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State of the Media: Tonga

ABC International Development; University of Adelaide; Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) (2025), 38 pp.

"The media landscape in Tonga is in a state of digital transition, as it adapts to increasing audience demand for digital content and associated challenges relating to misinformation and disinformation. The findings in this report highlight how increased internet access in Tonga has transformed the ... more

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Information Ecosystems and Troubled Democracy: A Global Synthesis of the State of Knowledge on New Media, AI and Data Governance
Deep Insights

Robin Mansell, Flavia Durach, Matthias C Kettemann, Théophile Lenoir, Rob Procter, Gyan Tripathi, Emily Tucker

Paris: International Observatory on Information and Democracy (2025), xxxvi, 265 pp.

"This report is an invitation to grapple with the complex interplay between infrastructure, media systems, civil society, and public sector institutions. Our findings suggest that effective policy solutions must: acknowledge the historical, political, economic, and social forces that shape informati ... more

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La inteligencia artificial: Una mirada pastoral desde América Latina y el Caribe

José Sols Lucía (coord.)

Bogotá: Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano y Caribeño (CELAM) (2025), 97 pp.

"El trabajo incluye desde nociones generales sobre Inteligencia Artificial hasta propuestas prácticas a los obispos del continente. El sumario incluye antecedentes históricos y evolución de la IA, aspectos éticos, antropológicos y teológicos, recoge el magisterio de la Iglesia, asume el desaf� ... more

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Google Scholar (73)

WorldCat (65)

Media Literacy for the Communication Ecosystem : A Theory of Change for a Healthier Future

Julian McDougall

Cham: Springer (2025), xli, 278 pp.

"This book shows how media literacy can improve the health of communication ecosystems amid information disorder. It makes the case for media literacy as a human right and a foundation for civic resilience and curates research and best practices to show how media literacy can counter misinformation, ... more

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Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Persons with Disabilites in Africa
Deep Insights

Jerry John Kponyo, Bernard Chiira, Christopher Harrison, Hanyurwimfura Damien (eds.)

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust (AT4D); Next Step Foundation; Tangaza University College; Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI) (2025), ix, 169 pp.

"Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve the daily lives of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Africa in practical, cumulative ways—transcribing, translating, summarizing, personalizing, and predicting to reduce routine frictions in school, work, health, mobility, and access to publi ... c services. The study surveys this emerging landscape across Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and comparator contexts, mapping how AI augments assistive technologies (AT) and mainstream services while clarifying the policy, data, and delivery conditions that determine real-world impact. Across sectors, we find promising AI use cases beyond traditional AT. In education, adaptive tutors, captioning, and sign-language tools can widen access, though localized content and language coverage remain thin. In employment, AI can support job matching, accessible applications, task breakdown, and on-the-job accommodations, especially when paired with employer guidance and incentives. In mental health, chatbots can extend scarce services and offer stigma-free entry points to care; caregiver tools use voice, translation, and simple workflows to ease coordination and stress. Mobility and independent living benefit from computer vision, speech interfaces, and early robotics, with African innovators piloting sign-language avatars, personalized speech recognition, and lower-cost bionics. The potential of these advances is real but uneven—most remain pilots, and scale requires fit-for-purpose data, infrastructure, and financing. One binding constraint is data. Disability is systematically under-counted in official statistics and under-represented or misrepresented in AI training sets, creating a “disability data desert” that limits accuracy for African contexts (from atypical speech and local sign languages to recognition of mobility aids). Without deliberate collection, curation, and governance that center PWDs, models will continue to miss or misread disabled users, with downstream harms in inclusion, safety, and opportunity. Building representative, ethical datasets—especially for African languages and disabilities—emerges as a first-order priority alongside affordable computing and connectivity. Policy momentum is encouraging but incomplete. The African Union’s Continental AI Strategy (2025–2030) explicitly names disability inclusion, calling for accessible datasets, skills, and governance. Ghana’s and Kenya’s AI strategies also advance infrastructure, data sharing, and public-sector adoption, although explicit disability provisions are still maturing. Convergence around rights-based, inclusive AI is visible; however, its delivery depends on procurement standards, budgeting for accessibility, and participation by Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in the design and oversight process. The study’s central conclusion is pragmatic: AI’s near-term value for disability inclusion is unlocked where three conditions meet. First, inclusion by design—co-creation with PWDs and OPDs, localized languages, and multi-modal accessibility baked into products and datasets. Second, enabling rules and rails—national strategies that mandate accessibility in digital services, robust disability-relevant data, and align incentives for inclusive procurement. Third, sustainable delivery—hybrid human-AI service models, community channels, and financing that lower costs for users and caregivers while supporting innovators to move from pilots to scale. Where these conditions hold, AI can measurably widen access to learning, work, and care; where they do not, tools plateau as proofs-of-concept and risks of bias and exclusion grow. Overall, the path to disability-inclusive AI in Africa is clear: invest in representative data and affordable infrastructure; mandate accessibility and accountability; and deliver through locally grounded, human-centered services. Done together, these steps turn today’s pilots into equitable, reliable systems that expand agency and opportunity for millions of Africans with disabilities." (Executive summary) more

