Egis, a global construction engineering and operating business, has acquired UK-based property and construction cost and project management consultancy Thomas & Adamson.
This move aims to enhance Egis’ project management and advisory capabilities in the Middle East and the UK.
Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thomas & Adamson was founded in 1935.
It specialises in guiding organisations through the procurement, delivery, and operation of assets within the built environment.
It offers services, including cost and project management, building surveying, and principal designer services, catering to sectors such as commercial, education, sports, and hotels.
The company has had a presence in the Middle East for more than 14 years.
Egis Middle East & South Asia CEO Alaa Abusiam said: “We are excited to have the talented team from Thomas & Adamson join Egis to further elevate our expertise in project management and cost consultancy. They will allow Egis to continue to grow our capabilities.
“Combining their regional strength in cost management in the region with our strong portfolio of project management we will strengthen and develop our client offering to deliver integrated solutions.”
The Thomas & Adamson team will collaborate closely and seamlessly integrate into Egis’ Middle Eastern operations.
“Egis acquires property and construction consultancy Thomas & Adamson ” was originally created and published by World Construction Network, a GlobalData owned brand.
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PARIS: France estimates that 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, foreign minister Stephane Sejourne said in an interview published on Friday. Speaking to Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe, Sejourne said Paris estimated total Russian casualties, including wounded, at 500,000 in the war, now in its third year. “Europe and its partners will remain united and determined, for as long as necessary. Russia’s military failure is already apparent. We estimate Russian military losses at 500,000, including 150,000 deaths,” he said. “All of this for what?” he asked. “This can be summed up in two words: for nothing,” he said. Russia has not disclosed information on its casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that 180,000 Russian troops had been killed in the war. Britain estimates that approximately 450,000 Russians have been killed or wounded in Ukraine. The BBC reported in April that more than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody attrition war, isolating Russia from the West. Some military analysts believe that Russia could be on the verge of launching a major new offensive in Ukraine. Speaking about frozen Russian assets in the European Union, Sejourne reaffirmed that the funds could be used to fund the defence of Ukraine against the invasion but did not give specifics. “With the rise in rates, these assets have generated almost 4 billion euros in revenue in 2023. We want them to be used to finance defence and reconstruction efforts in Ukraine.” Novaya Gazeta Europe was founded by exiled journalists from Russia’s top independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
THIS is the bizarre moment when a boat full of party goers in Amsterdam were left desperately scrambling as their boat sunk in a canal.
Hilarious footage caught the unfortunate mishap as the overcrowded vessel quickly dipped below the murky brown water as around 20 revellers were forced to accept their soggy fate.
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A boat full of party goers in Amsterdam were left desperately scrambling as their boat sunk in a canalCredit: X/AT5
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The moment part-goers started to leap to safety as the boat started to sinkCredit: X/AT5
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Only a handful of those onboard managed to avoid becoming completely soaked through as many were left bobbing in the canalCredit: X/AT5
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Around 20 of the revellers were left causing a big splash in the canalCredit: X/AT5
The large group had squeezed onto a tiny motorboat as they sailed through Amsterdam’s Herengracht canal celebrating Kings Day in the Netherlands.
Many of those on board were caked head to toe in patriotic orange colours but as the viral video shows their future was far from bright.
At around 2pm on April 27, the wet misery unfolded as the bustling boat took a nosedive into the canal as it failed to hold the weight of the passengers on board.
The dinghy almost managed to survive the cold dip but it quickly became clear to the hundreds watching on that they were about to feel a sinking feeling.
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In a desperate last attempt to flee to safety, many of those on board scrambled to the top of the boat as they prepared to make a giant leap onto the adjacent railing.
This shift of bodies made the vessel sink deeper and deeper as it became swamped with water.
Wide-eyed onlookers started screaming “no” to those on board as they attempted to jump across to safety as others simply chuckled.
Almost half of the revellers jumped and miraculously a few managed to hold on tight to the barrier and pull themselves up to dry land.
Others were left dangling from the wall with their jeans bogged down in the canal as their pals heaved them up.
The remaining 10 or so stragglers were left bobbing up and down in the water accepting their fate.
