Reading the news can be overwhelming and confusing, so we’ve compiled a few highlights from recent news to keep the Woodstock population informed on what’s going on outside of our campus.

North Korea says a U.S. soldier crossed its border due to racism in America

North Korea claims that a US soldier (Travis King) who crossed the border between North and South Korea came into the country willingly, in order to flee the “inhumane treatment and racial discrimination” he was experiencing in the US army. However, it is unclear if this statement is true or false, as it could have been created in order for North Korea to gain more intra-state soft power. Soft power is the ability of a political actor to get what they want through the use of co-option, in this case North Korea is creating a false narrative that King came to North Korea because of how awful life in the US is, through doing this the North Korean public is being influenced that life in North Korea is something desired by foreigners. King is currently under arrest and being held hostage.

Effect of AI on 2024 US presidential campaign 

Advances in digital technology provide a faster way for the spread of political messaging which is expected to have a profound impact on voters in the US 2024 election. The development of AI technology has allowed politicians to respond instantaneously to campaign developments, target specific groups of voters, and has led to the democratization of disinformation because now anyone can use AI to spread the political propaganda they want in a matter of seconds which can have an incredibly negative impact on the election. 

How archaeologists are using lasers in order to uncover an ancient Mayan city

By using LiDAR technology (light detecting and ranging lasers) poured down by planes, archeologists have been able to digitally deforest an area. Using this method, they have been able to uncover ancient human-made structures hidden underneath vegetation. This has led to the discovery of the remains of old Mayan pyramids and the ancient city that surrounds them.

Wildfires are still burning across Canada

So far there have been over 1,000 new wildfires in Canada in the summer of 2023. ⅔ of them classified as “out of control” by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. This is the both the most to ever be recorded and the highest death toll from fires in Canadian history. Climate change is behind the increase in forest fires, as it causes an increase in temperature and lightning strikes, which decreases the amount of moisture from trees and plants leading to wildfires occurring more frequently and at a higher intensity. 

Selma is a staff reporter.

Edited by Asha and Aryaman.

Photo: Processed by Pierre Markuse. Massive fires in Québec, Canada (Lat: 53.33, Lng: -76.11) – 28 June 2023. Image is about 39 kilometers wide. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons