"More than nine months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the online methods for tracking this war are many and proliferating, including the most obvious source of all — social media networks. A 2019 law designed to keep its military from posting on social media has not deterred Russian service
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men from sharing images and updates from the frontline, not least on Telegram and the Russian social network VKontakte, potentially allowing anyone with an Internet connection to pinpoint the place, time, and sometimes individuals seen in footage of military movements. Open-source investigations (OSI), popularly and misleadingly known as open-source intelligence, is not synonymous with social media, however. OSI is any information that can be publicly accessed by others, including but not limited to online sources. That includes everything from local newspapers to satellite imagery and images shared on TripAdvisor. What it doesn’t include are two mainstays of traditional investigative journalism — non-public document leaks or closed-source reporting, otherwise known as shoe-leather reporting and interviews. Over the past few years, newsrooms have started integrating open-source methods into their coverage and building their own OSI teams. That’s in part to verify social media posts, and in part to report on places where it is simply too dangerous for journalists to venture — areas on or behind the frontlines — where open-source imagery allows a glimpse into military movements and potential war crimes. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, open-source investigations have surged in prominence and the genre as a whole has attracted scrutiny, not least from state actors themselves." (Introduction)
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"The following report reflects the results of media content monitoring to analyze conflict coverage by Azerbaijani- and Armenian-language regional platforms. In addition, the report incorporates conflict-related qualitative data acquired from specific Russian- and Georgian-language Facebook accounts
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. The study aims to identify the degree of media's adherence to professional standards of conflict reporting and the potential spread of disinformation and hate speech. The study applied a mixed methodology - namely, Internews' conflict coverage assessment methodology, which relies on quantitative and qualitative methods and was adapted for use in the context of Georgia. The study has also utilized the Facebook analytics tool CrowdTangle for social media monitoring. The report reflects the results of monitoring conducted between May 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022." (Introduction)
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"This corpus-based discourse study briefly reviews the activities of Boko Haram and the conflict between the nomadic herdsmen and sedentary agrarian farmers of north-central and southern Nigeria. But the study focuses on the representations of the main actors in the conflict and the conflict itself
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in the Western media and the Nigerian press, and examines the ideological implications of these representations as well as the possible consequences of some particular evaluations of the conflicts for peace and security in Nigeria. The article’s findings show that the constructions of the conflict and the main actors in the Nigerian press are highly sensational, divisive and dangerous. While the foreign press appears much more objective and often constructs the conflict as ‘deadlier than Boko Haram’, the reports still appear to minimize the seriousness of the conflict and construct the actions of the main actors from a perspective that would appeal only to foreign audiences." (Abstract)
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"El volumen se divide en dos grandes ejes temáticos, en el apartado “Comunicación” aborda procesos de Ecuador, Colombia y Brasil. En el caso ecuatoriano se analiza la cobertura informativa de las protestas que se realizaron en 2019 en Quito y la presencia de indígenas en las manifestaciones p
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ara reflexionar respecto al rol de los medios y evidenciar tendencias en la cobertura informativa de alinearse con un discurso oficial que suele presentar las manifestaciones sociales con un enfoque negativo; en Colombia se analizan los aportes de radios comunitarias en la transmisión de voces de paz y resistencia en el Departamento del Huila, el discurso de la prensa respecto a los actores del conflicto en los medios de comunicación y la manera en que representan a la guerrilla y grupos paramilitares y se analiza la memoria colectiva construida a través de producciones televisivas sobre el conflicto armado; desde Brasil nos encontramos un análisis de las jerarquías del espacio social construido por la narrativa periodística en el desencuentro con la alteridad y la representación de la migración construida predominantemente por el narrador sobre la condición laboral en su precariedad y supuesta amenaza. Para el apartado “Memoria y Paz” se integran trabajos sobre experiencias en cinco países: Ecuador, México, Nicaragua, Brasil y Estados Unidos. De Ecuador se revisa la percepción de violencias y cultura de paz en los jóvenes y las identidades de los jóvenes migrantes a través de sus historias de vida; de México se aborda la educación para la paz mediante la experiencia de talleres de arte con adolescentes, la violencia en la frontera Norte y procesos locales de construcción de paz en Ciudad Juárez y la justicia restaurativa en sus alcances y limitaciones con el cuestionamiento sobre sus posibilidades de aportar a procesos de paz; de Nicaragua se retoman experiencias de mujeres en la construcción de paz y memoria ante el conflicto armado; y desde Brasil se reflexiona sobre la violencia estructural con relación a la condición laboral impuesta por un un modelo económico y social excluyente, que suma desigualdades, radicaliza las tensiones sociales y que lleva a las personas a la ansiedad, estrés y depresión. De este modo,la construcción de paz a lo largo de América Latina, los procesos de memoria y la forma de comunicar las experiencias de lucha y resistencias locales son los ejes que articulan la selección de textos." (Presentación, página 12-13)
