Digital Planet Folgen

While the stereotype of the Afghan Taliban is that they lack sophistication, that certainly isn’t true for their online presence, which is geared to influence across many languages within Afghanistan and around the world. Adam Rutland co-founder of the Centre for Information Resilience looks at the effectiveness of their campaign and how they have learnt from both ISIS and Hamas. We also look at computer guided initiatives for understanding the working of the human brain. Alex Frangi and Ali Sarrami Foroushani from Leeds University have a model which can be used to do research which would be dangerous in real people. And Fern Luham reports on the technology she and other blind people can use around the home from practical devices to those that help with her social life.The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington Studio Manager: Nigel Dix Producer: Julian Siddle(Image: Getty Images)

Uganda introduced an extensive CCTV network ostensibly to cut down on crime. Now there are plans to place trackers on every vehicle for similar reasons. However, critics see both measures as ineffective and open to abuse. They are particularly concerned over the use of such surveillance to spy on opponents of the government says Dorothy Mukasa from Unwanted Witness.And schoolchildren in Uganda have been enrolled to pilot a new device for rapid Malaria testing. Developed with local partners and the University of Glasgow it uses locally made 3d printed test materials married to a mobile phone both to power the test and collect the results. There’s potential for its use in detecting and analysing many diseases say Jonathan Cooper and Julien Reboud.And can’t get to school? No problem you can now take your lessons and exams via WhatsApp. That is if you’re enrolled in Zimbabwe’s Dr. Maxx WhatsApp school - run with considerable success by Maxwell ChimedzaThe programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson Studio Manager: Giles Aspen Producer: Julian Siddle(Image credit: Julian Siddle/BBC)

Brazil’s Data Protection Law Brazil has started to enforce its data protection law with companies facing fines of up to $10m USD if they fail to comply. We’re speaking to the Director of the recently formed National Data Protection Authority, Miriam Wimmer, about how the legislation will protect the data of individuals and the impact on companies in Brazil.Twitter Disaster Bot As the clean-up operation following the floods in Henan province in central China continues Yuan Ren reports on the tech that has or hasn’t worked in preventing and managing these floods. We also hear about a disaster alerting twitter bot that’s been developed in Indonesia. Jakarta produces 2% of all tweets globally, it is also hit by a huge number of disasters, from flooding to earthquakes. The information people are tweeting about these disasters can now be collected into a real time map, PetaBencana or Disaster Map, with the help of a twitter bot. This bot recognises certain words associated with disasters, such as “flood”, and will respond to the sender to ask if they’d like to add the info onto the map. This real time map can help local residents and emergency services know what is happening on the ground. Director Nashin Mahtani told us more.Bitclout Harrison Lewis reports on a brand new form of social media. Bitclout is not a company, but a proof of work blockchain designed for running social media. A platform where you can speculate, buy and sell creator coins associated with the social media user, this could be a friend, influencer or high profile celeb like Elon Musk. To do so, you need to hold a token for the website, this is called Bitclout and can be bought with Bitcoin. In itself Bitclout is a native cryptocurrency. Even if you do make money though, you can’t retrieve it.The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Angelica Mari.(Image: A hand holding a padlock in front of html code to illustrate online data protection Credit: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Studio Manager: Nigel Dix Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz