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1 month ago | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
In this Q&A, Manasa Narayanan speaks to Petra Molnar about the UK's push for unchecked AI ‘innovation’ and what it means for the existing surveillance state and migrants. At the Paris AI Summit earlier this month, the UK and US refused to sign the “inclusive and sustainable” AI declaration. Perhaps Starmer felt it was important to appease Trump and US tech companies as trade deals are under negotiation.
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1 month ago | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
Director Asif Kapadia on the challenges of getting 2073 made and released. Academy Award and BAFTA-winning director Asif Kapadia in conversation with our journalist Manasa Narayanan, discussing his new feature documentary 2073. Inpart one of this conversation, published yesterday, Asif spoke about what motivated him to make this film. In part two, he talks about the difficulties of making and releasing this film, and how he has found hope through the screenings.
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1 month ago | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
An interview with Director Asif Kapadia whose film 2073 could be set in 2025The Citizens’ journalist Manasa Narayanan sat down with Academy Award and BAFTA-winning director Asif Kapadia to discuss his new feature documentary 2073.
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Jan 27, 2025 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
We are now subjects of an unaccountable technocapitalist order rather than citizens in a democracy, write Manasa Narayanan and Sabrina Provenzani. This article was originally published in the February 2025 print edition of the Byline Times. Sergei And The Westminster Spy Ring is a cautionary tale about the fragility of liberal democracy. Perhaps its most powerful warning is of the weaknesses at the heart of our political institutions that have left Britain vulnerable to manipulation.
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Nov 24, 2024 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
Toxic male spaces that thrive on hating women are springing up; what does this mean for politics and women online? Plus a bonus story about a nonprofit tackling online harassment of girls through education. There is an emerging gender divide. From the US and UK to South Korea, young men and women are diverging in their political attitudes; with young men becoming more Conservative and women more Liberal.
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Aug 13, 2024 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
A whole industry of romance AI apps are marketing themselves as something they are not. “Active listener, empathy, a friend you can trust”: that’s how you get introduced to Romantic AI, a chatbot run by a Finnish company. The app goes on to say it “is here to maintain your MENTAL HEALTH.” Mental health ⸺ all in caps. Visit the company’s website, you’ll find it trying to lure users with extremely sexualised AI characters. Get on the app itself, it looks like a porn site.
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Jul 28, 2024 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
Students from Pro-Palestine camps across the UK tell us how they are using technology to mobilise and protest against the war on Gaza. Across the country, students have been setting up pro-Palestine encampments to protest against the war on Gaza, demanding that universities are transparent about their investments and that they divest from companies that have involvement in, or enable Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories.
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Jul 28, 2024 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
The Citizens’ Manasa Narayanan travelled to UK universities to learn how students in pro-Palestine camps are making use of social media: amidst media mistrust, censorship, far-right harassment and university crackdown. Yesterday, The London School of Economics, armed with a court order, forced its students out of the pro-Palestine encampment; the first British university to do so. Queen Mary and Birmingham are following suit.
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Jul 28, 2024 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
In this Public Inquiry feature, we analyse the TikTok content put out by UK political parties in the lead up to 2024 UK general elections.
It’s finally a wrap-up on election season in the UK. It was short, but was it sweet? Depends on who you ask. Labour won by a large majority and the Conservatives had their worst parliamentary performance ever. The Liberal Democrats (while ranking third in terms of seats shares) have been taken over by Reform UK ⸺ a rather fringe party ⸺ in terms of vote share.
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Apr 11, 2024 | 
the-citizens.com | Manasa Narayanan |Sabrina Provenzani
Meta's Role in the 2024 Indian General ElectionsCampaignIndia 2024 ElectionMeta’s Role in the 2024 Indian General ElectionsIndia, the world’s largest democracy, will be heading to the polls on Friday, April 19th, when almost 1 billion people will be eligible to vote. But despite repeated warnings, censure and committee hearings, Meta has failed to take effective action to stop the flow of hate-inciting content to the largest Facebook audience in the world: 400 million Indian users.
