2024 Year in Review: 5 Countries that banned social media

These blackouts from Turkey to Brazil draw attention to the conflict between state control and freedom of speech.

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Qonversations Social Media Ban 4F6acf38 82A0 4B6d B56b A77d8ecde071 — File photo: Qonversations via imagine.art

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Front of mind

The Deepfake Dilemma: Can technology and law catch up with AI fakes?

Detection tools are flawed, regulation lags behind, and platforms evade responsibility. Dr Áine MacDermott argues only a mix of smarter tech, stronger laws and human-centred defences can counter the deepfake threat.

A familiar face on a video call. A trusted voice giving instructions. A social media post quoting a senior executive. Increasingly, these may not be real at all. Thanks to artificial intelligence, deepfakes, convincing but fabricated videos, images and audio, are spreading fast, and their consequences are serious. Dr Áine MacDermott, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics at Liverpool John Moores University, warns that organisations and governments must act now.

India’s political troubles explained

Rahul Gandhi calls out the ECI for “vote theft,” but the Commission demands proof or apology.

On August 7, 2025, Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of enabling “vote theft” during the 2024 general elections. He pointed to alleged irregularities in voter rolls in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency, citing thousands of duplicate entries, invalid addresses, bulk registrations, and faulty photographs. Gandhi labelled the claims as the result of six months of research by his team and demanded transparency, including access to digital voter lists and CCTV footage.