Can democracy survive social media?
The Lowdown interview
The latest Lowdown interview is with Imran Ahmed, a key figure in progressive debates about the power of the new media. He has strong connections to the Labour government in London and is CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate in Washington DC
Urgent concerns dominate our conversation
How commercially-driven social media companies prioritise hate, propaganda and conspiracy theory because they bring in the clicks.
Why Elon Musk’s support for free speech is a lie
How, if at all, can democratic governments intervene
You can listen to the interview on Apple here
Or Spotify here
Or every other app and player here
As Russian and Chinese interference raise profound questions for those of us who believe in free speech, I am working on a long piece on web censorship for later in the week
In the meantime, here are relevant pieces of mine. They are behind the paywall. Readers who are not paying subscribers an annual is the work out at £1.15 ($1.45) a week, which seems like a good deal. There’s also a free trial on offer.
Now we know Musk is in regular contact with Putin, has anybody asked if the Russians encouraged him to buy or even possibly helped the purchase of Twitter?
We are not at war with Russia.
Therefore we aren't in a time of war.
Therfore there is no enemy and Musk isn't treasonably aiding the enemy.
But if you insist that we are at war with Russia, then Putin may agree with you and - perfectly legally - launch an attack on us.