Cogent – Curated – Updated || Since 1999 || Information you need-produced by humans
Should information be shared freely? That is, should content (text, images, videos, etc.) be shared without heavy external control (usually aimed at making as much money or gaining as much power as possible)? And should the information be able to be accessed and shared at no additional cost? Is transparency and free access a part of the common good? Or, at the other end of…
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“… AI tools to generate and edit content are getting more advanced, easier to operate, and cheaper to run—all reasons why the US government is increasingly paying to use them. We were well warned of this, but we responded by preparing for a world in which the main danger was confusion. What we’re entering instead is a world in which influence survives exposure, doubt is…
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Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences (from The Conversation) After four years of U.S. progress on efforts to deal with climate change under Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s return to the White House is swiftly swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction. On his first day back, Trump declared a national energy emergency, directing agencies to use any emergency powers available to…
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If you believe social media or follow certain politically-aligned media outlets, we live in a particularly scary and dark world. Yet, many people throughout history have felt the same at the times they lived. War, disease, natural disasters, famine, political upheaval, economic crashes, and on and on. It may seem to us that we are living in especially perilous times with the world literally at…
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“… Dishonesty in politics is a long-standing tradition. Many politicians have clearly benefitted from telling voters what they want to hear or what they want to believe, and history is filled with examples of politicians lying to cover up crime and corruption.” “Dishonesty in politics is important because it poses a threat to electoral accountability. Citizens who can detect political lies are more safeguarded against…
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Should information be shared freely? That is, should content (text, images, videos, etc.) be shared without external control? Shared at no additional cost? Or, should information be controlled, manipulated, and limited–in the name of profit and/or ideology? There is no purity in this debate. All information has a cost, and often it is quite expensive. Producers of information may choose to give it away, others…
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Propaganda “is communication that is deliberately designed by one group in society to influence the attitudes and behavior of others. It often uses symbolism and rhetoric and appeals to the emotional and irrational aspects of our sensibility” (Propaganda. (2006). In D. G. Lilleker, Key concepts in political communication. Sage UK.). Propaganda has been around for thousands of years, since at least the time of the…
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Propaganda “is communication that is deliberately designed by one group in society to influence the attitudes and behavior of others. It often uses symbolism and rhetoric and appeals to the emotional and irrational aspects of our sensibility” (Propaganda. (2006). In D. G. Lilleker, Key concepts in political communication. Sage UK.). Propaganda has been around for thousands of years, since at least the time of the Pharoahs…
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**See the updated version of this post (November 11, 2024)** If you believe all of social media or follow politically-aligned media outlets, we live in a scary world. Yet, many people throughout history have felt the same at the times they lived. War, disease, natural disasters, famine, political upheaval, economic crashes, and on and on. It may seem to us that we are living in…
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For more information, see — Evaluation Algorithms: what are they? What can they do? The Facebook whistleblower says its algorithms are dangerous. Here’s why. (Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review, October 5, 2021) How and why does false information spread online? (sources) Do you think that you don’t need to look out for misleading or false information when searching for academic sources? Think again. See —…
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