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When social media fails, lives are at stake
Ian Explains: When Social Media Fails, Lives Are at Stake | GZERO World
August 04, 2022
Former US President Donald Trump had many Twitter hits. But he's been kicked off since the 2021 Capitol insurrection over fears Trump's tweets would stoke further violence.
Social media companies play an outsize role in American politics. That's why the Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed most of them to probe their role in the 2020 election Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
But the influence of Facebook, Twitter, and others on our lives extends well beyond that. And it's not just Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend having a bad vaxx trip — the failures of social media companies can have life-or-death consequences.
Platforms like Facebook have helped stoke violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. And the endless scroll of perfect bodies on Instagram has had a harmful impact on teenage girls, with some reporting suicidal thoughts.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Why social media is broken & how to fix it
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A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026.
@realDonaldTrump/Handout via REUTERS
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In this "ask ian," Ian Bremmer analyzes Trump’s recent meeting with Zelensky and how close (or far) Russia and Ukraine are from a peace deal.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the military parade of the Syrian army in Umayyad Square in central Damascus to mark the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, on Dec. 8, 2025.
Mohammed Al-Rifai/dpa via Reuters Connect
A year ago this month, Syria’s brutal dictatorship collapsed. There are signs of recovery, but sectarian violence threatens to undermine the optimism.
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