15 days on top of a tanker’s rudder

https://www.facebook.com/elpaisinenglish/posts/3352201451555964 

A teen’s journey to Spain’s Canary Islands: 15 days on top of a tanker’s rudder

A growing number of migrants are finding increasingly dangerous ways to reach the archipelago, with around 20 stowaways needing to be rescued in just four months

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-12-09/a-teens-journey-to-spains-canary-islands-15-days-on-top-of-a-tankers-rudder.html

In the last four months, around 20 people have been rescued trying to reach the Canary Islands as stowaways on cargo ships. It is impossible to know how many have died on the way.

Prince says that the adults were seriously considering throwing themselves into the sea and swimming, even though there was nowhere to go. “We had a hammer and we were hitting the hull of the ship so the crew would get us out of there. They definitely heard us, but no one responded,” says Prince.

Far-right Vox Instagram

How Spain’s far-right Vox created a winning social media strategy

The anti-immigration party has more followers on Instagram than any other political group in the country

https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/12/19/inenglish/1545234565_871352.html

Traffic to Vox’s website and social media platforms has soared following the recent elections in Andalusia, where the far-right party garnered 10.97% of the votes and 12 seats in the regional parliament.

There are three individuals between the ages of 23 and 26 who are largely responsible for the fact that Vox’s Twitter, Facebook and particularly Instagram accounts have started attracting huge numbers: a journalist, a sociologist and a broadcast studies undergraduate who were hired between 2016 and 2018 to pump up the party’s online profile. “There’s no longer any trust in the press,” says Manuel Mariscal, head of the party’s online accounts. “We are turning into our own communications channel.”

This is nothing new. It is a tried-and-tested populist strategy that proved effective in getting Donald Trump, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Italy’s Matteo Salvini into power.

Russian manipulation Instagram

RUSSIAN TROLLS USED MEME WARFARE