"This research demonstrates the complexity of the vaccine information ecosystem, where a cacophony of voices and narratives have coalesced to create an environment of extreme uncertainty. Two topics are driving
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a large proportion of the current global vaccine discourse, especially around a Covid-19 vaccine: the “political and economic motives” of actors and institutions involved in vaccine development and the “safety, efficacy and necessity” concerns around vaccines. Narratives challenging the safety of vaccines have been perennial players in the online vaccine debate. Yet this research shows that narratives related to mistrust in the intentions of institutions and key figures surrounding vaccines are now driving as much of the online conversation and vaccine skepticism as safety concerns. This issue is compounded by the complexities and vulnerabilities of this information ecosystem. It is full of “data deficits” — situations where demand for information about a topic is high, but the supply of credible information is low — that are being exploited by bad actors. These data deficits complicate efforts to accurately make sense of the development of a Covid-19 vaccine and vaccines more generally. When people can’t easily access reliable information around vaccines and when mistrust in actors and institutions related to vaccines is high, misinformation narratives rush in to fill the vacuum." (Page 2)
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"Key finding 1: A trusted thirdperson is the most important information provider. When asked for their main source of information, family, friends, and religious leaders accounted for 89% of the response choices combined. Additionally, 97% stated t
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hey trust their family and friends. Key finding 2: Social media, the new player in the game? Even though radio remains the main channel of information used by the population (76%) – followed by television (48%) – WhatsApp (29%) and Facebook (28%) combined total 57% of respondents’ choice. Moreover, among participants who have Internet access, the leading applications to receive news areWhatsApp (82%) and Facebook (70%). Key finding 3: News on current events and sports are the most preferred content in traditional media channels. Participants mostly responded they like to see “news on current events” and “sports news” in traditional media channels. Radio listeners mostly enjoy “news on current events” (61%), newspapers readers like to read about “news on current events” (65%) and “sports” (33%), and television consumers mostly favor “news on current events” (49%) and “sports” (37%). Sports are ahead of educational and/or health programs in all types of media. Key finding 4: Residents in Port-au-Prince have unmet information needs. When asked about the information they need the most – at the time –, 52% of participants selected “how to find a job”, followed closely by “general news about what is happening in the country including COVID-19” (51%). Respondents also mentioned the need for information on “access to food and drinking water” (48%), as well as information about the “security situation in Port-au-Prince” (47%). Key finding 5: Information consumers are not passive actors: trust and relevance are key points. Content and source are the two main factors affecting the information ecosystem in Port-auPrince. Even among their preferred source of information – family and friends – or their preferred channel – radio –, trust is not blindly granted. In the focus groups, participants point out the lack of training of journalists, the fact that many confuse facts with opinions or place greater value in sensationalism, often leading to unsubstantiated claims and misinformation [...]" (Pages 5-14)
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"Reliable, high quality information is a key priority for the young generation in Burkina Faso. Perhaps as a consequence of political insecurities and the prevalence of violent extremism,
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a majority of young people between 15 and 25 years seems very aware of the negative consequences of malevolent forms of communication such as cyberbullying, disinformation and hate speech. At the same time, many young people lack vital Media and Information Literacy skills in the fields of access, creation and analysis of media content. This is according to results from a 2019 representative survey conducted for the MIL INDEX study on behalf of DW Akademie. Cyrille Guel from media NGO EducommunicAfrik echoes these findings, saying in an interview for the study that a basic knowledge of “how media work and how information is disseminated” is lacking. Denis Vincenti of development agency Fondation Hirondelle argues that this lack of skills emanates from the fact that young people are not given a chance to voice their concerns in the country, despite below 25-year-olds accounting for roughly 65 % of the population. The country report presented here is based on the findings of the MIL INDEX study, for which a representative survey, eight focus groups and six expert interviews were conducted in Burkina Faso between November 2018 and April 2019. The Study focused on five Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skill sets: Access, analysis, reflection, creation and action. For each of these dimensions, survey respondents received a score ranging between 0 (= no skills whatsoever) and 20 (= highest level of skills) points, adding up to a total maximum score of 100. The average 15-25-year-old Burkinabè respondent had moderate to good skills when it came to access (10.5), analysis (10.8), as well as reflection (11.5). Deficits were found mainly in the areas of action (8.2) and creation (5.6). The total score amounted to 46.6 out of a possible 100." (Executive summary)
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"Key trends: Fueling the pandemic, a dangerous “disinfodemic” has arisen; Against soaring demand for verified information, independent media have risen to the challenge; Technology companies are taking action, but more transparency is needed; S
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ome regulatory measures have led to new restrictions of human rights; To keep the public informed, journalists are putting their own safety at risk; The economic impact of COVID-19 may pose an existential threat to journalism; Amid the crisis, there are new opportunities to stand up for journalism." (Page 1)
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"This report brings together disparate terminology, findings and recommendations from the private and public sectors and academia to synthesise a set of five general steps for practitioners when performing impact assessments. Impact assessment (IA)
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compares a variable of interest after an intervention (e.g. a communication campaign) to what it would it be if that intervention had never happened. Accompanying each of the five steps are examples of how migration communicators can assess the impact of campaigns to, first, change attitudes and, second, change behaviour.
