"The Digital Enquirer Kit is an e-learning course focused on preventing the spread of misinformation. The course covers media literacy, verification, as well as how to navigate the internet and research safely. This e-learning course was written for civil society activists, human rights defenders, i
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nvestigators, citizen journalists, and consumers of online information and media—so-called ‘Digital Enquirers’. The course contains simple explanations and real-world examples, illustrating secure research and information-gathering methods. The modules feature engaging and creative formats such as tutorials, quizzes, and interactive games." (Page 3)
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"In February 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) took an unprecedented step, citing mis- and disinformation and the “politicization of science” as key barriers to action. For the first time, a document accepted by all Member Governments stated that rhetoric from “vested
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economic and political interests… undermines climate science” and in turn has driven “public misperception of climate risks and polarised public support for climate actions”. The diagnosis was explicit, and built on a growing body of evidence produced across the environmental and research sectors in recent years: to solve the climate crisis, we must also tackle the information crisis. Drawing on research compiled over the past 18 months, and especially in the margins and aftermath of COP26, we have clear evidence of the challenge at hand: the failure to stem mis- and disinformation online has allowed junk science, climate delayism and attacks on climate figures to become mainstreamed. Our analysis has shown how a small but dedicated community of actors boast disproportionate reach and engagement across social media, reaching millions of people worldwide and bolstered by legacy print, broadcast and radio outlets. Far from helping to mitigate this issue, tech platform systems appear to be amplifying or exacerbating the spread of such content. Moreover, the taxonomy of harm relating to climate mis- and disinformation has been poorly defined to date, providing an inadequate basis for response. This report is a collective effort to quantify the problem and establish concrete responses for the months and years ahead. It is a data-driven examination of the landscape, actors, systems and approaches that are combining to prevent action on climate." (https://www.isdglobal.org)
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"This paper offers a critical overview of anti-war propaganda in the Russian language during the first six months of the war and identifies the reasons for its limited success. After a review of the challenges to current forms of propaganda, the paper offers practical recommendations to improve the
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work in this area." (Page 3)
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"In many parts of the Global South, coordinated political disinformation campaigns, rumor, and propaganda have long been a part of the social fabric, even before disinformation has become an area of scholarship in the Global North. The way disinformation manifests in this region, and responses to it
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, can therefore be highly instructive for readers around the world. Through case studies and comparative analyses, the book explores the impact of disinformation in Africa, Latin America, the Arab World and Asia. The chapters in this book discuss the similarities and differences of disinformation in different regions and provide a broad thematic overview of the phenomenon as it manifests across the Global South. After analyzing core concepts, theories and histories from Southern perspectives, contributors explore the experiences of media users and the responses to disinformation by various social actors drawing on examples from a dozen countries." (Publisher description)
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"Publication and dissemination of harmful content are constituted as criminal offenses according to Indonesian regulation. Consequently, all harmful content could be criminally prosecuted [...] Several terms used in the regulations are too broad (e.g., morality, public order, etc.) and may cause mul
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tiple interpretations, misinterpretations, and controversy [...] Indonesia is adopting a punitive approach of online content regulation [...] Trends and concerns: disparity in harmful content regulation between government ...; neglect and transparency ...; regulations on content disproportionately affect the marginalized community." (Key findings, page iv-vi)
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"The overall objective of this UNESCO project is to strengthen the resilience of societies to potentially harmful content spread online, in particular hate speech inciting violence while protecting freedom of expression and enhancing the promotion of peace through digital technologies, notably socia
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l media. The project runs from January 2021 - December 2023. There are four (4) pilot countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Indonesia, and Kenya. The lessons learnt at the local level will feed-in for the global discussion at the international level." (Publisher description)
