We are pleased to announce the publication of issue 258 (2026/4) of the journal Réseaux “Varia”, edited by the editorial team.
Overview of the file
The ‘Varia’ issues emerge at the intersection between the authors’ research agendas and the journal’s publication schedule. They provide a platform for showcasing a diverse range of work that, either due to timing or subject matter, does not fit within the thematic issues of *Réseaux*. Complementing the special issues, they offer a unique insight into the richness of current research questions and investigative practices. This volume thus brings together work devoted to high-profile topics (the professional uses of AI, the dynamics of debates on social media, children’s screen time) as well as more niche topics (digital practices in care work, the role of AI in the writing of African history). These studies employ a broad methodological range, from a large corpus of tweets analysed using computational methods to long-term ethnographic observation of software use and photography, including the tracking of AI hacktivists and the analysis of longitudinal questionnaires based on large, representative samples. They shed light on the changing nature of work, public debate and everyday life in relation to digital infrastructure.
The first two articles explore the ‘black boxes’ of artificial intelligence. Martin Raymond Willy Mbog Ibock develops an original approach to tracking African AI hacktivists as they expose and correct the postcolonial biases of AI…
Contents
Generative AI and the rewriting of historical narratives in post-colonial Africa. A tool for subversion or a vehicle for digital neo-colonialism?
AI and law: a happy marriage? A cross-analysis of the design and uses of a ‘jurimetrics’ system
Politicising energy choices on Twitter: Between sectoral arenas and the public sphere, 2021–2023
Champions, refugees and activists. Forms of political expression among Afghan female athletes on Instagram
- By Julien Puech, Lucie Forté and Hélène Joncheray
Differences in screen use patterns in early childhood based on ELFE data. When usage patterns diverge from institutional recommendations
- By Kevin Diter and Sylvie Octobre
Documenting the ‘happy moments’ of people with dementia. On the use of photography by staff in care homes
Reading notes
Elena BOVO, *The Mechanics of Crowds: Movements Out of Control?*, Paris, Armand Colin, 2024, 175 pp.
- By Serge Proulx
Marion FLÉCHER, The World of Start-ups, Les Presses de Sciences Po, 2025, ‘Académique’ series, 281 pp.
- By Sophie Louey
Jathan SADOWSKI, *The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and Capitalism*, Oakland (California), University of California Press, 2025, 282 pp.
Bérangère STASSIN, Mélanie LALLET, Lucie DELIAS (eds.), The Realms of Cyberbullying and Online Hate, University of Lorraine Press, 2025, 173 pp.