Harini Calamur's Writings
Media, Media Bias, Propaganda, Media Studies, Media Ownership
“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”— A.J. Liebling Today, that freedom belongs not to journalists, but to billionaires. In the past, owning a press meant printing influence. Today, owning a platform means owning perception. Elon Musk…
This year, as the rich and powerful, the famous and influential, gather at Davos, the world seems in an even more precarious position than ever before. If last year saw the war in Europe – as Russia invaded Ukraine – this year…
This appeared in FPJ in early December On October 11th, CNN journalist Sara Sidner sent waves of horror and shock across the world, when she reported that 40 Israeli babies were beheaded by Hamas. A few days earlier, on October 7th Hamas…
This appeared in the FPJ in October 2023 If you have been following the news in India around the raids on the news portal Newsclick and the arrest of its editor Prabir Purkayastha, you most likely would have been asking yourself News…
This appeared in FPJ on 31st July 2023 There is a war between two of the richest men on the planet, both of whom want to control our hearts, minds, and attention with social media. Mark Zuckerberg has gone on record calling…
This appeared in FPJ in July 2023 In the era of social media, where ‘likes’ have become a currency of popularity and a measure of ‘coolness,’ a peculiar trend known as ‘wardrobing’ has surfaced. Also dubbed the ‘snap and send back’ culture,…
This appeared in the FPJ in March 2023 Creative Fakes Last week the world smiled affectionately at pictures of two former heads of states meeting for a stroll at the beach, and having a relaxed day out. Pictures of President Barack Obama,…
Elon Musk bought Twitter a month ago, and ever since that incident, it seems like a free for all slugfest. Musk conducted public polls to restore the accounts of many, including former US President Donald Trump, American Rapper Kayne West, Canadian Psychologist…
Mastodon, and sites like that, are part of the federated universe, what the original internet was supposed to be – a bunch of servers, interlinked and interoperable – that cater to different interests and needs. My column for the FPJ, Named after…
The Shraddha Murder case, is amongst the saddest stories that one can read. A young woman full of life was murdered by her violent partner – Aftab Poonawalla. After killing her he chopped her body up into 36 pieces, bought a large…