Monthly Archives: April 2022

Earth Day 2022: Here’s How the Decade’s Favourite TrendCryptocurrencyis Striving to Contribute Towards Sustainability | The Weather Channel – Articles…

Posted: April 24, 2022 at 2:33 am

Representational Image

With changing times, the world is slowly shifting its investment strategies from gold to stock trading to cryptocurrency. The first decade of the cryptocurrency experiment has boomed far beyond anybody's wildest expectations. And while leading economists believe that it is a game-changing strategy and have coined it as the future of finance, environmentalists have raised their eyebrows in the recent past due to its impacts on the environment.

On Earth Day 2022, heres a quick explainer of how cryptocurrency impacts our environment and how the crypto community is transitioning into a sustainable future.

The first generation cryptocurrencies used something called the 'proof of work', in which separate parties verify the records and transactions stored in a blockchain. Although crypto trading is entirely paperless, this 'mining' process to verify each transaction, involved a high amount of electricity and machinery to process complex algorithms.

Bitcoin, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, uses around 70,000 computers to run its software and requires roughly 1997.16 kWh for a single transaction, consuming nearly as much electricity as an average family in the U.S. would use for a month.

For this reason, many companies, including Elon Musk's Tesla, stopped accepting payments in Bitcoin at the end of 2021.

Subsequently, sustainable or 'green' cryptocurrencies have exploded in the market in recent years in an attempt to march towards a cleaner, greener future. Such cryptocurrencies mark a minimal carbon footprint, as they do not require vast amounts of energy to process their transactions.

These cryptos employ something called the 'proof of stake' that ensures trust in a more old-fashioned currency: money. This consensus mechanism minimises the computational power required to verify the transactions.

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum, which has recently transitioned to proof of stake, is hoping to reduce total energy use by 99.95% since proof-of-stake remains around 2,000 times more energy-efficient than proof-of-work. With the transition, the energy expenditure of Ethereum is expected to be roughly equal to the cost of running a home computer for each node on the network. Till recently, Ethereum used 2,000 computers to run its software and consumed roughly 178 kWh per transaction, which equals six days of electricity consumed by an average family in the U.S.

Several other cryptos have even begun opting for renewable sources for mining their currencies. Research from the University of Cambridge shows that the renewable share of these energy mining reservoirs is already as high as 78%.

Environmentalists have also suggested shifting operations next to oil fields, where they can tap waste methane gas or near wind farms to use excess wind energy.

While there certainly are umpteen challenges ahead, crypto definitely has the potential to lead us toward a greener planet.

**

For weather, science, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!

Go here to read the rest:
Earth Day 2022: Here's How the Decade's Favourite TrendCryptocurrencyis Striving to Contribute Towards Sustainability | The Weather Channel - Articles...

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Earth Day 2022: Here’s How the Decade’s Favourite TrendCryptocurrencyis Striving to Contribute Towards Sustainability | The Weather Channel – Articles…

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash Down More Than 4% Within 24 hours – Benzinga – Benzinga

Posted: at 2:32 am

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin Cash's BCH/USD price has fallen 4.07% to $319.47. This continues its negative trend over the past week where it has experienced a 6.0% loss, moving from $340.63 to its current price.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Bitcoin Cash over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

The trading volume for the coin has tumbled 60.0% over the past week while the circulating supply of the coin has risen 0.34%. This brings the circulating supply to 19.04 million, which makes up an estimated 90.68% of its max supply of 21.00 million. According to our data, the current market cap ranking for BCH is #27 at $6.09 billion.

Powered by CoinGecko API

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

See more here:
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash Down More Than 4% Within 24 hours - Benzinga - Benzinga

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash Down More Than 4% Within 24 hours – Benzinga – Benzinga

Ridley Scott developing new film about the creation of the Ethereum cryptocurrency! – Scified

Posted: at 2:32 am

Ridley Scott, the director of blockbuster heavyweights such as Alien, Gladiator and Blade Runner is reportedly developing a new film which will explore the development and creation of the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Ridley Scott's production company, Scott Free Productions will help bring a film adaptation of Camila Russo's best-selling book The Infinite Machine to life.

