As COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the world since January 2020, the uncertainty concerning the origins and features of the virus provided a fertile ground for misinformation and conspiracy theories to thrive. Different from those popular COVID-19 conspiracy narratives in the West, on Chinese social media the conspiracies that gained traction were ones that faulted the[…]
As the news of the pandemic confirmed the reality of the health crises pandemic, we all turned square, sitting in rectangles that frame our faces, as we work from home. ‘Shelter in Place’[1] became the rallying call, offering the home as a retreat, a refuge, a fortress of solitude where we defy the Covid-19[…]
In Australia, two main technologies have been used for COVID-19 contact tracing: a Bluetooth-based proximity tracking app, and QR Codes to assist tracking of those attending venues or events. They take radically different approaches to the protection of privacy, including that the first is voluntary, the second is (in effect) compulsory. Effective contact tracing is[…]