Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Free Electronic Textbooks Include Advertisements

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community
Once again, people will be out and about, saying "what's the harm?" Here is my acid test: can I buy advertisements in the textbooks for things like Buy-nothing Day, or condemning the use of child-labour in the production of shoes in sweatshops? No? I certainly can't advertise these things (and many others) on television. And if I can't buy these advertisements, then it's not just about the free market at work, it's about the propaganda. Think about it. Because I've got some cash ready to buy a nifty ad promoting the black arts in your kid's math textbook. You may find this very offensive - but I find McDonald's advertising directed at children equally so. And what I find offensive counts too.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 25, 2024 8:11 p.m.

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