"Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fifth consecutive year, with more governments censoring information of public interest and placing greater demands on the private sector to take down offending content. State authorities have also jailed more users for their online writings, wh
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ile criminal and terrorist groups have made public examples of those who dared to expose their activities online. This was especially evident in the Middle East, where the public flogging of liberal bloggers, life sentences for online critics, and beheadings of internet-based journalists provided a powerful deterrent to the sort of digital organizing that contributed to the Arab Spring. In a new trend, many governments have sought to shift the burden of censorship to private companies and individuals by pressing them to remove content, often resorting to direct blocking only when those measures fail. Local companies are especially vulnerable to the whims of law enforcement agencies and a recent proliferation of repressive laws. But large, international companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have faced similar demands due to their significant popularity and reach." (Page 1)
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"This article seeks to highlight how the media – especially radio – have always been used in Zimbabwe to consolidate the power of the government. This invariably led to oppositional media emerging from outside the country, giving the populace access to alternative discourses from those churned o
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ut by state media. The response to the alternative media run by blacks led the Southern Rhodesian and Rhodesian regimes to come up with repressive legislation that criminalised these media. After independence the state media embarked on consolidating the status quo and eliminating some sectors of the community from coverage – a repeat of the past. Legislation inherited from Rhodesia continued to be used in independent Zimbabwe, where the criminalisation of alternative voices and limitations in access to alternative media are predominant. Such a scenario reveals that there have been three waves of media repression in Zimbabwe, from Southern Rhodesia to Rhodesia and then to independent Zimbabwe, to deny the media their independence." (Abstract)
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"Almost half (49%) of all Russians believe that information on the Internet needs to be censored; a plurality (42%) of Russians believe foreign countries are using the Internet against Russia and its interests. About one-quarter of Russians think the Internet threatens political stability (24%); abo
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ut four out of five Russians (81%) stated a negative feeling toward calls to protest against the government and change political leadership; the Russian government and the Russian security service were virtually tied in the percentage of Russians (42% and 41% respectively) that cited these organizations as trusted regulators of the Internet; 51% of Russian believe the primary motivation of government legislation creating a blacklist of websites is the maintenance of political stability versus 13% who believe the primarily motivation was limiting democratic freedoms." (Website CGCS)
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"This publication identifies at least 12 digital threats, including illegal or arbitrary digital surveillance, location tracking, and software and hardware exploits without the knowledge of the target. Further examples that are considered are: phishing, fake domain attacks, Man-in-the-Middle (MitM)
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attacks, and Denial of Service (DoS) [...] In examining cases worldwide, this publication serves as a resource for a range of actors. In a nutshell, it surveys the evolving threats, and assesses preventive, protective and pre-emptive measures. It shows that digital security for journalism encompasses, but also goes beyond, the technical dimension. This publication also gives an overview of actors and initiatives working to address digital safety, as well as identifying gaps in knowledge that call for awareness-raising." (UNESCO website)
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"UNESCO’s vision of universal Knowledge Societies builds on a free, open and trusted Internet that enables people to not only have the ability to access information resources from around the world, but to also contribute information and knowledge to local and global communities. What can UNESCO do
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to move towards the realization of this vision of Internet-enabled Knowledge Societies that can foster inclusive sustainable human development worldwide? To address this question within the mandate of this study, UNESCO has worked with Member States and other stakeholders to analyse four separate but interdependent fields of Internet policy and practice, within the mandate of UNESCO, perceived to be central to achieving this vision. These are access to information and knowledge, freedom of expression, privacy, and ethical norms and behaviour online. This report assesses these four fields by viewing them as keystones for building a free and trusted global Internet that will enable inclusive Knowledge Societies." (Executive summary)
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"This desk study was commissioned by International Media Support (IMS) for the purposes of providing information to colleagues in the media support sector and to donors so that they may be better informed when devising and deciding on appropriate intervention strategies [...] Research for this repor
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t was conducted from 15 – 23 June 2015 and was based on interviews with journalists and other actors in both Burundi and Rwanda. In addition, news and other reports were consulted." (Page 5)
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"Cette publication présente l’histoire de 18 journalistes centrafricains, tous victimes de diverses menaces, bastonnades et intimidations, pendant qu’ils effectuaient leur travail de reportage sur le conflit qui a déchiré leur pays entre 2012 et 2014 [...] Les témoignages dans cette publicat
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ion illustrent le fait que beaucoup devrait être fait dans le sens d’équiper les journalistes locaux avec les outils pour mieux gérer les situations de conflits, aussi bien en ce qui concerne leur sécurité physique personnelle, que la manière de rendre compte des histoires relatives aux conflits. Bien que ces outils ne soient pas suffisants pour atténuer les dangers que courent les journalistes en couvrant les conflits, ils pourraient, à certains égards, les aider à s’en sortir av ant, pendant et après les conflits." (Avant-propos, page 6-7)
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"The data in this report was collected between December 20, 2014 and February 2, 2015 and represents the views of 1161 respondents from that time. The goal of the project is to understand how people in Turkey perceive and value the debate over Internet freedoms in Turkey and how they employ the Inte
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rnet and social media as alternative information resources within a heavily censored mass media environment." (Page 2)
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"How is freedom of expression in Pakistan’s digital spaces governed? What protections do journalists and bloggers enjoy? What is censored and how conducive is the environment for political and religious expression online? This research looks at these questions within the premise of an internationa
