Author: Olaitan Mos-Shogbamimu

This author has written 6 articles

Social media broke Israel’s propaganda machine — The cost of Crying Wolf

Social media broke Israel’s propaganda machine — The cost of Crying Wolf

Despite pouring millions into anti-Palestinian propaganda, the world is turning against Israel. The colonial state’s demise has been accelerated by its perceived sense of “invincibility” and arrogance in broadcasting its genocidal intent. Now, even analysts from the ethno-state believe the reputational damage is done. No amount of propaganda can save them. Crying wolf carries consequences Since 7 October, Israel has aggressively amplified its victimisation narrative, asking for condemnation of Hamas and spreading misinformation across news channels. Therein lies the rub… the Israelis, so convinced by their own narrative which casts them (the aggressors) as the victims, had the gall to publicly…

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How the far right targeted City of Sanctuary with misinformation campaign

How the far right targeted City of Sanctuary with misinformation campaign

An exposé by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) has laid bare how City of Sanctuary, a charity that promotes empathy and compassion towards asylum seekers and refugees, became the target of a far right misinformation campaign. Charity workers and schools faced death threats, Islamaphobic and hateful abuse for an activity meant to spread love. When freelance journalist Charlotte Gill took issue with one of the charity’s harmless Valentine’s Day activities, the charity found itself at the centre of a media storm. As part of the Schools of Sanctuary programme, students wrote heart-shaped welcoming cards for refugees to be displayed at schools and…

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Disney’s “Hexed” and the sanitisation of the ostracised

Disney’s “Hexed” and the sanitisation of the ostracised

Disney’s teasing trailer for its upcoming original film “Hexed”, without further context, seems to showcase a repeated trope within Disney’s catalogue of presenting themes of ostracisation while remaining as palatable as possible to its audience. Despite the film having not come out yet, it is already being seen by some as evidence of the studio’s lack of inherent need to strip the politics and real-life experiences out of social outcasting. The palatable outcast On the 16th of June, Disney released its first teaser for their November animated film “Hexed”. Although initially I was intrigued by the teaser, the internet at large…

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Why kids need (and hate) social media

Why kids need (and hate) social media

Earlier this month, the UK parliament passed a law targeting children and teenagers’ social media use instead of the true root of the issue. The social media ban for under 16s is not just another example of our government virtue signaling in an attempt to save face. It is also an example of its inability to address the fundamental flaws in the society it is forcing the next generation of young people to grow up in. Social media ban: Why teens hate (and support) it The social media ban, which will come into force in early 2027, is modelled off the…

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Rihanna Kelver facing felony charges shows ‘stand your ground’ is not for trans people

Rihanna Kelver facing felony charges shows ‘stand your ground’ is not for trans people

Rihanna Kelver, a transgender woman in Wyoming, is facing felony charges for pulling a weapon to defend herself after being subject to homophobic and transphobic slurs. Slate magazine reported that Kelver was about to end a work shift when several men on the street began yelling slurs at her. Then: Moments later, according to court testimony and surveillance footage, the man shoved Kelver to the ground hard enough to injure her tailbone. Kelver responded by drawing a pistol from her bag, chambering a round, and pointing the weapon at the man who had pushed her. She kept the safety on and…

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We don’t need AI – AI needs us

We don’t need AI – AI needs us

There is a consistent narrative today that AI is an inevitability that we must simply accept. Media and large tech corporations portray AI as a futuristic technology. Saying that society must quickly adopt it or otherwise risk being “left behind”. However, this concept is inherently false. In reality it is the generative AI and its corporate creators that rely on us. AI survives off of human work The truth is that AI is fundamentally unable to create. It rests on the backs of real human expression and art. Everything that generative AI makes is based off of an endless supply of…

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