News of media

The fallacy of 'deplatforming' Donald Trump

16-01-2021 08:11 Regardless of whether the decisions made by Mark Zuckerbeg and Jack Dorsey were right or wrong, the Trump ban lays bare the absolute fallacy behind arguments used by the major platforms in the past.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Data journalism

How to hunt down a hate group on the Internet

06-01-2021 05:00 In the second of two articles on hate speech and online communication, technology expert Julio López explores how to become involved in the fight against messages of discrimination and prejudice on social networks.

by Julio López

Hate & social media

Hate groups flourish on social networks in Argentina

05-01-2021 05:00 In the first of a two-part series on hate speech and online communication, technology expert Julio López explores how easy it is for messages of discrimination and prejudice to spread on social networks.

by Julio López, via PERFIL

EDITORIAL

The first year of the rest of a presidency

12-12-2020 09:08 A bigger game-changer than coronavirus could hardly be imagined, but Argentina remains very much the same country behind the face-masks.

US ELECTION 2020

Social media firms on alert for misinformation in US election

03-11-2020 22:41 Social media firms remain on high alert against misinformation and manipulation efforts on Election Day in the United States.

AS I SEE IT

The times have certainly changed

24-10-2020 09:40 The egalitarian ethos that is rapidly consolidating itself in many parts of the world has shaped the response to the challenge posed by Covid-19.

by James Neilson

OBITUARY

Argentines mourn loss of Quino, beloved creator of Mafalda

03-10-2020 10:05 Nation in mourning as cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado passes away in his native Mendoza, aged 88.

AS I SEE IT

The Trump-Biden bar-room brawl

03-10-2020 08:48 If, as seems to be the case, the “debate” between Trump and Biden faithfully reflected the mood of many in the United States today, the world’s most powerful country is undergoing a mental breakdown.

by James Neilson

TECH & MEDIA

Journalism, beware of Google’s billion-dollar siren calls!

03-10-2020 08:40 The largest threat for Google and Facebook, and Big Tech in general, is regulation.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Bloomberg

Google will pay publishers for news content to avoid regulation

01-10-2020 15:24 Alphabet Inc.’s Google will start paying select media outlets to display curated content on its news app in a concession to the industry which has accused the search engine and other tech giants of unfairly using content for years.

US 2020 Election

Facebook moves to target misinformation before election

03-09-2020 11:32 Facebook will place new restrictions on political advertising the week before the United States presidential election as a way of targeting misinformation about Covid-19 and voting.

AS I SEE IT

The opposition takes to the streets

22-08-2020 09:58 These days demonstrators are well-behaved men and women who wear facemasks not for fear of getting recognised by the cops, but because they have no desire to get infected by the coronavirus.

by James Neilson

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Biden, Gates, other Twitter accounts hacked in Bitcoin scam

15-07-2020 23:34 Unidentified hackers spark chaos after breaking into Twitter accounts of technology moguls, politicians, celebrities and major companies in an apparent Bitcoin scam.

POLARISATION AT WHAT PRICE?

Argentina: Great at failing miserably at democracy

11-07-2020 08:19 What level of tolerance to dissent are we willing to accept? And at which point does the discussion about who thinks what shut out the underlying debates we should be having?

by Agustino Fontevecchia

ISRAEL

Israel PM Netanyahu arrives at court for 'unprecendented' corruption trial

24-05-2020 08:52 Fresh from forming a new government after more than 500 days of electoral deadlock, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is beginning a new battle in a court Jerusalem – to stay out of prison.

ARGENTINA'S DEBT WOES

Debt-xit time

09-05-2020 10:01 The incessant prodding for a laxer quarantine, trumpeted by part of the mainstream media, is peppered by the pot-banging cacerolazo protests.

by Martín Gambarotta

Bloomberg

Peru’s 35-year-old finance minister is suddenly a rock star

04-05-2020 13:49 Everyone calls her Toni. Mothers take selfies of her with their children, and street hawkers push bracelets into her hand as presents. TV networks vie for interviews and run profiles asking, “Who is Maria Antonieta Alva?”

