"Greater North Kivu is a region in the East of the DRC characterized by an unending socio-cultural and political crisis that has brought about insecurity, war, massacres, and land conflicts since 1996. Efforts to resolve this war crisis to restore justice and peace have not been successful. The aim
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of this research was to evaluate the film practice in the Greater North Kivu region in the context of this war situation and if those films which were set against this reality had messages that focused on sustainable peace. The specific research questions of the study were: What could be the varying contexts of war and related conflicts from which each of the selected films acquires its character? In what way do the cinematographic messages reflect the context of war in the Greater North Kivu? How do the thematic messages aim to sensitize the population towards peace in the region? What are the opportunities and challenges of film making for peace in the region? What construct emerges as a typology of context and types of persuasion messages that may emerge from selected films of the study. The study adopted a qualitative research design, and constructivism and interpretivism philosophical research paradigms. The target population consisted of film makers in the Greater North Kivu, civil society, community and government leaders. The study concluded that the multiple contexts of the war manifest in the character of the variety of films produced but that the film codes reflecting this reality aim to break and change it thereby creating a new grammar for a new context. In addition, the film for sensitizing works with strategies of arousing emotions that are carefully selected with great sensitivity because of the fragile context of the war situation in its causes, consequences, and what is to be done. The thesis of this study is that the many contexts of the war situation in the region of study manifest themselves in the selected films chosen for the research. In a simultaneous manner the film maker’s codes aim to break the existing contexts to new beginnings. While the film codes may be of the grammar of existing context, their very ambition and motivation is to introduce a new grammar for a vision of a new context, transforming the old one. Based on the findings of the current study, the study recommends the film makers to continue to use potent symbolism in their stories to effectively sensitize the population to the situation and promote the necessary actions. The study recommends to the government and policymakers makers to allocate resources towards the Ministry of Arts and Culture to support local film production, recognizing its potential as a tool for peacebuilding and societal change." (Abstract)
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"With the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, international criminal justice is back in the headlines. It had its golden age 30 years ago with the creation of international tribunals. Today, international justice procedures have become more complex, including non-judicial mechanisms for truth-seeki
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ng and reparation. They are constantly evolving, and it is up to the media to help people understand them." (Page 1)
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"This article analyses the dangers and threats faced by Syrian journalists covering the conflict since the pro-democracy protests erupted in March 2011. While most Western research on the Syrian Revolution has focused on the working difficulties faced by correspondents, parachutists or foreign freel
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ancers, this article scrutinizes the working conditions for Syrian content providers. Syrian journalists’ testimonials of fear and their perception of danger and vulnerability provide a humanistic lens not only on the scope of what revolution and war mean to many who have lived it and been transformed by it, but also on the reality of informing in dangerous contexts. The study contemplates the practitioners’ working risks and perceptions of fear and threats, as well as their personal security measurements. The characterization of fear during the militarization of the rebellion as a semi-normalized way of life, suggested by Pearlman’s article, ‘Narratives of fear in Syria’ (2016), allows the authors to place their study in a conceptual frame. The implementation of a survey answered by 82 Syrian journalists was complemented by semi-structured interviews with a selected group of 12 participants. In a context in which 86.6 percent of the respondents had colleagues who had died while working, the findings illustrate that Syrian reporters and media activists perceive their work as extremely dangerous. In the perception of fear, the adoption of personal safety measures by practitioners does not always contribute to decreasing it; the trauma experience can act both as a paralysing and empowering working factor." (Abstract)
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"While most research on the Syrian revolution has been focussing on content analysis about how Western mainstream media cover and frame the conflict, this paper aims at exploring journalistic practices by Syrian journalists. We look at three concrete aspects: the socio-labor profile of the practitio
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ners and their circumstances, the dynamics of journalistic practices when covering the war and the perception of “objectivity” when doing so. A mixed method approach is employed in this study through a survey, answered by 86 Syrian journalists, and semi-structured interviews with 12 practitioners to enrich the data. Participants are members or collaborators of SIRAJ (Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism). The concept of “communities of interpretation” has been adopted to fit the role and work of both “professional” and “citizen journalists” within the sample. Findings show that local journalists, a heterogeneous group of different socio-labor backgrounds, have a preference for humanitarian topics, stories about conflicts between the government and the opposition, as well as the international global consequences of the conflict. On the other hand, there is an important gap between practitioners “positive” perceptions about their ability to achieve “objectivity” and the practical constraints they encounter when working in such extraordinarily difficult and risky circumstances." (Abstract)
