Report says hundreds of state legislators have joined far-right Facebook groups
More than 1 in 5 Republican state lawmakers across the country have joined at least one far-right Facebook group, according to a new report. Together the lawmakers sponsored 963 bills during the most recent legislative sessions, said the group that wrote the report, which describes the far-right efforts as anti-human rights. The Institute for Research […]
Committee passes bill to block social media from ‘censoring’ users
An Ohio House committee passed legislation Tuesday prohibiting social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube from “censoring” their users. The legislation would block the companies from removing posts or expelling people from their platforms based on the “viewpoint” of users or ideas expressed in their posts. It wouldn’t apply to speech already illegal under […]
Survey: Ohio economists disagree on whether YouTube, Facebook operate as monopolies
Some social-media powerhouses have already come under fire in Ohio. Now a majority of a panel of Ohio economists says three of the biggest — Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — behave as such. But a significant slice of the panel disagreed. The Buckeye State has long played an important role in the history of antitrust […]
Facebook deplatforms Ohio-based anti-vaccine group
Facebook booted a prominent, Ohio-based anti-vaccine advocacy group from its platform Monday, part of the company’s attempt to purge disproven health information that proliferates on its site. The Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom said in a newsletter that Facebook deplatformed the group, which had 40,000 followers, around noon Monday. The newsletter didn’t offer an explanation […]
3 reasons for information exhaustion – and what to do about it
An endless flow of information is coming at us constantly: It might be an article a friend shared on Facebook with a sensational headline or wrong information about the spread of the coronavirus. It could even be a call from a relative wanting to talk about a political issue. All this information may leave many […]
DeWine endorsements highlighted in suburban legislative districts
Though Gov. Mike DeWine remains controversial among some Republican state legislators, the political party is still highlighting endorsements from Ohio’s top executive in select races. DeWine has faced an onslaught of criticism and legislative rebuke from the Ohio Statehouse related to his year-long response to the coronavirus pandemic. Much of the backlash has come from […]
‘I just don’t trust the system any more.’ Voters on edge as election nears.
WASHINGTON — Widespread anxiety and confusion around voting, compounded by the pandemic that has spread to millions of Americans, including President Donald Trump. A vastly underfunded and decentralized electoral system that could take days and possibly weeks to certify results. Attempts to suppress voting, interfere with elections and cast doubt on the integrity of mail-in […]
Facebook comments are where my faith in humanity goes to die
Toxic environments crush the spirit, and few environments thrive on toxicity like Facebook comments sections. Less an American agora for public debate, Facebook comments sections exist mainly as a forum for misinformation, spam, childish name-calling, petty trolling, and the occasional thoughtful point or useful fact-check. As the editor of the Ohio Capital Journal, my least […]
As newspapers face challenges, the importance of public support grows
Newspapers build strong, informed communities. Imagine Cleveland without the Plain Dealer journalists who uncovered the lead poisoning crisis and the rape kit backlog, forcing important reforms. Cincinnati Enquirer reporters, photographers and editors painstakingly depicted the mercilessness of the drug crisis and the toll it takes on nearly every aspect of life. The Columbus Dispatch exposed how middlemen hiked up prescription drug prices […]