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"While social media companies dress their content moderation policies in the language of human rights, their actions are largely driven by business priorities, the threat of government regulation, and outside pressure from the public and the mainstream media. This report demonstrates the impact of c
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ontent moderation by analyzing the policies and practices of three platforms: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Our evaluation compares platform policies regarding terrorist content (which often constrict Muslims' speech) to those on hate speech and harassment (which can affect the speech of powerful constituencies), along with publicly available information about enforcement of those policies." (Introduction, page 3)
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"[This is] a series of short issue briefs for funders on potential priority areas for funding activities or initiatives that would bring the work of digital rights organisations and environmental justice actors closer together. Each brief states the key problem from the perspective of the APC networ
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k, suggests mechanisms or processes for engagement and actors we feel are worth engaging, and includes specific recommendations for donors." (Overview, page 3)
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"In light of the role played by state-aligned actors, the private sector and lawmakers in countries with strong democratic institutions should adopt policies that mitigate the ability of state actors to manipulate AI and weaponize communication platforms. Efforts to combat disinformation must recogn
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ize that a range of private companies beyond just tech firms are implicated in information manipulation and must put safeguards in place. For example, registration and financing limits on paid PR firms, domestic and foreign, and better oversight by tech platforms on how their platforms are used by state actors is essential. Furthermore, greater transparency about all types of advertising and paid content promotion is needed, not just about political advertising in a handful of Western countries. This could be implemented through existing election laws and paid advertising regulations [...] Any meaningful efforts to combat disinformation will need to address the politicization of social media manipulation and influence operations, and their integration into electoral politics. Lawmakers should implement restrictions on the use of moderation mercenaries, black PR firms, and social media manipulation by those entrusted with public office. Countries should not only require great transparency for the platforms themselves, but should also practice what they preach by adopting transparency requirements for state and government entities related to advertising and outreach on social media and messaging platforms. Tech platforms must reduce the profitability of intentional and opportunistic disinformation efforts, including by reducing the prevalence and ease of plagiarism or the “recycling” of news content for clickbait. Reducing the economic incentives for click-bait, "churnalism", and regurgitated journalistic content would help deter the profit-driven non-ideological actors in these disinformation networks." (Conclsuions and recommendations, page 24-25)
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"Hate Speech ist Alltag, egal ob auf der Straße, im Parlament oder im Netz. Menschen werden beleidigt, entwürdigt und man ruft zu Gewalt auf. Die Folgen sind unübersehbar. Hate Speech ist so zu einem gesellschaftsbedrohenden Phänomen avanciert, befeuert durch politische und soziale Krisen wie di
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e Flüchtlingskrise 2015/16 und die Corona-Pandemie 2020/21. Mit diesem Sammelband möchten wir einen Beitrag zu einer strukturierten Reflexion des Phänomens leisten. Dabei werden sprachliche Indikatoren von Hassrede, die Bedeutung von digitaler Kommunikation für Hass und Hetze sowie öffentliche Kommunikation und Hate Speech in der Praxis diskutiert. Ebenso setzt der Band sich mit möglichen politischen, rechtlichen, journalistischen sowie zivilgesellschaftlichen Handlungsoptionen auseinander. Einen besonderen Fokus legen wir dabei auf die journalistische Bearbeitung und digitale Verbreitung von Hate Speech." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"1. Institutionalisation: Governments should consolidate interventions into coherent approaches guided by official communication and data policies, standards and guidelines [...] 2. Public interest driven: Public communication should strive to be independent from politicization in implementing inter
