Stories about Digital Activism from October, 2012
Puerto Rico: Political Parties Reap the Benefits of Social Media
Social media have become a key part of daily life in Puerto Rico, a fact which has not escape the attention of the country's various political parties. Each of these has tried to capitalise on the enormous potential that social media offer, some with greater success than others.
Transcript of Catalan Journalists’ Video Against Their Libel Fine
Discover the transcript of some parts of the video that the editors of the Catalan magazine Cafè amb Llet uploaded to YouTube to comment on their recent libel sentence and fine.
Spain: Journalists Fined After Revealing Corruption in Catalonia
Marta Sibina and Albano Dante, editors of the citizen media magazine Cafè amb Llet, have been fined 10,000 euro for libel. They uploaded to YouTube a video strongly criticizing the lack of transparency in public healthcare financing in Catalonia, implicating Josep Maria Via, president of Barcelona MAR Health Park Consortium and healthcare advisor to Catalan President Artur Mas.
Mexican Blogger Ruy Salgado Reappears, Ends Broadcast
Arjan Shahani writes about the case of Mexican blogger Ruy Salgado from el5antuario [es], who had gone missing in September of this year. On October 20, one of his former collaborators livestreamed [es] a 3-hour Skype call with Salgado, who confirmed that he was alive but also announced that he...
Afef Abrougui, Blogging From Tunisia
Afef Abrougui, a contributor for Global Voices in Tunisia, tells us about her experience in the demonstrations that took place in her country in 2011 and what she expects for the immediate future of Tunisian politics. She also shares with us some of her daily life and chores.
Talking With Rebecca MacKinnon About ‘Consent Of The Networked’
Global Voices In Spanish talked to Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of Global Voices, about her book Consent Of The Networked, which deals with the governance of the Internet and the right of netizens to take ownership and responsibility for the digital future.
What Exactly is a Hackathon? And What is Open Data?
We previously announced the next hackathon for Latin America: Developing Latin America 2012. But it's likely that some readers are not sure what a hackathon is or above all, what it's for. Here we try to answer those questions with definitions, examples, and two video interviews with Argentinian hacker Mariano Crowe.
Philippines: Online Shame Campaign Against “Epal” Politicians
With less than a few months before the 2013 national elections, various groups have launched an online shame campaign against the common practice of Filipino politicians to attach their names to government projects that are funded or assisted by their office. These politicians are labelled “epal,” a Filipino slang term meaning “attention grabber”
Russia: Assessing Predictions About the Coordinating Council Election
As RuNet Echo readers know well, the Coordinating Council's elections took place last week, and that body has already convened virtually through Facebook and once again in person. Weeks in advance of the vote, Global Voices offered projections based on Yandex's blogger rating index. Here, we've assessed those predictions against the actual results and another forecast model
President Martinelli Addresses Panama After Repealing Law 72
President Martinelli of Panama gave a conciliatory speech to try and draw a close to a chaotic week which has left four people dead and many injured as they demonstrated against Law 72. The law authorising sale of land in the Free Zone of Colon was finally repealed. Reactions to the speech on Twitter were many and varied.
Sri Lanka: Tales Of Police Torture
Chitrangi posts news of police brutality on a 20 years old unmarried youth from Rabavava, Ihala Puliyankulama, Puttalam and many more in her blog.
Ukraine: Election Votes for Sale Via Social Network
Odessablog draws attention [en] to a VKontakte page [ru] used by those who are willing to sell their Oct. 28 election votes. Roma Lexikov, one of the very few users who posted on the page to protest the practice, wrote:
Slovakia: Protesting SOZA's Newest Copyright Fees
SOZA's general manager Vladimír Repčík addressed Slovak high school seniors via his blog on October 22, urging them to register with his agency and pay €15 for their traditional graduation parties. Tibor Blazko reports on the controversy.
Ukraine: Technology for Transparent Elections
Amidst mounting allegations of the ruling party's use of administrative resource during election campaign, the government has pledged to keep the Oct. 28 free and fair. Local election monitoring groups, however, have been utilizing new technology to ensure electoral transparency and to check governmental pledges for themselves.
Ukraine: Crowdmapping Election Violations
ElectUA.org [uk] is a crowdsourcing tool used to report and map election violations in Ukraine. A project of Internews-Ukraine, its goal [en] is “to encourage citizens to have active social position and monitor the electoral process.” So far, 1,177 reports have been submitted; the parliamentary vote is to take place...
Brazil: The Cry of Resistance of the Guarani Kaiowá
Under yet another threat of eviction from their lands, the Brazilian indigenous community of Guarani-Kaiowá released a letter that has rippled across the press and the web as a cry of resistance.
Russia: Cryptanalytic Vulnerabilities in the Opposition's Online Elections
The opposition's Elections Commission accidentally leaked personal voter data to one of its most dangerous enemies, Sergei Mavrodi's MMM group. How avoidable was this mistake, and does the fact that it happened indicate more serious vulnerabilities in the protest movement's digital self-defense?
Philippines: Anti-Mining Activist Arrested over Facebook Post
The arrest of a 62-year old anti-mining activist in the Philippines for a 'libelous' Facebook post spawned fears of a clampdown on dissenters through the recently enacted anti-cybercrime legislation.
Russia: With Opposition's Online Elections Over, Scandals Plague Results
The Coordinating Council elections are finally over. Now that the final tally is in, it’s time to look more closely at what happened. Scandals and provocations have led to results with more than a few critics among and outside the opposition.
Competition to Use Civic Apps Before U.S. Election
Race for Reuse is a competition launched by the Code for America Brigade to implement one of four civic applications in a local community in the United States before the presidential election on November 6, 2012. The apps are: Adopta, Textizen, LocalWiki and Shareabouts.
Ukraine: Homophobic Bill Considered Ahead of Election
Shortly after scrapping the infamous defamation bill in early October, Ukrainian MPs passed another scandalous proposal in the first reading, aimed at “defending children from the propaganda of homosexual lifestyle and the HIV/AIDS infection associated with it.” Tetyana Bohdanova reports.
