FOOLS_NIGHTMARE
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New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has used her Harvard University Commencement address to speak out against the "scourge of disinformation" and echo former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's call to deepen democracy.
Ms Ardern's address was built around the need for democratic systems and informed debate, invoking the same plea from Ms Bhutto, who underscored the "fragility" of democracy in her own 1989 address at the university.
"That somehow the strength of your democracy was like a marriage; the longer you'd been in it, the more likely it was to stick.
Ms Ardern has walked a similar path to Ms Bhutto; the pair were the first two female heads of government to give birth while in office, Ms Ardern doing so on Ms Bhutto's birthday.
The pair met in Switzerland in June 2007, just before Ms Ardern's election to parliament and seven months before Ms Bhutto was assassinated.
"The path she carved as a woman feels as relevant today as it was decades ago, and so too is the message she shared here in this place," Ms Ardern said.
Ms Ardern updated Ms Bhutto's call for the 21st century, taking aim at online disinformation and calling on tech companies to do more to stop online conspiracy theories being spread, which can radicalise.
Extracts are taken from the article below.
www.sbs.com.au
For many Western politicians BB was an ICON and a BEACON for democracy. Although most of us including me never supported the politics of BB and PPP, nevertheless we must be magnanimous in giving the credit where it's due.
Ms Ardern's address was built around the need for democratic systems and informed debate, invoking the same plea from Ms Bhutto, who underscored the "fragility" of democracy in her own 1989 address at the university.
"That somehow the strength of your democracy was like a marriage; the longer you'd been in it, the more likely it was to stick.
Ms Ardern has walked a similar path to Ms Bhutto; the pair were the first two female heads of government to give birth while in office, Ms Ardern doing so on Ms Bhutto's birthday.
The pair met in Switzerland in June 2007, just before Ms Ardern's election to parliament and seven months before Ms Bhutto was assassinated.
"The path she carved as a woman feels as relevant today as it was decades ago, and so too is the message she shared here in this place," Ms Ardern said.
Ms Ardern updated Ms Bhutto's call for the 21st century, taking aim at online disinformation and calling on tech companies to do more to stop online conspiracy theories being spread, which can radicalise.
Extracts are taken from the article below.
Jacinda Ardern echoes call from former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto to deepen democracy
New Zealand's prime minister also spoke about abortion rights and gun law reform and called on tech giants to do more to combat disinformation online.
www.sbs.com.au
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