Google could launch an effort to keep trolls and bad information at bay, with a program that would rank websites according to veracity, and sort results according to those rankings. Currently, the search engine ranks pages according to popularity, which means that pages containing unsubstantiated celebrity gossip or conspiracy theories, for example, show up very high.
This feels like the moment when Han Solo comes roaring back in the Millennium Falcon and knock’s Darth Vader out of commission to give Luke a clear run at the Death Star exhaust port. “Yeahoo!”
DO IT, FULFILL YOUR CORPORATE MISSION AND ‘DON’T BE EVIL’
When you struggle with your mental health on a daily basis, it can be hard to take action on the things that matter most to you. The mental barriers anxiety creates often appear insurmountable. But sometimes, when you really need to, you can break those barriers down. This week, with encouragement from some great people on the internet, I pushed against my anxiety and made some calls to members of our government. Here’s a comic about how you can do that, too. (Resources and transcript below.)
Motivational resources: There are a lot! Here are a few I really like:
Sharon Wong posted a great series of tweets that helped me manage my phone anxiety and make some calls.
Kelsey is tweeting pretty much daily with advice and reminders about calling representatives. I found this tweet an especially great reminder that calls aren’t nearly as big a deal as anxiety makes them out to be.
Informational resources: There are a lot of these, as well! These three are good places to start:
my knowledge of authoritarian regimes and state oppressive tactics tells me that this new administration is trying to suppress resistance and cause fear through issuing a surge of oppressive policies and other actions in its first week. attempting to overwhelm us. to fatigue us, to make us lose hope in the possibility of resisting. his friendship with putin is one of many things that makes this make sense 4 me - these are the kinds of overt oppressive tactics the russian state uses on its citizens. remember resistance is always possible, and the use of methods to suppress resistance always indicates fear of resistance.
This is the advice of every expert on nations that gave way to the rise of authoritarian regimes. They all say the same thing. RESIST. The citizens must resist, and continue to resist. It is possible and it is the only way.
the use of methods to suppress resistance always indicates fear of resistance.
In light of threats to the National Park Service on Twitter, follow @AltUSNatParkSer on twitter for more of the National Park Service’s unexpected rebellion.
"If you have a problem with punching Nazis, I’m here to collect your copies of Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Hamilton, X-Men, and Firefly. Someone else will be by later for Star Wars, LOTR, Captain America/Marvel, etc. I don’t make the rules; you’re the one who thinks it’s wrong to resist oppression by violent means."
