Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg must feel like a heavyweight boxer going the distance after the two weeks he’s had amid whistle-blower allegations and outages for Facebook and the two other social media behemoths it owns, Instagram and Whatsapp.
It was a rude awakening for Zuckerberg and co but not one that many of us didn’t see coming. A slew of reports, documentaries, and first-hand accounts from insiders at tech companies in recent years have given us, the consumer of these ghoulish companies’ services, an insight into why social media is so bad for us and how these companies will always prioritise financial gain over our mental health and safety.
And they do this through a combination of hate messaging, creating an us versus them mentality while also pandering in false information and fake news.
Sonali Kolhatkar writes in New Frame about the perverse effect Facebook has on our lives and how the tech giant knows it harms society but chooses profit over the preservation of liberal democracy.
Tech journalist, Toby Shapshak, writes in Daily Maverick that the recent outages experienced by Facebook and others are the least of the company’s worries and the focus should be on the allegations levelled against them by whistle-blower Frances Haugen.
It may be time to delete Facebook.
Shifting back to the vacant chief justice position at the Constitutional Court, commentators have looked at what former chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s legacy might be? When Mogoeng was appointed back in 2011 there were fears that he might be nothing but a lackey for former president Jacob Zuma, but Mogoeng held firm to the rule of law and did the job with a strong moral code guiding him.
Justice Malala writes in Financial Mail (Subscribe to read) that Mogoeng’s legacy is indeed tainted by Zuma while deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo writes in the Sunday Times Daily (Register to read) that under his former colleagues’ leadership, “the judiciary, as an arm of state, has taken strides to vigorously protect its independence and prove itself as the guardian of the constitution.”
Here’s what else you need to know:
Voters can kiss accountability goodbye when politicians disappear once elections are over – Daily Maverick
Climate change has wreaked havoc on wine producers – Business Day (Subscribe to read)
Is the Freedom Front Plus making the laager bigger? – News24 (Subscribe to read)
It’s a pity the DA posters have overshadowed the real election issues – Sunday Times Daily (Register to read)
South Africa: A Mickey Mouse member of Brics – The Citizen (Subscribe to read)
Clueless DA lost in noise – Financial Mail