Coronavirus pandemic

Don't inject disinfectants, warns company as Trump raises idea

24-04-2020 13:43 The parent company of Lysol disinfectant warned Friday that its products should not be used internally to treat Covid-19 after President Donald Trump wondered about the prospect during a White House briefing.

Coronavirus pandemic

Facebook joins resistance to Bolsonaro virus claims

31-03-2020 18:56 Major social media companies are taking aim at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's dismissal of social distancing, joining others in the country who have lined up against his controversial stance regarding the new coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic

Pandemic may give traditional media a new lease of life

30-03-2020 19:54 The coronavirus pandemic and the need for reliable information has triggered a surge in traditional mainstream media audiences.

OBITUARY

'La Nación' director Bartolomé Mitre dies aged 79

26-03-2020 17:04 Bartolomé Mitre took charge of influential Argentine daily in 1982, leading it during the transition to democracy up until the modern-day era. He was the fourth generation of the family to lead the newspaper.

CONTRADICTIONS

Pictures speak louder than words

01-02-2020 08:57 Peronists have made an art of posing at asados, sipping on some mate, and generally looking merry, in order to indicate to their followers that they are getting things done.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

ENVIRONMENT

Greta Thunberg puts Africa's climate activists in media spotlight

31-01-2020 14:14 The young Swedish activist is calling for media visibility for Africa's environmental struggle, while a controversy erupted in Davos after Ugandan Vanessa Nakate was excluded from a photo of climate activists taken by a news agency.

MEDIA WARS

AT&T under pressure to defy Maduro's censors in Venezuela

20-01-2020 07:00 President Maduro’s opponents want AT&T’s DirecTV unit to restore half a dozen international news channels it was required to take off air by the Venezuelan government.

Bolivia fires

Evo Morales not trending among Bolivia’s youth ahead of vote

07-10-2019 15:57 Dissatisfaction over the president’s response to devastating fires has prompted young Bolivians to reconsider their votes in the upcoming election.

AREA 51

'Storm Area 51' brings a party – but not thousands– to infamous US base

21-09-2019 18:20 Inspired by the "Storm Area 51" Internet craze, to which millions responded, thousands gathered at the gates of the infamous Area 51 US Airforce Base on Friday. Their mission brought a grand celebration of spontaneous comradery to two quiet Nevada towns.

PASOs 2019

Pro-Macri Twitter bots deliver final PASO scandal

09-08-2019 18:10 The incoherent tweets became a viral conversation on Thursday and Friday, with both campaigns pointing fingers at each other.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Internet a lifeline for Venezuela's embattled independent media

18-07-2019 14:30 Starved of advertising revenue and battling a stranglehold on the newspaper industry, Venezuela's independent media have been decimated by the country's years-long crisis.

GUEST VOICE

The Commander in CEO

06-07-2019 09:33 While it’s true that some political processes still play out over months and years, today we increasingly see politics move to the beat set by social media, whether via viral content, expediting key global geopolitical events, or via a late night presidential tweet.

by Andrei Serbin Pont

Journalists' Day

British and Canadian Embassies in Buenos Aires celebrate Journalists’ Day

21-06-2019 13:56 Members of the Argentine media gathered in the Recoleta residence of the British Ambassador where he and his Canadian counterpart discussed media freedom.

by Jonah Shrock

2019 Elections

'Defend change': Macri launches social media blitz

02-06-2019 08:44 In past elections, Macri's PRO Party has shown a particular savviness with social media in comparison to more traditional parties like the Peronists.

BATTLE AGAINST 'FAKE NEWS'

More than 85 media outlets join forces to combat misinformation in electoral campaign

24-05-2019 09:31 The Reverso programme, which will run from June to December, aims to train journalists throughout Argentina to debunk viral fake news during the presidential election campaign.