digital

Tag: digital

Extremists won’t stop if you ban their content – they need to hear an alternative message

On February 13th Amber Rudd announced the creation of a new tool to remove extremist content from the internet. However, to focus too much on content removal and takedowns would be a grave error. We are losing sight of the fact that the online space is not just a breeding ground for extremism; it can also be turned against violent extremist groups to reach vulnerable individuals and change their paths. This is why, over the past six months, I’ve run a programme which takes a different approach.

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The Corra Foundation - Reflecting and looking forward

“We come out of change and challenge…” – Corra Foundation event

…Those words from Julia Unwin powerfully capture the spirit of the Change Convention, hosted by Corra Foundation on 9 October in Edinburgh. The day brought together around 300 people, mainly from the voluntary sector, and offered a platform for conversations about how we can create positive change in times of uncertainty. Illustrator Amber Anderson spent …

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‘Crowd journalism’ is proving good for our health – and more besides

A growing appetite for crowd sourcing solutions to societal challenges online – reflected in the success of news sites such as Positive News, The New Internationalist and Mental Health Today – offers hope for the futures of both civil society and journalism. I co-edit Mental Health Today and we regularly see our “crowd” of 70,000 …

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5 reasons why Facebook should be in (global, cooperative) public ownership

Just like the railway, Facebook is a private monopoly running a public service. We, the public, don’t have real competition and consumer choice, but we don’t have a democratic say as citizens either. The internet has been a virtual wild west, fast-moving and little regulated, with tech companies competing for territory. But now there are clear natural monopolies …

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It’s not just ‘fringe’ groups that are at risk of surveillance – UK civil society needs to learn digital security, and fast

A perfect storm of hacking and big data, corporate spying, and the surveillance-obsessed British state puts everyone at risk. Two years ago the human rights NGO Amnesty International was informed that the UK government had spied on its communications. It had taken 18 months of litigation and persistence to confirm their suspicions. In response, Amnesty’s …

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