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Who Taught You That? Why Paulo Freire's Ideas Are More Urgent Than Ever

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@jorgebscomm for @empowervmedia [Image credit: epitome ] I n 1964, a Brazilian literacy educator was arrested by a military junta for teaching peasants to read; not as a technical skill, but as an act of political awakening. His name was Paulo Freire. He was imprisoned for seventy days, then exiled. The book he wrote in exile, Pedagogy of the Oppressed , became the third most cited academic text in the social sciences worldwide. It was also banned in the country that made it necessary. Today, Freire's framework is a structurally prescient toolkit for an era of algorithmic information management, concentrated media power, and psychological manipulation at scale — and it may be the most important thing we haven't been taught. Freire's central critique was of what he called the banking model of education : the treatment of students as passive receptacles into which educators deposit pre-approved knowledge. The banking model fails pedagogically as it actively reproduces t...
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Context Collapse: When Social Contexts Converge Online

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Produced for @empowervmedia Edited & fact-checked by @jorgebscomm Context collapse flattens the usual boundaries we manage in everyday life, making it hard to tailor our message to each group.   (📷:colostate.edu) Context collapse occurs when formerly separate social contexts all come together into one audience space [1] [2] . In physical life we adjust our behaviour based on who we’re talking to (we speak differently to a boss than to old friends). But on social networks, those circles overlap. For example, a single Facebook post or tweet might be seen by your family, college friends, coworkers, and even strangers all at once. This is what Jessica Vitak calls “the flattening out of multiple distinct audiences” [1] . Because of this, information can suddenly spread far and wide (a casual comment intended for friends might end up reaching colleagues or acquaintances) [3] . 'Context Collapse' ▶️2m02s In practice, this mixing of audiences can be jarring. As one blogger v...
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Location: Australia
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Disinformation vs. Misinformation: A Psychological Primer

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Produced for @empowervmedia Edited & fact-checked by @jorgebscomm Emotions such as fear and outrage make us more susceptible to false news.   (📷:universityofcambridge) B efore diving into psychology, we must define our terms .  Misinformation  is misleading or false information that is spread, regardless of intent . It covers everything from honest mistakes to urban legends. In contrast, disinformation  is a form of misinformation that is created and shared on purpose  to mislead or manipulate people . In practice, experts often consider disinformation as a subset of misinformation, because it can be hard to know the originator’s intent . For example, a viral hoax about a miracle cure might be pure misinformation (someone misunderstood a fact), while an organised campaign spreading false health scares to sow panic would be disinformation. In either case, the core problem is that the information is false and can have harmful effects on people and society . ...
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Location: Australia
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