Musk’s Twitter deal stirs fears of abuse in Asia, Middle East
Bangkok, Thailand/Beirut, LebanonThomson Reuters Foundation Elon Musk’s plan to acquire Twitter has alarmed human rights activists in Asia and the Middle East, where social media platforms have been accused of inciting violence. Musk has called himself a free speech absolutist and criticised Twitter’s policy of moderating content. But rolling back such curbs on hate speech […]
Calls for new laws as tech fuels “explosion” of online sex abuse
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation As a schoolgirl, Sarah Cooper became close to an online buddy called “J”, bonding over a love of pop singers like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, and confiding about problems at home. Some two years later he sold her into sexual slavery. Cooper, from the US city of Boston, told how […]
UK PM Johnson, Prince William condemn racist abuse of England soccer team
London, UKReuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday condemned the racist abuse on social media aimed at England soccer players after their narrow defeat in the final of Euro 2020, drawing accusations of hypocrisy from political opponents. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subjected to “disgusting” online abuse after they […]
Pandemic amped up anti-Semitism, forced it online – report
Tel Aviv, Israel AP Coronavirus lockdowns last year shifted some anti-Semitic hatred online, where conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the pandemic’s medical and economic devastation abounded, Israeli researchers reported Wednesday. That’s raised concerns about a rise in anti-Semitism in the post-pandemic world. The findings, which came in an annual report by Tel Aviv University’s researchers […]
Social media abuse drives girls off Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – poll
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Online abuse is driving girls to quit social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with nearly 60 per cent experiencing harassment, a global study showed on Sunday. One in five girls and young women has abandoned or cut down on using a social media platform after being targeted, with some […]
Father of web, Tim Berners-Lee, urges end to abuse of women online
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Growing online abuse of women and girls is threatening global progress towards gender equality, the inventor of the web Tim Berners-Lee said on Thursday. Berners-Lee, who invented the web in 1989, said he was “seriously concerned” about the impact of harassment and other online abuse, urging governments and companies to do […]