Killing creativity
HAVE you ever seen a yellow and white Pakistani flag? How about a grey giraffe? While it’s obvious that they don’t exist in real life, you will find them in…
The challenge of disinformation
The internet has led the world to an unprecedented revolution, fundamentally transforming how we access and share information. Social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have…
VPNs to the rescue
When the internet arrived in Pakistan in the mid-90s, access was unfettered because decision-makers were (thankfully) decades away from understanding its implications. That slowly changed as new web technologies enabled…
The way she wore
ON the day I sat down to write this piece about a PTI leader’s objection to a woman’s clothing, this paper’s front page carried a photograph of doctors at Ganga…
As Modi tries to disown Nehru
A CURSORY glance at Wikipedia shows that Pakistan has had as close a relationship with Ukraine as India ever had, or possibly better, including vital defence ties. In fact, in…
Capital suggestion: Beware the apps
Malicious state (read: India) and non-state actors are strategically exploiting Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram to disseminate content designed to induce negative emotional states, foster feelings of depression, and propagate…
This sudden silence
Almost every Pakistani knows about the sudden and essentially unannounced collapse of the internet in Pakistan. The country has at least 111 million internet users, which out of a population…
Giving up is good sometimes
THIS is not just about the decision of the president of the United States. That is, however, a good place to begin. On Sunday, President Joe Biden decided to forego competing…
What kind of ‘firewall’?
AT a recent meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, the state minister for IT and telecom requested that a briefing on the ‘firewall’ be deferred to the…
Economy of voyeurism
WITH every year that passes, there are fewer and fewer people who remember a time before social media. In those bygone days, gossip was largely transmitted via people. Busybodies would…