Camila Russo will act as an executive producer on the film and was recently quoted saying:

I can't imagine a better team to turn the riveting story about the people behind the most revolutionary technology since the internet, into a feature film that will capture the hearts of our generation.

With the advancement of Cryptocurrencies and their technology in recent years, the development of this film couldn't come at a better time. With many analysts expecting Cryptocurrencies to rocket even higher in the coming years, Ethereum is one of the top contenders, behind Bitcoin for being mass adopted worldwide.

Currently no title, release date or other details have been revealed yet. But as we learn more we'll keep you posted!

Source

We've partnered with the folks at TeePublic to give fans the opportunity to support one another and express their interests by owning customized, unique merchandise based on their favorite science fiction franchises! Designs are created by fans and a portion of proceeds from each sale go to supporting the artists and their work! Check out the entire store and see if anything gets your attention!

Go here to read the rest:
Ridley Scott developing new film about the creation of the Ethereum cryptocurrency! - Scified

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Ridley Scott developing new film about the creation of the Ethereum cryptocurrency! – Scified

Cryptocurrency USA: can Shiba Inu be the highest rising altcoin this year? – AS USA

Posted: at 2:32 am

What brought the altcoin Shiba Inu into the investor conciousness was its crazy rise from obscurity in January 2021 to a high of $0.00008841 on October 27, 2021. This rise in value was around 121,000,000% in less than a year.

However, if investors were hoping its rise was to continue, they were mistaken. Now, the memecoin is approaching a deadline which could mean it never reaches these heights again.

As of April 19, the value of Shiba Inu coin is, $0.00002515, around four times lower compared to its aforementioned peak. For it to hit even $0.01, Shiba Inus token would need to increase in value by nearly 40,000% from where it is at the time of this writing ($0.00002515) on April 19, 2022.

Accounting website The Motley Fool believes there is nothing new or interesting about Shiba Inu to make it valuable, let alone hit $0.01. They argue that between 93% and 99% of payment altcoins surrender their maximum value between 12 and 24 months after reaching their peak.

Shiba Inu coin was recently minted on the Robinhood crypto website, which is expected to drive up demand for the coin. While some analysts are expecting its failure, some cryptobros are already heralding the coin and the new Dogecoin, the memecoin that blew up last year.

However, as ever with cryptocurrency trying to predict which will rise and fall is nigh impossible.

Since Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies blew up in 2018, many others have tried to replicate the success. These are the altcoins, simply alternative coins.

Altcoins include all cryptocurrencies that are not Bitcoin. According to aggregate site statista, there are over 10,300 altcoins globally. These range from tiny coins that are only just beginning to joke coins like Dogecoin. Originally started to troll crypto users, Dogecoin became a beast of its own. It had next to no value until the coin was taken up by Reddit, from which its value increased tenfold.

Read this article:
Cryptocurrency USA: can Shiba Inu be the highest rising altcoin this year? - AS USA

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Cryptocurrency USA: can Shiba Inu be the highest rising altcoin this year? – AS USA

What is Web3? The future of the internet, cryptocurrency, and estate planning – Fast Company

Posted: at 2:32 am

The term Web3 is creating quite the buzz lately, especially among those interested in technology, cryptocurrency, and venture capital.Heres an introduction to what some people are calling the internet of the future. No one really knows what it is yet, but from an estate planning standpoint, I have some predictions.

To understand Web3, its helpful to go back in time and review the history of the internet.

In the 1990s, we were calling the internet the information superhighway. Although it was confusing and overwhelming to most, many Americans began to dial up nonetheless. Children were being taught how to surf the web alongside adults who learned how to use email and conduct basic web searches for the first time. The internet was very much a blank slate with a steep learning curve. However, many people intrinsically knew this was the next big thing that would change our lives forever. This era of the internet is referred to as Web 1.0.

In the mid-2000s, we entered the age of Web 2.0. Major platforms like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter emerged. They began to make the internet a more convenient place to connect, interact, and transact. However, critics began to question whether these few companies were beginning to amass too much power. In recent years, we witnessed lawsuits in which tech giants were slammed with billion-dollar fines for harvesting personal data and breaching data privacy laws.

