Author: TheConversation

By Jennifer Grygiel, Assistant Professor of Communications (Social Media) & Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, Syracuse University Facebook’s News Feed algorithm determines what users see on its platform – from funny memes to comments from friends. The company regularly updates this algorithm, which can dramatically change what information people consume. As the 2020 election approaches, there is much public concern that what was dubbed “Russian meddling” in the 2016 presidential election could happen again. But what’s not getting enough attention is the role Facebook’s algorithm changes play, intentionally or not, in that kind of meddling. A key counterpoint to...

By Nidia Bañuelos, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Davis In response to calls for police reform and accountability, some U.S. police departments are partnering with colleges and universities to develop anti-bias training for their employees. In Washington D.C., for example, officers will take a critical race theory class at the University of the District of Columbia Community College. The idea of providing liberal arts education to officers to improve police-community relations and productivity is not new. As early as 1967, a federal commission charged with finding solutions to rising crime and police brutality recommended that all police “personnel with...

By ernd Reiter, Professor at University of South Florida The idea of paying reparations for slavery is gaining momentum in the United States, despite being long derided as an unrealistic plan, to compensate for state violence committed by and against people long dead. The topic saw substantive debate in the July 30 Democratic primary debate, with candidate Marianne Williamson calling slavery “a debt that is owed.” Some Democratic congressional representatives are also pushing for financial recompense for the descendants of enslaved people. Calls for reparations in the U.S. are generally met with skepticism: What would reparations achieve? Who should...

By Kim Sheehan, Professor of Journalism and Communication and Director of the Master’s Program in Brand Responsibility, University of Oregon More consumers want companies to address societal problems, including climate change and crumbling infrastructure. Additionally, more than half want to buy from brands that take stands on social issues. At the same time, consumers are increasingly skeptical about these partnerships, seeing them as marketing stunts. It’s called wokewashing. In marketing terms, allies are members of a dominant social group that bring attention to important social issues. A company can serve as an ally when it works to increase awareness...

By Jonathan Cohn, Assistant Professor of Digital Cultures, University of Alberta In 1988, after United States Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s videotape rental history was leaked to the press, Congress realised the threat that new technologies, through the clandestine buying and selling of personal data, had to the well-being of all citizens. They acted to fix the problem with the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), a law that forbids the sharing of video tape rental information to anyone. While a law focused on videotape rental information may seem esoteric and anachronistic, debates at the time of its writing show...

By Frank J. Infurna, Associate Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University The way my mom imagined it, midlife was going to be great: counting down days until retirement, spending winters in Florida and checking off destinations on her bucket list. But it has not turned out that way. Instead of more time spent in Florida, she’s still stuck in the snowy north. She traded romps in the sea and traveling the world for her daily visits to her mom, who is in a nursing home. Instead of the joys of living the snowbird life, she’s saddled with stress, guilt...