Reporting Hitler’s rise

Edition: US - Today's top story: Normalizing fascists [Click here to view this message in your web-browser]. Edition: US 12 December 2016 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair] Editor's note What’s a journalist to do when a fascist takes power? Should the press sound an alarm, or take the position that someone who wins a fair election is by definition "normal," because his leadership reflects the will of the people? John Broich of Case Western Reserve University [critiques the mistakes American media made] reporting on Mussolini and Hitler starting in the 1920s. And, rampant fake news during a presidential election wasn’t exactly what cyber-optimists had in mind at the dawn of the internet age. They envisioned the free flow of information would have a positive effect on our democracy, write Andrea Ballatore and Simone Natale. While the U.S. struggles to understand whether the internet is friend or foe, two European movements are using the internet as [a symbol of a new kind of politics]. Emily Costello Senior Editor, Politics + Society Top story Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler in Munich, Germany. National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized, 1675 - 1958 [Normalizing fascists] John Broich, Case Western Reserve University In the 1920s and early 1930s, American journalists tended to put the ascendant fascists on a normal footing. Politics + Society - [Trump trolls, Pirate Parties and the Italian Five Star Movement: The internet meets politics] Andrea Ballatore, Birkbeck, University of London; Simone Natale, Loughborough University While the US is reeling from rampant fake online news, political movements in Europe are using the internet as a powerful democratic symbol to win elections. Will cyber-optimism or pessimism win? - [Celebrity voices are powerful, but does the First Amendment let them say anything they want?] Shontavia Johnson, Drake University Americans enjoy a right to free speech, and some public figures really exercise that right. The Constitution might not protect them the way they think it does, though. Education - [How learning a new language improves tolerance] Amy Thompson, University of South Florida Language learning can make people more open to seeing a new way of doing things and develop a greater level of comfort with unfamiliar situations. Economy + Business - [Why OPEC's gambit to raise oil prices might not work] Gürcan Gülen, University of Texas at Austin To see why, one must only consider the core economic principle of supply and demand. Science + Technology - [Break out of your echo chamber: Technology arranges lunch with someone new] Mohammad Ghassemi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Tuka Al Hanai, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bringing back the diminished tradition of eating lunch together may be the solution. Environment + Energy - [Trump, carbon neutrality and the next phase of business sustainability] Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan With a Trump administration hostile to action on climate change, businesses need to go beyond just complying with environmental regulations and take on the whole system. Health + Medicine - [When nausea from pregnancy is life-threatening] Marlena Schoenberg Fejzo, University of California, Los Angeles Hyperemesis gravidarum causes severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Even though it affects up to 3 percent of pregnancies, research about its causes and treatments is sparse. Arts + Culture - [A century after his death, a Japanese literary giant is returning as an android – here's why] Philip Seargeant, The Open University The centenary of Natsume Soseki’s death this year is being marked by numerous events, not least his resurrection in robotic form. - [The Victorian origins of the Mannequin Challenge] Ellen J. Stockstill, Pennsylvania State University Long before smartphones filmed the stiffened appendages of people seeking internet fame, striking a pose was a popular form of entertainment in Victorian England. [The Conversation on Twitter] [The Conversation on Facebook] You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly]. We’ll miss you. 745 Atlantic Ave. 8th Floor Boston, MA 02111