Although the public enjoys taking advantage of free services and centralized data, many are questioning the role of these tech giants and whether their control over data is too great. Should we democratize and create information exchange silos on the internet once again?

This is where Web3 comes in, and why its causing a brouhaha amongst tech speculators.

The internet would be decentralized sans tech giants in the future of Web3. We could be looking at the rise of new social platforms, search engines, and marketplaces built and owned by the collective, rather than by a corporation.

End users would reclaim their power and control over their own data. They could possibly move around from platform to platform on the internet using a single personalized account, rather than having to log into multiple different accounts for each respective company and platform.

We could be given tokens for participating, which can then be used to vote on decisions regarding how a platform should change or improve, or demand what features we want to be offered. These tokens could even accrue real value and build our wealth.

How will this be possible? How will all this be secure? Web3 will be built using blockchain technology. Yes, thats right. Its the same technology that is used by cryptocurrency right now. One of the reasons why cryptocurrency and decentralized finance are so popular today is because they cut the middleman out of determining value and executing trades on the internet.

Web3 may be the pathway to cutting the middleman out of the internet, data, and information exchange itself. The internet could become a place that is run by the collective, using digital tokens as its currency.

Although the idea of Web3 could make any average persons eyes glaze over, those who are ahead of the curve and understand crypto are getting excited and placing their bets on Web3.

Do you remember the very beginning of the internet? We would dial-up through America Online (now AOL) in the 1990s and the most we could really do was visit our friends Geocities pages. Everything felt clunky and awkward, and a lot of us didnt even really know what the internet was for. It turned out that the experts werent wrong, and today, the internet pretty much runs our lives.

Web3 could very much be a parallel to this. Its something that remains to be seen, and there is no universal understanding of what Web3 is, or what it will look like. We may be decades away from Web3 becoming our reality, but it behooves us to start thinking about how blockchain technology will revolutionize how we conduct our personal business.

One aspect of this is estate plans. Its entirely possible we could have blockchain-based estate plans. You could, in theory, set up smart contracts that dictate that your digital assets will be passed automatically to your spouse or beneficiary upon a specified trigger event, such as your death. These assets would not go through the probate court as they would today.

In other words, in the age of Web3, we could be looking at a possibility in which the effectuation of an estate plan could become decentralized.

Although we may be decades away from a new reality like Web3, the estate planning industry is already taking steps in this direction.

For instance, California has enabled the small-estate affidavit, which allows for estates valued under $166,250 to bypass probate. More states could follow suit. On a grander scale, more and more states are adopting laws that enable the digital execution of wills. This is made possible by legally recognizing e-signatures and e-notaries. These types of regulatory changes make it possible for wills to be effectuated automatically and digitally.

The digital age is here, and one thing you can do now is protect your assets (both physical and digital) with an estate plan. We are hearing too many jaw-dropping stories about hundreds of millions in cryptocurrency fortunes being lost in the ether due to a lack of proper estate planning. Crypto is popular amongst young adults, demonstrating the need for estate plans to be established earlier in life as well.

Have a plan in place for how to protect your digital assets, how you plan to pass them on if anything were to happen to you, and leave instructions for how they can be accessed and used. Estate planning is the key in this digital age.

Cody Barbo, Founder & CEO,Trust & Will

Continued here:
What is Web3? The future of the internet, cryptocurrency, and estate planning - Fast Company

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on What is Web3? The future of the internet, cryptocurrency, and estate planning – Fast Company

Cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried would be thrilled to talk to Elon Musk about Twitter – Entrepreneur

Posted: at 2:32 am

This article was translated from our Spanish edition using AI technologies. Errors may exist due to this process.

Sam Bankman-Fried understands Elon Musk. The cryptocurrency billionaire, owner of the FTX exchange platform, gave an interview to Bloomberg TV in which he said that social networks have a broken model that can be repaired using block chain technology (fundamental to the industry). of NFTs and cryptocurrencies). According to the 30-year-old , the problem is in the moderation policies of the networks: "What is the moderation policy for all social networks? Are they like three types? It is the people who run three companies who choose what what gets censored and what doesn't. That's a broken model... We saw a social network choose not to censor misinformation in 2016 and got burned for that decision, then we saw them choose censorship in 2020 and get roasted for that decision."