Step 1: Set objectives for the intervention that define what the desired effect is. Ideally, this should (1) meet the SMART criteria of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timebound; (2) focus on ultimate outcomes, rather than only outputs; (3) avoid a number of common mistakes in setting objectives and (4) carefully consider what the—as specific as possible— target audience is.
Step 2: Identify a measure of the impact(s) that the intervention has as its objective. These should be (1) clearly defined and unambiguous; (2) externally valid (they act reliably if used for other interventions) and (3) internally valid (they measure what they claim to measure). There already exist long-lists of measures (also known as indicators) to choose from.
Step 3: Estimate what would have happened had there been no intervention, known as a ‘counterfactual’. Ideally, but not necessarily, this requires performing a pre-intervention measurement, also known as baseline assessment. However, this is not always possible. This should not dissuade practitioners but instead assumptions of any IA, as discussed below, should be made openly. A long list of methods for measurement, including sampling considerations, are provided.
Step 4: Perform the intervention. This may involve separating a randomised sample into a treatment group(s)—that receives the intervention(s)—and a control group—that does not. If this is not feasible, other forms of counterfactual are possible that ‘construct’ a control group. This section also overviews: (1) types of communication campaigns; (2) the MINDSPACE checklist of behavioural influences for interventions; (3) key recommendations on persuasive interventions from ICMPD’s previous work; (4) recommendations on campaigns deterring irregular migration.
Step 5: Post-intervention measurement and analysis: (1) those receiving the intervention should be measured post-intervention (ideally, as well as, either a genuine or constructed control group); (2) the impact must be calculated: usually the difference in the variable of interest pre- and post-intervention and/or between the treatment and control group; (3) theoretical consideration of why and what aspect of the campaign caused an impact; are the findings likely to be universalizable?; (4) creation (and, in some cases, incorporation) of recommendations based on combination of impact and theoretical considerations." (Executive summary)
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"• Data impact assessments determine the potential benefits and risks associated with data management. They are a critical component of responsible data management, but are often overlooked.
• There are
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a wide variety of approaches to data impact assessments. Selecting the right assessment for a given data management activity can minimise the risk and maximise the benefit to affected people, humanitarians and other stakeholders.
• Applicable laws and regulations, internal policies, the context in which data management will take place and other factors determine which assessment(s) should be applied to a data management activity.
