Stories about Digital Activism from April, 2013
Pakistan: Sorry Mobile Users, No Service!
Pakistan-based Internet access advocacy group Bolobhi releases a timeline with details of the 12 times mobile services were suspended in the country since April 2012.
Lenin Paladines: Science Fiction from Ecuador
We talked to the young writer from Loja, Ecuador, Lenin Paladines, author of a blog about science fiction with which he hopes to promote reading among young people.
Open Letter to Blogger Yoani Sánchez
Journalist and Global Voices author, Leila Nachawati, writes an open letter [es] to Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, who has been touring the United States, Latin America and Europe talking about Cuban technopolitics. Sánchez has been embraced by some, and criticized by others during her voyage. In her open letter, the Spanish-Syrian...
Russian Conspiracy Theories About Boston Bombings Abound
"Bush blew up the Twin Towers, Putin blew up [the towns of] Buinaksk and Volgodonsk. Obama blew up the marathon." The RuNet, just like the Internet at large, has always had a penchant for conspiracy theories.
RSF Addresses the Situation at Ukraine's TVi Channel
On April 26, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement [en; fr; uk – .pdf] on the situation at the Ukrainian TV station TVi: Reporters Without Borders condemns the sudden change of management at the opposition TV station TVi, announced three days ago, and is disturbed to learn that ensuing...
Live Updates on Bangladesh Factory Tragedy
The death toll of the factory collapse in Savar, Bangladesh has risen to 290. Here is a live blog [bn] maintained by the Muktaangon blogging platform curating social media updates on the latest on the relief and rescue effort of the trapped workers inside the collapsed building.
Hungarian Students Blog on Freedom of Information Requests
Hungarian grassroots student union Hallgatói Hálózat (Student Network) started a blog that curates freedom of information requests related to higher education. The blog, titled Transparent Education [hu], is using the Hungarian public freedom of information request service KiMitTud [hu] to track down the allegations of misuse of funds by university student governments. The blog's author...
Giants, Hackers, Trolls: Where Mythology and Online Activism Meet
The online world has much more in common with the mythological world than you might expect. A look at Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks, and Anonymous and their corresponding roles in mythology.
Diaper Ad Hit for ‘Twisting’ Philippine History
A popular diaper manufacturer has been ordered to stop airing a TV advertisement that parodies an episode in Philippine history. An online petition was also initiated which criticized the ad for “insulting the Filipino people.”
Tokyo Joins NASA's App Challenge
Japan participated in NASA's International Space Apps Challenge 2013 with a hackathon in Tokyo on April 21 and 22, 2013. Eighteen project teams developed apps with the aim of improving life on Earth and in space, including an app to create dishes in a shape of celestial bodies [ja] such as...
Documenting Cases Of Discrimination To End Untouchability
Video Volunteers, an international media and human rights NGO, launched the ARTICLE 17 campaign last year which involves taking actions on testimonies of different forms of untouchability documented on video by Community Correspondents. So far 30 videos are available which documents untouchability practices across India.
Developing Latin America: A Summary
Desarrollando América Latina (Developing Latin America) has published a video summary of the regional hackathon DAL 2012, where 400 participants and 70 social experts developed 80 applications. Here [es] you can see Global Voices’ coverage of the event.
Japan's Next Election Campaign will be Tweeted, Emailed and Blogged
Japan has approved a bill that will allow political candidates to tweet and blog during their election campaigns. Up until recently Japanese electoral candidates had to cautiously navigate their Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and blogs to avoid breaking the country's strict election laws which banned all online political activity.
“Manipulative” Coverage of Macedonia's Media Law
“Practice indicates that responsible and ethical journalism is never the result of state legislation and regulations, but of the voluntary compliance with the code created by the media community itself.” This statement from the Guide on Ethics in Journalism [mk] opens Žarko Trajanoski's analysis [en] of the “manipulations” by Macedonia's...
“TrashOut”: RuNet's Interactive Map of Illegal Dumps
A new 'illegal dumps' interactive map has been launched in Russia for iOS and Android devices. The first of its kind in Russia, it allows users to mark unauthorized landfill sites.
Migrant Workers Shooting in Greece Sets Off #BloodStrawberries Boycott
After supervisors shot and injured more than 30 undocumented migrant workers from Bangladesh in the strawberry farms of Nea Manolada for demanding months of owed wages, netizens launched an international boycott of the "blood" strawberries from the area.
Your Legal Guide to Digital Security for Arab Human Rights Activists
The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, in Egypt, issued a “legal guide to digital security” as part of its digital freedoms programme. The guide was produced for campaigners and human rights activists and lawyers interested in freedom of digital expression and the confidentiality of communications and information stored on mobile phones, computers or any other device used to store or distribute data or information..
Venezuela: The Start of Reconciliation?
In the midst of the confusion and clashes that set the standard in the streets and on the Internet after the elections on 14th April, citizen media were also the stage of much reflection.
Hong Kong Man Arrested for Cursing China's President with Graffiti
The excessive use of police force in the recent arrest of a man who wrote graffiti cursing the Chinese President has outraged many in Hong Kong.
Chinese Earthquake as Seen on Weibo
Offbeat China looks into the distribution and discussion on China's social media on the recent 7.0 earthquake in Sichuan Ya'an: Unlike many of China’s typical disaster reporting from traditional media that focuses more on government officials’ whereabouts and works, these netizens who are at the front line of disaster relief...
South Korean Spy Agency's Political Meddling
The latest police investigation found that at least two agents from the South Korean National Intelligence Service have illegally posted online comments to influence the presidential election. An online petition was posted [ko] on Daum Agora site in support of one police woman who bravely revealed that she has been pressured...
