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Curated by Project Syndicate

Toxic Social Media

16 commentaries

Evidence that Russia has used social media to spread fake news is emerging in Britain and Europe, in addition to the United States. Writers for Project Syndicate explore the origins and scope of the threat to democratic countries, and examine possible remedies.

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  1. The Pandora’s Box of the Digital Age
    South Korea missile Getty Images

    The Pandora’s Box of the Digital Age

    Nov 16, 2017 Carl Bildt says cyber weapons are the nukes of the digital age, except that the old rational rules no longer apply.

  2. Facing the Four Structural Threats to US Democracy
    US election Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Facing the Four Structural Threats to US Democracy

    Nov 10, 2017 Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca show how political dysfunction in Washington, DC, can be bypassed through state and local action.

  3. How Americans Became Vulnerable to Russian Disinformation
    Two students encourage others to join 'Democracy and Citizenship Club' Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images

    How Americans Became Vulnerable to Russian Disinformation

    Nov 7, 2017 Kent Harrington says the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election was symptomatic of bigger problems.

  4. Freeing Africa’s Internet
    Clients surf the internet in Congo Federico Scoppa/Getty Images

    Freeing Africa’s Internet

    Nov 6, 2017 Kizito Byenkya & Alex Humphrey highlight the proliferation of government efforts to control speech online – and how repression can be resisted.

  5. Big Tech Meets Big Government
    Facebook, Google and Twitter executives testify before congress Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Big Tech Meets Big Government

    Nov 2, 2017 Mohamed A. El-Erian warns tech firms that if they don't recognize their systemic importance, they may face a powerful backlash.

  6. Fake News and Biased News
    Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe answers questions during a short press interview Kazuhiro Nogi/Getty Images

    Fake News and Biased News

    Oct 31, 2017 Koichi Hamada condemns media in Japan and elsewhere that use their final cut to manipulate rather than to inform.

Our Pick

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    Why Rome Still Matters

    Shlomo Ben-Ami considers the ancient empire’s hold on the popular imagination and what its history has to teach us.
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    Egypt’s Skyrocketing C-Sections

    Rana Hendy & Lobna Shaheen urge policymakers to take decisive steps to address the inequalities fueling the rise in cesarean deliveries.
  3. caballero1_Sanjeev VermaHindustan Times via Getty Images_indiashopping Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
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    Asia’s Consumer Tipping Point

    Juan Caballero & Wolfgang Fengler highlight a milestone that marks the transition from poverty to a more typical middle-class lifestyle.
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    Kishore Mahbubani on the US-China rivalry, Asian security risks, and more

    Kishore Mahbubani offers advice to Western diplomats attempting to engage with Asia, identifies risks to the region’s stability, highlights Singapore’s lessons for developing-country leaders, and more.
  5. new delhi smog SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images
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    Tracking Air Quality the Right Way

    Soumya Swaminathan & Christa Hasenkopf call for an authoritative global accounting of the world’s single greatest external risk to human health.
  6. buchholz19_Tayfun CoskunAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_aukus Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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    Countries That March Together Should Trade Together

    Todd G. Buchholz urges the next US president to distinguish good from bad actors, rather than raise tariffs haphazardly.
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    Resetting US-China Economic Relations

    Barry Eichengreen

    The implications of the deepening Sino-American rift are far-reaching, because several of the world’s most pressing economic problems can be solved only with contributions from both countries. And, to address global challenges, active cooperation between the two economic powers is indispensable.

     hopes that political will on both sides catches up with the opporunities for cooperation that now exist.
  8. gros189_Sean GallupGetty Images_germanypowerlines Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    The Improving Economics and Worsening Geopolitics of Clean Energy

    Daniel Gros warns that political obstacles are preventing the widespread uptake of low-cost green technologies.
  9. rajan94_Arvind YadavHindustan Times via Getty Images_indiasemiconductor Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
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    Industrial Policy’s Deceptive New Clothes

    Raghuram G. Rajan

    If the new "industrial strategy" is offering ideas for better public governance, it is useful. But it becomes positively dangerous when it turns to the private sector, where state interventions inevitably undermine competition, disrupt price signals, and dampen the motivation to innovate.

     sees little reason to support the case for renewed government interventions in the private sector.

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