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For Facts’ Sake Ep 4: Scam Inc: How fraudsters turned the Internet into the Wild West
CINIA Centre for Information Integrity in Africa (Stellenbosch University) Host: Tebadi Mmotla Guest: Julie Reid Script extract: Hello I am Tebadi Mmotla. Welcome to the fourth episode of For Facts’ Sake, a monthly podcast by the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa – Cinia. In this edition we look at a form of disinformation that’s used to facilitate crime – it’s called delusive speech, and its sole purpose is to scam you and me. And while this criminal speech happens
Julie Reid
Jun 261 min read
BOOK REVIEW: Delusive Speech in the Sharing Economy
By Glenda Daniels, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Introduction “This technology is evolving so rapidly that as quickly as we can find ways to counter it, its creators can adapt it to make it more convincing,” stated Rubina Madan Fillion, in 2019. Since then, we have witnessed the acceleration of evolving technology leading to more vexing problems, particularly with AI issues: our intellectual property rights have now been compromised to benefit Big Tech. We hav
Julie Reid
Jun 262 min read
Airbnb & Uber scams: New book explores thriving criminal activity on big tech platforms
Often advertised as reliable options within the sharing economy, a new book titled 'Delusive Speech in the Sharing Economy: Scam Inc' reveals a more troubling side. 702's Gugs Mhlungu spoke to author and Professor in the Department of Communication Science at Unisa, Julie Reid. "...when you use Uber, you just assume that a company as big as Uber will have verified the driver's licence and the criminal clearance records of their drivers, right? You assume that Airbnb will
Julie Reid
Jun 261 min read
Airbnb scams: new book explores thriving criminal activity on big tech platforms
Big tech sharing economy platforms like Airbnb and Uber are marketed as trustworthy, but a new book by a South African media scholar argues that they are highly vulnerable to scammers who spread delusive speech (a form of disinformation, designed to deceive by criminal intent). Julie Reid draws from first-hand accounts and over 600 cases from around the world of victims lured into scams or physical danger by fake Airbnb reviews and listings, providing a detailed case study. W
Julie Reid
Sep 8, 20251 min read
Don't get caught in the Net. Click, scroll, captured: how the internet became a weapon
by Gill Gifford, Senior journalist | Sunday Times The internet was once the world’s great equaliser —an infinite library, a democratic...
Julie Reid
Sep 8, 20251 min read
The Gender Pay Gap in the South African Media Sector
This chapter examines gender pay disparity globally and in South Africa to investigate whether increased transparency on behalf of media...
Julie Reid
Feb 11, 20251 min read
Decolonising Media Ethics and Media Accountability Systems: Elevating the Value of Voice in Southern Journalism
The decolonisation of journalism teaching curricula will not take place within a vacuum. Inevitably, journalism graduates who have...
Julie Reid
Feb 11, 20251 min read
Social media: freedom of expression, and media regulation and policy
This chapter explores social media's role in freedom of expression, regulation, and policy. Social media platforms have revolutionised...
Julie Reid
Feb 11, 20252 min read
Digitising “The Big Lie”: Algorithmic Curation as an Inhibitor of Media Exposure Diversity Online
Abstract While multiple scholarly disciplines have scrutinised algorithms and their social power, this article examines algorithmic...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Risks of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)-assisted scams on online sharing-economy platforms
Abstract The prevalence of scams proliferating via online platforms has been identified as an emerging societal problem resulting in...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Media freedom threats in South Africa today: toward a research and advocacy response
Abstract This article assesses the multiple factors which are barriers to media freedom in South Africa. These include crises of...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Decolonizing education and research by countering the myths we live by
Countermythologization and Collective Action. This essay argues for a revision of both research and teaching practice within the fields...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20252 min read
Political myth-making in media policy: the case of the African National Congress versus the Press Council of South Africa
Abstract This article introduces semiotic myth theory as a methodology for the analysis of both political narratives and media policy...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Counter mythologising “media freedom”: including the audience in media freedom discourses and a new normative position for the Global South
Abstract This article argues for a conscious counter-mythologisation of the popularly utilised term “media freedom” within media...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
The audience-centred approach to media policymaking: a critical analysis of the South African Press Freedom Commission as a participatory process of review
Abstract This article presents and makes a case for the audience-centred approach to media policymaking and research, and situates this...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Third party complaints in the system of press regulation: inviting the reader to take part in journalistic accountability and securing press freedom
Abstract The system of self-regulation for the press was subject to contentious debates in South Africa from 2010 to 2012. The Press...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Toward a measurement tool for the monitoring of media diversity and pluralism in South Africa: an audience centered approach
Abstract This article responds to recent debates within South African media politics regarding the diversity and transformation of the...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
The remythologisation of white collective identities in post apartheid South African history film by myth and counter myth
Abstract Since 1994 a collection of films, referred to here as post-apartheid South African history film, has thematically represented...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
Mythological representation in popular culture today
Abstract Mythologies that reside and operate within popular culture representations and the mass communications media reveal valuable...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
‘Sexualised, Silenced and Labelled Satan’ — horrific levels of online violence targeting women journalists
Political actors and partisan media outlets have been fomenting online violence against prominent Daily Maverick journalists, according...
Julie Reid
Feb 6, 20251 min read
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