Jennifer Aniston says social media ‘has taken down a huge portion of humanity’

The actor condemns ‘runaway train’ of unregulated slander, baseless claims and deepfakes that have dogged her in recent years Aniston was speaking to Harper’s Bazaar to coincide with a new season of The Morning Show, the TV series in which she plays a TV presenter opposite Reese Witherspoon. Aniston, who has been the target of media… Read More Jennifer Aniston says social media ‘has taken down a huge portion of humanity’

Nepal, France, America: democracy seems overtaken once more

There is one recurring theme: Young people feel robbed of their future Pratap Bhanu Mehta NB: A timely and typically thought-provoking essay by this scholar. I add some observations below 1/ The crisis of the 1960s and 1970s culminated in the Trilateral Commission’s 1975 report on The Crisis of Democracy, authored by Samuel Huntington et… Read More Nepal, France, America: democracy seems overtaken once more

Revolutionary upsurge in Nepal; as govt lifts social media ban. 19 killed in protests against corruption. All political parties under attack

Young protesters clash with police after breaking barricades outside the Federal Parliament in Kathmandu, on September 8, 2025. Demonstrators rallied against corruption and the government’s social media shutdown, while security forces responded with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. Photos: Skanda Gautam/THT Nepal has lifted a ban on social media platforms following mass protests against systemic… Read More Revolutionary upsurge in Nepal; as govt lifts social media ban. 19 killed in protests against corruption. All political parties under attack

Scapegoating the Algorithm

America’s epistemic challenges run deeper than social media. (NB: It’s not just an American problem) Dan Williams Many people sense that the United States is undergoing an epistemic crisis, a breakdown in the country’s collective capacity to agree on basic facts, distinguish truth from falsehood, and adhere to norms of rational debate.  “The Yellow Press,” by… Read More Scapegoating the Algorithm

Most common mental health misinformation on TikTok

Experts establish four themes to the misinformation contained in videos with a #mentalhealthtips hashtag More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds Rachel Hall Thousands of influencers peddle mental health misinformation on social media platforms – some out of a naive belief that their personal experience will help people, others… Read More Most common mental health misinformation on TikTok

With ‘AI slop’ distorting our reality, the world is sleepwalking into disaster

A perverse information ecosystem is being mined by big tech for profit, fooling the unwary and sending algorithms crazy Nesrine Malik There are two parallel image channels that dominate our daily visual consumption. In one, there are real pictures and footage of the world as it is: politics, sport, news and entertainment. In the other… Read More With ‘AI slop’ distorting our reality, the world is sleepwalking into disaster