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"The publication analyzes the emerging trends of foreign authoritarian-state disinformation in the context of the war in Ukraine in a comparative manner focusing on 7 states of Southeast Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania). It examines
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the continuities and evolution in Russia’s strategies, channels and narratives for disseminating disinformation since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and the extent to which other foreign authoritarian states -Turkey, the Gulf states, Iran, have amplified Russian propaganda. The research further traces the personal and institutional pathways through which China has been able to establish its media foothold in Southeast European countries. The report offers policy recommendations for safeguarding democracy and media freedom in the Balkans against the ever-increasing pressures from authoritarianism." (Publisher description)
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"In posts by Chinese diplomats, the US, NATO and the West were almost exclusively blamed or criticised for Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Russia was not specifically blamed. The most common posts shared news relating to the conflict (including readouts of Xi Jinping’s calls with world
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leaders), primarily from Chinese state media. Those articles usually presented China’s and, where they aligned, Russia’s views of the conflict. They frequently reported on the actions of Chinese officials reiterating China’s position. Chinese diplomats repeated Russian conspiracy theories about US biological weapon labs in Ukraine with gusto and linked the alleged activities to conspiracy theories about the origin of Covid-19. Posts about Ukraine on Facebook mostly underperformed compared to regular posts, except in Europe. On Twitter, Ukraine material appeared to broadly perform better than non-Ukraine material, particularly when the content attacked or blamed the West. Chinese diplomats did not appear to specifically target the Chinese diaspora (by posting in Chinese) in posts about Ukraine to any significant extent on Facebook or Twitter. A selection of CGTN content on YouTube largely mirrored the narratives of the Chinese officials on Twitter and Facebook." (Executive summary)
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"Ethical dilemmas with open source analysis are common. Analysts and journalists working with open source information have stories of feeling uneasy about publishing something. They weigh possibly risking harm to themselves, their employer, other individuals, or even international security. After pu
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blishing, they worry whether they did the right thing. These stories are shared quietly or hesitantly—compared to stories of journalistic or analytic feats—but ethical challenges are part of the day-to-day experience. Those analysts and journalists also acknowledge they could use more training, guidance, support, and focused discussion on their ethical practices. This paper aims to help elevate those stories and perspectives. It offers observations from a series of 28 structured interviews with analysts and journalists who use open source and geospatial analysis to inform their work on international security and nonproliferation policy. The goal of the paper is to make it easier for individuals, organizations, and community stakeholders to join discussions on enhancing their ethical practices with open source analysis. The paper isn’t a critique of existing practices. Nor does it prescribe an ethical framework. Instead, it is an attempt to learn with practitioners and help identify potential bottom-up solutions to the common ethical challenges they face." (Page 3)
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"The present study evaluates the effects of an interactive film distributed in social media that aims to reduce the individual level of radicalism in attitudes and radicalization intentions. During the film, viewers have to express their opinion on increasingly radical statements by clicking popup b
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uttons. Depending on their opinions, the plot of the film takes a different route. For identificationof causal effects, the evaluation uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a two-week follow-up. The empirical results show that the film immediately reduces the level of radicalism in attitudes by 12% and radicalization intentions by 15% of a standard deviation. After two weeks, these effects are still persistent but fade out a little in the general population. There are stronger and more persistent effects among the subgroups of 18-24 year-olds, women, and people on the left of the political spectrum. Because these subgroups resemble the characteristics of the protagonists, we speculate that social identification enhanced treatment effects. Cognitive dissonance, on the other hand, may explain why people on the right of the spectrum did not react to the film. The findings demonstrate the importance of target-group oriented design and early prevention." (Abstract)