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ventions to counteract mis- and disinformation [...] 3. Future-proffing and profressionalisation: Public institutions should invest in innovative research and use strategic foresight to anticipate the evolution of technology and information ecosystems and prepare for likely threats [...] 4. Governments should strive to communicate in an honest and clear manner, with institutions comprehensively disclosing information, decisions, processes and data within the limitations of relevant legislation and regulations [...] 5. Timeliness: Public institutions should develop mechanisms to act in a timely manner by identifying and responding to emerging narratives, recognising the speed at which false information can travel [...] 6. Prevention: Government interventions should be designed to pre-empt rumours, falsehoods, and conspiracies to stop mis- and disinformation narratives from gaining traction [...] 7. Evidence-based: Government interventions should be designed and informed by trustworthy and reliable data, testing, and audience and behavioural insights [...] 8. Inclusiveness: Interventions should be designed and diversified to reach all groups in society [...] 9. Whole-of-society collaboration: Government efforts to counteract information disorders should be integrated within a whole-of-society approach, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including the media, private sector, civil society, academia and individuals." (Good practice principles overview, page 4)
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"In an effort to help prevent violent extremism in Central Asia, the Research Centre for Religious Studies of Kyrgyzstan conducted an analysis of values, narratives, and online messages created and distributed by banned extremist groups in five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmeni
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stan, and Uzbekistan. The study included over 1.6 million messages containing religious rhetoric and provides insight into the meanings of the messages and the channels for dissemination, as well as the impact of the messages on the target audience. This was followed by a field study of 4,005 respondents in the 18-35 age range. In addition, the survey also sought to identify the media preferences of young people in the region. Using the findings, the Centre developed communication strategies for each country that recommended how media, NGOs, state authorities, and religious leaders could, with a focus on young people, contribute to promoting peace. Although less than 1% of the analyzed messages containing religious rhetoric had what would be considered dangerous content, those particular messages often resonated with users’ values and interests, especially young people. The messages promoting violence used specific, complex terms that were geared to people who were already followers of radical ideas rather than the average user. The intent of the messages was to deepen the commitment of followers rather than recruit new followers. Administrators of violent extremist channels have developed multi-channel access strategies for potential recipients (through various platforms, chat rooms, personal messages, and reposts), thwarting the blocking measures used by Central Asian governments. The messaging by extremist groups promotes: purity of faith, mutual support to fellow believers, fighting against infidels and apostates, rejection of secular power and its decisions, ambition to create a caliphate, and anti-Semitism. The main target audience of distributors of extremist content is young people aged 18-30 who are dissatisfied with the current political environment and who share a strong sense of injustice. Those aged 18-21 showing the strongest support for the influence of religion on politics. Level of education is also a risk factor: young people with less education tend to engage more with the content." (Publisher description)
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"Este libro digital descargable de la Fundación Gabo es una macro-relatoría, un esfuerzo por sintetizar y difundir el conocimiento emanado de una serie de actividades -talleres, clases magistrales, charlas- que llevamos a cabo en el marco del Festival Gabo 2020, el cual tuvo como uno de sus temas
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centrales la reflexión y debate sobre el papel del periodismo ante la desinformación organizada. Para diseñar ese programa capitalizamos el seguimiento al tema por varios años desde nuestros talleres de periodismo, iniciativas de promoción de la ciudadanía digital como ‘Convivencias en Red’, la agenda de contenidos y actividades que desarrollamos ante la pandemia global de la covid-19, y de manera especial el programa de ética periodística, con componentes como el quiz de noticias falsas, el grupo de Facebook ‘Esta noticia es falsa’ y alrededor de 2.000 preguntas respondidas en el Consultorio Ético en línea. Los valiosos aportes recogidos en este libro nos aclaran aún más el camino y nos animan a profundizar nuestro compromiso con los periodistas y la ciudadanía en general para promover la comprensión, la toma de conciencia y nuevos enfoques de actuación eficaz frente a la desinformación." (Introducción)
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"The Philippines is one of the first countries where the potential for online disinformation threats to undermine democratic processes, especially during elections, was noticed [...] This report takes a deep look at an online survey that Internews conducted, explores the cultural and emotional dimen
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sions of disinformation and how they form part of the broader political transformations taking place in the Philippines, examines how the Philippine disinformation ecosystem fits into the regional landscape, looks into financial incentives and legislation, and formulates a set of strategic and programmatic recommendations to better tackle the issue of disinformation in the Philippines." (https://internews.org)
