TikTok activism: how queer Zimbabweans use social media to show love and fight hate

TikTok activism: how queer Zimbabweans use social media to show love and fight hate

iZhenya/iStock/Getty Images Plus, CC BY By Gibson Ncube, Stellenbosch University and Princess Sibanda, University of Fort Hare In Zimbabwe, there is a long held public view that queerness is “unAfrican” and imported to Africa from the west. Even though numerous studies have proven this not to be true, reiterations of this lie by the state has led many to believe that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer […]

May 29, 2024 27

Science & Technology

TikTok law threatening a ban if the app isn’t sold raises First Amendment concerns

TikTok users worry about losing their social media platform, but First Amendment rights are on the line, too. AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey By Anupam Chander, Georgetown University and Gautam Hans, Cornell University TikTok, the short-video company with Chinese roots, did the most American thing possible on May 7, 2024: It sued the U.S. government, in the person of Attorney General Merrick Garland, in federal court. The suit claims […]

May 22, 2024 20

Africa

TikTok in Kenya: the government wants to restrict it, but my study shows it can be useful and empowering

By Stephen Mutie, Kenyatta University Every day, 750 million people around the world engage with Tiktok – the short-video sharing app. Kenyans are among its top users. According to a Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, 54% of Kenyans sampled used TikTok for general purposes, the highest proportion among the countries in the survey. They also use TikTok to express themselves and connect with others. The app, […]

May 17, 2024 29

World

TikTok sues over potential U.S ban

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have sued the US government over a new law that could potentially see the platform banned nationwide within a year…unless it's sold to a non-Chinese company. When passing the law last month, US lawmakers expressed fear that the Chinese government could force TikTok to turn over user data … or to manipulate algorithms to influence public opinion.

May 8, 2024 19

Science & Technology

TikTok fears point to larger problem: Poor media literacy in the social media age

Tiktok is not the only social media app to pose the threats it’s been accused of. picture alliance via Getty Images By Nir Eisikovits, UMass Boston The U.S. government moved closer to banning the video social media app TikTok after the House of Representatives attached the measure to an emergency spending bill on Apr. 17, 2024. The House voted on each of the four components of the bill, […]

April 22, 2024 35

Entertainment

Quiet on Set highlights how we don’t keep child stars safe – in Hollywood or online

Adonis Page/Shutterstock By Edith Jennifer Hill, Flinders University The new documentary Quiet on Set investigates children’s television station Nickelodeon from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The five-part series highlights the abuse many child actors faced while working for the station. The child stars on these shows – now adults in their 30s – share their experiences working on the Nickelodeon sets. The series raises questions about […]

April 15, 2024 47

Lifestyle

In a future with more ‘mind reading,’ thanks to neurotech, we may need to rethink freedom of thought

Our minds are buffeted by all kinds of influences, though some seem more menacing than others. wenjin chen/DigitalVision Vectoria via Getty Images Parker Crutchfield, Western Michigan University Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, never wrote things down. He warned that writing undermines memory – that it is nothing but a reminder of some previous thought. Compared to people who discuss and debate, readers “will be hearers of many things and will […]

April 10, 2024 19

Science & Technology

Is TikTok’s parent company an agent of the Chinese state? In China Inc., it’s a little more complicated

Some U.S. lawmakers have grown concerned about TikTok. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images. By Shaomin Li, Old Dominion University Does the Chinese government have officials inside TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, pulling the strings? And does the storing of data from the popular social media app outside of China protect Americans? These questions appear to dominate the current thinking in the U.S. over whether to ban TikTok if its […]

March 18, 2024 17

Business / Economics

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 47