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The social media platform X said Thursday it has blocked access to jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu s account in Turkey, complying with a Turkish court order the latest measure targeting a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, Elon Musk‘s X said that while the company abided by the order, it disagrees with it and is legally challenging it. It said X complied to avoid severe punishments, such as the throttling of the whole platform in Turkey. X has been and will continue to object to removal orders including government requests in courts to protect users when those requests do not align with principles of free expression, due process, or other local laws, the company said on its Global Government Affairs account. The statement said X maintains that “keeping the platform accessible in (Turkey) is vital to supporting freedom of expression and access to information. Imamoglu, seen as the main opposition challenger to Erdogans 22-year rule, was arrested on March 19 and jailed on corruption charges. He was nominated as his Republican Peoples Party, or CHPs presidential candidate while in custody. His arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated although the government insists Turkeys judiciary is independent and free of political influence. It triggered widespread demonstrations calling for his release and an end to Turkeys democratic backsliding under Erdogan. According to Engelli Web, a website that that tracks and reports internet censorship in Turkey, X restricted Imamoglus account in Turkey complying with a legal request by Turkish authorities who cited national security and public order concerns. A notice that appears on Imamoglu’s account, which has 9.7 million followers, says it has been “withheld in TR in response to a legal demand. The account remains accessible outside of Turkey. Gonenc Gurkaynak, a lawyer representing X in Turkey, said he had filed an appeal on behalf of the platform against the decision blocking the account. He said he had submitted a 27-page petition and hundreds of pages of supporting documents to the court. The Turkish presidency’s Center for Countering Disinformation said the court decision followed an investigation into a post by Imamoglu on X, which prosecutors assessed to be an incitement to commit a crime. Authorities also ruled that because Imamoglu is currently detained, his account is not directly managed by him and therefore poses a threat to public order. On Thursday, CHP’s leader Ozgur Ozel welcomed X’s decision to challenge the court order but said the platform should have resisted complying with it. X should not impose this restriction, which contradicts universal freedoms and the companys own principles, he said and urged Imamoglu’s supporters to follow the mayor’s international account and re-share his posts. Ozel also criticized Erdogan’s administration saying that there probably is no other government that uses its judicial power so unfairly against its opponent. Despite his detention, Imamoglu had remained active on social media. Supporters criticized the restriction as an assault on free speech in Turkey. They showed solidarity with the mayor by replacing their profile pictures with Imamoglu’s image. Suzan Fraser, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Im a writing professor who sees artificial intelligence as more of an opportunity for students, rather than a threat. That sets me apart from some of my colleagues, who fear that AI is accelerating a glut of superficial content, impeding critical thinking and hindering creative expression. They worry that students are simply using it out of sheer laziness or, worse, to cheat. Perhaps thats why so many students are afraid to admit that they use ChatGPT. In The New Yorker magazine, historian D. Graham Burnett recounts asking his undergraduate and graduate students at Princeton whether theyd ever used ChatGPT. No one raised their hand. Its not that theyre dishonest, he writes. Its that theyre paralyzed. Students seem to have internalized the belief that using AI for their coursework is somehow wrong. Yet, whether my colleagues like it or not, most college students are using it. A February 2025 report from the Higher Education Policy Institute in the U.K. found that 92% of university students are using AI in some form. As early as August 2023a mere nine months after ChatGPTs public releasemore than half of first-year students at Kennesaw State University, the public research institution where I teach, reported that they believed that AI is the future of writing. Its clear that students arent going to magically stop using AI. So I think its important to point out some ways in which AI can actually be a useful tool that enhances, rather than hampers, the writing process. Helping with the busywork A February 2025 OpenAI report on ChatGPT use among college-aged users found that more than one-quarter of their ChatGPT conversations were education-related. The report also revealed that the top five uses for students were writing-centered: starting papers and projects (49%); summarizing long texts (48%); brainstorming creative projects (45%); exploring new topics (44%); and revising writing (44%). These figures challenge the assumption that students use AI merely to cheat or write entire papers. Instead, it suggests they are leveraging AI to free up more time to engage in deeper processes and metacognitive behaviorsdeliberately organizing ideas, honing arguments and refining style. If AI allows students to automate routine cognitive taskslike information retrieval or ensuring that verb tenses are consistentit doesnt mean theyre thinking less. It means their thinking is changing. Of course, students can misuse AI if they use the technology