Ioan M. Ciumasu’s Post

Hate speech poses a threat to freedom, democracy and lives. While technology brings many opportunities it is also being used to spread harmful disinformation, prejudice and hatred across the world in a matter of seconds. Tackling this, while upholding human rights - especially freedom of expression and freedom of religion and belief - is not straightforward. It requires sensitivity and an understanding of different perspectives, as well as utilising the tools that technology offers. That’s why I was pleased to host the launch of a new Comprehensive Methodology for Monitoring Social Media to Address and Counter Online Hate Speech last week at UK Mission to the United Nations alongside Alice Waimiru Nderitu, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. We heard from Andrew Therriault who produced the methodology, and then from Simona Cruciana (UN OSAPG), Jonathan Zigrand (UNDP ), Eliska Pirkova (Access Now), Gabrielle Guillemin (Meta ), Liz Woolery (TikTok ), and Prof Ahmed Shaheed (University of Essex ). It’s precisely this mix of perspectives including the UN, Member States, Civil Society, Private Sector, and Academia that can help us grapple with such critical issues and keep up with the opportunities and challenges that new technology presents. Thanks to all for their contributions. We look forward to seeing how the methodology is applied and how it develops. https://lnkd.in/eHCaADYq

So Much for Textualism "The First Amendment, however, says nothing about coercion. On the contrary, it distinguishes between 'abridging' the freedom of speech and 'prohibiting' the free exercise of religion. As I have explained in great detail, the amendment thereby makes clear that the Constitution’s standard for a speech violation is abridging, that is, reducing, the freedom of speech, not coercion. A mere reduction of the freedom violates the First Amendment. The court in Murthy, however, didn’t recognize the significance of the word 'abridging.' This matters in part for the standing question. It’s much more difficult to show that the plaintiffs’ injuries are traceable to government coercion than to show that they are traceable to government abridging of the freedom of speech. More substantively, if the court had recognized the First Amendment’s word 'abridging,' it would have clarified to the government that it can’t use evasions to get away with censorship." - Columbia Law Professor Philip Hamburger https://lnkd.in/g7ZckmM4 #BillofRights #coercion #censorship #freespeech #1stAmendment #constitutionallaw

Upcoming webinar! Exposing hate: How to cover right-wing extremist groups on your beat

This inaugural discussion of the “Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty” series freatured special guests Nikole Hannah-Jones, Camille François, and Piotr Smolar. Moderated by Steve Clemons. #Disinformation, facilitated by #AI, is polarizing public opinion, promoting violent extremism and hate speech and, ultimately, undermining our democracies and diminishing trust in our electoral and judicial systems. How can we measure the threat of fake news and what tools do we have to offset its corrosive effects? How can we adjust our behaviors and mindset –– both as individuals and as a society –– to temper its destruction? DC Public Library Villa Albertine BLUM-KOVLER AND KOVLER FAMILY FOUNDATION https://lnkd.in/ecEDq8Pn

Unhinged is correct

"It's easier to talk yourself into a new way of thinking than it is to think yourself into a new way of acting." Conversation is thinking in action. One of the strong convictions at the heart of our project is that some of the most important problems we face are things we can only talk our way out of. We must find ways to create shared understanding and to build relationships that make possible new kinds of agreements. The PERSPECTIVA idea of an "antidebate" is quite different from fora for disagreement created by The Better Arguments Project, but they have in common the intent of bringing people together to have conversations that present opportunities for connection and understanding. We need more conversation and less trafficking in "opinion." https://lnkd.in/gdt4uXrU

So censorship is ok if it targets public school and public libraries with school board and legislative book bans, termination of teachers and librarians (and death threats against them), and the white-washing of public school history education. What a shameful display of a double standard. Where is the logic here? And who are the “tolerant liberals?” How about we all embrace their version of free speech and shout “FIRE!” in a movie theater? And then we can do away with laws against drunk driving, too. This is only and transparently about immunization and the anti-vaxxers who were lucky enough not to witness the devastating effects of or polio or even influenza in their lifetimes. The same people who take antibiotics when they have viral sinusitis or bronchitis; just wait until they suffer the consequences of AMR that they themselves caused. So irresponsible and selfish to disregard tried and true public health practices to serve their own political agendas. Just shameful.

🚨 **CALL TO ACTION!** 🚨 Today, I came across an article titled *"How the Divine Nine is Boosting Kamala Harris' Campaign"* written by [Russell Contreras](mailto:russell.contreras@axios.com), the Justice and Race reporter at Axios. Unfortunately, this article is a prime example of uninformed journalism. Contreras refers to our Historic African American Fraternities and Sororities as simply "Black" fraternities and sororities, demonstrating a lack of respect and understanding of our rich legacy and contributions. This type of reporting shows a glaring lack of journalistic integrity, as it seems like Contreras may have sourced his information from ChatGPT rather than doing proper research. We cannot allow such misrepresentation to go unchallenged. I’ve provided the link below, along with Russell Contreras’ email address. Let’s activate and demand that these publications and websites treat our communities with the respect they deserve. It's time for these media outlets to stop talking about The Culture like they know The Culture without making an effort to truly understand our history and impact. 🔗 Read the article here https://lnkd.in/egjXfVrQ x account n📧 Russell Contreras’ email:russell.contreras@axios.com #DivineNine #JournalisticIntegrity #RespectOurHistory #StandUp #AfricanAmericanFraternities #AfricanAmericanSororities

Interesting read from USNews

For the average individual, life today is lived in a gulf between statistical reality and the never-never land of conjecture. Read the full article: https://loom.ly/XRoHQLM -- Subscribe to the Intellectual Takeout Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gSXhhPCi #politics #statistics #propaganda #misinformation