DL 274

The Internet Is a Crime Scene

Published: January 16, 2021 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to Digitally Literate, issue 274. Your go-to source for insightful content on education, technology, and the digital landscape.

🔖 Key Takeaways

Parler Data Archived: Self-described hacker preserved 56.7 terabytes of data including GPS metadata before platform went dark
Facial Recognition Ethics: Using surveillance tech to identify neo-Nazis could further entrench it when we should be working to ban it
Algorithms Accelerate White Supremacy: Right-wing influencers who embraced extremist views were rewarded by Facebook algorithms
Teach White Kids About Privilege: White supremacists are feeling emboldened—white parents need to talk with children about privilege
Internet Is Crime Scene: The Capitol siege was biggest media spectacle of Trump era—will it change our relationship to misinformation?

Hi all, welcome back friends. I hope you—and those around you—are safe.

This week I worked on the following:

Accessible and Approachable - We must make intellectual work accessible, and accessible work intellectual.
Monkeys Throwing Feces - Some insight as my partner decides to leave social media for the foreseeable future.
Fit Versus Fit - When we look for a job, there are usually two questions: Are you the right fit and are you the right fit?

📺 Watch

The Mandalorian Parenting

This is the way.

You are welcome.

📚 Read

Talking to Kids About the Capitol Violence

Be careful with curious eyes and ears
Make this a teachable moment
Reassure your kids that everyone is safe
Listen to their concerns
Pay attention
Put your oxygen mask on first
Explain that violence is never the answer
Talk about consequences
Give your kids a break
Take a Screen Detox
Tell stories of kindness

They Used to Post Selfies. Now They're Trying to Reverse the Election

The Capitol siege was the biggest media spectacle of the Trump era. It will be interesting to see if this leads to any change in our relationship to misinformation.

This will most likely lead to no changes as right-wing influencers who embraced extremist views have been rewarded by Facebook algorithms. Facebook adds fuel to the fire as the social network shows ads for military gear next to posts for the insurrection.

We need to ask questions about the use of the algorithmic internet, which acts as an accelerant for white supremacy.

Every Deleted Parler Post Has Been Archived

In the wake of the violent insurrection, a lone researcher began an effort to catalog Parler posts.

The quick thinking of a self-described hacker by the name of donk_enby and amateur data hoarders preserved more than 56.7 terabytes of data from Parler. This data included GPS metadata and has been used to create an interactive map of this content.

Facial Recognition Technology Isn't Good Just Because It's Used to Arrest Neo-Nazis

Great post from Joan Donovan and Chris Gilliard on risk and reward in surveillance tech.

Crisis is often used to increase the reach of surveillance technologies. Many who consider facial recognition ethically wrong in policing take a different stance when it's used to identify neo-Nazis. This could end up further entrenching facial recognition at a time when we should be working to ban it.

Teach Your White Kids About Their Privilege

Systemic racism is still a daily reality, white supremacists are feeling increasingly emboldened, and white people are inherently privileged. White parents need to talk with their white children about their privilege.

While we're on the topic, this post by Dr. Laura M. Jimenez shares actionable advice on how to interrupt whiteness in the classroom.

🔨 Do

Tech Tools for 2021

Jennifer Gonzalez from Cult of Pedagogy with tools to check out:

Mote - audio feedback in Google Docs
AllSides - news from "all sides" of political spectrum
Google Lens - AR and machine learning search
Bulb - student portfolio platform
EmbraceRace - educating children about race
Prezi Video - combines presentations and video

🤔 Consider

The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.

Henry Kissinger

Kissinger's dark humor frames an issue about boundaries—legal, ethical, constitutional. The internet became a crime scene, archived by hackers before it went dark. Facial recognition identifies insurrectionists but normalizes surveillance. The algorithms are legal. The coups they accelerate take a little longer.

Previous: DL 273 • Next: DL 275 • Archive: 📧 Newsletter

🌱 Connected Concepts:

Media Literacy — Parler archive, algorithmic extremism, media spectacle
Privacy Rights — Facial recognition ethics, surveillance normalization, GPS metadata
Pedagogy — Teaching kids about violence, white privilege education
Civic Engagement — Capitol aftermath, interrupting whiteness
Philosophy — Kissinger on boundaries, legal vs ethical