Ban supporters cite security concerns, Chinese influence and the spread of antisemitic content while critics cite free speech and reject the government’s interference.
The plight of US-bound Chinese migrants duped by false information on social media highlights how people smugglers prey on those seeking a better life. Tech companies must work with governments and civil society organisations to remove misinformation online that promotes illegal activity.
After years of Arab countries growing closer to Israel, the events of October 7 have swung the pendulum the other way. Mass pro-Palestinian protests, calls to boycott companies over their ties to Israel, and more, are generating political shifts in Arab countries and the West.
China’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict has defied expectations, refusing to explicitly condemn Hamas while allowing open criticism of Israel. How will its diplomacy for a ceasefire affect its standing in the region?
A prominent aspect of the French protests is the salience of social media as a way for protesters to grow and learn from each other. French politicians have laid some of the blame for the violence on social media platforms such as TikTok, which has come in for particular scrutiny.
China played only a small role in the Saudi-Iran talks and can hardly expect to reproduce the success with Israel, a staunch US ally.
Driven by a need for income, UK universities have seen an explosion in student numbers. But as the workload increases, academic pay has lagged behind inflation and left university staff struggling to cope with rising costs.
China has slowly increased its presence in the region in the past two decades through rising trade, foreign aid, infrastructure projects and more. The Iran-Saudi peace deal builds more credibility in the Middle East for China and will aid its efforts to strengthen ties in the region.
The effects of climate change are pushing more people to leave Africa and the Middle East for the wealthier, more temperate climes of Europe. Governments must look to ease costs in key sectors such as housing, energy and heathcare to reduce the far-right’s appeal amid the influx of migrants.
With essential workers such as content moderators cut, hate speech has quickly increased on the social media platform. This does not bode well for a platform that already had content moderation problems, and which might descend into chaos.
China declines to designate militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organisations, despite Western insistence on the same. In seeking an antidote to Western antagonism, these groups are inclined to stay silent on Xinjiang and keep Beijing on their side.
With the number of deepfake videos doubling every six months, they pose a serious challenge to political systems and social stability. Given that technology companies are motivated by profit, government must step in to regulate the creation of this content.
As US influence fades and China rises, jihadists are seizing on Beijing’s suppression of Uygurs in Xinjiang, ‘imperialist’ belt and road ambitions, and plans to build more military bases in an effort to find a new villain to help justify their existence.