How a badly faked photo of Vladimir Putin took over Twitter
Plus: how to identify fake images online.
BySocial Media
Find here all of the New Statesman’s comment and analysis about social media and the digital age.
Pushier notifications: how social media is getting more invasive
Are push notifications getting pushier?
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How and why “inspirational“ Instagram accounts are stealing photos to spread lies
"They blew it up to make me appear bigger," says Amaya King, whose photo was stolen for the "before" shot in…
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Lol enforcement: meet the man policing online joke theft
A story of revenge, retweets, and Kale Salad.
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Instagram is a cultural pissing contest – so why does it still make us feel so bad?
"Kayla Itsines single-handedly makes me hate my life."
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Thanks to social media, ordinary people can now influence elections more than tabloids
The Conservatives spent £1.2m on online adverts – but the internet came up with anti-Theresa May memes for free.
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Cheating, tweeting, and deleting: how social media revolutionised exam season
Before and after sitting their exams, students are going online to get their voices heard.
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Six purple octopuses and a reminder to make the bed: inside the idyllic internet
Since the United States presidential election, calming bots are providing peace for Twitter users. Who’s behind them and what do…
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Could the Tories use Facebook to suppress voter turnout?
Since 2010, it has been proven that social media can influence voter turnout. Could one political party capitalise on this for…
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“It’s not right that we’re doing this”: inside the Instagram mafia
Photographer Sara Melotti reveals the reality behind the numbers.
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Will “dark ads“ on Facebook really swing the 2017 general election?
Micro-targeting and personality profiling are set to be a key part of this year’s election – but are claims about their…
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A guide to escaping Facebook’s evil clutches without, erm, actually deleting it
What do you do if you don’t want to be a victim of Facebook’s mind control, but still really want…
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The real rich kids of Fyre Festival didn’t suffer from its failure
The Fyre Festival debacle conclusively proves both that influencer marketing works – and that it shouldn’t be allowed to.
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Forget “digital detoxes”. Spring clean your online life instead
Step one: remove the app on your phone which takes up the most time.
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Mastodon.social: Why does every new “Twitter” fail?
Many users claim to hate social networks like Facebook and Twitter, yet they never leave the sites. Why?
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Inside the 5 ★ Facebook reviews of Melania Trump
Facebook's review system normally allows restaurants and local businesses to thrive - but what happens when it’s switched on for…
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When it comes to social media, we all have a responsibility to avoid sharing upsetting images
If Twitter is the new journalism, we are all editors – and responsible for treating our fellow humans with dignity.
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Why I ditched my smartphone and went speed dating
In four minutes, you can learn a lot about a person.
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The Furred Reich: The truth about Nazi furries and the alt-right
People who dress up as animals are adopting Nazi-style iconography and calling themselves “alt-furry”. What’s behind it?
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“Both hugely uplifting and depressing”: How do social media Likes affect you?
Results of a New Statesman survey reveal how the one-click interaction influences our daily lives and moods.
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