Number13: The Best Explainers of 2020

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Dear Number13 reader,

HL Mencken called the newspaper a public organ for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier. Mencken lived in a different era. He was dead and gone in 1956. He didn’t live long enough to see the decline of the mass media in the age of social media where post-truths, as fake news is fondly called, fancy-dress as fact and influence public opinion in unimaginable ways. Journalism becomes a tool to build eco chambers. The more the merrier. 

Trying to make a difference in this chaos is a big challenge. At Number13, we understand that challenge to a certain extent. We try to steer clear of the madding crowd and offer objective facts, as much as we can, to help the reader make informed decisions. We strongly believe an informed public is the best asset of a democracy. That said, the very definition of information stands on shaky grounds in the new age. Maintaining intellectual honesty and ethical decorum while creating and distributing content, hence, becomes a tough call. It is a trapeze, to be frank. Risks galore. 

But try we do, indeed. At Number13, we have built a boutique band of writers, editors and fact-checkers to give you what we believe the best explainer of the day. Every day we deliver to you a detailed explainer, meticulously curated and edited with caution and enthusiasm. Still, we are not infallible. Our limited resources place myriad challenges in our journey. But we move on, placing enormous faith in people’s quests for unbiased information.

Presenting to you dear reader, 13 best pieces we have produced so far this year, with a dedicated focus on technology and public policy. Do read and enjoy The Editor’s Selections and send us your comments. 

Thanking you, 
Editors, Number13

Number13: The Best of 2020

  1. Content Contentious: Sci-Hub Vs Academic Publishers 

Sci-Hub is taken to court over alleged copyright infringement. While academic publishers say the free library promotes piracy, the legal wrangle has made ‘open access’ fodder for public debate once again.

  1. A Study into the Curious World of Influencers 

Social media influencers are now changing habits, making people buy products, support causes and shift loyalties. The influencer is not your regular celebrity endorser or brand ambassador. N13 tries to unravel the uber-modern marketing phenomenon.  

  1. Technology and Punishment: Bad, Bad Signs Out There

Technology is influencing and changing many spheres, including criminality and criminal justice systems. The idea of punishment is also getting influenced by technological trends, which have thrown up some disturbing ideas.

  1. Beware! Big Tech is Watching Your Children

A wearable on your kid’s wrist, CCTV cameras in the school complex and a tracking app on your phone to keep a tab of her locations — think with the help of surveillance technologies you have ensured the safety of your children? Well, you might have done just the opposite.

  1. The Other Side of the Covid Vaccine Race

As the world pins its hopes on the will and skill of scientists, the Covid vaccine race has also exposed the dirty underbelly of the pharma business where the lure of big money influences and often overrides greater common good. 

  1. Trust Economy: A Byproduct of the Fake News Era

In the post-truth period where fake news and misinformation trust has become a coveted product and property. What to take and what not is one of the most difficult questions content consumers face today. Enter trust-rating agencies. 

  1. K-Pop: The Success, the Deaths and the Business

Modern K-Pop aka Korean Pop music is a bundle of contradictions, yet it has gained insane levels of popularity across the globe, including in India, thanks to its distinctive blend of addictive melodies, slick choreography and production values. 

  1. Are Social Media Algorithms Racists and Body-Shamers?

Twitter’s algorithm crops out black people from large photos, while Instagram’s AI favours thin and white persons. N13 explores if social media algorithms show racial discrimination.

  1. New Farm Bills: Watershed Moment or Death Knell of Indian Farmer?

Amid huge uproar from opposition and farmers, the BJP government has passed three bills that could bring sweeping changes to the agriculture sector in the country. Will the change be for good or for worse?

  1. The Galwan Valley Clashes — Explained

Coming after the two flashpoints in Pangong Tso and Hot Springs, the latest India-China standoff in Ladakh signals there’s more trouble in store for the region and calls for caution from both sides 

  1. The Pirates of Outer Space 

Driven by the technological revolution and armed with capital accumulated from unfettered neoliberalism of the last many decades, the world’s richest is out for a hunt in outer space.

  1. Data Privacy and Security in Times of Covid-19

The pandemic has helped normalise surveillance in the form of contact tracing in order to contain the coronavirus, leaving an incredibly long trail of Permanent Records. Evidently, the Big Brother is happy with this primitive accumulation of private data 

  1. A Kaleidoscopic Take on the Multifaceted SPB 

SP Balasubrahmanyam (1946-2020) was much more than a singing legend and his demise leaves a massive vacuum that may never be replaced.

You May Also Like:

  1. What the Virus Taught Us
  2. Divorce during Covid: A Checklist for Women
  3. Selfie: The Craze, the Chase and the Business 
  4. Three Books to Understand Platform Capitalism
  5. Jio, Google, Facebook: Digital India’s Holy Trinity
  6. Breaking Big Tech: What’s the Big Deal?
  7. Tata Bye Buy: The Air India Journey, So Far
  8. Brand Santa and the ‘Ho, Ho, Ho Economy’: A Guide
  9. Timnit Gebru and Dangers of Artificial Intelligence (tech)
  10. 13 Ways How AI will Change the Post-Covid World
  11. The Great Indian App Bazaar: What’s ‘App’ening?
  12. All You Want to Know About OpenAI’s GPT-3
  13. Deepfakes: It’s a Scary World Out There

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