Stories about Digital Activism from June, 2014
Just Google It? Not In China, Where Google Remains Blocked
Google search, Gmail and Google Scholar are only accessible thanks to VPNs and mirror sites in China ever since they were blocked in late May before the Tiannamen massacre anniversary.
This Twitter Account Puts a Face to the Unsung Volunteer Editors Behind Wikipedia
@WeAreWikipedia hands over its Twitter handle to a different Wikipedia editor every week so they can curate information about their favorite pages from the collaborative online encyclopedia.
The Framing of Jamaica's “Gay Menace”
The dismissal of Professor Brendan Bain from his post as head of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network is still fueling the debate about gay rights in Jamaica.
54 Days in Prison and Counting for Ethiopia's Zone 9 Bloggers
Six members of the Zone 9 blogging collective and three journalists have been in prison with no formal charges since April 25, 2014.
Social Media Sites Unblocked in Iraq, But is the Worst Yet to Come?
"Apparently blockage of social media sites were removed now in #Iraq, the fear is that the Gov is getting ready 2 cut the Internet," tweets Mohamed Najem.
A Handbook for Protesters During the World Cup in Brazil
As the 2014 World Cup begins in Brazil, protests against FIFA's interventions and the Brazilian government's spending are taking place all over the country, especially in the host cities. Concerned about excessive police reaction during protests, citizen's counselling organization Urucum, which works on human rights, communication and justice issues and...
From Our World Cup Archive: How Brazil Fooled the World With a Meme
Remember “Cala Boca Galvão”, the Internet meme that became a worldwide joke when millions of Twitter users started telling a famous Brazilian sports narrator and broadcaster, Galvão Bueno, to shut up, during the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony? Almost instantly it was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and people from all over the...
‘Stadium of Exception': Brazilian Police Arrest Anti-Cup Activists
Collective Midia Ninja denounces [pt] that activists against the World Cup are being arrested in the city of Rio de Janeiro one day before the kick-off of the matches. These arrests are meant to prevent “future crimes in an attempt to intimidate” those who are willing to go on the...
Kazakh “Bloggers” Program Gets to the Real News
Kazakhstan's online program Блогеры (bloggers), presented by Angela Garipova does [ru] a good job of covering socially relevant themes that the country's state-directed media doesn't always get to via funky footage and the views of Kazakhstani social media users. This week the program looked at the decision of the regional government of...
Some Clarity on New Russian Blogger Regulations
The Russian agency in charge of regulating the Internet, Roskomnadzor, has released a new document detailing how laws governing blogs will operate when they comes into effect later this summer.
This Guy Kept Calm While Gunfire Close to Karachi's Recently Attacked Airport Rattled Pakistan
Jawad Nazir, a 25-year-old volunteer running an unofficial Twitter account for Pakistan's top air traffic authority, tried to keep everyone calm during the latest security breach.
Brazil or Argentina? Football Rivalries Play Out Thousands of Miles Away From the World Cup in Bangladesh
Bangladesh may not be playing, but is gripped by the world cup fever. Citizens have split into Brazil and Argentina camps. Flags, jerseys, heated debates-the world cup war is on.
China's Dog Meat Festival – Cruelty or Culture?
Animal rights activists in China are campaigning hard to ban the consumption of dog meat, but traditionalists and dog meat lovers say that it infringes on their culture and rights.
Moroccan Hackers Attack Mauritanian Government Sites
A group of hackers calling themselves the “Moroccan Secret Agent” have succeeded in breaching and seizing control [ar] of several Mauritanian governmental websites. The group defaced the websites with slogans insulting the Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, calling the two heads of state “enemies...
After an Indian Minister Says ‘Sometimes Rape is Right’, #MenAgainstRape Stand Up in Pakistan
Hundreds of young men from Pakistan started standing up to join the hashtag campaign.
From the Cyber-Trenches of Eastern Ukraine
The leaders of the the opposing militias continue to use social networks to reach out with news of their military campaigns.
Jamaica: Girls In Science
Cucumber Juice explains why it's important for her to raise money to upgrade her old high school's science lab – because it's the place where she learned to be confident, because real learning is interconnected, and because “girls need to know that we can be scientists too.”
Raise Your Voice, Not The Sea Level: The Caribbean on World Environment Day
In the future, Caribbean islands could theoretically be a thing of the past unless the world starts to take climate change seriously. Regional bloggers speak out on World Environment Day.
The World After Snowden, as Seen from Colombia
Colombian activist Pilar Sáenz [es] writes on Las 2 Orillas [The two shores] an article titled Year 1 AS (after Snowden) [es], in relation to the first anniversary of the leakings by Edward Snowden. El 5 de junio de 2013 fue el día en que algunas de las teorías de...
Did You Share Those Images of the Indian Girls Who Were Gang-Raped and Hanged?
Shocking images of two teenage Indian girls, gang-raped and hanged from a tree went viral on social media, leading to heated debates about our motives behind sharing such images indiscriminately.
Hackers Are on the Money Trail
Saturday June 7 is ”The Money Trail ”regional hack day organized by Hacks/Hackers to track the flow of public funds throughout Latin America.