cyberspace

Computing Language

Chris Hensman & Shawn Powers discuss how the rise of digital technology poses a threat to PD practitioners.

The G20 Summit

Shaun Riordan discusses how the importance of the G20 summit goes beyond its communique.

In January 2010, secretary of state Hillary Clinton stood before the world and delivered a landmark address, calling the internet a “new nervous system for the planet.” She was describing an emerging State Department doctrine known as the “internet freedom agenda,” which built on a universal declaration that “people have the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” 

The 2016 presidential race was rife with disinformation, none more blatant than fake news -- hoaxes, half-truths, outright lies -- that flashed through the internet at warp speed. Take, for example, "Pizzagate," a made-up story of a pedophilia ring supposedly being run out of a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor by none other than Hillary Clinton and her campaign chairman John Podesta.

The 3rd World Internet Conference(WIC), which was held between Nov. 16 and 18 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, has drawn wide public attention. Themed on "Innovation-driven Internet Development for the Benefit of All - Building a Community of Common Future in Cyberspace", it has attracted over 1,200 representatives from governments, international organizations, enterprises, research institute, technical communities and civil groups to discuss common issues in global internet development. And the debate on cultural exchanges was the spotlight of the event.

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