The Research Brief: Why harmful social media content needs stronger regulation
Your weekly dose of policy thinking.
BySocial Media
Find here all of the New Statesman’s comment and analysis about social media and the digital age.
Wayne Barnes: How I deal with the death threats
As a top-flight rugby referee, the English lawyer has faced some of the worst abuse imaginable. Now he is lobbying…
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Everyone hates the critic
In the social media age, there is no room for negativity – or even insightful critique.
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Bluesky is a real alternative to Twitter
As far-right agitators Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson return to the platform, many users are seeking a new social media…
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The Online Safety Bill is finally law – it says a lot about our broken politics
Six years of debate have resulted in a job half done that fully tackles neither online harm nor invasion of…
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Are governments finally pushing back against Big Tech?
Lawsuits filed against Meta by more than 40 US states are the first of their kind against a social media…
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Toxic positivity movements are gaslighting women
Celebrating pain does not make it go away.
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Misinformation in the Israel-Hamas war is a serious problem
On social media, users have two choices: to log off and look away, or stay and witness horrors and lies…
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The death of the grown-up
“Kidulting” is the desire for familiarity and nostalgia, dressed up as a social response to hardship.
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Incel ideology has entered the mainstream
No longer the preserve of dark corners of the internet, it is being spoon-fed to boys on social media.
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Keep your algorithms away from our love lives
Dating apps need to be answerable to the law.
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The tedious world of anti-woke comedy
From Jimmy Carr to Ricky Gervais, “edgy” comics are making jokes about 9/11 and Michael Jackson in an attempt to…
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Russell Brand’s fellow travellers should defend their claims in court
It is high time social media’s age of impunity was brought to an end.
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Bronze Age Pervert will not save the American right
The author of Bronze Age Mindset has galvanised US conservatives – but his adolescent philosophy will soon be forgotten.
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The power of policy-posting
The American XL Bully would never have been banned without Twitter.
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Mark Fisher was not Russell Brand
The cultural theorist was far more responsive to critique than the comedian he admired.
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The American XL Bully is a monster created by the internet
The industry driving people to breed the dog is a type of Ponzi scheme, though one that comes with appalling…
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We must do more to protect the children of YouTube
Family vloggers profit from invading their offspring’s privacy, and there is barely any regulation of what is shared online.
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UK government backs down on end-to-end encryption in Online Safety Bill
The bill has faced criticism from Big Tech companies over privacy and security fears. Have ministers had a change of…
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Don’t let TikTok tell you how to dress
Influencers are charging hundreds of dollars for consultations to tell you how to dress for your “seasonal colours” or “Kibbe…
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