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By the time you read this, Donald Trump will have been sworn in as US president. One of the many issues his political comeback raises is the issue of trust in media – including social media, especially after Meta announced it would stop fact-checking on its platforms.
The onus of keeping large parts of the internet civil will now fall largely to social media users themselves. But do everyday Facebook scrollers value the sorts of things that uphold democracy? Mark Andrejevic and his team sought to answer this question by creating a “civic values scale”. They then surveyed thousands of Australians about these values, also asking them where they get their news.
The results show people who get their news on social media are among the least likely to share civic values, such as being open to opposing views. Perhaps, Andrejevic suggests, these are not the people to leave in charge of managing a healthy online debate.
Maybe you can buck the trend by being one of the civic-minded people who follows us on Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook to inject a litlte more quality into your social media feed.
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Erin Cooper-Douglas
Deputy Politics + Society Editor
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Mark Andrejevic, Monash University
Major social media platforms have decided to leave the job of fact checking to their platforms’ users. Research suggests they may not be up to the challenge.
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Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University
After briefly ‘going dark’, TikTok has returned to the screens of users in the US. But the situation remains slippery.
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Finley Watson, La Trobe University
The ‘fake podcast’ format isn’t just being used to spread misinformation. Many legitimate companies are also using it to sell their products and services.
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Mathew Marques, La Trobe University; Niels Mede, University of Zurich; Viktoria Cologna, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Zoe Leviston, Australian National University
A global new survey shows there’s no crisis of trust in scientists, as some might claim. But there are some nuances.
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Lauren Ball, The University of Queensland; Emily Burch, Southern Cross University
A new study found people with type 2 diabetes who used drugs like Ozempic had a reduced risk of 42 health conditions or issues, but a greater risk of 19 others.
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Kate Summer, Southern Cross University; Kirsten Benkendorff, Southern Cross University
Worldwide, nearly five million people die from antimicrobial resistant infections each year.
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Tess Scholfield-Peters, University of Technology Sydney
How does one write the essence of a life once it has come to an end?Mark Raphael Baker’s A Season of Death is an intimate, at times harrowing, portrait of grief.
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Gregory Moore, The University of Melbourne
While its large brilliant flowers attracted early horticultural attention, this summertime stunner’s path to being a successful urban tree has not always been easy.
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Laura Kranz, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; John Kerr, University of Otago
Even if there’s no acute crisis of trust in science, we shouldn’t minimise the disproportionate impact vocal minorities who distrust science may have on policy and society.
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Politics + Society
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Richard Vaughan, University of Canberra; Catherine Ordway, University of Canberra
WADA’s fight against doping in sport is under threat due to its funding model and challenges maintaining its independence and impartiality.
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Chris Ogden, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The second Trump presidency is likely to foster instability, uncertainty and fear at home and abroad. But other countries can find common cause to counteract his ‘disaster politics’.
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Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne
Latest polls are a mixed bag, but show cost of living pressures are still biting the Albanese government.
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Health + Medicine
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Matthew Barton, Griffith University; Michael Todorovic, Bond University
Both are caused by exposure to excessive heat, whether from hot conditions, physical exertion, or both.
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Science + Technology
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Anthony Blazevich, Edith Cowan University
The physics underlying the effect of topspin and backspin are best explained by what’s known as the ‘Magnus effect’.
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Environment + Energy
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Rachel Mason, Deakin University; Anthony Rendall, Deakin University; Euan Ritchie, Deakin University
Even though 1080 is derived from native plants, not all of Australia’s native species are resistant to this lethal poison.
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Arts + Culture
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Diana Piantedosi, La Trobe University
Ultimately, Take My Hand misses the mark in representing the complexity of living with multiple sclerosis – but its depictions of care are worth talking about.
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Books + Ideas
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Xiang Ren, University of Sydney
China’s version of TikTok, Douyin, and its biggest social media app, WeChat, are transforming reading in China – with more influence than BookTok.
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Business + Economy
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Melissa Bellanta, Australian Catholic University
The most successful shoddy droppers were smooth talkers attractively dressed in made-to-measure three-piece suits – but the cloth they sold was often poor quality.
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