According to the businessman, the problem with the networks is that each one is independent of the other, even when they belong to the same company like Facebook and WhatsApp, which are part of Meta: "There is no possibility of seeing a tweet on Facebook. If you send a message someone on Facebook, even WhatsApp can't read it, being from the same company. It's a really messy system where there's no interoperability between the different platforms."

For Bankman-Fried, the use of blockchains could solve the problem and even encourage competition: You put the actual underlying messages directly on the blockchain. What that means is that any platform could, in theory, access those same sets of messages. So whether you're using Facebook, Twitter or any other platform they're all based on all the messages They would be different interfaces living in the same universe.

A few weeks ago (before buying shares of Twitter and launching a crusade to take control of the social network ), Elon Musk published a post questioning whether the platform "adhered to the principles of freedom of expression."

Asked by Bloomberg TV interviewers if he had already spoken with Elon Musk about his proposal, Sam Bankman-Fried replied: "I haven't spoken directly with Elon about this, but I would be excited to."

Continue reading here:
Cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried would be thrilled to talk to Elon Musk about Twitter - Entrepreneur

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried would be thrilled to talk to Elon Musk about Twitter – Entrepreneur

Atheists, spurred by growing ranks, gather for first time since start of pandemic – Religion News Service

Posted: April 22, 2022 at 4:55 am

ATLANTA (RNS) As many gathered for Easter and Passover festivities over the weekend, an estimated 550 atheists, freethinkers, humanists and other nonbelievers converged on Atlanta for the American Atheists national convention. Typically held on Easter weekend, the annual event was live for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and the excitement was palpable.

Energized by the in-person gathering after such a long hiatus, the community of nonbelievers a general term used for all those who identify with these groups was ready to discuss some of the most pressing concerns facing their ranks today.

The convention kicked off on Thursday evening (April 14) with a lighthearted charity event in which all proceeds were donated to Access Reproductive Care-Southeast and ended Sunday afternoon with a community service event where attendees packed meals for those in need in metro Atlanta.

The service event was named Two Hands Working, after a phrase once uttered by American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray OHair. She said, Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer. The 59-year-old civil liberties organization holds true to that mantra, according to communication director Tom Van Denburgh: American Atheists has always placed action and activism at the center of our activities.

At this years convention, the drive to action was particularly apparent, from the charity events to the workshops, lectures and panels.

Today, America is at a critical moment in our history, explained Van Denburgh. White Christian nationalists are fomenting backlash against the de-Christianization of America, against greater racial diversity and against increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people.

They are legislating their religious extremism into the law, he told Religion News Service. Atheists must stand up and act.

The conference included a wide range of panels, including issue-focused discussions on subjects such as abortion and reproductive justice, but also workshops on taking your advocacy to the next level and practical tips for disrupting sexist behavior. On Saturday, political advocate Brett Parker hosted a panel on the nuts and bolts of making a difference in your state.

Sam McGuire, the national field director for American Atheists, said the organization is working toward building broad coalitions and supporting local community groups of various sizes. Each state has different needs, she explained, adding that most active and well-organized groups tend to be in areas that are facing the most conflict. Tallahassee, Florida, for example, situated in deep red country, is home to one of the organizations most active and well-established groups.

The issues facing nonbelievers are wide-ranging. Anything can be an atheist issue that involves equal rights, McGuire explained, especially when the religious impose their beliefs on other people.

Tina Marshall, lead organizer for the Charlotte, North Carolina, chapter of Black Nonbelievers, said one major issue for her group is voting rights. We cannot be liberated until we are liberated from supremacy, superstition and belief, she said, emphasizing that these are connected issues.

This past year, American Atheists has been involved in numerous legal actions around the country. Most recently, the organization has opposed South Carolinas HB 4776 legislation, which seeks a broad denial of medical care based on religious conviction, explained Alison Gill, vice president for legal and policy at American Atheists.

