Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 13d

This is getting interesting. Why is it dark anyway?

Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 13d

Is it good? 😅

Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 13d

😳😳😳

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 15d

I was just reading a @theguardian.com column on fashion trends and “core”- and came across dark academia trend! 😳 who would have thought miserable looks can be fashionable?

onpointfresh.com/dark-academi...

The Dark Academia Aesthetic – Outfits, Clothing and Brands - OnPointFresh

The Dark Academia Aesthetic is a mysterious, alluring style that has been around for centuries, but has recently been popularized by mass media. Its name may

onpointfresh.com

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 17d

On a Sunday note: here is my ultimate central Ottawa Foodie Guide! As an EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie global fellow at the UOttawa, I spent a lot of time throughout 2024&5 in this city. This guide aims to liberate you from the shackles of Tim Horton & other chains with sad food.

The ultimate central Ottawa Foodie Guide

My EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie global fellowship was hosted by the University of Ottawa, and I spent a lot of time throughout 2024 and 2025 in this city. My driver’s license was stolen one day before my...

azadeh-akbari.com

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 25d

These are important reports + the news about China piloting village surveillance in Solomon Islands; China is exporting comprehensive surveillance packages now with marketing slogans of stability and security. They had done this before with all 'safe' city programs.
www.reuters.com/world/china/...

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 26d

Read my latest commentary on Big Tech Authoritarianism, which discusses how Big Tech actively constructs authoritarian spaces – both within their organisational structures and across broader socio-political contexts.

doi.org/10.1177/2976...

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · 26d

@dimasamaro.bsky.social

Reposted by Azadeh Akbari

Surveillance in the Majority World Network @surveillancemw.bsky.social · Jul 18

📣Surveillance in the Majority world Network's newsletter is out!

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | July 2025

We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

surveillance-majority-world.net

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Reposted by Azadeh Akbari

Surveillance in the Majority World Network @surveillancemw.bsky.social · Jun 22

📣 Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter for June 2025 is out!

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | June 2025

We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

surveillance-majority-world.net

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Reposted by Azadeh Akbari

Digital Geographies Research Group @dgrgrgs.bsky.social · Jun 20

First speaker is @azadehakbari.bsky.social discussing Authoritarian Smart Cities focusing on the politics of smart cities via digital development dilemma and authoritarianism. Tech is evolving but securitisation continues & we must consider discourse, practices, infrastructures
#DGRGSymposium2025

A zoom screenshot: to the right an image of Azadeh who is wearing a white top and to the left is a screenshot of the presentation slide about authoritarian smart city

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Jun 10

Peonis make me so happy. They are still not out in Canada…

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Jun 9

It‘s just sad to see such techniques being used in a ‘democracy’… I’m watching the protests and I know the US history will change forever if the first bullet is shot…

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Reposted by Azadeh Akbari

Surveillance in the Majority World Network @surveillancemw.bsky.social · May 21

Surveillance in the Majority World's May Newsletter is out! featuring:
- Our attendance report of the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum 2025, Lusaka, Zambia! hashtag#DRIF25
- Altman's Worldcoin Ordered to Delete Biometric Data in Kenya Over Privacy Breach

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | May 2025

We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

surveillance-majority-world.net

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · May 15

High-profile tech and investment executives, including Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and others, joined Trump in his Middle East trip.

restofworld.org/2025/trump-m...

How Trump turned the Gulf’s oil kingdoms into silicon superpowers in his four-day trip

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE have pledged trillions of dollars in return for access to cutting-edge chips for AI development.

restofworld.org

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · May 13

Already excited about the Surveillance Studies conference next year. The team in Lille are the most hospitable and kind group of people! Join us for #SSN2026

Surveillance Studies Network @survstudiesnet.bsky.social · May 13

We are excited to announce the 11th Biennial #Surveillance Studies Network Conference happening 9th-12th June 2026, in Lille, France. It includes a #PhD Colloquium.

#SSN2026 is hosted by @univcatholille.bsky.social ETHICS & ISTC.

Look out for more info soon...

And get those abstracts ready!

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · May 6

The president can announce new election instead of relaxing the majority mandate 🤷🏽‍♀️

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Apr 30

I’m attending Digital Rights & Inclusion Forum in Zambia and these two just decided to attend, too! Best part was that I was the only dumb tourist taking photos; everyone else was very chill about zebras on the lawn 🤯

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Apr 24

Finally!

Paris Marx @parismarx.com · Apr 21

The days of Google Docs are ending; we enter the age of Docs, made by France's Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs and Germany's Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration.

We need more governments to collaborate on public software projects to achieve digital sovereignty.

France and Germany unveil Docs, a homegrown alternative to Google Docs

The Trump administration has set out to drastically reshape the relationship between the US and Europe. In response, Brussels is scrambling to adapt to this new reality,...

www.techspot.com

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Apr 23

And also parts of their eugenicist minds: those poor people who can’t afford young blood (literally what they inject) are prone to the nature’s selection…

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Apr 22

Every single country has a trade deficit because of all US America companies who got rich on our stolen data.

Kean Birch @keanbirch.bsky.social · Apr 22

"If Data Is Accounted For, the #USA Has a Trade Surplus with #Canada"

New opinion from me for Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)

#assetization #data #trade #tariff #tradewar #Trump #bigtech

www.cigionline.org/articles/if-...

If Data Is Accounted For, the United States Has a Trade Surplus with Canada

Corporations such as Alphabet, Meta and Amazon have been extracting billions of dollars’ worth of data assets from Canada for years.

www.cigionline.org

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Reposted by Azadeh Akbari

Surveillance in the Majority World Network @surveillancemw.bsky.social · Apr 21

📣Our April Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter is out!
In this issue, you will read about:
- Morocco’s Surveillance Infrastructure Expands Ahead of Sports Mega-Events
- Indian Income Tax Bill 2025: Expanding Digital Search & Seizure Powers

Surveillance in the Majority World Newsletter | Apr 2025

We share research/stories/podcasts that caught our attention.

surveillance-majority-world.net

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Apr 20

Quite interesting that a crazy person is a she, in a world that’s run mostly by crazy men. I know this isn’t the point but it just annoyed me.

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Reposted by Azadeh Akbari

Stephan Lewandowsky @lewan.bsky.social · Apr 17

Actually, they did! Proudly: encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a...

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Azadeh Akbari @azadehakbari.bsky.social · Apr 17

I had to laugh at “Levitsky probably would’ve spent his career in relative obscurity, writing academic tomes about political parties in Argentina”. He is quite well-known in authoritarian studies & obviously he couldn’t remain silent. Americans still think authoritarianism only happens to ‘others’

Los Angeles Times @latimes.com · Apr 16

This professor studies dictatorships. He helped convince Harvard to stand up to Trump

Harvard professor Steve Levitsky has spent decades studying democracies and how they fail. He's now raising alarm bells over what he sees as a slide toward autocracy under President Trump.

www.latimes.com

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