• Data impact assessments should be conducted before and during data management activities in order to inform project planning and design. Activities should be redesigned or cancelled if the foreseeable risks of data management outweigh the intended benefits." (Key takeaways)
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"The range of actions that social partners and audiovisual stakeholders can take to improve gender equality and diversity is broad. From ambitious strategies and plans to smaller-scale initiatives that have a direct impact on the organisation of wo
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rk. The good practices presented in this report have proven their efficiency. The lessons learned from their implementation can serve as inspiration, if not reference, in other national contexts. The high value of the regular production of statistics and qualitative analyses of the levels of representation of women and other under-represented groups on screens and in the audiovisual workforce has been demonstrated. It is particularly important to monitor developments and assess the impact of actions. Social partners and sector stakeholders, with the support of public institutions, have a joint interest to work together towards a more systematic approach to the collection of European-level gender data. Specific tools and funds also need to be made available to audiovisual stakeholders to help them implement concrete initiatives that promote equality and diversity in their workplaces, on sets and in studios, and in relation to their audiences." (Conclusions, page 69)
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"This handbook and additional dossiers, freely available at the Digital Resistance project homepage (www.digi-res.eu), provide all the information teachers need to conduct a short module on the topic of “fake news” in the classroom or other set
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tings with a group of students aged between 14 and 20 years. The methodology suggested in this handbook can easily be adapted by other actors in the educational sector working in different learning contexts. It begins by providing background knowledge about the topic of fake news and digital competences, followed by guiding steps on how to work on this topic with students in a short module. The learning methodology used is based on enquiry-based learning, so students can be supported to conduct a small-scale research project on a self-chosen topic connected to fake news. Information on this can be found in Chapter 3 of this handbook. In Chapter 5, the concept of peer-to-peer learning is used to set up learning processes between students attending the short module." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"La primera parte, justo después de esta introducción, aborda las necesidades más habituales de los medios de comunicación a la hora de hacer los análisis de redes. Muchas veces resulta difícil saber por dónde empezar
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a analizar la actividad en las redes sociales. La primera parte del manual te ayudará a encontrar rápidamente las respuestas que necesitas sin tener que buscar por todo el documento. En la segunda parte, nos fijaremos en algunos de los aspectos básicos del análisis de redes. Veremos lo que significan las diferentes métricas de las redes sociales y cuáles son las más importantes. La tercera parte explica brevemente los recursos que necesitamos para analizar eficazmente nuestra comunicación por internet. La cuarta parte es la más importante de este manual. En esta sección, nos centramos en Facebook, Twitter, YouTube y WhatsApp, y te explicamos cómo utilizar herramientas de análisis gratuitas para obtener mayor información sobre tu comunicación y tu audiencia. En esta guía no abordamos Instagram porque cuando la elaboramos había muy pocos socios de la DW Akademie en África activos en la plataforma. La quinta parte es una introducción a cómo elaborar informes y cuál es la mejor manera de presentar los análisis a jefes o publicistas. La sexta parte sirve de orientación para facilitadores que quieran utilizar este manual en talleres o cursos. Y, por último, la séptima parte contiene un glosario exhaustivo que explica los términos técnicos más importantes en el campo del análisis de redes sociales." (Introducción, página 4)
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"Burkina Faso is dramatically confronted with the consequences of violence, persistent food insecurity and malnutrition. Five of the thirteen regions of the country are particularly affected, and the humanitarian situation has been steadily deteriorating since 2017 with
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a peak observed in the second half of 2019. In total, 2.2 million people face crucial unmet needs created by the deterioration of their living conditions; among them more than 918,000 people are in need of services linked to their survival. Efforts are underway to scale up the response to cope with these escalating needs. In late October 2019, the Humanitarian Country Team was activated in Burkina Faso, replacing the Humanitarian-Development Country Team, to enable dedicated leadership in coordination and information management. And between December 2019 and January 2020, the CDAC Network – in partnership with Ground Truth Solutions and with funding from the H2H Network and with the assistance of UN agencies and CDAC members operating in the country – undertook a scoping mission to the country to assess the status, current strengths and needs related to response-wide Communication, Community Engagement and Accountability." (CDAC website)
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"This guide focuses on medicines and medical devices. It aims to provide journalists with the tools and knowledge to independently assess the evidence, critically appraise the risk-benefit ratio of any given product or policy, and expose corruption and malpractice. It can be read as