American Atheists is supporting New York bill A8163A, which would require that nonreligion-based substance abuse treatment options be available for people required by a court to enter a program.

Wil Jeudy speaks during the American Atheists 2022 National Convention in Atlanta, April 16, 2022. Photo by Josiah Mannion

Wil Jeudy, the Texas state director for American Atheists, has been taking a different approach to community action. As a member of Houston Oasis, a secular community that meets weekly, Jeudy has been working to build community and safe spaces for nonbelievers to gather socially. Houston is a blue island in a red sea, Jeudy said, which makes this type of organization possible. Nonbelievers dont have to worry about backlash within the area.

However, Jeudy has also been involved in advocacy and activism through other organizations. In fact, he was honored at the convention as the 2022 American Atheists Activist of the Year. One of Jeudys missions is to build advocacy coalitions across Texas and across organizational lines, including nonsecular groups such as Unitarian Universalist and Jewish organizations.

In Texas, theres an assumption that goodness comes from religion, he said, so it helps for people to see atheists standing with members of faith-based organizations. This creates a healthy cognitive dissonance, he added, dispelling the idea that atheists are the bad guys.

As Jeudy suggested, another major concern expressed at the 2022 convention was combating pervasive myths about nonbelievers.

Aaron Rabinowitz speaks during the American Atheistsnational convention in Atlanta, April 16, 2022. Photo by Josiah Mannion

In the opening of his talk, Aaron Rabinowitz asked the audience, Please raise your hand if youve previously heard some version of the immoral nonbeliever stereotype. Please keep your hand up if someone has ever implied that you or someone you know is less moral because theyre a nonbeliever. OK, now keep your hand up if someone has ever overtly said to your face that you are less moral or a bad person because youre a nonbeliever.

Rabinowitz, a podcaster and Ph.D. student at Rutgers University, went on to advocate for compassion and the building of community. The strongest tool we have against this stereotype is something were already doing right here right now: coming together in a community centered around not just shared beliefs but shared values, Rabinowitz said.

Similarly, Mandisa Thomas spoke about the struggle against bias and misconception. However, Thomas struggle is twofold. As the founder and President of Black Nonbelievers Inc., she not only has to combat the myth of the immoral atheist, but also the idea that atheism is a white thing.

There have always been Black atheists, she told the audience. This is a myth both within Black religious communities and the atheist movement itself. She said there is a heavy stigma.

Thomas expressed pride in both being a Black woman and an atheist. She offered ways in which the nonbeliever community can more adequately support and uplift the voices of Black atheists. Spend your privilege, she advised, among other tips. Her organization, based in Atlanta, will be holding its own national conference this fall in Chicago: Woman of Color: Beyond Belief.

Throughout the convention, attendees repeatedly expressed the need for action, suggesting a growing momentum in the movement. There is a sense of urgency due to the rising tide of Christian nationalism,Van Denburgh said.

At our convention, we are getting disengaged atheists involved and helping active atheists get out there and further build community and coalitions, he added.

Mandisa Thomas speaks during the American Atheists national convention in Atlanta, April 16, 2022. Photo by Josiah Mannion

Although hosted by American Atheists, the convention was attended by other nonbeliever groups from around the country, including the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United, American Humanist Association, Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Student Alliance.

Despite expressed frustrations with the current political climate, there was an overall sense of hope within the community, buoyed by the growing number of young people identifying as nonbelievers. Since 2009, the number of Americans identifying as atheist has doubled, from 2% to 4%, and the number of agnostics rose from 3% to 5%, according to Pew Research. Gill believes the numbers are higher.

In 2020, American Atheists published its own findings about the community in its first comprehensive study on nonbelievers. It presented the data at the conference, showing that nonreligious young people are the fastest growing segment of the nonreligious community. This tracks with Pew findings that the average nonbeliever is 34 years old.

The young people bring hope, expressed both Gill and McGuire.

Next years American Atheist convention will be held on Easter weekend in Phoenix. Until then, the local communities will continue to gather in action and advocacy.

We are ready, Jeudy said. As the world opens up again, we have plans.

