A few powerful men control the dominant means of creating and sharing information in 2025
Those in government must stop using social media for public relations and start using it as a means of two-way communication with citizens
The battle against this manipulation is collective, requiring unified action from all who seek to preserve democracy and human rights
X, Facebook and Instagram exercise ordinate and often pernicious power, which must be contested and socially enriching alternatives developed
From Egypt to South Africa, fake accounts, bots and generative AI are manipulating African politics. And 2024 is a record year for elections
This is an edited extract from Ben Mezrich’s new book called Breaking Twitter
The billionaire has cut more than 80% of the platform’s workforce, including moderators tasked with stamping out abusive content
Twitter launched its new logo on Monday, replacing the blue bird with a white X on a black background as the Elon Musk-owned company moves toward rebranding as X. The social media network’s website showed the company’s new logo, but its URL was still showing as twitter.com and the blue “Tweet” button was visible, suggesting […]
Well-known South Africans, including Trevor Noah, Siya Kolisi and John Steenhuisen, have lost their check mark as Elon Musk pushes for Twitter Blue
The fortunes of Silicon Valley billionaires took a beating in 2022 as the share prices of the world’s tech giants plummeted
Musk has sacked half of Twitter’s staff, readmitted far-right figures to the platform, suspended journalists and tried to charge for previously free services
To meme or not to meme is the question … we pick some stand-out posts
Unclear policies and ‘hardcore’ demands has hit staff morale and many of those who weren’t fired have quit, causing technical and other problems
Meaningful freedom needs rules to curb abuses because no freedom — whether of speech or action — is limitless
The hearing is the start of what looks to be a long legal wrangle where Musk could either walk away or be forced to go through with the deal
Elon Musk’s pursuit of Twitter was a melodrama from beginning to end
People can be judged, found guilty and punished for posts they made years before and in a specific context
Musk’s latest move towards Twitter comes just days after he turned down a seat on the board following his acquisition of a 9.2 percent stake in the microblogging platform
‘We will not amplify o government accounts belonging to states that limit access to free information and are engaged in armed interstate conflict,’ the social network said
bell hooks’ intentional accessibility shows how feminist theory can be used against patriarchy
In one post, the satirical writer described Museveni’s son, a general, as ‘obese’ and a ‘curmudgeon’
The ban shocked many in Nigeria, where Twitter has had a major role in political discourse, with the hashtags #BringBackOurGirls after Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in 2014.
Peng Shuai has not been heard from since alleging two weeks ago that a powerful Chinese politician had sexually assaulted her
There are strong reasons to doubt that competitive capitalism will fix social media networks
Steven Hill thinks “digital operating permits” could be the key to reining in tech giants and protecting their users.
If you don’t know of them already, be sure to follow our selection of some of South Africa’s top LGBTIQ+ content creators, from Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane to Thando Hlophe
Opposition leaders hit out at ANC over social media fracas, saying residents of Enoch Mgijima municipality deserve better
In the round-up: The ‘architect’ of the Rwandan 1994 genocide dies; the Nigerian government kills its citizens and the Twitter ban is lifted
It is possible to convince newsrooms looking for a topical story that something is news when it isn’t, to dangerous effect
The government’s sudden ban of Twitter could jeopardise one of the country’s most promising industries
The government’s spokesperson has posted tweets and videos that have nothing to do with the current conflict with Palestinians
The Democratic Alliance is a cue for Twitter fury, but this diminishes intelligent political debate