In 2021-2022, as part of our Civic Media Observatory research, Global Voices is running country-level Observatories focused on India, Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Mali, with a major focus on elections, violent conflict, nationalism, human rights and women’s rights, and shifts in the post-Cold War international order. We assemble teams of local researchers with diverse language and analytics skills to identify and analyze emerging issues, narratives and trends in each country’s information ecosystem.
In each country, we focus on significant events in public life, and provided contextual and subtextual analysis to complex issues, to help partners, Global Voices contributors and readers understand the nuance and motivations for the narratives that frame public conversations.
Each week, we publish Undertones, a newsletter featuring insights from the Observatories. In each edition we analyze an event, emerging trend, or a complex story, identifying key narratives of urgent public interest, delving deep into the context and subtext of local, vernacular and multilingual media. Undertones also offers an entry point into the public datasets that underpin our Observatory work.
The 2021-2022 datasets are regularly synchronized and updated throughout our active research period.
Visit the Civic Media Observatory main page.
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Stories about Country monitor observatories 2021-2022
Undertones in Turkey: Earthquakes fan the flames of election season
Erdoğan’s leadership may be on the line, with compounding accusations of corruption, economic mismanagement, and the slow and inadequate response to the earthquake.
Undertones in Nicaragua: Where parallel realities coexist
A group of researchers uncovers Nicaragua's two faces
Undertones in Myanmar: Junta, Buddhism, Youth
Researchers from Myanmar expect heightened tension as the country heads towards military-led elections this year.
Undertones in India: Going undercover in Hindu supremacy networks
A group of researchers went undercover in far-right Hindu groups to break their bubble.
Undertones in Russia: War, Propaganda, the West
Researchers share some of the strongest narratives that are circulating in Russia and what we can expect in 2023
Undertones in Afghanistan: ‘Taliban 2.0,’ Women, Resistance
Researchers share some of the strongest narratives that have circulated in Afghanistan this year
Undertones in Pakistan: Military, Women, Blasphemy
Researchers share some of the strongest narratives that have circulated in Pakistan this year
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.
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
The Civic Media Observatory: Making sense of people’s speech, memes, and tweets
Unlike fact-checking, we explore the wider environment into which stories are woven.
Undertones: Anti-army hashtags gain rare visibility in Pakistan
Criticism of Pakistan’s powerful military has always been voiced in hushed tones, but since the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan back in April, Pandora’s box has been flung open.
The Nicaraguan government looks to imprison Catholic priests and stain their image
After the shutdown of hundreds of social organizations and the arrest of political activists, the Nicaraguan clergy was one of the few remaining critical voices in the country.
Undertones: In Turkey’s plunging economy, conspiracy and corruption allegations abound
While Erdoğan's government argues that the country is in an “economic war”, the opposition blames it on corruption fuelled by the leading party.
Undertones: Anti-war activity is not over in Russia, says Russian researcher
"It's hard to know all that is being done, because journalism is nearly dead, even though there is still a lot going on in spite of circumstances."
Undertones: How a composite sketch gone viral sparked a debate in Nicaragua
A digital campaign pressured the Nicaraguan government to show images of a political prisoner
Undertones: The West’s complicity in Russia's invasion of Ukraine
"The average Russian refugee is certainly much less guilty than the average German politician," Russian opinion leaders say.
Myanmar's military propaganda about schools rampant on social media
With schools reopening amidst targeted attacks, military supporters attempt to position Myanmar as a functional country post-coup.
Undertones: Is there a perversion of decolonial narratives in Mali?
With the military junta and Russia's increasing presence in the region, Mali is undergoing an information warfare
Undertones: How India’s far-right spreads Islamophobia
Three narratives to help understand how India's hyper-nationalist Hindus are trying to wipe off all traces of Muslim existence.
Undertones: What’s behind Bangladesh’s neutrality about Russia’s invasion?
Through deep observation, explore how there's more to neutrality in Bangladesh's relationship with Russia.
Pride or shame? Russian influencers on the war in Ukraine
Explore the narratives of Russian celebrities and thinkers on the war in Ukraine.
