analysis | What Facebook's news suppression reveals about our relationship with machines

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

On Monday, technology news site Gizmodo published an article alleging the routine suppression of conservative news from its “Trending” news aggregator by a group of curators instructed to manipulate the list from behind the scenes. Setting aside many of the partisan issues surrounding the controversy, what the “man behind the curtain” really reveals is our intricate relationship with—and misguided perception of—computers and machines.

news | Journalists publish a searchable database with information from Panama Papers

A screenshot of the ICIJ database, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. (Author) 

On Monday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists announced a searchable database with information compiled from the massive Panama Papers leak last month. While the database doesn’t contain copies of the original, leaked documents and information, it uses an interactive graphic to show the connections between shell companies, corporate structures, and their owners.

news | Panama Papers source calls for whistleblower protection, criticizes groups in statement

The anonymous source of a large cache of documents collectively known as the "Panama Papers" issued a wide-ranging statement on Thursday criticizing several groups and calling for the protection of whistleblowers from prosecution. The statement was confirmed by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper that first broke the story in conjunction with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.