Read more here:
Atheists, spurred by growing ranks, gather for first time since start of pandemic - Religion News Service

Posted in Atheism | Comments Off on Atheists, spurred by growing ranks, gather for first time since start of pandemic – Religion News Service

Spain: Atheism and agnosticism on the rise in pandemic times – Evangelical Focus

Posted: at 4:55 am

According to the latest report by the Ferrer i Gurdia Foundation, called Feminism, religions and freedom of conscience, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the loss of religiosity among the population in Spain.

One fact highlighted by the Foundation is that for the first time, among young adults under the age of 34, the number of people who consider themselves non-religious is now a majority.

Among the group aged between 25 and 34, over 56% identify as non-religious, and among those between 18 and 24 the percentage reaches 63.5%, while among the older population (over 65), 76.5% of those interviewed say they are religious.

The evolution of the religiosity of Spaniards over the last 40 years shows that in 1980, barely 8.5% of the population identified as non-religious, while in 2021 this figure had risen to 37% of the population.

In the breakdown by month, the most significant change took place from March to April 2020, coinciding with the most severe lockdown in Spain. In just one month, the number of people claiming to be non-religious rose from 29% to 36%.

It will be necessary to know the evolution over the next few years to determine whether this increase is really the beginning of a progressive cycle that has not been recorded until now, say the authors of the report.

Roman Catholicism continues to be the predominant religion (about 59%), although far from the figures of previous years. The second largest groups are atheists (14.6%), agnostics (11.6%) and non-religious (10.8%), which altogether account for 37%.

Minority denominations represent 2.5% of the population and just over 1.5% are undecided.

In the analysis by regions, Catalonia and Navarre are the territories with the most non-religious population (41% each), followed by the Basque Country (37.8%) and the Balearic Islands (33.7%).

In contrast, the regions with the lowest percentage of non-believers are Ceuta (3.4%), Melilla (15%) and Aragon (16.6%).

You can read the full report here (in Spanish).

Published in: Evangelical Focus - europe - Spain: Atheism and agnosticism on the rise in pandemic times

Read more:
Spain: Atheism and agnosticism on the rise in pandemic times - Evangelical Focus

Posted in Atheism | Comments Off on Spain: Atheism and agnosticism on the rise in pandemic times – Evangelical Focus

Pranks and propaganda: Russian laws against ‘fake news’ target Ukrainians and the opposition, not pro-Putin pranksters – The Conversation

Posted: at 4:54 am

When they launched their war on Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian authorities also unleashed an all-out assault on dissent at home. Within weeks, the Kremlin blocked access to nearly all remaining critical media outlets as well as to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

As part of the communication crackdown, the Russian parliament the State Duma passed draconian laws to limit speech relating to the Russian-Ukrainian war, laws that lawmakers deemed necessary to fight against fake news. In its first move, in early March, the legislature unanimously criminalized public dissemination of false information under the guise of truthful messages about the Russian army. Sentences for violating the law extended up to 15 years in prison.

Later that month, Russian lawmakers expanded the laws application to include false information about the work of all officials serving abroad, including the National Guard troops, the Federal Security Service or any other state organs involved in the Ukrainian campaign.

The combination of the laws intentional vagueness and severity is meant to stifle criticism of the Russian invasion. The fake news laws swiftly devastated media organizations that werent already controlled by the state.

The latest series of fake news laws isnt the Kremlins first use of a tragedy to enhance its power. And the earlier instance didnt need a war to trigger it it was triggered by pranksters.

Russia passed its original fake news legislation in March 2019. The law established penalties for spreading socially significant false information distributed under the guise of truthful messages.

The laws passage followed a Ukrainian pranksters hoax that built on a real tragedy. On March 25, 2018, a fire in a shopping mall in the Russian mining city of Kemerovo killed 60 people, most of them children.

Evgeniy Volnov, a Ukrainian media provocateur who fancies himself an information warrior against Russia, posed as an emergency services official to prank call the Kemerovo morgue. He told officials there to arrange for 300 incoming bodies.

Volnov then published his phone call, which sparked local residents anger at the authorities. Residents then wrongly suspected officials of hiding the real number of victims. In response, the Russian Investigative Committee the main federal investigating authority in Russia opened a criminal case against Volnov for inciting hatred or animosity and issued a warrant for his arrest in absentia.

