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'Government Abuse' of the Internet Makes Some People More Equal Than Others, Says Study (washingtonpost.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Washington Post: When the Arab Spring spread across the Middle East and North Africa, the internet was considered to have been one of the main facilitators of the revolutions, and while the Arab Spring has since become a source of frustration to many of those who fought for it, the assumption that the internet will facilitate future uprisings has rarely been questioned. A new study, however, now raises doubts about to what extent the internet plays a role in fostering democracy. In fact, it may make some people more equal than others. To voice discontent online, groups first need access to the internet, but too often, that is precisely what they lack, according to the report which was published by the academic journal Science. Those findings could force Western governments and nongovernmental organizations engaged in pro-democracy initiatives to rethink how they spread their message. Comparing the accessibility of internet in certain regions and taking into account the existence of minority communities, the authors found "a strong and persistent political bias in the allocation of internet coverage across ethnic groups worldwide [...] an effect that cannot be explained by economic or geographic factors." Around 500 minority groups worldwide were included in the study, with consistent findings of what the authors called "digital discrimination." The 10 worst-affected minorities mostly come from Russia and Malaysia, said researcher Nils B. Weidmann.
Like all uprisings, it was facilitated by high finance.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
What is this stuff? Who would write this? I dont get why this is even done. Can someone explain?!
western media called so called "arab spring", "twitter revolution", especially the egyptian incarnation.
they ignored what was really going on(an islamist revolution with mass support against mostly secular dictatorship ) even when truth stared them in the eyes.
1st signs were the attacks against coptic christians during christmas before the so called spring and dictatorship's inability to control them. but western media ignored them.
when spring took place, western media high lighted western educated "liberal" individauls , who got aid from western ngos, but totally ignored mass supported islamist parties .
at demonstrations they somehow diminished reports on attacks( including rape) by same protesters against westerners, including reporters .
their ignoring of reality was ended only at elections which gave largest share of votes to islamist parties , then to parties allied to dictatorship, while so called western liberal heroes got next to nothing .
we know what happened next; western governments agreeing to a brutal military overthrow of elected islamist government .
so much for democracy , "new media" and internet , and revolution!
Like all uprisings, it was facilitated by the Internet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Think back to past UK and US efforts globally and "United States involvement in regime change"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Someone has to print all the stickers, t shirts, protest banners, create a logo, bus in the opposition supporters, support all the articulate, photogenic english speakers for the 24 hour news cycle.
That takes more than any locals can afford or can do without local police noticing.
Follow the funding, expatriate civil society efforts, decades of foreign gov and private grants to pro democracy NGO's.
The internet is just a new tool in the very old game of funding and shaping the results of seemingly local and "spontaneous" calls for regime change.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Correct.
And this is why handing over internet control to countries like that is such a great idea.
Rather robust treatise. Thank you for your rigor.
Wooden clubs make some people more equal than others.
Much of the Arab spring seems to have simply been financed by governments looking to make a bunch of money selling weapons.
It's telling when we always seem to side with the "rebels" and sell them loads of weapons.
Work Safe Porn
"I cannot tell a lie... I cut your cable link with my anchor..."
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
and fuck democracy too.
Which governments are "Pro-Democracy" for anything other than political advantage.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
I dont get why this is even done.
Crazy how quickly some of us forget the youthful ways....
On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
"Pro-Democracy" in Egypt is not the same as "Pro-Democracy" in Iowa.
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
I see what you did there.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
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I see the Russian state is flooding this article to detract from their dictatorships efforts to stamp down on their population. Vile. Forget the middle east, its a side show, Putin is the real problem.
I do not give a flying fuck to "equality" news. Keep on, boring dot.
I have an easy solution to this deplorable situation: let's deny access to Internet to everyone else!
Here's an example of success: http://news.berkeley.edu/2016/09/13/a-statement-on-online-course-content-and-accessibility/
Revolutions always come from the haves, not the have nots.
The American revolution was the powerful landholders against the powerful government in Whitehall (and was won via lobbying/bribery in London, not on the battlefield). The American civil war was the landed gentry fighting to save their capital (i.e. slaves) against mechanization and increased opposition to slavery in the north.
The French Revolution was not the revolution of the sans coulottes as it was portrayed -- Danton et all were all well education scions of the aristocracy and merchant class. Napoleon was from the provinces, but was wealthy enough to buy a commission under the King.
Lenin and Trotsky were well educated (OK, Stalin was not). Ho Chi Minh attended the Sorbonne. Nehru, Jinna et al met at Oxford.
Once they have control of an online platform, such as Twitter, Reddit, or the various others that fell in line at Nick Denton's request, they enact and selectively enforce misnamed "civility/anti-harassment policies". The policies are only a way to enable and defend harassment by leftists of approved types, as well as defending the narratives they want in the public (or hidden).
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
As I understand Bell's Theorem, secure quantum Internet encryption requires Inequality.
There is equality and there is inequality. If people are denied equal access to the internet, and thereby denied equality in some other respect, then that's it, they are denied equality enjoyed by others. It doesn't make someone else "more equal", that's logically impossible. It doesn't make them "less equal", that's equally impossible.
How the hell did a satirical phrase invented by Orwell to illustrate the nonsensical outcomes of a broken system come to be seriously used in a headline?