Stories about Media & Journalism from November, 2022
In Turkey, social media platforms become complicit in censoring media and freedom of speech
Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook have become complicit in aiding the state to silence independent voices in Turkey, even at times when content is not political.
Undertones: Twitter is a double-edged sword for the Global South
Twitter’s slow or sudden collapse may particularly hit countries with high levels of censorship, disinformation, and political instability.
Staff of Serbian newspaper Danas threatened with Charlie Hebdo-style attack
Newspaper’s journalists often receive threatening messages, but this email was sent by someone who is familiar with their work practices and routines.
Fewer people vote in a Nepali election that includes the parties blamed for the deaths of their loved ones
Nepalis across the country were lining up on the morning of November 20 to cast their votes, with a total of 11,543 candidates fielding for 825 seats, 275 in parliament and 550 in provincial assemblies.
‘The Colorless': A film that captures the possibility of not belonging to ethnic molds in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The film about children from ethnically mixed marriages who, stigmatized as ‘half-breeds,’ stirs debate in Bosnian and Herzegovinian society, where both legal framework and dominant narratives support ethno-nationalist exclusivity.
As we enter an era of Elon Musk's Twitter, is it time for us in civil spaces to find alternatives?
Looking ahead, the rest of us must resume the debate about the enormous power we have bequeathed social media platforms and the overdependence on Twitter by those who work in social justice, governance, human rights, and democracy.
El Salvador’s Pegasus spyware case left uninvestigated ten months later
The use of Pegasus spyware against journalists represents a serious threat to freedom of the press, digital rights, and a key challenge to investigate the configuration of a digital authoritarianism in El Salvador.
‘We were born in a situation of hellish urgency’: How the Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance Movement works
This grassroots, spontaneous movement has become the largest network in Russia for anti-war propaganda and assistance to refugees deported and persecuted by the authorities.
Defamation lawsuit against Serbian investigative media outlet KRIK sets a dangerous precedent
Just before Serbian investigative media outlet KRIK received an EU Award for Investigative Journalism, a Serbian court sentenced it for publishing truthful news about a criminal trial.
LIVE on November 24: Disinformation and censorship in Russia
Join us on YouTube live on November 24 for a discussion exploring the convergence of Russia’s rapidly strengthening censorship infrastructure, and its use of disinformation both internally and externally.
Freedom House reveals how Mozambique resists China's influence in the media sector
Freedom House shed new light on China's influence in the communications sector in several countries around the world, including Mozambique.
Qatar refuses payoffs to FIFA World Cup 2022 workers
Three weeks ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar’s Labour Minister has rejected calls from human rights groups to compensate migrant workers involved in building stadiums and other infrastructure.
Turkey throttles internet access following deadly explosion in Istanbul
"Those who impose a broadcast ban, supposedly so that the public does not panic, are scaring everyone more by suppressing all the media."
‘It is really difficult to see resistance when we don't see pictures of street protests': Interview with Belarusian activist Hanna Liubakova
Famous journalist in exile, Atlantic Council non-resident fellow and media trainer on what the country's opposition media needs to do when there are no visible protests in the dictatorship
Undertones: Why India’s Hindu nationalists revere UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Hindu nationalists pick and choose who is "Indian enough" to serve their political interests
Eight months of ‘fakes’ and ‘discreditation’: How the Kremlin’s new laws against anti-war dissent are applied online
Censorship and political repression are not new to Russia, but, in 2022, they reached new heights. Alongside new digital tools, new legislation allows the state to expedite and industrialise the repression of dissidents.
WhatsApp postpones Brazil launch of new Communities feature until after elections
Initial media reports suggested WhatsApp's decision to withhold the launch was part of an agreement with the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), with whom Bolsonaro has been at loggerheads due to his groundless remarks about fraud in the electoral system.
Twitter and Facebook have suspended accounts affiliated with the Cuban government
For the first time in Cuba, Twitter has also marked some accounts as "government-affiliated"
The tweets may flow: A look into India’s take-down requests
The tussle between social media giants, governments, and citizens raise questions about agency and power. Each stakeholder has tried to push back on the other to further their interests.
Lives, interrupted: The human cost of resistance in Belarus
Hanna Liubakova, an associated member of the Atlantic Council, journalist and media trainer, posted a Twitter thread about the most recent and most shocking cases of political prisoners in Belarus
Ecuador: the temptation to control technology
Whether under the table or by legal means, organisations fear that the government will try to control telecommunications, especially during massive protests.
