Infodemic: The future of TikTok, Pakistani Eid apps and global authoritarian power grabs
Welcome. We are tracking how global disinformation is shaping the world emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are the latest narratives — both real and fake — that have grabbed our attention and deserve yours.
Chinese state media is furious about President Trump’s proposed ban on the video-sharing app TikTok. Similar to Western outlets, opinion sections across China see the possible outlawing of the platform as another nail in the coffin for China-US relations. Global Times editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin, said that TikTok presents a challenge to US tech hegemony and that the American “Zoomer” generation – for whom the app is an essential part of digital life – poses a threat to Trump’s election campaign. “Trump wants to kill TikTok,” said Hu in a video message. “He has reason to worry that the American teenagers will use the app to make trouble for him.” Many young people spent the weekend posting urgent, tearful and possibly premature final messages to the platform. “This isn’t just an app. It’s a family,” wrote Hope Schwing to her eight million followers. “You have all made so many of my dreams come true at such a young age.” Another user, named Quen Blackwell, told her 2.8 million followers, “Do not panic, do not panic, VPNs exist.”
At least 1,200 women have disappeared in Peru since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations Gloria Montenegro. Montenegro also says that the country has registered 600 cases of sexual abuse and 36 femicides. Peru has one of the highest rates of violence against women in Latin America, but the situation has worsened during the coronavirus outbreak, as women have found themselves locked in with male aggressors.
Fearing a spike in Covid-19 cases, authorities in Pakistan closed animal markets ahead of the annual festival of Eid al-Adha. Instead, Pakistanis have moved its rituals online. Special qurbani — meaning sacrifice — apps have allowed users to order animals without gathering in the streets. The services can deliver animals to their homes, slaughter them and distribute meat to the poor. Similar apps have gained popularity in Bangladesh and Indonesia. However, a coronavirus-free Eid comes at a cost. The price of sacrificial animals has risen by up to 15% this year.
Executions of civilians, repression of indigenous people and corrupt mismanagement of the pandemic — these are three hallmarks of the rule of Bolivia’s interim president, Jeanine Añez. A report by Harvard Law School has detailed widespread human rights abuses committed by the nation’s government since Añez came to power in a November 2019 coup. And now she is using the pandemic as an excuse to stay in office. Below, we explain how this makes Añez part of a dangerous global trend, so keep reading.