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Learning from Indigenous Journalism: A Case for Standpoint Journalism

Gisele Souza Neuls, Ava Francesca Battocchio, Marcos Paulo da Silva

Journalism Studies (2025), 21 pp.

"This essay examines the similarities and differences between the values underpinning Indigenous and Western journalism. It contributes to broader conversations about the conception and study of journalism through three key contributions. Theoretically, it bridges feminist standpoint and Indigenous ... more

Google Scholar (55)

WorldCat (77)

Le Congo numérique en construction: Plaidoyer pour une structuration cohérente des infrastructures de connectivité

Max Bouhoyi

Brazzaville: L'Harmattan Brazzaville (2025), 138 pp.

"Dans cet ouvrage ambitieux, Max Bouhoyi dresse un état des lieux rigoureux des infrastructures numériques du Congo, en s'intéressant aux deux piliers de la connectivité : le segment spatial (satellites) et le segment maritime (câbles sous-marins et fibre optique). À travers une approche à la ... more

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Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative: Closing the digital infrastructure investment gap by 2030

Geneva: ITU (2025), vi, 37 pp.

"This white paper summarizes the outcomes of the initial phase of the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII), launched in 2024 by the ITU in collaboration with the International and Regional Development Finance community, and in coordination with the G20 Brazil Presidency. The initiativ ... e also benefitted from the advice and feedback of over 40 organizations who comprised the DIII Working Group. The aims of the DIII in its initial stage are: i) Understand the digital infrastructure investment gap and opportunity: Despite the increase in internet usage in recent years, 35% of the global population does not use the internet at sufficient speeds. This percentage increases to 54% in low and lower-middle-income countries, primarily due to the absence of necessary infrastructure. Developing this infrastructure is estimated to require at least USD 1.6 trillion, according to high-level calculations by the DIII. ii) Develop a framework that describes the key areas that need to be addressed to increase investment and measure a country’s digital infrastructure investment readiness: By exploring the factors affecting investments, the DIII has identified five archetypal challenges that hinder investments in digital infrastructure. These challenges are demand fragmentation, significant gaps in core infrastructure, unclear digital agendas and policies, execution risks, and country risks. The presence and significance of these challenges depend on the context. iii) Identify innovative financing mechanisms and instruments that international organizations and private or public plurilateral/multilateral financing institutions can implement to accelerate reaching the target of universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030: Closing the digital infrastructure investment gap will necessitate the identification and deployment of innovative financing mechanisms and instruments. Through a series of discussions, the DIII has identified a range of initiatives, including platforms for pooled digital investments and technical forums designed to enhance coordination and share best practices. Detailed in the report, these initiatives aim to enable stakeholders to improve coordination and collaboratively finance infrastructure projects. With this document, the initiative aims to inspire multistakeholder solutions through innovative financing of digital infrastructure, moving toward the goal of providing universal, meaningful connectivity to the 2.6 billion unconnected individuals across the world by 2030." (Executive summary) more

External Link (81)

Deprived Media Market, Lw Ethical Standards, Need for Effective Legislation. The Future of the Media in North Macedonia – Facts and Trends

Vesna Nikodinoska, Tamara Chausidis

Sarajevo; Skopje; Ljubljana: Mediacentar; Macedonian Institute for Media; Peace Institute; South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2025), 41 pp.