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"According to the 2020 UNESCO Director-General Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, a total of 24 of the 156 journalists and media workers killed during 2018-2019, lost their lives to attacks by groups engaged in violent extremism as well as terrorism. Journalism educators
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and trainers have a role to play in supporting the quality of reporting on this complex topic, as well as in raising journalists’ ability to protect themselves while covering terrorist attacks. Building on a previous UNESCO publication Terrorism and the media: A Handbook for journalists (2017), this new manual is designed primarily for media trainers and journalism educators. Based on real life lessons and extensive analysis of the risks and pitfalls in covering terrorism, the handbook adds significant value to media’s role in covering these challenges." (Short summary, page 3)
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"Über das Medium Computerspiel findet zunehmend eine Auseinandersetzung mit psychologischen Traumata statt. Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung, Krankheit und Tod sowie Depressionen und Phobien sind hierbei vorherrschende Themen und Motive. Thomas Spies zeigt in einem historischen Überblick und in
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vergleichenden Analysen Tendenzen der kulturellen Repräsentation auf. Die Beschäftigung mit Titeln wie »Papers, Please«, »Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice« und »Disco Elysium« lässt deutlich werden, wie Computerspiele zunehmend medienspezifische Möglichkeiten finden, die Vielfalt und Komplexität traumatischer Erfahrungen zu vermitteln." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Using lessons learned from the work of the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR), this policy brief gives an overview of the opportunities and challenges that arise around media coverage of transitional justice processes, and recommendations for activists who wish to engag
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e with journalists and less traditional media figures around issues of memory, truth and justice." (Introduction)
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"In 2021, ARTICLE 19 set out to make sometimes invisible practices more visible, building on our existing programmes on the safety of women journalists worldwide. We undertook original research globally and specifically in six countries, three in Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and three in
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Latin America (Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay), all of which ARTICLE 19 is publishing separately, guided by the questions: What might feminist approaches to the protection of journalists look like, and what benefits might they bring? Our research findings form the basis of this report, which aims to: explore how feminist practices have been, are being, and can be applied to improve all women journalists' safety worldwide; bridge international legal and policy frameworks on the safety of journalists with the practical approaches being adopted on the ground; and catalyse a conversation about how - together - we can move towards feminist approaches to the safety of journalists. From national organisations to grassroots networks, this report documents women's monumental efforts to make structural changes, tackle entrenched patterns of gender-based discrimination and violence, and enhance the safety of women journalists. The initiatives showcased here are a testament to the creativity and resilience of those working on the feminist frontlines." (Introduction)
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"The contributors, ranging from prominent scholars to the Head of Newsgathering at the BBC, discuss a diverse range of key case studies, including the role of Bellingcat in conflict journalism; war and peace journalism in Bangladesh; visual storytelling in conflict zones; and rampant cyber-misogyny
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confronting women journalists in Finland, India, the Philippines and South Africa." (Publisher description)
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"The aim of this Open Science and Peacebuilding Toolkit is to provide an open, living collection of resources for innovation hubs operating in conflict or post-conflict environments, creating a joint framework for open science and peacebuilding in action. It seeks to enable makerspaces across the wo
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rld to contribute to sustainable development by becoming key players in creating circular economy structures. The toolkit is an open source document. It provides resources appropriate to communities at various levels of development and supports innovators in a range of sectors & throughout the entrepreneurial life cycle." (Introd, page 3)
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"Los medios de comunicación son grandes aliados en la sensibilización y apropiación del legado de la Comisión de la Verdad. El Informe Final brinda la oportunidad de difundirlo a través de una variedad de formatos innovadores que vayan más allá del registro de historias. Los contextos explica
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tivos que incluye el Informe Final se convierten en información novedosa para desarrollar durante un largo tiempo. Al momento de contrastar la información es recomendable escuchar y dar cabida a todas las voces. Procurar un relato humanizante. Ir más allá de lo evidente. Evidenciar los factores de persistencia del conflicto." (Algunas sugerencias y oportunidades periodísticas para el abordaje del Informe, página 209)
