· May, 2012

Stories about Freedom of Speech from May, 2012

Cuba: Bloggers Discuss Mariela Castro's US Visit

On the heels of United States President Barack Obama's support for gay marriage, Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and Director of the country's Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (National Center for Sex Education), has been addressing gay rights activists during her tour of the United States. Her trip has been stirring up some controversy in the Cuban blogosphere.

31 May 2012

China: Weibo Censorship Pattern

Andrew Phelps from Nieman Journalism Lab looks into Chinese micro-blogging platform, Sina Weibo's censorship pattern and offers explanation on why and when tweets are deleted.

31 May 2012

Brazil: SlutWalks Spread Across the Country

On May 26th and 27th, a number of cities around Brazil were the scene of the second round of protests known as SlutWalks, calling for women's liberty and the right of women to dress as they want without being the victims of violence or moralism. Global Voices has selected a series of photos of protests around the country.

29 May 2012

Ukraine: Homophobic Legal Initiatives in Sync with Public Attitudes

Ukraine's first Gay Pride Parade ever failed to take place on May 20 due to perceived threats of violence against its participants; one of the organizers was attacked and beaten by a group of masked men. Meanwhile, Ukrainian MPs representing various political forces seem for once united in their attempts to ban "homosexual propaganda" in the country.

28 May 2012

Slovakia: “God Can Cure You”

On May 26, approximately 50-60 opponents of the upcoming Gay Pride gathered [sk] in Bratislava for a rally organized by the Association for Protection of Family, together with the Citizens’...

26 May 2012

Cuba: The State of Human Rights

The recent request for information by the United Nations‘ Committee Against Torture with regard to alleged abuses in Cuba has got bloggers talking about the human rights situation on the island.

26 May 2012

Saudi Arabia: Censorship of Wikipedia

Saudi Arabia, one of Reporters Without Borders’ Internet Enemies, has blocked access to many articles on the free encyclopedia Wikipedia. The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission has censored over...

25 May 2012

Russia: Q&A with Tina Kandelaki

RuNet Echo

Tina Kandelaki is a Russian journalist, a TV celebrity and producer, a widely read blogger, and -- more recently -- a visible presence in Russian politics. Be it on the cover of Russian Maxim magazine or in her endorsement of Vladimir Putin, Kandelaki has aroused the interest and sometimes the ire of other prominent RuNet actors. Ms. Kandelaki recently spoke to GV about her public life.

24 May 2012

Armenia: Fascist Rubo (Hayrapetyan)

With anti-gay hysteria breaking out in nationalist and official circles, Unzipped: Gay Armenia now reports that Ruben Hayrapetyan, a ruling Republican Party MP and President of the Armenian Football Association,...

24 May 2012

Taiwan: When News is Sold to the Chinese Government

In recent years, more and more Taiwanese media workers have been worried that press freedom has been eroding. In addition to the "embedded marketing" practice which cloaks advertising as news, the mainland China government has extended influence on the Taiwan public sphere through news industry acquisitions.

24 May 2012