"The following conclusions can be drawn from the data analysis: • The socio-economic status of journalists should be continuously advanced via improvement of working conditions in newsrooms and greater acknowledgement of labour rights on the part of media owners and the state. • Rapid technologi ... cal and information changes impose the need for adapting the ethical and professional standards to the new digital environment, as well as creating specific guidelines for the media and journalists in terms of the use of artificial intelligence. • The interest of young people in studies in journalism, communications, and media is drastically decreasing due to the weak link between studies with the labour market, the poor economic situation in media, and the inherent risks to this profession. It is necessary to modernize the study programmes and curricula which should be in line with the newly emerging environment, as well as making it possible to interlink with the media industry. • Disinformation and non-compliance with ethical standards are often evident in online media, thus there is already a wide discussion in the media community about the legal definition of the status and functioning of the online media. • Ownership transparency in broadcast media is at a high level, which is not the case in internet media, as the latter are outside the legal scope. The legal solution for pluralism in media ownership does not correspond to the new digital environment, therefore changes are needed that will enable development of the media market and industry consolidation. • Funds from the state budget for paid political advertising during elections and public interest campaigns have increased in recent years and represent a significant source of funding for many media outlets. The above increases media dependence on state funds, as well as the possibility of corruption and media clientelism. • Professional media organizations and the civil sector support the idea of establishing a fund for the development of media pluralism, to serve as an independent mechanism for developing projects and contents of public interest. Such approach will encourage diversity, quality, and independence in the media industry. • In the media landscape, there are not enough media and/or programmes that represent ethnic groups, marginalized groups, and persons with disabilities, while non-profit media is one of the most underdeveloped segments therein. Trust in institutions, including in the media, is very low, due to the high level of systemic corruption, disinformation, non-transparency, and weak effectiveness of institutions. • Media literacy is included in formal education as a systemic approach to teaching, but awareness of its importance should be promoted more among all age groups and segments of society. • Transparent and efficient policies, comprehensive analyses, and overarching strategies are needed to cover all segments of the media market, including the digital sphere. The limited media market adversely affects the economic situation of the media, resulting in a lack of evident development of pluralism, diversity, and independence of the media in the audiovisual media sphere." (Executive summary, pages 4-5) more

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Antiqua et nova: Note über das Verhältnis von künstlicher Intelligenz und menschlicher Intelligenz

Dikasterium für die Glaubenslehre, Dikasterium für die Kultur und die Bildung

Bonn: Sekretariat der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (2025), 83 pp.

"Es ist daher von entscheidender Bedeutung, einzelne Anwendungen in bestimmten Kontexten kritisch zu bewerten, um festzustellen, ob sie die Würde und Berufung des Menschen und das Gemeinwohl fördern oder nicht. Wie bei vielen Technologien sind die Auswirkungen der verschiedenen KI-Anwendungen zu B ... more

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From Crisis to Renewal: Addressing AI’s Impact on Our Information Ecosystem

Lena Maria Böswald, Roa Powell, Tyreese Calnan

Berlin: Interface – Tech Analysis and Policy Ideas for Europe (2025), 18 pp.

"AI-driven search-summary features, with Google's AI Overviews (AIOs) being the most promiment example, are rapidly transforming how people access news, with profound implications for our information ecosystem. While AI holds potential to improve access to information, its current deployment risks u ... ndermining the sustainability, diversity, and reliability of news. As AI summaries summarise information directly within search results, they can significantly reduce traffic to news publishers. Evidence suggests users are less likely to click through to original sources when AIOs are present on Google, threatening the financial viability of journalism. These impacts from AI summaries and AIOs in particular are unlikely to be evenly distributed and will play out in different ways across the news sector across Europe, with smaller and ad-funded outlets particularly vulnerable, raising concerns about declining media plurality. At the same time, AI-generated summaries often fail to provide accurate and diverse information. Research shows that AI tools disproportionately rely on a narrow set of sources, marginalising smaller publishers. In addition, persistent issues with accuracy – including misleading or incorrect outputs – risk distorting public understanding and weakening trust in information systems. Current regulatory frameworks in both the EU and UK are struggling to address these challenges effectively. While multiple legal instruments are relevant and already in place – including competition law, platform regulation, copyright, and AI governance – none are fully equipped to respond quickly and comprehensively to the harms of monopolisation and the lack of remuneration for media outlets posed by AI summaries. We argue that competition policy offers the most effective and immediate route to intervention, with digital regulation serving as a secondary lever. The UK’s approach, based on flexible, case-specific competition rules, enables faster action through tailored conduct requirements for dominant firms like Google. In contrast, the EU’s framework is broader but slower, relying more heavily on traditional, time-intensive antitrust investigations and ongoing debates around copyright and remuneration for publishers. Both systems offer complementary strengths, and policymakers should learn from each other’s approaches. We therefore recommend a “competition-first” policy package to ensure fairer outcomes. Key measures include enforcing fair ranking and attribution practices, preventing unauthorised use of publisher content, and potentially requiring platforms to compensate news organisations. However, competition policy alone is not the key. We therefore propose additional long-term interventions, including greater transparency through “nutrition labels” for AI-generated content and increased public or democratic funding for journalism. These measures aim to strengthen the resilience and independence of the news sector, ensuring that trustworthy information remains accessible in an information ecosystem shaped by AI." (Executive summary) more

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State of the Media: Vanuatu

ABC International Development; University of Adelaide; Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) (2025), 33 pp.