The Russian government promptly exploited Volnovs prank to further curtail domestic freedoms.

In the days after the fire, state officials argued for the need to regulate fake news to safeguard Russian society from destabilization by disinformation. Citing Volnovs prank, Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, for example, suggested that foreign governments could use fake news to instigate regime change in Russia. He singled out the Ukrainian government, in which he claimed representatives of the CIA and the U.S. State Department work in the intelligence services.

Russias most famous pranking duo, Vladimir Kuznetsov known as Vovan and Alexey Stolyarov known as Lexus spearheaded the media campaign for fake news legislation.

Kuznetsov and Stolyarovs pranks target foreign high-profile cultural and political figures who oppose the Kremlins agenda. Russian media then widely cover the pranks to present them as evidence for the regimes mythology of Russia as a besieged fortress fending off unending Western scheming against it.

Pranks are mischievous practical jokes played on unsuspecting victims. A classic phone prank involves a caller posing as someone else, usually in front of an audience of co-conspirators, to dupe their targets into doing or saying something silly, revealing or both.

Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful. My research into pranking politics shows that sometimes pranksters bolster the status quo instead.

Kuznetsov and Stolyarov were the founding figures of Russias phone pranking scene in the 2000s. At the time, the community consisting of teenagers and college students mostly pranked the downtrodden and pop culture celebrities. The jokesters aim was to drive their target to angry stupor for the enjoyment of fellow pranksters.

In 2014, upon discovering their shared support for Russias annexation of Ukraines Crimea, the veteran pranksters joined forces to dupe Ukrainian and Western elites. The pair pranked Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko; Filaret, patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko; and other Ukrainian leaders. Posing as friendly figures to entice their victims into informal chatter, Kuznetsov and Stolyarov broached a wide range of topics, including nationalism, Russian gas exports and homosexuality.

The pranksters goal was to provoke their targets into saying something that Russian media could then spin using the Kremlins characterization of post-2014 Ukraine as an inept, fascist and morally corrupt Western puppet. In 2018, Ukrainian authorities barred Kuznetsov from entering the country.

Because of Kuznetsovs and Stolyarovs reputations as patriotic experts in fakery, they took on the role of promoting the fake news law initiative. Calling Ukrainian prankster Volnovs prank a disgusting informational sabotage by Ukrainian nationalists, the pair vowed to prevent informational attacks from abroad by proposing legal solutions in their capacity as members of the State Dumas advisory Council on Information Society and Media Development.

In explaining the duos enthusiasm, Stolyarov distinguished between their socially useful fakes, which uncover hidden truths about domestic and world politics, and what they said were unlawful pranks like Volnovs that only destabilize society.

The duos public support for fake news legislation was so vociferous that one critic referred to the initiative as the law of Vovan, Lexus, and Volodin. After lobbying for the law in the media, however, the pranksters were sidelined from meaningful participation in its drafting.

Following monthslong parliamentary discussions and revisions, Vladimir Putin signed the fake news proposals into law in March 2019. The law set fines for spreading alleged disinformation ranging from US$450 to $22,900, depending on who was doing the spreading and its consequences for example, whether it led to bodily harm or death. As critics had warned, the authorities applied the law almost exclusively to opposition activists and organizations.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in spring 2020, Russia used the existing fake news framework to criminalize what it said were coronavirus-related fakes in an effort to curb unwanted coverage of the public health emergency. The law carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Since the renewal of Russias aggression in Ukraine, Vovan and Lexus again put their pranking talents in the Kremlins service. In late March, the duo published pranks with the U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace.

[Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.]

Posing as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the pranksters trolled the U.K. ministers with ridiculous questions surrounding the war. At one point, faux-Shmyhal asked Patel if the British were afraid that neo-Nazis would enter the U.K. among Ukrainian refugees, a reference to the Kremlins claim that the goal of its invasion of Ukraine is denazification. The startled official replied with an assurance of the Brits determination to help in the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

The leading Russian state information agency, RIA Novosti, twisted Patels response. The headline read: The U.K. Home Secretary shared with the pranksters her willingness to help neo-Nazis.