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"The safety of journalists reporting from conflict zones is a complex issue as they are exposed to a variety of challenges on a daily basis. This research aims to identify those multi-dimensional challenges that make Balochistan one of the world’s riskiest places for journalists. Based on 30 in-de
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pth interviews with journalists working in the area, the authors found that the dynamics of conflict in Balochistan are different from those in other parts of Pakistan. Their findings reveal that different threatening agents – nationalist movements, separatist groups, the international agencies active there and the high level of extremism – all mean that journalists often cannot even identify the exact sources of threats. Moreover, journalists state that they receive no help from their media houses when they are reporting from conflict zones and look to the Pakistani army to protect the interests of the Baloch people while facing such challenges and risks." (Abstract)
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"This report highlights adaptations and innovations by Ukrainians in their struggle against Moscow’s disinformation machine. As part of the project, the International Forum on Democratic Studies conducted more than fifty expert interviews and hosted a series of convenings with experts from Ukraine
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and across Europe which inform the analysis. Companion essays—one from Ukraine, the other from Central Europe—provide more context and details on the ways in which locally based organizations are learning to meet the challenge. The research identified three advantages—deep preparation, open networks of cooperation, and active utilization of new technology—that have allowed civil society organizations and governments in Ukraine and Central and Eastern Europe to build trust and tell Ukraine’s story, unite Ukrainians and their allies, and ensure resilience in the face of authoritarian disinformation campaigns." (Executive summary, page 1)
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"This collection considers how digital images and social media reconfigure the way conflicts are played out, represented and perceived around the globe. Devoted to developing original theoretical frameworks and empirical insights, the volume addresses the role of user images and social media in rela
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tion to urgent subjects such as public opinion and emotion, solidarity, evidence and verification, censorship and fake news, which are all central to the ways current conflicts are represented and unfold. Essays include a unique range of case studies from different regional and political contexts (Middle East, Europe, Asia, North America) and in connection with different conflict types (war, terror, riots, everyday resistance, etc.). They also consider performative genres such as memes, selfies and appropriations as well as images conforming to the realism and authenticity of conventional photojournalism. In this way, the collection responds to the challenges of swiftly evolving image genres as well as to the continually shifting policies and algorithms of commercial digital platforms." (Publisher description)
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"We conducted interviews with conflict journalists who covered the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Iraq and who work for the major international news agencies and media companies. These journalists did most of their reporting from remote locations as the conflict zones were too dangerous to be
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physically present. We investigated how the journalist did their jobs with the communicative affordances of digital tools and how digital trust-building occurred. The trust-building process between journalists and sources shifted across platforms and according to the technologies’ communicative affordances. We established that reporters had embraced the flow of news material on social media platforms as a valuable source of information, but after exercising extreme caution. Journalists upheld the boundaries that separated them from amateurs by emphasizing their role in making sense of events. They also fortified their gatekeeping role through verifying and vetting information – a task needed to maintain credibility and protect readers and viewers from misinformation and propaganda. Encrypted messaging applications such as WhatsApp played a major role in speeding up communication with and protecting potential sources and verification." (Abstract)
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"Organisations ranging from violent extremist groups to the US Army have used online gaming, a popular form of entertainment among the world’s youth, for recruiting purposes. To date, efforts to curtail online recruiting have been siloed to reduce recruitment of certain groups, such as violent ext
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remist groups, or aimed at specific platforms, such as certain online games geared for children. Efforts to address online recruitment in gaming have engaged with governments, NGOs, and the gaming industry, leaving out gamers themselves. This Policy Brief describes why recruiting in online gaming should be understood as a more general problem, involving any armed group recruiting online, which has simple solutions. It then presents several concepts from peacebuilding that can be applied to counter recruiting efforts in online gaming." (Abstract)
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"This paper delves into the paramount significance of social media in contemporary warfare, shedding light on the critical need for effective measures to counter online radical narratives and prevent the spread of violent extremism. It explores how autocratic and repressive groups like the Taliban e