"The findings in this report foreground the importance of improving access to rural communities, so media can adequately represent issues relevant to Vanuatu’s geographically dispersed audiences. The report also identified opportunities for media to increase awareness of gender, disability and soc ... more

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Emerging Media Structures, Media Policy and the Challenge of Disinformation in Post-Assad Syria

Asiem El Difraoui, Carola Richter, Anja Wollenberg

Berlin: Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT) (2025), 54 pp.

"This study analyses the media ecosystem in post-Assad Syria, focusing on the proliferation of disinformation, ethno-sectarian hate speech and Foreign Interference (FIMI). It covers the period from December 2024 to December 2025, one year after the collapse of the Assad regime. Besides disinformati ... on, the research examines emerging media structures, media policies of the transitional government, and the professional conditions of journalists across different regions of Syria. The study is based on field research conducted in Damascus in September and November 2025, semi-structured interviews with approximately 60 stakeholders —including government officials, journalists, and media experts from eight Syrian cities— in-depth desk research, social media analysis and a focus group discussion with Syrian media professionals held during a workshop in Amman [...] Within this broader context, the Syrian media landscape is undergoing significant transformation. State media institutions, such as the television channel Al-Ikhbariya, the news agency SANA, and the newspaper Al-Thawra, have adjusted their editorial lines and now largely support the new government, with limited critical coverage. The state media sector employs an estimated 7,000–8,000 staff, but displays pronounced salary inequalities between long-standing employees and newly appointed executives from Idlib. Media outlets funded by Qatar, including Syria Now and Syria TV, have gained prominence due to their close alignment with the new authorities. While some exile media outlets have begun to return to Syria, local and independent media organisations continue to operate under precarious financial conditions. In the Kurdish-controlled northeast of Syria (AANES), an autonomous media system persists, though it has been severely affected by the withdrawal of U.S. funding. Disinformation represents a central challenge in the Syrian media and information environment, particularly given the dominance of social media and messaging platforms as primary news sources. The study identifies multiple actors involved in coordinated disinformation campaigns. These include remnants of the former regime (Foloul), who seek to destabilise the transitional authorities as well as foreign actors—for example Russia, Iran, Israel and Turkey—that pursue their own geopolitical interests partly through coordinated campaigns; and ISIS propaganda, which routinely calls for attacks on Alawites, Shias, Christians, Druze, Kurds, and other groups it casts as enemies. Most of the various ethno-religious communities are both targets and producers of disinformation. Competing narratives centred on victimhood, revenge, and revisionism have contributed to cycles of mistrust and fear. Disinformation, hate speech, and propaganda are primarily disseminated via Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Based on these findings, the study proposes five policy recommendations: (1) the establishment of a Syria Media and Disinformation Observatory to monitor and analyse disinformation trends; (2) the development of a context-sensitive media literacy toolkit; (3) sustained international funding for public interest media; (4) cross-regional professional networking and training programmes for Syrian journalists; and (5) youth-focused initiatives aimed at promoting social cohesion. The study concludes that the future development of a pluralistic media system in Syria will depend largely on internal power dynamics within the ruling elites, particularly the balance between ideological hardliners and more pragmatic actors." (Executive summary) more

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Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: Strengthening AI Foundations

Washington, DC: World Bank (2025), xix, 111 pp.

"The recent rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has outpaced society's ability to fully grasp its implications. Unlike technological shifts that have unfolded over decades, AI's integration is accelerating at an unprecedented speed and scale. Along with AI's immense opportunities come ne ... more

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Crisis in Journalism: The Impact of the US Government Funding Cuts on Global Media

Rafiq Copeland (prep.)

Internews Europe (2025), 12 pp.

