Stories about Narratives of COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian gravediggers face increased prejudice
With the increased workload due to COVID-19, workers in São Paulo's cemeteries tell of the difficulties of their work and the stigma that they face.
Serbian cartoons expose political manipulation about COVID-19 vaccines from China and/or Russia
Serbian government has announced that it will provide the population with vaccines against COVID-19 from an undisclosed source, inspiring political cartoons.
Nigerians counteract COVID-19 denialism with social media campaigns
Nigerians directly confront coronavirus denial headlong with counter-narratives that use ordinary language in campaigns devoid of the usual mistrust between citizens and governments.
A never-ending cycle of doctors’ strikes and funding debacles leaves Nigerians at the mercy of the pandemic
Events such as doctors’ strikes and funding debacles are bound to recur until the root cause of the problem is exorcised from Nigeria's public health system.
India's digital ID system deepens exclusion of vulnerable communities amid pandemic
The use of Aadhaar-based authentication makes exclusions more likely.
The Kano COVID-19 deaths: Forced relocations and disinformation creates widespread confusion (Part II)
Forced relocations of children contributed to the possible spread of COVID-19 and online disinformation along ethnoreligious lines added to the general confusion surrounding mass deaths in Kano State, Nigeria.
The Kano COVID-19 deaths: Stories untold (Part I)
Our research reconstructed the failure of authorities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Kano, which resulted in hundreds of deaths despite persistent mass media and social media documentation.
How Trump's ‘game-changer’ drug is boosting nationalism in Brazil and India
The claim that there’s a cure for COVID-19, but that powerful actors prevent access to it, allows these leaders to cast themselves as saviors.
Information warfare: COVID-19’s other battleground in the Middle East
As leaders vie to frame narratives and control public opinion on COVID-19, social media is a battlefield where influencers, trolls, bots, and commenter armies fight for influence and power.
How COVID-19 is intensifying content moderation’s flaws
Internet platforms have always struggled with free expression, misinformation, and hate speech. But the COVID crisis has elevated those problems to a new level
Russian doctors’ union launches ‘map of problems’ faced by medics during COVID-19
Russia's medical staff are increasingly vocal about hospital conditions and a lack of personal protective equipment during the pandemic. This interactive map allows them to tell the world about it.
Journalists in Russia's regions catalogue the ‘unseen victims’ of COVID-19
The wider social and economic consequences of COVID-19 have destroyed livelihoods and sometimes ended lives. Coronavictims.ru exists to catalogue what its founders call the "unseen" victims of the pandemic.
Nigerian pastor spreads COVID-19 conspiracies and disinformation
Som Nigerian evangelical pastors act as purveyors of disinformation, half-truths and total falsehood about the coronavirus — with divine conviction.
In Bangladesh, criticism of government response to the COVID-19 pandemic is risky
"Would it be wrong if someone says that the authorities in Bangladesh, equipped with Digital Security Act, launched a crackdown on those critical to the government?"
Coronavirus and surveillance technology in India: Public health vs. privacy
Global Voices interviewed rights lawyer Mishi Choudhary and tech and policy researcher Srinivas Kodali to discuss the newest proposal in India to use unique ID data for #FacialRecognition with drones.
COVID-19 in the Middle East: Is this pandemic a health crisis or a war?
War-like rhetoric around COVID-19 has allowed governments in the Middle East and North Africa to execute emergency powers and impose draconian measures that would otherwise be unacceptable.
Prosecutions mount as Russia intensifies fight against COVID-19 ‘fake news’
Russia has made sharing "fake news" a criminal offence. Rights activists fear that charges will be brought against anybody questioning the state's account of the coronavirus pandemic.
A high-profile funeral highlights a double standard in Nigeria under lockdown
In Nigeria, a high-profile burial amid COVID-19 lockdown orders highlights a double standard when it comes to state guidelines on best practices to mitigate the spread of the deadly disease.
Russians launch mass virtual protests using satnav application
People across Russia are logging onto a popular satnav to launch virtual protests. Within hours, the Yandex.Navigator app was showing empty squares and streets of cities in lockdown as "congested"
Fighting the COVID-19 ‘Infodemic’ in the Asia-Pacific
EngageMedia lists some of the media initiatives addressing the COVID-19 "Infodemic' across the Asia-Pacific region
Africans in China targeted by xenophobia amid fear of second-wave COVID-19 outbreak
China has seen a surge in the number of imported COVID-19 cases and the African community has become an easy target for "virus control" and xenophobic sentiments.