Hilarious moments Royals have dared to work with animals in public
Just the one managed to avoid the plunge altogether as he stayed proudly on the boat as it bounced back up above board.
With only his trainers taking the brunt of the wet and wild experience.
It is thought that the boat had around three times as many crew on board as usually seen.
Rapturous pockets of laughter can be heard erupting from bystanders as the people shake off the water from their now destroyed clothes.
What were they celebrating?
The unfortunate floaters were celebrating a Dutch national holiday known as King’s Day.
The Netherlands spend April 27 each year drinking, partying and making memories as they wish King Willem-Alexander a happy birthday.
Many people flock to the countries central hub of Amsterdam to celebrate with friends and family that often leads to them sailing through the city on one of the 165 canals.
King’s Day, also known as Koningsdag, has been one of the Netherlands’ biggest days over almost the last 150 years.
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Those who managed to make the ambitious leap had to help their soggy pals up from the cold canalCredit: X/AT5
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The party-goers were celebrating a Dutch national holiday known as King’s Day for King Willem-AlexanderCredit: The Mega Agency
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The overcrowded vessel was doomed from the start of its journey as it quickly started to tipCredit: X/AT5
It is interchangeable with whoever wears the crown.
First celebrated in 1885 as Princess’ Day, the event saw Princess Wilhelmina enjoy her birthday with the whole country.
After five years she took to the throne and it became known as Queen’s Day.
It has stayed tradition for Wilhelmina’s daughter Juliana and also Queen Beatrix after her.
However Beatrix, born in the winter time, preferred a summertime celebration so steered clear of the norm and picked April 30, as her national birthday party.
Since 2009, it has been known as King’s Day under the long reign of Willem-Alexander.
The King has ventured out to one city every year to celebrate with the locals.
In 2024, he chose Emmen as his party spot.
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King’s Day 2024 was celebrated by most of the Netherlands going out onto the streets kitted out with the national colour of orangeCredit: Getty
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King Willem-Alexander with his daughter at the King’s Day celebrations in EmmenCredit: The Mega Agency
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The celebrations in Amsterdam especially are often done on boat with thousands flocking to the waterCredit: Getty
Britain’s ruling Conservatives lost a parliamentary seat to the main Labour opposition Friday, as the country awaited local election results likely to pile more pressure on embattled leader Rishi Sunak.
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Labour seized the constituency of Blackpool South, in the northwest of England, in the latest by-election defeat for the Tories as it appears on course to lose an upcoming general election.
The vote, triggered by a lobbying scandal that saw the area’s Conservative MP resign, took place as voters cast ballots on Thursday in a mix of council, mayoral and other local contests across England.
Labour’s Chris Webb won with a 26.3 percent swing – the third largest margin from the Conservatives to Labour at a by-election since World War II.
“This seismic win in Blackpool South is the most important result today,” said Labour leader Keir Starmer, tipped to be Britain’s next prime minister.
The polls represent the last major ballot box test before Sunak goes to the country in a nationwide vote expected in the second half of the year.
His ruling Tories, in power nationally since 2010 and defending hundreds of seats secured the last time local elections were held in 2021, are tipped to suffer heavy losses.
Early results showed that Labour was making gains in council seats, but all eyes were on key regional and London mayor races, the outcome of which are only expected later Friday and Saturday.
The capital’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to win a record third term easily, but mayoral contests in the West Midlands and Tees Valley, in northeast England, are predicted to be tight.
A victory for the Labour opposition in either of the regions, home to bellwether constituencies, would be hailed as further evidence voters are ready to return the party to power nationally.
Right-wing upstarts
Speculation is rife in the UK parliament at Westminster that a bad showing may lead some restive Tory lawmakers to try to replace Sunak, who has been in charge since October 2022.
Conservative MPs ousted Sunak’s predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, and the party has had five prime ministers since the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.
Wins for the incumbent Tory mayors in the West Midlands and Tees Valley, Andy Street and Ben Houchen, would boost their hopes that the beleaguered leader can still revive their fortunes.
But with the Tories under fire nationally, on issues from water pollution to transport and inflation, Street and Houchen have distanced themselves from the party during the campaign.
