Jonathan Corpus Ong

a man is flying through the air with the words coming in hot ALT: a man is flying through the air with the words coming in hot

🎆🎆JUNE PUBLICATION ALERT🎆🎆

Our 18 #openaccess papers published in June are HOT to go, complete with the Special Section on "True Costs of Misinformation," guest edited by
@joncong.bsky.social and @bostonjoan.bsky.social . Read at ijoc.org

Our Internationalisation Lead, @joncong.bsky.social, has co-guest edited a Special Section on True Costs of Misinformation for the International Journal of Communication.

Read the edition here:
ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc

Work-in-progress and powering thru this Boston heat wave 😅

In a short span of time there has been a global rise in "fake news" laws - legislation that purports to or is designed to curb the spread of false information. @sbradshaw.bsky.social, Monzima Haque, and I wanted to understand why.

"The Global Spread of Misinformation Laws" ijoc.org/index.php/ij...

cover graphic of True Costs of Misinformation: Special Section

Now available! A special section of @ijoc-usc.bsky.social, True Costs of Misinformation, co-guest edited by @joncong.bsky.social, addresses key questions in disinfo studies. Check out the Intro: ijoc.org/index.php/ij...

Finally out! ✅ @alicetiara.bsky.social @rachelkuol.bsky.social @katherinefurl.bsky.social @dmadridm.bsky.social @tullyme.bsky.social @nicolecurato.bsky.social @sbradshaw.bsky.social @gabriellelim.bsky.social

Folks at #ica25 might wanna check out @ijoc-usc.bsky.social’s Special Section on True Costs of Misinformation, guest edited by me and @bostonjoan.bsky.social. The collection critiques mainstream frameworks of disinfo studies, written during a more hopeful "peak moment": ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc

Digital Democracy in a Divided Global Landscape A global shift is taking place. Leaders recognize that tech innovation equals power, and they are marshaling their resources accordingly. Countries are working to create technological advantages for t...

🌐Counter-disinformation funding in the Global Majority is broken, @joncong.bsky.social & @dwj88.bsky.social argue.

What can be done to fix it?

Read their full piece in the new #DigitalDemocracyNetwork compendium on @carnegieendowment.org⤵️

Image to promote the special issue with the title true costs of misinformation: special section in the middle with a background of stripes and colors

Screenshot of papers in the special issue Special Sections True Costs of Misinformation: 155 Special Section True Costs of Misinformation| True Costs of Misinformation-Introduction Jonathan Corpus Ong, Joan Donovan True Costs of Misinformation| Mountains of Evidence: Processual "Redpilling" as a Socio-Technical Effect of Disinformation Alice E. Marwick, Katherine Furl True Costs of Misinformation| Political Finance and Patronage Behind Disinformation: Evidence From India's Election Campaigns Amogh Dhar Sharma True Costs of Misinformation| Transnational Information Networks: Methods for Cross-Diasporic Research Rachel Kuo, Madhavi Reddi, Lan Li True Costs of Misinformation| Exploring Audience Agency in Countering Misinformation Dani Madrid-Morales, Melissa Tully, Kevin C. Mudavadi, Frankline Matanji, Layire Diop True Costs of Misinformation| Conspiracy Theories Harm Democracy Nicole Curato, Sofia Tomacruz True Costs of Misinformation| The Global Spread of Misinformation Laws Samantha Bradshaw, Gabrielle Lim, Monzima Haque

New in academia:

We have a special issue organized by @joncong.bsky.social and me about THE TRUE COSTS OF MISINFORMATION

Incredible papers on a range of topics focused on the financial, political, social, and cultural toll of misinformation-at-scale.

Phenomenal work!

ijoc.org/index.php/ij...

Joy, celebration, inspiration: the whole world is looking for these in our dark times. I’m sure this Filipino story will be a catalyst for movements elsewhere. But it’s also okay that we unshame any feelings we may have of anxiety, apprehension, or survivors’ guilt. 🙏

It is ironic and discomforting that a perpetrator of corruption and abuses could also be essential to such a rare and precious event for international human rights. This theme of "imperfect allies" is difficult to process. 4/5

While human rights advocates have full agency and deserve recognition, this moment of justice required collusion (or alignment) with Marcos Jr motivated by his own family agenda for redemption and whitewashing — including at the international scene. 3/5

Indeed this is a victory hard won for the witnesses, whistleblowers, legal strategists, human rights workers, and coalition-builders who worked tirelessly on community projects. Activist burnout is real from the lethal combo of state harassment + community disillusionment. 2/5

Some colleagues are processing Duterte's arrest with anxiety and ambivalence. I don’t think that we should shame folks working thru these emotions. 1/5

Cited in this @gqmagazine.bsky.social piece on Chaotic Twinks as the Archetype of the Moment. Proud to show interdisciplinarity and impact to opine on unshaming our kinks to burn it all down in public and private lives. My Dean will be thrilled. 😘

www.gq.com/story/how-th...

