Social media influence audiences worldwide

By Bank Windhoek’s Digital Marketing Specialist, Julian Mentzel Social media is present in almost every part of our everyday lives. It is a universal platform for entertainment, communication, and information sharing. With billions of users globally, social media sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Threads, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn provide various features to appeal to different audiences in the rapidly changing digital communication landscape. The […]

March 14, 2024 43

Science & Technology

Should governments ban TikTok? Can they? A cybersecurity expert explains the risks the app poses and the challenges to blocking it

Is a wildly popular social media app a threat to U.S. citizens? AP Photo/Michael Dwyer By Doug Jacobson, Iowa State University The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 on March 13, 2024, to require TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban on TikTok. President Joe Biden said on March 8 that he would sign the legislation if it reached his […]

March 14, 2024 19

World

Ukraine war: Russian soldiers’ wives are increasingly outspoken in their opposition

By Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University and Natasha Danilova, University of Aberdeen International Women’s Day is widely celebrated in Russia. But amid the bouquets of flowers and stilted speeches of congratulation made by Vladimir Putin, the state-controlled media will be doing its best to ignore one group of Russia’s women. These are the wives of some of its soldiers fighting in Ukraine, who have embarked on a series […]

March 8, 2024 24

Lifestyle

Social media scams are on the rise

There's never been a better time to be a scammer on social media. And it's not just events being falsely advertised, it's clothing, electronics, and more. FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso has the story.

February 29, 2024 22

Namibia

Empowering Namibian Youth: SEE Namibia’s Call for Voter Education

By Dilia Mazula In a bid to address the concerning trend of voter apathy among Namibian youth, Social Enabled Education Namibia (SEE Namibia), a youth-led organization, supported by the US Embassy in Namibia, is dedicated to providing comprehensive education on the democratic process. Commenting on the issue, during an interview with Future Media News, Joseph Ndondi, Executive Director of SEE Namibia, emphasized the critical role of voter and […]

February 19, 2024 74

World

Cute grandpa or authoritarian in waiting: who is Prabowo Subianto, the favourite to win Indonesia’s presidential election?

By Tim Lindsey, The University of Melbourne Ambitious and mercurial, with a dark past, former army general Prabowo Subianto has spent a lifetime vying for the ultimate prize in Indonesian politics. Now, with a large lead in the latest polls ahead of this week’s election, it looks as though the presidency is finally within his grasp. So, who is Prabowo and how will he change Indonesia if […]

February 15, 2024 10

Namibia

Information Ministry to serve as central hub for late President Geingob’s funeral plans

Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Peya Mushelenga, has urged the public to disregard information circulating on social media regarding the mourning and funeral arrangements of the late President Hage Geingob. Geingob who was 82, died on Sunday in Windhoek.

February 7, 2024 18

Opinion Pieces

Using AI to monitor the internet for terror content is inescapable – but also fraught with pitfalls

shutterstock. metamorworks/Shutterstock Stuart Macdonald, Swansea University; Ashley A. Mattheis, Dublin City University, and David Wells, Swansea University Every minute, millions of social media posts, photos and videos flood the internet. On average, Facebook users share 694,000 stories, X (formerly Twitter) users post 360,000 posts, Snapchat users send 2.7 million snaps and YouTube users upload more than 500 hours of video. This vast ocean of online material needs to be constantly […]

February 7, 2024 17

Opinion Pieces

Are social media apps ‘dangerous products’? 2 scholars explain how the companies rely on young users but fail to protect them

The CEOs of Discord, Snap, TikTok, X and Meta prepare to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31, 2024. Alex Wong/Getty Images Joan Donovan, Boston University and Sara Parker, McGill University “You have blood on your hands.” “I’m sorry for everything you have all been through.” These quotes, the first from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaking to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and the second from Zuckerberg to families […]

February 2, 2024 26