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Elon Musk, Famous Twitter Troll. Will Troll Takeover Take Down Twitter?

I don’t imagine that one will wake up and open Twitter and see it magically transformed into a total cesspool of hate, harassment, and false information. But I can imagine a “going bankrupt” quality to Twitter’s degradation—it might happen slowly, then all at once. - The Atlantic

The Warm Mental Bath Of Believing In Conspiracy Theories

Can people who live in fantasy worlds at such steep odds with reality be good friends and citizens themselves? At the very least, maintaining such worldviews means vigilance about rejecting facts—and the perceptions of other, clearer minds. This estranges others. - Wired

Was This Quasi-Guerrilla Marketing Campaign For A Life-Of-Jesus TV Series A Mistake Or A Success?

The showrunner for The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins (son of a co-author of the Left Behind novels), put up billboards advertising the show that were faux-vandalized, ostensibly by The Devil.  Some fans thought the graffiti was real and were very offended, but the billboards reeled in new viewers. - Slate

Have You Been Wondering What The Metaverse Is Supposed To Be?

To help you get a sense of how vague and complex a term “the metaverse” can be, here's an exercise: Mentally replace the phrase “the metaverse” in a sentence with “cyberspace.” Ninety percent of the time, the meaning won't substantially change. - Wired

Philadelphia’s University Of The Arts Has Completed Its First-Ever (!) Capital Campaign

The project raised $67 million, well surpassing the original $50 million goal. The University of the Arts never had a strong donor culture (that's why this was the first capital campaign), so how did the school locate the contributors? - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Just What Kind Of Impact Does Social Media Have On Real Events?

Gestures such as incorporating a Ukrainian flag into one’s username may be merely symbolic, but when users lobby politicians online, donate money, or even offer up their own homes to refugees, their engagement with the war begins to have real-world consequences. - The Guardian

More Evidence That Shakespeare Was An Inveterate Plot-Stealer

"A rare 16th-century book offers 'compelling evidence' that William Shakespeare's Cymbeline was inspired by a now-lost play by Sir Thomas North, an Elizabethan courtier and writer, new research claims." - The Guardian

Let’s Talk About the Concept Of “Lived Experience”

It’s essentially a turf war. Only Latino authors can write novels about Latinos. Only Holocaust survivors can convey the truth of the Holocaust. Only disabled people can portray disabled people. Everyone else is out. - The New York Times

“Decolonizing Flamenco”: Black Artists Illuminate The African Roots Of The Quintessentially Spanish Dance Form

"All have trained in Spain with esteemed maestras. Launching their unique international careers, they utilize flamenco as the basis for traditional and experimental work. Like the impasse facing Black ballerinas, they are on a path posted with 'no trespassing' signs. Yet, they persist." - Dance Magazine

An Astonishing 1,600 School District Book Bans In The Past Nine Months

"What is happening in this country in terms of banning books in schools is unparalleled in its frequency, intensity, and success," said Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America's Free Expression and Education program and lead author of the report. - Business Insider

How A Fundamentalist Christian Polemic On Wifely Submissiveness Became (Ahem) Gospel Among Some Orthodox Jews

"The Surrendered Wife's popularity highlights how an insular religious group with carefully preserved boundaries can in fact be quite porous to outside influence — particularly to views popular on the American Christian right. ... (Because) the idea of female surrender as a virtue is a foreign import." - MSN (The Atlantic)

How CNN+ Fell Apart Just Weeks After It Was Launched

Or, to put it more clearly, how the new streaming service — into which the previous bosses had poured hundreds of millions — was shut down ten days after CNN officially became part of the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate (and why Discovery couldn't signal its concerns beforehand). - The New York Times

Yes, CNN+ Collapsed, But CNN Has A Long Record Of Successful Innovation

"Some of those experiments, like Headline News (now HLN), paid off in a big way; others were here and gone in about a year. But all of them started ... from the roots of a network that itself was a wild bet when it first started." - Tedium

Inquest Into Harassment At Paris Museums Ordered By Mayor

A report by the French daily Libération uncovered serious allegations of racial and sexual harassment, and even assault, at six of the 14 museums run by the municipal government. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has ordered that all cases be handled expeditiously and that preventive measures be implemented. - Apollo

Italy’s “Monuments Men”-Style Task Force Has A New Deal With UNESCO

"The first heritage task force of its kind, the Blue Helmets includes officers from Italy's specialist police force for art crime, and ... art historians and restorers. Its main tasks include assessing damage to heritage, planning conservation, and preventing looting and trafficking after terrorist attacks or natural disasters." - The Art Newspaper

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