Excited to be speaking in this timely event at MIT on Platforms & Justice with the brill @zoeglatt.bsky.social, @norasuren.bsky.social & @joncong.bsky.social; I'll bring the experiences of Palestinian and Jewish creators being culturally misread, flagged & muted—by both algorithms & humans; Join!👇🔥

Latin American Cultures on TikTok Download the report (PDF). About ‘Latin American Cultures on TikTok’ collects and expands on some of the main takeaways from the Latin American Cultures on TikTok event, which took place on N…

📢📢📢 My brilliant friend @danijaradent.bsky.social and I have released a report (from our TCRN event) shedding light on the structural inequalities that shape the experiences of Latin American creators on TikTok. Their reality is one of constant struggle; see 🧵 tiktokcultures.com/latam-report/

Thank you Tom ☺️ We felt our research really spoke to the global tech justice piece you wrote with @joncong.bsky.social on the impact of Meta's decisions for marginalised communities + regions grappling with deep-seated conflicts. CN is not designed to address harm + its ethos will likely sow harm.

It's going to take a lot courage but courage is contagious. Refusing to live in fear is freedom in a fascist state. That doesn't mean you can't feel afraid, but it means overcoming it. It means putting your job, your livelihood, your comfort on the line. Solidarity for others is paramount.

It is precisely the Global Majority’s aversion to techno-legal fixes that gives rise to the creativity of its civil society. The world should take note.

https://buff.ly/3E0Dunu

@joncong.bsky.social & #GloTechLab advance a Global Majority-driven agenda on disinformation.

Trump nationalizing TikTok should light up a big, flashy neon sign ✨Platform Opportunism✨ It shows how quickly demonized platforms turn into tools of power when conditions align. As @jessmaddox.bsky.social points, we must confront these shifts with nuance and resist the lure of saviorism👇

🤩 The CfP for the 7th Deliberative Democracy Summer School is out now 🤩

A toast to our colleagues from the University of Zurich for hosting the European version of the summer school.

Grants available for students with limited institutional support.

www.ipz.uzh.ch/en/study/doc...

What does a Global Majority agenda look like for tech and democracy? It's one that is civil society-driven and not dependent on techno-legal solutions from Washington DC or Brussels. @dwj88.bsky.social and I discuss GloTech Lab's South-to-South study for @ssrc.org👇 mediawell.ssrc.org/articles/the...

Civil society in the Global Majority is leading bold new approaches to counter-disinformation, prioritizing resilience, accountability, and creativity. Learn more in this article by @joncong.bsky.social and @dwj88.bsky.social : mediawell.ssrc.org/articles/the...

Discussing fact-checking. But at a deeper level offering solar plexus chakra healing 🌞 #OracleOng 🔮

No letup in truth-telling for VERA Files COMMENTARY: What is happening in Meta underscores the danger truthfulness poses to authoritarian leaders or those with authoritarian tendencies and the risks that people in the business of truth-telli...

The Philippines’ Vera Files reports below their fact-checking partnership with Meta is still on for 2025. This is important as it’s a big election year! Their editor quotes me and @tomdivon.bsky.social’s critique of big tech philanthrocapitalism 👇🏽

verafiles.org/articles/no-...

Great choice of thumbnail to accompany our op-ed about Zuckerberg’s techbro power play flexing exceptional American values against calls for global tech justice. Co authored with my own academic “bro” @tomdivon.bsky.social 🔥💪🏽

🔥 piece on Meta's global responsibility: "Rather than investing in culturally informed moderation with local language and regional expertise, Meta opts for a hands-off strategy, leaving fragile ecosystems to navigate a worsening crisis of truth." @jonathanong.bsky.social @tomdivon.bsky.social

This is a great piece! I'm less surprised by the alliance between Silicon Valley and DC, though (how new is this era?) And I hope over time we can better figure out why philanthrocapitalism and [corporate] content moderation have lost their appeal for Silicon Valley giants.

with my academic bro @joncong.bsky.social: “Rather than investing in regional expertise, Meta opts for a hands-off strategy, leaving fragile ecosystems to navigate a worsening crisis of truth. What they call "letting users decide" is, in reality, just responsibility dodging dressed as empowerment”👇