The epistemological chaos of platform capitalism and the future of the social sciences
Apparent threats to the integrity of social scientific knowledge proliferate amid a broader crisis of expertise. This has only become more significant during the COVID-19 crisis, to the extent that misinformation has the potential to extend the most significant public health crisis in over a century. There are many other examples we could point to here: the flat earth movement, the proliferation of conspiracy theories and climate change…
Poll: Most Americans want to break up Big Tech
The Biden administration is inheriting a number of lawsuits aimed at breaking up big tech monopolies in the United States. It’s a cause most Americans support, according to a new poll by Vox and Data for Progress. Source: Vox. Read all the paper.
To control online misinformation, we need real-world solutions
The big lie was planned well in advance. Before he became president in 2016, Donald Trump was saying that U.S. elections were rigged. In 2020, months before voting began, Trump said the only way he’d lose would be because of voter fraud. After Election Day, he claimed it over and over again, irregularities and illegalities that simply never happened. Source: Poynter. Read all the paper.
Is there a standard research career? The unintended consequences of task specialisation in science
Researchers collaborate by specialising in specific tasks. However, research evaluation systems tend to reward some research profiles over others. From the vantage point of research bureaucracy, research careers are envisioned as homogeneous pathways in which individuals take a series of steps to advance. In each step, researchers must comply with certain criteria, usually so embedded into expectations of scientists that many countries and…
When writing news requires a distance from neutrality to “tell it like it is”
One of my favorite songs by the great Aaron Neville is “Tell It Like It Is.” That could be the anthem of the moment for journalists, along with the lyrics, “Don’t be afraid, let your conscience be your guide.” Source: NiemanLab. Read all the paper.