"In FY2024, the US Congress approved $271.5 million in foreign assistance through the US State Department and USAID in the category of “Independent Media and Free Flow of Information”. Of this, an estimated $150 million directly funded journalism and media support, with the remainder supporting ... the wider information ecosystem and enabling environment through related topics such as freedom of expression, technology policy and digital rights (often with significant overlap between programming). In 2025 and beyond, the vast majority of this funding will disappear – potentially for good. The sudden revocation of funding has dealt a devastating blow to local media outlets, forcing many to shut down or drastically reduce their operations. This has cut off crucial financial support and resources, leaving journalists without the means to continue their vital work when they need it most. The media outlets that have been most reliant on US Government (USG) funding are those operating in the world’s most challenging and volatile environments – conflict zones, authoritarian regimes, disaster-affected regions and underserved communities where access to reliable information can be a matter of life and death. In these contexts, other business models, such as advertising or subscriptions, are often non-existent or unreliable. And it’s not just media organisations that have been devastated by these cuts – associated support organisations, such as unions, training institutions, legal services, and advocacy bodies, have also been severely impacted. Many of the global media outlets that received USG funding have had to immediately cut staff and reduce coverage, while almost all face reduced ability to operate, and uncertainty around longer-term viability. For media operating in high-risk or authoritarian contexts, funding cuts have dramatically increased their vulnerability, not only by weakening operations but by exposing them to greater legal and physical threats. As “lawfare” tactics like defamation suits and restrictive media laws rise, so too do coordinated attacks on journalists’ digital and physical safety – deliberate efforts to silence dissent and suppress democratic discourse. While some partners have been able to temporarily maintain operations, without new funding, the resulting reduction in capacity looks set to deteriorate further." (Overview, page 2) more

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Russian information operations outside of the Western information environment

Jonathan Morley-Davies, Jem Thomas, Graham Baines

Riga: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, Rev. version (2025), 184 pp.

"This report, drawing from research, qualitative and quantitative data, Key Insight Interviews (KIIs), digital tools, and Russian information and deception doctrine, explores the Kremlin’s IIOs in non-Western environments using five selected countries as case studies: Egypt, Mali, Kenya, South Afr ... more

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Demokratie beginnt im Lokalen: Zeit für eine neue Medienförderung

Christian-Matthias Wellbrock, Matthias Künzler, Leyla Dogruel, Gergana Baeva

Berlin: Heinrich Böll Stiftung (2025), 30 pp.

"[...] mit welchen Instrumenten können journalistische Marktaustritte verringert und Neugründungen gefördert werden – und das mit möglichst effizientem Mitteleinsatz? In diesem Kurzgutachten vergleichen wir verschiedene strukturelle Maßnahmen sowie Förderinstrumente mit Blick auf Kriterien w ... more

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State of the Media: Samoa

ABC International Development; University of Adelaide; Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) (2025), 41 pp.

"The findings in this report highlight the struggles of print media in Samoa, which are experiencing a declining audience share yet remain the benchmark for “best-practice” journalism. Media also experience significant challenges associated with the digitalisation of the sector, including strugg ... more

Encrypted Messaging and Extreme Speech: Policy Directions

Anmol Alphonso, Sérgio Barbosa, Cayley Clifford, Kiran Garimella, Elonnai Hickok, Martin Riedl, Erkan Saka, Herman Wasserman, Sahana Udupa

Munich: Ludwig-Maximilian Universität (LMU); Center for Digital Dignity (2025), 58 pp.

"The report highlights interventions in six main categories, namely: Platform governance; Mitigating digital influence operations; Supporting research; Strengthening fact-checking; Awareness raising and capacity building; Leveraging artificial intelligence responsibly. The recommendations highlight ... more

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Hamburg Declaration on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Key Guides

Hamburg: Hamburg Sustainability Conference; UNDP (2025), 7 pp.

"As global stakeholders from governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, and civil society, we convene in Hamburg to shape a human-centric, human-rights-based, inclusive, open, sustainable, and responsible AI future. We commit to advancing AI for the SDGs, aligning with o ... more

Information Ecosystems and Troubled Democracy: A Global Synthesis of the State of Knowledge on New Media, AI and Data Governance Deep Insights

Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Persons with Disabilites in Africa Deep Insights

Hamburg Declaration on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Key Guides

Information Ecosystems and Troubled Democracy: A Global Synthesis of the State of Knowledge on New Media, AI and Data Governance
Deep Insights

Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Persons with Disabilites in Africa
Deep Insights

Hamburg Declaration on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Key Guides