Pollsters forecast that the Conservatives could lose about half of the nearly 1,000 council seats they are defending in cities, towns and districts across England.
“We are probably looking at certainly one of the worst, if not the worst, Conservative performances in local government elections for the last 40 years,” polling expert John Curtice told BBC radio.
The defeat in Blackpool South was its 11th by-election loss since Johnson won a landslide victory at the last general election in 2019.
That is the most by any government in a single parliament since the late 1960s. Sunak has been in charge for seven of them.
Worryingly for him, the Conservatives only scraped into second place in Blackpool South ahead of the fringe Reform UK party, which threatens to squeeze the right-wing vote at the general election.
The party linked to arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage won 17 percent of the vote, its best-ever performance in a by-election.
যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে পরিবারের সঙ্গে সাথে ঈদের ছুটি কাটিয়ে গত ২৮ এপ্রিল রাতে দেশে ফিরেছেন সাকিব আল হাসান। দুই দিন পর ৩০ এপ্রিল কোনো ধরনের অনুশীলন ছাড়াই প্রথম ম্যাচে মাঠে নেমে আবাহনী লিমিটেডের বিপক্ষে ৪৯ রান করেই সমালোচকদের মুখ বন্ধ করে দিয়েছিলেন সাকিব।
অনুশীলন ছাড়া মাঠে নেমে দল জেতাতে না পারলেও ব্যাট-বলে কারিশমা দেখানোর সামর্থ্যটা কমেনি একচুলও, সেটা ৪৮ ঘন্টা আগে বিকেএসপিতে চোখে আঙ্গুল দিয়ে দেখিয়ে দিয়েছেন সাকিব।
ঠিক পরের ম্যাচে আজ শুক্রবার বিকেএসপির সেই ৪ নম্বর মাঠেই গাজী গ্রুপের বিপক্ষে দারুণ এক সেঞ্চুরি হাঁকিয়ে সাকিব জানিয়ে দিলেন, এখনো আগের মতোই আছেন তিনি। প্র্যাকটিস না করেও রান করতে পারেন। সেঞ্চুরি হাঁকাতেও পারেন।
জিম্বাবুয়ের বিপক্ষে ৫ ম্যাচের সিরিজের প্রথম ৩ টি-টোয়েন্টিতে না খেলে ঢাকার ক্লাব ক্রিকেটের আসর প্রিমিয়ার লিগ খেলে নিজেকে সিরিজের শেষ ২ ম্যাচের জন্য তৈরি করার যে ইচ্ছে ছিল সাকিবের, তা যেন পুরোপুরিই সফল হলো।
সাকিব যে জিম্বাবুয়ের বিপক্ষে একেবারেই প্রস্তুত হয়েই নামছেন, শুক্রবার দুপুরের পর থেকে তা আর বোঝার বাকি থাকবে না কারোরই। কারণ দারুণ এক শতক উপহার দিয়ে নিজের প্রস্তুতিটা ভালমতোই সারলেন চ্যাম্পিয়ন অলরাউন্ডার।
প্রথম শ্রেণির ক্রিকেটে অনেক দিন সেঞ্চুরি ছিল না সাকিবের ব্যাটে। ইতিহাস জানাচ্ছে, সেই ২০১৯ সালের বিশ্বকাপ ক্রিকেটে ওয়েস্ট ইন্ডিজের বিপক্ষে টন্টনে শেষবার শতক হাঁকিয়েছিলেন বিশ্বসেরা অলরাউন্ডার। আজ ৫ বছর পর আবার প্রথম শ্রেণির ক্রিকেটে সেঞ্চুরির দেখা পেলেন সাকিব।
এদিন ৭৯ বলে ৭ ছক্কা ও ৯ বাউন্ডারিতে ১০৭ রানের ঝোড়ো ইনিংস খেলে শেখ জামাল ধানমন্ডি ক্লাবকে ২৮০ রানের লড়িয়ে পুঁজি গড়ে দিলেন সাকিব। সাকিবের সেঞ্চুরির সঙ্গে ইয়াসির আলী রাব্বির ৫১ বলে ৭১ আর ফজলে রাব্বির ধীর গতির ৪৭ (৮৬ বলে) যোগ হলে শেখ জামাল পায় লড়াই করার মতোই একটি পুঁজি ।
The weekend is approaching, and from Friday to Sunday it will be “fight-o-clock” somewhere in the world. Every Thursday, The Ring will bring you the most up-to-date information on the most relevant fights you need to see in this week-at-a-glance, one-stop enhanced fight schedule. A quick checklist for the cognoscenti, a useful nuts-and-bolts guide for the boxing neophyte is what we’re aiming at.
