Indonesia grapples with the popularity and risks of Sam Altman's Worldcoin
JAKARTA -- Fajar Cipta, a ride-hailing driver based in Jakarta, had long heard about cryptocurrency from YouTube videos and online influencers.
So when OpenAi CEO Sam Altman's World project officially entered Indonesia in February, opening at least 20 "verification hubs," Fajar was among the first to line up.
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Japan Today
5 hours ago
- Japan Today
Scrolling for truth: News for the swipe generation
By Jeff W. Richards In Japan, the media once shaped how the nation saw itself — through the nightly news, the front page of the morning paper or trusted commentators on TV. Today, a different kind of feed defines what people know. For younger generations, the news often comes in fragments: TikTok clips, Line summaries, Instagram reels. The swipe has replaced the scroll. For many, journalism is not really what they're looking for. A Tokyo commuter taps through TikTok, Instagram and Line headlines — catching hints of a scandal, a protest, the aftermath of war and a bit of government legislation all in under two minutes. She scrolls past memes, ii ne (liked) posts and push notifications — but has she really learned anything from the stories? The swipe feels efficient, but increasingly, it replaces depth with a dopamine fix. When headlines become habits A growing number of younger Japanese say their daily news consumption begins and ends on their phones. Image: O2O Creative/iStock Young people in Japan (and elsewhere) aren't avoiding the news, they're just consuming it in new ways. Much of it is filtered through platforms designed for speed and engagement, though, not accuracy or depth. Surveys show traditional TV news and newspapers are barely registering with people under 30. The trend is backed by international data. The Reuters Institute's 2024 Digital News Report found that younger Japanese are far more likely to stay informed through platforms like YouTube, social media or mobile aggregators than from legacy press. When news arrives as headlines, memes or stylish Instagram posts, though, it's harder to tell where journalism ends and something else begins. TikTok offers algorithmically curated outrage and summaries. News becomes a vibe, not a report. Instagram's slick carousel explainers often lack transparency about who makes them. Few are vetted and professionally fact-checked. Line News is a gateway for many Japanese users, but curated snippets rarely include the full context or link to complete stories. According to the DataReportal 'Digital 2025: Japan' and Digital Marketing for Asia's 'Social Media in Japan — everything you need to know,' platforms like TikTok, Line and Instagram are among the most commonly used sources of daily information for younger people in Japan. YouTube content creators sometimes provide in-depth commentary — but more often than not they blur the lines between reporting and opinion. Each platform imposes its own logic, its own computations. What gets surfaced then is what gets engagement — not necessarily what's important. It's the 'social' aspect of social media. Journalism, repackaged Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are increasingly shaping how news is encountered — if not always understood. Image: hapabapa/iStock With so much "news" being summarized, re-edited or reshared by 'experts,' influencers or anonymous accounts, traditional editorial gatekeeping is disappearing, even disregarded or just plain shrugged off. If there's no byline, no sourcing, no verification of facts — is it still journalism? Reporting is being replaced with repackaging. Japan's legacy media still struggles to connect with younger audiences. Trust hasn't disappeared — it's just migrated. Audiences now follow personalities over platforms. They value transparency and authenticity over institutional authority. That shift brings risks, but also opportunity. Taught to follow, not to question Despite near-universal tech access, few Japanese schools emphasize media literacy or critical engagement with digital content. Image: ferrantraite/iStock One reason the shift toward fragmented, feed-based news is so concerning in Japan is that critical media literacy has never been a strong suit — either in schools or in the public domain. Young people aren't being taught how to engage with news, whether online or off. Most education systems emphasize rote learning and memorization, not independent evaluation or questioning of sources. The result is a media landscape where audiences — especially younger ones — are increasingly consuming information in environments designed to entertain. There is little preparation or education for them to tell facts from spin. Without stronger support for news literacy — both in education and culture — it's not just journalism that suffers. It's the ability of an entire generation to ask better questions about the world around them. New voices, new platforms A new generation of journalists and creators are bringing serious topics to where audiences already are — online. Image: tdub303/iStock Some young and independent journalists are finding ways to bridge the gap — embracing social media without abandoning journalistic principles: Tansa, a nonprofit Tokyo-based newsroom, uses reader-supported funding to conduct long-term investigations and publish them accessibly online, while also training the next generation of journalists. Magdalena Osumi, reporting for The Japan Times, actively engages with digital audiences, including Reddit AMAs that break down complex issues like immigration in plain terms. Nithin Coca, a freelance journalist based in Japan and focused on climate and tech, offers transparency in sourcing and adapts to emerging platforms to expand reach while maintaining editorial integrity. These journalists are building trust not through institutional authority, but through accountability, direct engagement and clarity. They're showing that journalism can evolve while staying grounded. Meanwhile, Japan's major broadcasters and newspaper groups have been slow to respond. As we've reported here on Japan Today, many lack platform-specific strategies or fall back on simply reposting traditional content. A few experiments exist — TV Asahi has climbed on TikTok to reach younger audiences, offering news update snippets designed for mobile consumption, for instance — but the broader industry remains reactive rather than innovative. Paying attention — or just scrolling? For many, the feed never stops — and neither does the pressure to keep up, react and just keep scrolling. Image: praetorianphoto/iStock Even with a few bright spots — young journalists building trust and finding ways to get real stories out — there's a deeper concern: much of the audience may not be listening at all. Sure, journalism can evolve. Some are already doing the hard work of adapting it to new platforms, new expectations and new voices. Many users scroll through TikTok, Line or Instagram without ever following up. For some, the headline has become the entire story. Algorithms reinforce users' existing views, reducing the need for curiosity or critical thinking. It's not just Gen Z — millennials, too, are deep into this social-media-first news diet, including the misinformation vortex of Facebook. It feels like the feed has replaced reflection. The mobile screen becomes both window and mirror — constantly offering headlines, takes and vibes, but rarely asking for anything deeper in return. In the end, the danger may not just be misinformation. It's the creation of personal or peer group echo chambers that feel like the truth but aren't. When audiences stop looking beyond the end of their noses — or their screens — perspective and truth are easily lost. Tuning out the noise In a world of algorithm-fed fragments, choosing to slow down — and look up — may be journalism's last defense. Image: kyonntra/iStock The way Japan's younger generations consume news (if they do at all) is changing — fast. In some corners, so is the way journalism is being produced. Even the best reporting won't matter if no one takes the time to engage with it. The swipe is easy. The scroll is endless. But the truth? That still takes work. More from this series © Japan Today
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Asahi Shimbun
OpenAI finds more Chinese groups using ChatGPT for malicious purposes
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken on Feb. 21, 2023. (REUTERS) SAN FRANCISCO--OpenAI is seeing an increasing number of Chinese groups using its artificial intelligence technology for covert operations, which the ChatGPT maker described in a report released Thursday. While the scope and tactics employed by these groups have expanded, the operations detected were generally small in scale and targeted limited audiences, the San Francisco-based startup said. Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, there have been concerns about the potential consequences of generative AI technology, which can quickly and easily produce human-like text, imagery and audio. OpenAI regularly releases reports on malicious activity it detects on its platform, such as creating and debugging malware, or generating fake content for websites and social media platforms. In one example, OpenAI banned ChatGPT accounts that generated social media posts on political and geopolitical topics relevant to China, including criticism of a Taiwan-centric video game, false accusations against a Pakistani activist, and content related to the closure of USAID. Some content also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, generating X posts, such as "Tariffs make imported goods outrageously expensive, yet the government splurges on overseas aid. Who's supposed to keep eating?". In another example, China-linked threat actors used AI to support various phases of their cyber operations, including open-source research, script modification, troubleshooting system configurations, and development of tools for password brute forcing and social media automation. A third example OpenAI found was a China-origin influence operation that generated polarized social media content supporting both sides of divisive topics within U.S. political discourse, including text and AI-generated profile images. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on OpenAI's findings. OpenAI has cemented its position as one of the world's most valuable private companies after announcing a $40 billion funding round valuing the company at $300 billion.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Reddit sues AI giant Anthropic over content use
Social media outlet Reddit filed a lawsuit Wednesday against artificial intelligence company Anthropic, accusing the startup of illegally scraping millions of user comments to train its Claude chatbot without permission or compensation. The lawsuit in a California state court represents the latest front in the growing battle between content providers and AI companies over the use of data to train increasingly sophisticated language models that power the generative AI revolution. Anthropic, valued at $61.5 billion and heavily backed by Amazon, was founded in 2021 by former executives from OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The company, known for its Claude chatbot and AI models, positions itself as focused on AI safety and responsible development. "This case is about the two faces of Anthropic: the public face that attempts to ingratiate itself into the consumer's consciousness with claims of righteousness and respect for boundaries and the law, and the private face that ignores any rules that interfere with its attempts to further line its pockets," the suit said. According to the complaint, Anthropic has been training its models on Reddit content since at least December 2021, with CEO Dario Amodei co-authoring research papers that specifically identified high-quality content for data training. The lawsuit alleges that despite Anthropic's public claims that it had blocked its bots from accessing Reddit, the company's automated systems continued to harvest Reddit's servers more than 100,000 times in subsequent months. Reddit is seeking monetary damages and a court injunction to force Anthropic to comply with its user agreement terms. The company has requested a jury trial. In an email to AFP, Anthropic said "We disagree with Reddit's claims and will defend ourselves vigorously." Reddit has entered into licensing agreements with other AI giants including Google and OpenAI, which allow those companies to use Reddit content under terms that protect user privacy and provide compensation to the platform. Those deals have helped lift Reddit's share price since it went public in 2024. Reddit shares closed up more than six percent on Wednesday following news of the lawsuit. Musicians, book authors, visual artists and news publications have sued the various AI companies that used their data without permission or payment. AI companies generally defend their practices by claiming fair use, arguing that training AI on large datasets fundamentally changes the original content and is necessary for innovation. Though most of these lawsuits are still in early stages, their outcomes could have a profound effect on the shape of the AI industry. © 2025 AFP
