Who’s afraid of free speech?
When they are not in power, they want no restrictions on media. But when they take charge, they make efforts to muzzle electronic, print and social media. That is the…
National education emergency
In large-scale systems (such as in mega corporations or governments of large countries like Pakistan) with many, many thousands of moving parts, it is always extremely difficult to tell signal…
How to tell what’s true online
The wars in the Middle East, South Sudan and Ukraine have heightened global tensions and deepened crises in the areas of peace and security, sustainable development and climate change. One…
Language matters
Climate change is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that encompasses a myriad of scientific concepts, policy frameworks and socio-economic implications. Amid the discourse surrounding climate change, people encounter a multitude…
Ghost in the machine
Pakistan, grappling with the absence of a personal data protection law for over four years, now faces a bigger issue in the shape of a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem dominated…
The dangers of AI
We live in an era where it is common to see AI-generated content with political undertones on social media. Generative AI tools like DALL-E, ChatGPT, etc help create content in…
Pervasive belligerence
A country’s behaviour on the international scene frequently reflects its philosophy, politics, and historical background. Following its 1947 declaration of independence from the British colonial authority, India took a distinctive…
Manipulating consent
The advent of information technology was rightly hailed as a game-changing development. No other scientific intervention in history has revolutionized the manner of human interaction and thought formation the way…
Politics, cash, fame: what motivates climate change deniers
Right-wing ideologues funded by fossil fuels, fame-seeking narcissists and doubt mongers monetising their content are pushing climate disinformation that undermines the fight against global warming, researchers say. Experts interviewed by…
News literacy
In July 2022, David Keppler, writing for the Associated Press, warned that as “trust wanes, conspiracy theories rise,” and people in the US are increasingly “rejecting what they hear from…
