When an earthquake hit Mexico, people took to social media to figure out how to proceed safely as more buildings crumbled. But as misinformation stirred up panic online, locals banded together to combat fake news, rather than depending on tech platforms to maintain journalistic integrity.

Once deemed an unreliable source of information, Wikipedia is now more trusted than some news organisations. Amid rising global uncertainty, the online, crowdsourced encyclopaedia is an example of how readily individuals will place confidence in content generated by other people.

The Chinese govenment is notorious for control and censorship. And new documents suggest that a ‘social credit’ system could see people’s ability to get a table at a restaurant, or even get their kids into the best schools, affected by data collected via the ubiquity of smartphones and social media.

Despite the infamous Great Firewall, China’s netizens are outgrowing internet users across the rest of the world. But what are they spending their online lives doing in the landscape that exists beyond the Wall? And what – if anything – is the rest of the world missing out on?