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"Regarding media and information literacy, the Kosovo Government and relevant education institutions, such as the Ministry of Education, should urgently introduce subjects that will be taught in school to provide a better understanding of the media and information literacy. Kosovo’s educational in
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stitutions should increase the teaching of critical thinking and the online sphere to improve inflammatory language and inappropriate ethnic slurs in the online space. Self-regulation bodies should hold discussions with their members and urge them to take action in the comments sections of their online media, social media and networks when it appears. Media organizations should increase their fact-checking mechanisms / newsrooms and remind journalists of the Code of Ethics more often." (Policy reommendations)
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"Fake News, Hate Speech und Rassismus im Netz: Soziale Medien bieten Menschen und Organisationen auch dafür eine Plattform. Wie kann man gegensteuern und selbst aktiv für Demokratie, Meinungsvielfalt und die Entgiftung des gesellschaftlichen Klimas eintreten? Said Rezek, Politikwissenschaftler und
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Journalist, bezieht seit Jahren als Blogger Stellung gegen Rassismus und Hass im Netz. In diesem Buch vermittelt er das Handwerkszeug dazu: Was macht einen reichweitenstarken Blog aus? Zu welchen Themen und Anlässen lohnt sich die Positionierung? Welche Beitragsformen – z.B. Tweets, Memes, Listicles oder Offene Briefe - kann man speziell in Social Media einsetzen? Wie arbeitet man selbst gleichermaßen rechtssicher und kompetent und schützt sich vor Verletzungen der eigenen Privatsphäre? Das Buch bietet zahlreiche praktische Beispiele, wie, wann und wofür es sich zu bloggen lohnt, um Gegnern einer vielfältigen, friedlichen und demokratischen Gesellschaft nicht das Feld zu überlassen." (Buchrücken)
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"This publication is a collection of a variety of outlooks, recommendations, and input from the participants of the 2020 workshop [for fellows of the CrossCulture Programme (CCP) of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen] and others. On the subject of digital access, CCP alumnus Camilo Olea speaks ab
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out the digital divide in Mexico and how his organisation is providing access to indigenous rural communities. The German NGO Superrr demands an open digital infrastructure and more open-source software for a more inclusive digital sphere. Ali (name changed), a Bangladeshi journalist and CCP alumnus, gives an overview of the current state of free speech in Bangladesh. CCP alumna Hend Kheiralla from Sudan shares her view on the role of social media during the Sudanese Revolution and the impact of the internet shutdown. Having experienced severe discrimination online herself, a CCP alumna from Jordan talks about her experiences and the impact of attacks as well as strategies for dealing with them. Love Storm, a German NGO that focuses on countering hatred online, suggests specific measures we can start using directly to create a safe and inclusive online space for everyone." (Editorial, page 3)
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"Fondation Hirondelle's approach to disinformation centres on the fundamental principles of journalism and on the lessons learned from over 25 years of applying these principles in highly fragile contexts, where access to reliable information for the majority is not a given, and where rumours, hate
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speech and propaganda undermine peace building and development. Our response to disinformation is based on two complementary axes: sticking to the facts and building trust." (Our approach, page 2)
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"The publication is focused on the ways fake news, disinformation, misinformation and hateful statements are spread across society, predominantly within the online environment. Its main ambition is to offer an interdisciplinary body of scholarly knowledge on fake news, disinformation and propaganda
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in relation to today's journalism, social development, political situation and cultural affairs happening all around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Disinformation undermines human rights and many elements of good quality democracy; but counter-disinformation measures can also have a prejudicial impact on human rights and democracy. COVID-19 compounds both these dynamics and has unleashed more intense waves of disinformation, allied to human ri
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ghts and democracy setbacks. Effective responses to disinformation are needed at multiple levels, including formal laws and regulations, corporate measures and civil society action. While the EU has begun to tackle disinformation in its external actions, it has scope to place greater stress on the human rights dimension of this challenge. In doing so, the EU can draw upon best practice examples from around the world that tackle disinformation through a human rights lens. This study proposes steps the EU can take to build counter-disinformation more seamlessly into its global human rights and democracy policies." (Abstract)
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