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Deepfakes now a political weapon in the Ukrainian war

Deepfakes now a political weapon in the Ukrainian war

The use of deepfakes in politics has insofar been rare. But in the last week, two deepfakes related to the war in Ukraine have emerged online. Just days ago, a doctored video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began making rounds on social media. It also found its way onto a local live news channel and website after being uploaded by hackers. Over the minute long video, Ukraine’s President appears to tell...

By London, UK
BeReal is encouraging us to stop curating ourselves online

BeReal is encouraging us to stop curating ourselves online

In the age of social media fatigue, the app is a refreshingly unglamorous antidote to the relentless pursuit of perfection we can’t seem to escape on our heavily filtered Instagram feeds. When Instagram initially burst onto the scene over a decade ago, the happy-snappers among us were enticed by the promise it showed. In its earliest days, it was a safe space for sharing candid moments with friends, free from the...

By London, UK
How to optimise Facebook to better your mental health

How to optimise Facebook to better your mental health

Prolonged Facebook use can cause unwanted stress and anxiety, but there are ways to change the experience to better suit your needs. Facebook has become a social media dinosaur over the last five years or so. Where once it was at the cutting edge of teenage and twenty-something online interaction, it has steadily gathered a reputation for being a fake news rollout machine that can significantly disrupt the status quo and...

By Bristol, UK
Bots are now hijacking users’ collaborative Spotify playlists

Bots are now hijacking users’ collaborative Spotify playlists

Just when you thought Spotify was the last peaceful place left on the Internet, bots have begun taking over the platform. Remember the days when we exchanged music by carefully curating tracks and burning them onto blank CDs, with track names, doodles, or handwritten notes on the surface of them in Sharpie? If you’re from the latter half of Gen-Z, you might not – but for the rest of us, this...

By London, UK