clout economy has created a digital lumpenproletariat.
Opinion: Blaming David Amess’ Murder on Social Media Is a Way of Avoiding the Knottier Problems
by Ash Sarkar
We don’t yet know what role, if any, social media played in the murder of MP Sir David Amess. But blaming it on that is at best premature, and, at worst, a complete derailment from addressing the trickier root causes.
Opinion: On Losing Perspective, Or, Why I Don’t Give a Fuck About Geronimo the Alpaca and nor Should You
by Rachel Connolly
From blaming everything on capitalism to calling everyone "toxic", it's time we collectively got a grip, argues Rachel Connolly.
Opinion: How Christopher Hitchens Helped the Right Justify Its Colonial Wars
by Kojo Koram
Perhaps the 21st century’s most famous atheist, Christopher Hitchens has become an almost-saintly figure in today’s culture wars. But his legacy can help us make sense of how the right frames western intervention as a spiritual and god-given mission.
Report: OnlyFans’ Ban – and Its Suspension – Shows That Banks Have a Chokehold on Sex Work
by Marin Scarlett
A muddled legal landscape provides the perfect cover for financial institutions to discriminate with impunity, writes Marin Scarlett.
NovaraFM: Notice Me!
Is modern politics governed by the demand for recognition? And what happens when that collides with the internet? Will Davies explains.
Opinion: People Are Waking Up to the Horrors of Police Brutality. It’s Time to Build a Movement
by Chardine Taylor-Stone
After the police violently shut down a vigil for Sarah Everard, many people have had their eyes opened to the horrors of state brutality for the first time. If the left is serious about building power, we shouldn't dismiss these people for being late to the party, argues Chardine Taylor-Stone.
Opinion: The Slumflower Beef Has Exposed the Limits of Influencer Activism
by Ash Sarkar
A plagiarism dispute in which a Black influencer has demanded 'reparations' from her white peer demonstrates the limits of social media activism and a politics constructed around white guilt, writes Ash Sarkar.
Report: Sex Workers Denounce Instagram’s ‘Puritanical’ New Rules
by Sophie K Rosa
As Instagram announces its updated terms of use, sex workers argue the restrictive new rules are designed to eject their already stigmatised and marginalised community from the platform, threatening their income and safety in the process. Sophie K Rosa reports.
NovaraFM: Maelstrom: Politics in the Post-Truth World
James Butler is joined by Marcus Gilroy-Ware to delve behind the facade of fake news and uncover what lies beneath: from a hollowed-out democracy to the epidemic of conspiracy theory.
Analysis: Outrage Drives Clicks, Rage Sells Stories: The Brutal Economy of the Culture War
by Sam Harrison
With Twitter begrudgingly apologising for its slow response to musician Wiley’s antisemitic rant, despite it violating the site's guidelines for hate speech, it comes as no surprise that the posts stayed up for as long as they did, writes Sam Harrison. Twitter is merely following the economic logic of the ‘culture-industrial complex’, which sees media companies profit off of online controversy.
Opinion: Why the Labour Party and Unions Need to Get Serious About News
by Aaron Bastani
Unless the labour movement is serious about creating a meaningful - and modern - counter-weight to the right-wing media, both its national profile and political power will continue to wane, writes Aaron Bastani.
GE2019: Are Anti-Corbyn Groups Buying up Facebook Ads on Behalf of the Conservative Party?
by Charlotte England
The Conservative party’s Facebook advertising strategy has been looking a little strange recently, with their spending in the past week eclipsed by the Liberal Democrats, the Labour party and anti-Brexit group Best for Britain. This is despite the Conservatives having spent far more on Facebook ads in past elections than any other party – £2.1m […]