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"The relationship between journalists and the security forces shows, almost universally, permanent tension. This document explains […] the reasons why both the press and the exercise of journalism, on the one hand, and the existence of the security forces and their action respecting human rights,
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on the other hand, are necessary for the consolidation of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. For this reason, it is advanced that the conflicts that arise between them, have a significant impact not only on both institutions, but on democracy itself. […] This publication first answers that question: whether or not both the press and the security forces are essential elements of a democracy. […] This publication only considers situations related to the journalistic coverage of street demonstrations and police action […] and also describes good practices that tend to reduce confrontations between journalists and security forces, since, to put it simply, this can directly benefit the consolidation of democracy." (Introduction, page 7)
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"Wars in films are […] always more than just the staging or presentation of a historical event; they offer an interpretation of these events that usually corresponds with other aspects, e. g. society's evaluation of war per se, or wishes about how specific events related to war should be commemora
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ted within the public conscience. Of course, films can also act as a medium to criticize war, but the functionality of the filmic stagings of collective violence is usually determined by the interaction between producers and the audience of the film. The following chapters try to provide a variety of insights into these relationships, and although they focus on different time periods and aspects related to the semiotics, narratives, and perceptions of war in film, they all circle around certain questions related to war films in general. These are: 1. To what extent do war films present historical events that are already socio-culturally embedded within national narratives, and to what extent do their semiotics support or challenge common views about wars and collective violence? 2. Which conscious or subconscious images or visual semiotics are used within war films to connect the audience to the film and its narrative? 3. How do films create, transport, or intensify the perception and interpretation of wars within societies? To answer these, each of the contributions of the present volume engages with specific war films and connects their respective war-related motifs and narratives with these questions." (Introduction, page 7-11)
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"During the monitoring period (February 24 – April 24) the following tendencies have been identified: Out of the 160 false information and manipulative content, mainly disseminated in Russian and Georgian sources, the largest share (49.4%) was directed against Ukraine, followed by disinformation a
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gainst the West (28.1%). Part of the false and manipulative content was aimed at justifying Russia’s actions (16.3%). In order to evade Russia’s responsibility for human casualties, the Kremlin’s propaganda has resorted to the tactic of “whataboutism” – in response to accusations, the Russian side has been arguing that the Ukrainian side was the one killing the civilian population and that the population was endangered not by Russian troops but by the actions of the Azov Battalion and other so-called ‘Nazi groups.’ The denial of Russian responsibility for the military intervention in Ukraine was also bolstered by deliberate disinformation, reinforcing the idea that Ukraine was fabricating information about the victims (Mariupol blogger story, Bucha Massacre). Visual manipulations, including those related to the pandemic, were often used for this purpose [...]" (Key findings)
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"Este trabajo tiene como objetivo central el análisis de dos proyectos transmedia latinoamericanos en el marco de la no ficción, circunscritos desde el método del estudio de casos y la aplicación de elementos de la teoría del actor-red, donde las relaciones, la conformación de grupos sociales
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que experimentaron realidades, llegan a gestar el valor de agenciamiento, como un enfoque que expande y contribuye a la comprensión y sostenibilidad de la historia y la experiencia en el tiempo del proyecto transmedia. El nivel de impacto en la audiencia de estos dos sistemas narrativos [Proyecto Quipu, Peru; Proyecto 4Ríos, Colombia] permitió apuntalar sus realidades desde la articulación de acciones de lucha social dentro y fuera de la red, ubicando sus temáticas en agendas políticas y periodísticas locales e internacionales. Impactos que se retoman a la luz de las características de los formatos de la transmedia de no ficción y sus potencialidades cocreativas, con el fin de dinamizar las relaciones sociales y activar la comunicación participativa dentro del ecosistema digital." (Resumen)
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"This paper will outline the technologies and mechanisms of Putin's information machine, how it operates during the war and the obstacles to anti-war propaganda among Russians. At the very end, we will offer some recommendations for confronting Putin's information machine at war, both of a general n
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ature and relating to specific groups of Russian society." (Page 3)
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