Here are this week’s most relevant fights:
Thursday, May 2 – Montreal Casino, Montreal, Canada
Erik Bazinyan vs. Shakeel Phinn – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Bazinyan was due to face Phinn on April 11 but the show was postponed for three-weeks when Bazinyan became sick. The Armenian-Canadian boxer-puncher will have to put all his mojo to work in order to produce a stellar performance if he wants to enter into the increasingly elusive Canelo Sweepstakes. A highlight-reel stoppage should help him in that endeavor.
Also on this card:
Thomas Chabot vs. Alfredo Espino – lightweight – 8 rounds
Avery Martin Duval vs. Ezequiel Palaversic – lightweight – 8 rounds
Moreno Fendero vs. Nicolas Palacios – middleweight – 6 rounds
Jhon Orobio vs. Cristian Palma – lightweight – 6 rounds
Alexandre Gaumont vs. Abdallah Luanja – middleweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Friday, May 3 – Red Owl Arena, Houston
Eridson Garcia vs. Maliek Montgomery – lightweight – 8 rounds
Richard Fernandez vs. Oscar Arroyo – junior bantamweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Saturday, May 4 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia – super middleweight – 12 rounds
Every year that goes on could be the final year in Canelo’s history-making run, and a loss against Munguia would accelerate that moment. Having said that, only youth is on Munguia’s side right now. Experience, IQ, skills and grit are on Canelo’s side, and he’ll use those to score another win – but not before hitting the canvas once or twice before the final bell rings.
What to expect in this fight: The ongoing feud between Canelo and his former promoter Oscar de la Hoya was visible during the fight’s build-up, and it could be a part of the fight itself if Canelo uses his grudge with his former boss to turn this fight into a street brawl. Cooler heads have prevailed before, and Canelo has always kept his cool in similar situations, though.
Also on this card:
Mario Barrios vs. Fabian Maidana – welterweight – 12 rounds
Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno – featherweight – 12 rounds
Eimantas Stanionis vs. Gabriel Maestre – welterweight – 12 rounds
Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Johan Gonzalez – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Ronald Cruz – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela vs. Jose Angulo – junior welterweight – 8 rounds
Damien Vazquez vs. David Picasso – junior featherweight – 8 rounds
William Scull vs. Sean Hemphill – super middleweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: Prime Video, DAZN PPV
Saturday, May 3 – Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sarah Bormann vs. Tamara Demarco – women’s strawweight – 10 rounds
Hannock Phiri vs. Ahmad Ali – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Mirko Koenig vs. Max Geier – light heavyweight – 8 rounds
Saturday, May 6 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery – junior featherweight – 12 rounds
Very few divisions have such a great distance between their best fighter and the second-best. Inoue stands head and shoulders above anyone under 122 pounds – and most fighters over that weight as well. Nery is world-class, Inoue is all-time-greatness in the making. We should enjoy “The Monster” while we can.
Also on this card:
Jason Moloney vs. Yoshiki Takei – bantamweight – 12 rounds
Takuma Inoue vs. Sho Ishida – bantamweight – 12 rounds
Check out our up-to-date streaming service and TV channel guide to gain more insight on the current boxing and combat sports broadcasting landscape, exclusive at The Ring magazine:
How to watch boxing in 2023 – By Diego Morilla
Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
Brazil has always been known to be a passionate and fiery crowd when it comes to MMA, and some even think the fans there are wild enough to give their home fighters an edge over their foreign rivals.
From throwing things to the famed ‘Uh, Vai Morrer!’ – “You’re going to die!” in Portuguese – the Brazilian crowd has always been a sight to see when it comes to UFC events. But Peru’s Kevin Borjas doesn’t think the home advantage will be at play when he fights Alessandro Costa in the opening bout of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.
