Article by Drew Benvie for PR Week - published 19 May 2020 Technologies like social media and videoconferencing apps are playing a vital role in bringing us closer while we’re apart, spreading critical information globally, and rallying support for important causes in healthcare and in society as a whole. But technology is facilitating the spread […]
Article by Joe Mellor for The London Economic - published 18 May 2020 It should be made illegal for conspiracy theorists like David Icke to spread disinformation online, an MP has said. A number of well-known names with large social media followings have been key distributors of false information during the pandemic, research shows. The […]
Article by Sam Williams for KentOnline - published 13 May 2020 Police and a Kent MP are urging people to think of their 'personal responsibility' after a post being shared on social media invited crowds to attend a 'mass gathering' in Folkestone. The poster for the supposed event in Radnor Park and on the beach this […]
Article by Lucy Cotter for Sky News - published 11 May 2020 Senior media figures have warned of the coronavirus "perfect storm" hitting newspapers, saying the drop in circulation and ad revenue could lead to some outlets disappearing completely. A sector that has been struggling for a while due to readers moving online, the coronavirus lockdown - […]
Article published 1 May 2020 Facebook has taken down the official page of conspiracy theorist David Icke for publishing "health misinformation that could cause physical harm". Mr Icke has made several false claims about coronavirus, such as suggesting 5G mobile phone networks are linked to the spread of the virus. In one video, he suggested […]
Article by Mathilde Frot for Jewish News - published 1 May 2020 Countdown star Rachel Riley, the Community Security Trust and the MP Damian Collins are among public figures throwing their weight behind an open letter urging social media companies to “deplatform” the conspiracy theorist David Icke. The former footballer and sports commentator, who previously […]
Article by Oscar Williams for NS Tech - published 29 April 2020 The MP Damian Collins has called into question whether one of Ofcom’s most senior officials should have been allowed to take on a new role at Facebook. It emerged this morning that Tony Close, Ofcom’s director of content standards, is set to join […]
Article by Matthew Moore for The Times - published 29 April 2020 A senior official at the watchdog preparing to regulate social media companies has been poached by Facebook to help it respond to the curbs. Tony Close, Ofcom’s director of content standards, has been heavily involved with drawing up rules to rein in the […]
Article by Mark Wilding for Esquire - published 25 April 2020 On 6 April, Tom Phillips was self-isolating at his home in south London when he saw the news that a mobile phone mast in Birmingham had been set on fire. Experts suspected that the action had been prompted by a conspiracy theory linking 5G […]
Article by Matthew Moore for The Times - published 21 April 2020 Ministers have been urged to make the tech giants Facebook and Google share their advertising revenue with news publishers, after similar proposals were adopted in Australia. Media companies will be entitled to a slice of the money that digital platforms generate from their […]