passively, reflexively accepting its outputs and ideas. And overreliance on ChatGPT can erode a students unique voice or style. However, as long as students learn how to use AI intentionally, this shift can be seen as an opportunity, rather than a loss, Clarifying the creative vision It has also become clear that AI, when used responsibly, can augment human creativity. For example, science comedy writer Sarah Rose Siskind recently gave a talk to Harvard students about her creative process. She spoke about how she uses ChatGPT to brainstorm joke setups and explore various comedic scenarios, which allows her to focus on crafting punchlines and refining her comedic timing. Note how Siskin used AI in ways that didnt supplant the human touch. Instead of replacing her creativity, AI amplified it by providing structured and consistent feedback, giving her more time to polish her jokes. Another example is the Rhetorical Prompting Method, which I developed alongside fellow Kennesaw State University researchers. Designed for university students and adult learners, its a framework for conversing with an AI chatbot, one that emphasizes the importance of agency in guiding AI outputs. When writers use precise language to prompt, critical thinking to reflect, and intentional revision to sculpt inputs and outputs, they direct AI to help them generate content that aligns with their vision. Theres still a process The Rhetorical Prompting Method mirrors best practices in process writing, which encourages writers to revisit, refine and revise their drafts. When using ChatGPT, though, its all about thoughtfully revisiting and revising prompts and outputs. For instance, say a student wants to create a compelling PSA for social media to encourage campus composting. She considers her audience. She prompts ChatGPT to draft a short, upbeat message in under 50 words thats geared to college students. Reading the first output, she notices it lacks urgency. So she revises the prompt to emphasize immediate impact. She also adds some additional specifics that are important to her message, such as the location of an information session. The final PSA reads: Every scrap counts! Join campus composting today at the Commons. Your leftovers arent trashtheyre tomorrows gardens. Help our university bloom brighter, one compost bin at a time. The Rhetorical Prompting Method isnt groundbreaking; its riffing on a process thats been tested in the writing studies discipline for decades. But Ive found that it works by directing writers how to intentionally prompt. I know this because we asked users about their experiences. In an ongoing study, my colleagues and I polled 133 people who used the Rhetorical Prompting Method for their academic and professional writing: 92% reported that it helped them evaluate writing choices before and during their process. 75% said that they were able to maintain their authentic voice while using AI assistance. 89% responded that it helped them think critically about their writing. The data suggests that learners take their writing seriously. Their responses reveal that they are thinking carefully about their writing styles and strategies. While this data is preliminary, we continue to gather responses in different courses, disciplines and learning environments. All o this is to say that, while there are divergent points of view over when and where its appropriate to use AI, students are certainly using it. And being provided with a framework can help them think more deeply about their writing. AI, then, is not just a tool thats useful for trivial tasks. It can be an asset for creativity. If todays studentswho are actively using AI to write, revise and explore ideassee AI as a writing partner, I think its a good idea for professors to start thinking about helping them learn the best ways to work with it. Jeanne Beatrix Law is a professor of English at Kennesaw State University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Japanese video-game maker Nintendo on Thursday reported a 43% decline in profit for the fiscal year through March, but promised a turnaround as its Switch console upgrade goes on sale in June.Nintendo Co.’s profit for the fiscal year through March totaled 278.8 billion yen ($1.9 billion), down from 490 billion yen the previous fiscal year.Annual sales slipped 30% to 1.16 trillion yen ($8 billion) from 1.67 trillion yen, according to the Kyoto-based maker of the Super Mario and Donkey Kong games.The fortunes of game companies tend to decline somewhat as time passes after a new game machine goes on sale since many people have already bought the machine, although new hit software helps boost the results.Much anticipation has been building over the rollout of the so-called Switch 2, which goes on sale June 5.Nintendo said it expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles for the fiscal year through March 2026.Demand has dwindled for the current Switch, now in its eighth year after its debut. The number of Switch players around the world remains above 128 million people, according to Nintendo.Nintendo said attractive software was coming for the Switch 2 later this year, including “The Legend of Zelda” games, a Pokemon title and a Kirby game, as well as offerings from outside software companies.Also adding to the momentum is the opening of a Nintendo store in San Francisco and the Super Nintendo World amusement facility opening in Orlando, both set for this month, according to Nintendo.Nintendo is projecting a 300 billion yen ($2.1 billion) profit for the fiscal year ending in March next year, a nearly 8% improvement from the fiscal year just ended, on sales of 1.9 trillion yen ($13 billion), up 63% on-year. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
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