“First of all, Alessandro Costa is now Mexican,” Borjas said when asked bout his opponent in a Spanish interview with MMA Junkie. “He’s now Mexican, and he’ll be fighting as a visitor.
“I’m going to beat him. He’s not superior to me. I’m way better than him, and I’m ready to fight wherever the fight goes. If he takes me down. I’m going to get up and do my job, and that’s it. There won’t be any surprises. There’s nothing that he can do that will surprise me.”
Costa (13-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) never has fought professionally in Brazil. Although he was born and grew up in Manaus, Brazil, Costa moved to Mexico in his late teens to pursue his MMA dream. Alongside UFC star Diego Lopes, Costa opened up an MMA gym in Puebla, Mexico, and began his professional MMA career there. That’s why Borjas (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) doesn’t think Costa will have the backing of the Brazilian crowd.
Although Borjas is from Peru, he thinks he’ll have support from the fans come Saturday. His coach, Ivan Iberico from Pitbull Martial Arts Center, is well known in the Brazilian martial asrts community given his long history in training Luta Livre, a Brazilian style of fighting.
“Here in Rio de Janeiro, it’s basically the birthplace of Luta Livre, which is my coach’s expertise. I’m representing Luta Livre and many coaches and people here support me, so I feel right at home. I’m not a visitor here.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.
Check out the Hablemos MMA YouTube channel for Spanish-language videos and interviews with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
UN agency’s chief calls award a tribute to courage of journalists facing ‘difficult and dangerous’ conditions in Gaza.
All Palestinian journalists covering Israel’s war on Gaza have been awarded UNESCO’s world press freedom prize, the United Nations cultural agency has said.
“In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances,” Mauricio Weibel, chair of the international jury of media professionals, said during the announcement on Thursday.
“As humanity, we have a huge debt to their courage and commitment to freedom of expression,” Weibel added during a ceremony in Chile’s capital, Santiago, on the eve of World Press Freedom Day on Friday.
More than 100 journalists and media workers, the vast majority Palestinian, have been killed in the first seven months of the current conflict in Gaza that started in October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Gaza’s Government Media Office put that toll at more than 140.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Weibel said the world has “a huge debt to the Palestinian journalists”.
“We are facing many risks around the world, and we need to say, ‘Stop’,” he added.
Audrey Azoulay, director general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said the prize pays “tribute to the courage of journalists facing difficult and dangerous circumstances”.
‘Emotional ceremony’
Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from Santiago, described the event as an “extremely emotional ceremony”.
“There were many people in the room who were crying. There were a lot of emotions and very strong applause.”
Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza were among those who have been targeted by Israeli strikes since October.
In December, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh was wounded in an Israeli strike in which his colleague and Al Jazeera Arabic’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa was killed, while they were reporting in southern Gaza.
Dahdouh’s wife Amna, son Mahmoud, daughter Sham and grandson Adam were killed in an attack in October after an Israeli air raid hit the home they were sheltering in at the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The veteran journalist’s eldest son, Hamza Dahdouh, also an Al Jazeera journalist, was killed in January by an Israeli missile attack in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. He was in a vehicle near al-Mawasi, an Israel designated safe area, with journalist Mustafa Thuraya, who was also killed in the attack.
According to reports from Al Jazeera correspondents, their vehicle was targeted as they were trying to interview civilians displaced by previous bombings.
In February, Mohamed Yaghi, a freelance photojournalist who worked with multiple media outlets, including Al Jazeera, was also killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.
At least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and 77,816 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.
সাজিদের অভিব্যক্তিও এমনই, ‘কোচ নিরি যে আমার গোলকিপিং পছন্দ করবেন, ভাবিনি। আমি অবশ্য নিজের সর্বোচ্চটা দিয়েই চেষ্টা করেছি।’ পাপন চায় সুযোগটা কাজে লাগাতে, ‘শেখ জামাল ধানমন্ডি ক্লাবে অনুশীলন করি। অনূর্ধ্ব–১৬ দলে আছি। ম্যানচেস্টার ইউনাইটেডের ট্রায়াল হয়তো আমার স্বপ্ন পূরণে অনেক সাহায্য করবে।’
অ্যাপলো টায়ার ম্যানচেস্টার ইউনাইটেডের সঙ্গে যৌথভাবে এই ট্রায়ালের আয়োজন করেছিল। ‘ইউনাইটেড উই প্লে’ নামের এই ট্রায়ালের কাল ছিল শেষ দিন। বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দলের অধিনায়ক জামাল ভূঁইয়াও ছিলেন খুদে ফুটবলারদের উৎসাহিত করার জন্য। তিনি ফুটবল–উৎসবে যোগ দিয়ে যেন কিছুটা আবেগাপ্লুতই, ‘কত স্বপ্ন নিয়ে ফুটবলাররা এসেছে। আমি অভিনন্দন জানাই, যারা চূড়ান্ত বাছাইয়ে সফল হয়েছে। যারা সফল হয়নি, তাদের মন খারাপ করার কিছু নেই। যাদের চূড়ান্ত বাছাইয়ে নাম ওঠেনি, আমি বরং তাদের অনুপ্রাণিত করতে চাই। বলতে চাই, তোমাদের সামনে অনেক সময় পড়ে রয়েছে। কঠোর পরিশ্রমের বিকল্প নেই।’
গোলকিপার সাদমান, মিডফিল্ডার পাপন আর রাহাত আগামী জুলাইয়ে যাবেন ভারতের বেঙ্গালুরুতে। সেখান বিভিন্ন দেশের আরও কিশোরদের সঙ্গে ট্রায়ালের পর বাংলাদেশের তিনজনের মধ্য থেকে একজনের ভাগ্যে জুটবে তিন দিনের জন্য ওল্ড ট্রাফোর্ডে খেলা দেখা, প্রশিক্ষণ ও ঘোরাঘুরির সুযোগ। কিন্তু এতে দেশের ফুটবলের উপকার কীভাবে হবে—এ প্রশ্নটাও কিন্তু এসেছে শেখ জামাল ধানমন্ডি ক্লাবের আনন্দমুখর ফুটবল–উৎসবের মধ্যেও।
A voter’s finger is dyed with ink after casting a vote in elections. In this super election year, truths become a rare commodity, and the struggle for the sovereignty of interpretation of reality takes centre stage. Credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino
Opinion by Jurgen Neyer (berlin, germany)
Inter Press Service
BERLIN, Germany, May 03 (IPS) – The year 2024 seems to be a year of big decisions. The European Parliament elections in June and the US presidential election in November… politics and the media are talking of a showdown between democracy and disinformation. Add the elections in Russia and India to that and almost half of the world’s population will be casting their vote this year.
According to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, ‘malicious foreign actors’ are trying to win the ‘battle of narrative’. Disinformation is being pumped out, aimed at dividing society and undermining trust in state institutions, as stated by the German Federal Government.
Social media is purportedly being used to spread lies, disinformation and deep fakes, which is rapidly generating false information and creating filter bubbles and echo chambers. It is also being claimed that artificial intelligence, deep fakes and personalised algorithms are building on the already existing uncertainty, reducing confidence in democratic institutions.
Does this threaten the very core of democracy?
There are a number of major counterpoints to the theory that a social media-driven flood of disinformation is posing a threat to democracy. Firstly, there is the term itself. We can distinguish ‘disinformation’ from simply ‘false information’ on the basis of whether there was any malicious intent.
False information is a mistake; disinformation is an outright lie. However, the line between the two is often difficult to draw. How do we know whether someone is acting maliciously unless we are mind readers?
The term ‘disinformation’ is often a misnomer, all too often applied in political spheres to anyone who simply takes a different view. This has been (and still can be) frequently observed on both sides of the debate surrounding the dangers of the coronavirus in recent years.
There are still no empirically meaningful studies that demonstrate that disinformation, filter bubbles and echo chambers have had any clear impact. Far from it, most studies show a low prevalence of disinformation, with little to no demonstrable effects. There even seems to be a link between intensive media use and a differentiated opinion.
There has never been a greater amount of high-quality knowledge available at such a low cost than we have today.
