A charismatic demagogue with millions of devoted followers. New media with little government regulation. The threat of violence in the streets. No, we’re not talking about the 45th president.
Social Media
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The meek will inherit the kingdom. The angry will inherit Facebook’s ‘metaverse.’
Facebook is in the business of amplifying anger, something admitted in its own internal documents. Instead of fixing the problem, it wants to add virtual reality to our worst forms of argument.
Posted inEditorials, Politics & Society
Facebook is threatening the common good
Facebook’s business model, built on monetizing human attention while outsourcing human judgment to algorithms, is a uniquely comprehensive and dangerous abdication of responsibility.
Posted inOf Many Things, Politics & Society
Our founding fathers warned us about QAnon
This is a 21st-century problem, but we were first warned about it in the 18th century. Our founding fathers called what we are experiencing today factionalism.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: Pope Francis hasn’t always been so media friendly. What’s changed?
On this week’s episode, Gerry and host Colleen Dulle take a look at how the pope’s relationship with the media has changed over time and examine the vision of the media that Pope Francis laid out in his speech to Vatican journalists this weekend.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Can we please stop idolizing the decadent lifestyles that are destroying our planet?
Ivy Getty’s extravagant wedding was designed to make us jealous. We need to find more climate-friendly experiences of FOMO.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Sorry, Mark Zuckerberg: We Catholics want the real world, not the metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg wants us all to live in his Metaverse. But as Catholics, our fundamental disposition toward the physical world is that it is precious and meaningful.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
3 reasons the Catholic Church should fight to regulate Facebook
As former Facebook employee Frances Haugen testified before Congress, one question seemed to rise to the surface: Is it time to regulate (and perhaps break up) Facebook? From a Catholic standpoint, the answer is absolutely and emphatically yes.
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
Explainer: The story behind Pope Francis’ beef with EWTN
How did a Catholic TV station known for its prayer programs get involved in broadcasting attacks on the pope that he felt compelled to publicly denounce as “the work of the devil”?
Posted inFaith, Ideas
Zoom meetings have come for the Vatican. Here are some tips for Pope Francis and the cardinals.
The pope’s recent meeting of his cardinal advisors gave a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these men (and their Zoom game).