After the U.K. government urged YouTube to block the videos as Russian propaganda, the U.S.-based platform removed the pranksters channel as part of its investigation into influence operations linked to Russia.

The pranking war rages on.

Read the original:

Pranks and propaganda: Russian laws against 'fake news' target Ukrainians and the opposition, not pro-Putin pranksters - The Conversation

Posted in Fake News | Comments Off on Pranks and propaganda: Russian laws against ‘fake news’ target Ukrainians and the opposition, not pro-Putin pranksters – The Conversation

Citizen journalists can share fake news or protect the truth – Monitor

Posted: at 4:54 am

Citizen journalism and citizen journalists have been at the centre of discussions for many years especially ever since improvements in information and communications technology (ICT) thrust them on the stage almost at par with traditional journalists.

For once, editorial gatekeeping was effectively bypassed and many stories that would have ended up in editors trash bins because they were not important could now see light of day through citizen journalists. Or better still, perspectives that would otherwise have been blocked by traditional editorial platforms in favour of establishment narratives could now also be heard again through independent journalists.

But the opening (or breaching) of the editorial floodgates did not only bring more information to citizens, it also allowed a lot of fake information that usually would have been filtered by editors to see the light of day. Growth in fake news meant the truth was further drowned. This scenario has led many people to trust traditional journalism more and distrust citizen journalism at least in cases that are not in black and white. It is important to note that there are, broadly, two categories of citizen journalists; your ordinary man or woman on the street with a smart phone and data on one hand, and on the other deeply knowledgeable people in different professions that are driven by truth and are governed by ethics to share what they know about things around them.

We see both of them online one group (though not entirely) tends to misinform, under-inform or simply heckle while the other seeks to bring truth, independent perspective or give platform to ideas that mainstream media has discarded to the periphery or is trying to hide. I shall say a few things about the second group. If, for instance, you have followed news coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war on CNN, BBC, Aljazeera, France24, etc on one hand, or RT and Sputnik on the other, then chances are you have only heard half-truths from either side.

But if you have been watching independent commentary and stories filed by independent citizen journalists, incidentally mostly operating from the West, then chances are you are closer to the truth about this war. Alexander Mercouris based in the UK and Alex Christoforou based in Cyprus come to mind. Note that it is not just individual citizen journalists. In fact independent think-tanks like Democracy Now (www.democracynow.org) doing periodic podcasts of interviews and analysis and sharing them on YouTube have shown that citizen journalism can effectively sidestep establishment media to deliver truth and balance in situations where the truth is difficult to find.

In Africa, and Uganda particularly, we are still using social media mostly for gossip, heckling and show-off yet it can be much more. Even in situations where the public is craving for information during a time of crisis or social contention, expert citizen journalists have not stepped out to provide alternative perspectives different from official government or mainstream media narrative. We can certainly do more than tweet, heckle and shame or praise on social media.

Peter Kaujju (Head of Communications & Marketing, Umeme): We read your story Mps end Umeme monopoly as electricity distributor carried in the issue of 14th April 2022.

Your story carries a number of inaccuracies regarding the Electricity Amendment Bill which was passed by Parliament. Umeme wishes to clarify as follows; Umeme is currently in its 17th year of a 20-year concession to distribute electricity in a specified license territory. While Umeme Limited is the largest energy distributor in Uganda, it is but one of six licensed distributors, who include UEDCL, the asset owner.

The sole bulk supplier of electricity is the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited and not Umeme.

Your reference to Umeme as holding a monopoly to supply electricity is therefore inaccurate since Umeme is neither a monopoly nor the bulk supplier of electricity in Uganda. Umeme appreciates your continued interest and coverage of the electricity sector though we hope future articles will be more accurate and less sensational.

Public Editor: Thank you for this feedback. The inaccuracies are well noted and regretted. The editors have been advised to make the correction in print and online.

[The clarification was duly published in the April 21 edition.]

See original here:

Citizen journalists can share fake news or protect the truth - Monitor

Posted in Fake News | Comments Off on Citizen journalists can share fake news or protect the truth – Monitor