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xploit social media platforms to their advantage and how these platforms have become a fertile ground for violent extremist groups to establish a novel front in warfare by allowing them to directly engage with civilians and the public, thus effectively closing civic space. This direct engagement enables violent extremist organisations to disseminate their ideologies and propaganda, radicalise, brainwash, manipulate, recruit, mobilise support, and communicate with the international community and the world. The research design incorporated a comprehensive analysis, combining first-hand experiences of locals, documentation, and reporting of content on Facebook, with an examination of the Taliban's social media posts, tweets, and engagement on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The primary data was further complemented with relevant secondary data and reports. The findings highlight the Taliban's effective weaponisation of violent content on social media, strategically employed to shape public opinion and behaviours, demoralise the military, and discourage resistance against them. This role in facilitating their military takeover of the country and later in establishing and advocating for the legitimacy of their autocratic rule. This paper argues for heightened vigilance and proactive measures to counter misinformation, glorification of violence, and radicalisation online, ultimately safeguarding the integrity of information dissemination and societal well-being." (Abstract)
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"Ce numéro porte un regard critique sur la crise que traverse actuellement la Province du Nord Kivu, et la RDC en général, à cause de la nouvelle guerre imposée au pays par le mouvement rebelle M23. Connaissant une période sécuritaire sombre qui y a motivé l’instauration d’un État de si
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ège, la Province du Nord-Kivu, et plus particulièrement dans les Territoires de Rutshuru et Masisi, est encore objet d’attaques du Mouvement du 23 mars (M23). Dans ces Territoires et dans une moindre mesure celui de Nyiragongo, le son assourdissant et macabre des armes n’arrête pas de sonner dans les oreilles des citoyens contraints à fuir leurs lieux de résidence pour vivre à la merci des intempéries et d’une pénurie humanitaire sans nom dans des camps des déplacés comme refugiés de guerre dans leur propre pays. Il trouble la tranquillité de ces derniers et les assomme, prétendument suite à la non-exécution des accords dits du 23 mars 2009 entre le Gouvernement congolais et le Congrès National pour la Défense du peuple (CNDP)." (Dos de couverture)
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"Can residents of Ukraine discern between pro-Kremlin disinformation and true statements? Moreover, which pro-Kremlin disinformation claims are more likely to be believed, and by which audiences? We present the results from two surveys carried out in 2019—one online and the other face-to-face—th
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at address these questions in Ukraine, where the Russian government and its supporters have heavily targeted disinformation campaigns. We find that, on average, respondents can distinguish between true stories and disinformation. However, many Ukrainians remain uncertain about a variety of disinformation claims’ truthfulness. We show that the topic of the disinformation claim matters. Disinformation about the economy is more likely to be believed than disinformation about politics, historical experience, or the military. Additionally, Ukrainians with partisan and ethnolinguistic ties to Russia are more likely to believe pro-Kremlin disinformation across topics. Our findings underscore the importance of evaluating multiple types of disinformation claims present in a country and examining these claims’ target audiences." (Abstract)
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"Rita Kohlmaier stellt 30 Kriegsberichterstatterinnen und -fotografinnen aus verschiedenen Ländern stellvertretend für den ganzen Berufstand vor. Sie bezahlten oftmals einen hohen Preis: psychische Belastungen, Entfernung von ihren Familien, ständige Unsicherheit. Einige starben bei einem ihrer E
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insätze, wie die Fotojournalistin Anja Niedringhaus oder die amerikanische Kriegsberichterstatterin Dickey Chapelle. Andere wurden ermordet, wie die russische Journalistin Anna Politkowskaja. Ihre Zeugnisse bleiben wichtige Zugänge zum Zeitgeschehen, und ihre Leistungen werden durch internationale Preise gewürdigt. Einzelne ziehen sich, wie Lee Miller nach ihrer umfassenden Dokumentation der letzten Monate des Zweiten Weltkriegs, ins Private zurück und sprechen nicht mehr über das Erlebte. Andere wiederum widmen sich ihr ganzes Leben öffentlich der Frage, wieso Menschen Krieg führen und zu den dokumentierten Gräueltaten fähig sind. Gemeinsam sei ihnen das Bestreben, Mitgefühl für die betroffene Zivilgesellschaft zu wecken, nicht zuletzt, um ihr Publikum zu einem Umdenken zu bewegen und einen Weg zum Frieden vorzubereiten." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"This paper examines the journalistic discourse on the Instagram project @ichbinsophiescholl, initiated by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). The project is based on a fictional premise in which the resistance fighter Sophie Scholl uses the social media platform Instagram during t
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he last few months before her arrest and murder in 1943. This thought experiment and its implementation in 2021 attracted a great deal of media attention and, at its peak, more than 900,000 mostly young people were following Sophie Scholl, played by Luna Wedler, on Instagram. The PR departments of SWR and BR communicated the number of followers and the extensive reporting as a major success and vindication of their approach to reaching young people. This analysis reconstructs discursive patterns, discourse strands, and discourse positions in the reporting on the project between May 1, 2021 and July 20, 2022. Based on the findings, we discuss the extent to which »the« journalism has fulfilled its public role and the various functions assigned to it." (Abstract)
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