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l framework on freedom of expression drafted by Frank La Rue, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. This report on the State of Internet Freedoms in Pakistan forms part of a baseline research conducted by the project APC-IMPACT (India, Malaysia, Pakistan Advocacy for Change through Technology), which aims to address restrictions on the internet by promoting and protecting internet rights." (Back cover)
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"Since the group calling itself “the Islamic State” (or “Islamic State of Iraq and AlSham”, ISIS) took control of Mosul in June 2014, this Iraqi city turned into a death trap for journalists, especially after the jihadist militant group seized all local media, getting hold of the full lists
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of reporters’ names and addresses. Soon after that, ISIS launched a major persecution campaign targeting all types of media workers, following a decision of its Sharia court accusing reporters of violating its instructions and leaking information to local and foreign media from within the city. By these practices, ISIS seeks sowing terror among media workers, intimidating journalists and preventing them from doing their job, thus forcing them to self-censorship. In this report, compiled over three months, Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) and Reporters Without Borders (RWB) shed light on the crimes committed by ISIS against journalists and their assistants in northern Iraq. Between 10 June 2014 and the date of publication of this report, JFO – RWB’s partner organization in Iraq – registered 48 kidnappings committed by ISIS against journalists, media assistants and students in journalism since the extremist organization took control of the city. Among those kidnapped, 13 were executed in different brutal ways after being accused of «treason and espionage»." (Page 3)
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"This paper serves as an overview of the global pattern of crimes committed against media workers, the impunity connected with such acts, and the steps both the international community and individual states have taken to confront the situation. The first chapter introduces the magnitude of the trend
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of violence journalists face, the impunity for said crimes, and its impact on freedom of expression and democracy. This overview draws on the statistics of non-governmental organizations and other international bodies to demonstrate the global nature of the problem. The second chapter explains the methods of international organs— such as the United Nations, the organization of American States, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe— have employed to combat such impunity. Declarations, resolutions, plans of actions and judicial opinions from international courts all inform this capsulation. The third chapter describes the programs countries have implemented to confront the issue, specifically within Latin America. Such innovations include the creation of special prosecutors, the federalization of crimes against journalists, and protection programs." (Page 3)
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"This non-paper aims to facilitate the OSCE participating states in formulating national and international law and policy toward the current spread of propaganda intertwined with the conflict in and around Ukraine. It distinguishes two sorts of propaganda in the contemporary world. The first is call
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ed propaganda for war and hatred; it demands legal action with appropriate measures in accordance with international human rights law. The second type of propaganda combines all its other faces. It may be against professional standards of journalism, but does not necessarily violate international law. This non-paper reviews OSCE and other international commitments in regard to hateful international propaganda in the context of the obligations of the participating States on freedom of expression and freedom of the media. The particular focus lies on the relation between Article 19 (on freedom of expression) and Article 20 (on banning war propaganda and incitement to hatred) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its interpretations by the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC)." (Executive summary)
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"La encuesta fue aplicada a 612 periodistas en todos los departamentos de Colombia y se hicieron preguntas relacionadas con las implicaciones del proceso de paz para los derechos a informar y ser informados [...] El 12 % respondió que había sufrido personalmente agresiones por parte de la fuerza p
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ública. El mismo porcentaje afirmó haber recibido agresiones por parte de grupos armados organizados al margen de la ley. El 20 % de los encuestados afirmó percibir que agentes del estado lo/la están vigilando ilegalmente. El 12 % afirmó haber conocido casos de violencia sexual en su departamento en el último año. El 23 % de los encuestados dice haber recibido ataques por medio electrónicos (amenazas por redes sociales, hackeos, etc...). El porcentaje de periodistas que tiene conocimiento acerca de prácticas periodísticas inaceptables en su departamento es muy alto. (El 60 % conoce de casos de medios que cambian su postura editorial a cambio de más pauta, el 50 % conoce casos de periodistas que presionan indebidamente a cambio de pauta, el 30 % conoce casos de medios que acusan a terceros de cometer delitos sin tener pruebas de su culpabilidad). El 86 % de los encuestados cree que es necesario ajustar la normatividad para la asignación de pauta publicitaria oficial. El 63 % de los encuestados cree que en su departamento es necesaria la presencia de más medios comunitarios e institucionales." (www.flip.org.co)
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"The structural problems in the media ownership in Turkey have been embedded in the political system since mid-1980s. With the AKP government’s tenure, the “media pool” of uncritical government support was formed and the major media outlets were pacified by means of financial threats, self-cen
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sorship or increased job insecurity. The most substantive problem involves the economic interests of media owners. Although Article 29 of Law no. 3984 restricts media owners to hold shares, owners who have stakes in other business sectors have been seen to influence cover-ups to favour their outside business interests. A significant number of media owners in Turkey belong to industrial conglomerates with interests that go beyond freedom of press and opinion – in addition to the close relationships between the government and some of these industrial conglomerates. Groups previously uninvolved in media activities have stepped into the sector, a move which has facilitated the development of oligopolistic structures. Indeed, an increasing concentration in media ownership – most notably regarding the activities of the Dogan, Dogus, Zirve, Albayrak, Çukurova, and Ciner Holding – can be easily observed in recent years." (Conclusions)
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"Media ownership and media financing, although both crucially influence the ability of the media in Kosovo to play democratic role and demonstrate integrity of their journalism and business operations, have not been properly addressed through the media legislation in Kosovo. Lack of transparency mad
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e it possible for various individuals and groups with political or financial power to influence the media in order to promote or protect their own interests. In order to achieve their goals, these groups not only exerted political and/or financial pressure, but also infiltrated in the ownership of some media. Indeed, there are cases where representatives or influential members of the main parties have launched media outlets." (Conclusions)
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