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Daily Archives: April 12, 2022

OSCE says Russia broke international law

Washington Post: “Russia committed human rights abuses and broke international humanitarian law during its invasion of Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe found. The report from the Vienna-based security body, released Wednesday, dives into attacks on civilian targets in the battered port city of Mariupol and follows President Biden’s declaration for the first time that Russia was carrying out a “genocide” in Ukraine. “Taken as a whole, the report documents the catalogue of inhumanity perpetrated by Russia’s forces in Ukraine,” said Michael Carpenter, U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, in a speech. “This includes evidence of direct targeting of civilians, attacks on medical facilities, rape, executions, looting, and forced deportation of civilians to Russia.”..

Algorithms, lies, and social media

NiemanLab: Achieving a more transparent and less manipulative online media may well be the defining political battle of the 21st century. “There was a time when the internet was seen as an unequivocal force for social good. It propelled progressive social movements from Black Lives Matter to the Arab Spring; it set information free and… Continue Reading

COVID-19, overdoses pushed US to highest death total ever

Washington Post via AP: “2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad. The main reason for the increase in deaths? COVID-19, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work on death statistics. The agency this… Continue Reading

There is little doubt Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. Do they amount to genocide?

Vox: “…Is what’s happening in Ukraine “genocide?”“Genocide” is not merely a word for mass killing in general. In international law, per the 1948 Genocide Convention, it refers to any of the following five acts if they are “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group:” (a)… Continue Reading

TikTok, Russia & the emerging Splinternet

Tracking Exposed: “On March 15, 2022, Tracking Exposed released a special report documenting our investigation into TikTok’s content restrictions in Russia, which was picked up by news outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Vice News, Le Monde, and WIRED Italia. It also gained substantial traction on Twitter. Today we release a… Continue Reading