It is also unclear whether disinformation campaigns are capable of having a lasting effect at all. Even Lutz Güllner, the head of strategic communications at the European External Action Service, who is responsible for the EU’s efforts to prevent Russian interference in the elections to the European Parliament, admits that nothing is actually known about this.
Existingempirical studies suggest that disinformation makes up just a small fraction of the information available online and even then only reaches a small minority. Most users are well aware that self-proclaimed influencers and dubious websites should not necessarily be regarded as trustworthy sources of information.
The most important counterargument is perhaps the fact that there has never been a greater amount of high-quality knowledge available at such a low cost than we have today. Media libraries, blogs, political talk shows on TV, simple and inexpensive digital access to a variety of daily newspapers and other magazines… it has never been easier for anyone to access information.
Forty years ago, most people lived in an information desert, reading one newspaper and possibly watching the news on one television channel. Not a shred of information diversity. But the internet and social media have since brought about a huge increase in plurality when it comes to forming opinions, albeit often hand in hand with increased uncertainty.
However, this has shaped the modern era from as early as the 16th century, when the printing press was invented. Plurality is the epistemic foundation of an open society. From this point of view, it is a condition for democracy, not a threat to it.
The problem lies elsewhere
It is important not to misunderstand these counterarguments though. There are indeed dangers on a more abstract and yet more fundamental level. The core problem with ensuring a stable democracy is not with people lying and using information strategically to manipulate others’ opinions — that is nothing new.
Rather, it is because in Europe today, we move in different arenas of truth that are increasingly difficult to reconcile.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in detail why he thought Ukraine belonged to Russia. He didn’t necessarily lie but expressed a subjective truth built on historical constructions, which he probably truly believes in, as bizarre as that might sound to many Western ears.
Likewise, the rhetoric iterated by Trump supporters that the Democratic Party is leading America into the abyss may not really qualify as a lie spread against their better knowledge; it is the presumed sincerity, not the lie, that should concern us.
In modern society, incontrovertible truths become a rare commodity, and the struggle for the sovereignty of interpretation of reality takes centre stage. Unfortunately, the myth that we like to believe, that there is only a single truth in this day and age, which can be fact-checked, holds little water.
Liberals and conservatives, right and left, feminists and old white men must keep talking to each other. Then we have no reason to fear malicious foreign actors or even a battle of narrative.
In the philosophical debate, the underlying difficulty of determining truth can be found in an argument dating back to Aristotle about what actually constitutes truth. The general consensus today is that the truthful content of propositions cannot be directly derived from reality (facts) but can only be verified by way of other propositions.
This dismantles the idea that some kind of congruence between proposition and reality can be determined. This ‘coherence theory of truth’ responds to the problem by understanding as true only those propositions that can be applied without contradiction to a larger context of propositions that we have already accepted as true. So, truth is what complements our construction of the world (and our prejudices) without contradiction.
But if agreement with conviction becomes the key criterion instead of facts, then the truth threatens to become intersectional, subjective and specific to context; the truth for some almost inevitably becomes a falsehood for others. How is this relevant to the current debate on disinformation?
For the US, it first means that 100 million potential Trump supporters are neither (exclusively) liars, nor idiots. Rather, they live in a world that combines a firm belief in traditional values, a rejection of East Coast intellectualism and a reluctance towards post-modern contingency. It is a philosophy consisting of mutually reinforcing aspects that provide a fixed framework for classifying new information. One where there is no need for fact-checkers or experts.
How can we and should we deal with such a fundamental dispute? Democracy is not a philosophical room for debate; there are always times when incompatible and harshly spoken positions clash. We must learn to weather these storms while preventing the truth from drifting away.
This is not simply a matter of fact-checking, but rather continually renewing society’s understanding of the foundation of truth. Liberals and conservatives, right and left, feminists and old white men must keep talking to each other. Then we have no reason to fear malicious foreign actors or even a battle of narrative
Jürgen Neyer is Professor of European and International Politics at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and Founding Director of the European New School of Digital Studies (ENS). He is currently researching the links between technological innovation and international conflicts.
Source: International Politics and Society (IPS), published by the Global and European Policy Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin.