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a textbook, one chapter at a time, or used selectively to support your work. Investigating behind-the-scenes is consuming but rewarding. As we’ll discuss in Chapter 2, combining the methods and standards of muckraking and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) can be highly effective. EBM, defined as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients,” has been constantly revised to include a wider public health approach. But as Students4BestEvidence, a network of students from around the world who are interested in learning more about evidence-based health care, put it: “It’s about asking the right questions and using the best research evidence to answer those questions.” EBM is an approach that matches the ethics and standards of investigative journalism." (Introduction, page 8-9)
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"IOM seeks to provide practical guidance on designing, delivering and evaluating effective communication campaigns relating to migration. The guidance covers different approaches, themes, programme areas and methods to improve relevance, audience participation and results. The aim is to identify and
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navigate the main elements and pitfalls for carrying out a communication campaign within the scope of the Organization’s work. This resource is designed to support IOM staff and migration professionals by providing tools and templates for producing effective and responsive campaigns in unique and challenging migration contexts. The guidance given in this publication is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 presents a definition of communication campaigns specific to the migration sector, and the background and purpose of these guidelines. Chapter 2 focuses on guiding principles, ethics and related areas, including obtaining informed consent. Chapter 3 addresses campaign design and planning, including analysing the context, defining campaign goals, framing the problem, identifying audiences, setting objectives, designing messaging and assessing the information landscape. Chapter 4 looks at campaign implementation, and also gives examples of some creative IOM communication campaigns. Chapter 5 provides an overview of different approaches to monitoring and evaluation (M&E), demonstrating the tools and methods, including carrying out an impact evaluation." (Introduction)
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"Key trends: Harassment, arrests and physical violence against journalists, mostly by government security forces and sometimes by protestors, have risen in recent years; Press freedom and freedom of expression has been impacted in many countries by these attacks;
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A range of attacks have been identified by UNESCO in 65 countries since 2015 for this report; At least ten journalists have been killed since 2015 while covering protests, according to UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed Journalists; Tactics used against journalists have violated international laws and norms that have been long agreed upon under the umbrella of multilateral institutions." (Page 1)
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"An increasing number of prosecutions of bloggers and Facebook users have taken place in relation to their peaceful expression online. They have been investigated or charged or sometimes sentenced on criminal charges including defamation, insulting state institutions and “harming” others through
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telecommunication networks. Amnesty International has examined the cases of 40 bloggers, administrators of widely followed Facebook pages, political activists and human rights defenders, who have been targeted by such prosecutions. These cases point to a worrying trend of people being tried for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression online." (Back cover)
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"COVID-19 disinformation creates confusion about medical science with immediate impact on every person on the planet, and upon whole societies. It is more toxic and more deadly than disinformation about other subjects. That is why this policy brief coins the term disinfodemic. Using this frame, the
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brief helps to make sense of this new menace, and of the many types of responses that are unfolding internationally. To do this, it unpacks nine main themes and four dominant formats of COVID-19 disinformation, and presents a typology that groups the range of responses to the problem into 10 classes." (Introduction)
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"This brief sets out practical considerations relating to flows of information, misinformation and disinformation though online media, particularly social media networks, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It details various types of online media, key players and influencers on social media, a
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nd strategies for ensuring good information and disrupting mis- and disinformation. It is important to analyse different types of information across different channels, how it is spread and to whom, in order to determine how social media can be harnessed in both positive and negative ways. The WHO recommends proactive communication during a public health emergency that, “encourages the public to adopt protective behaviours, facilitates heightened disease surveillance, reduces confusion and allows for better allocation of resources – all of which are necessary for an effective response”. With its global influence, social media requires particular consideration during times of public health emergencies and was highlighted as a key issue by the Social Science Working Group of WHO’s Global Research Roadmap for COVID-19. Timely, accurate communication through all media sources is a critical component of ensuring trust in response activities." (Page 1)
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"According to the respondents (522 respondents), people pay most attention to "prevention methods from COVID-19" (3.82 out of the full score 5). On the contrary, the respondents pay relatively less attention to "Pandemic Statistics (local, national, and international)" (3.55 out of the full score 5)
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. In the survey which had 522 respondents, many of the respondents (counts: n=139) who requested further information wanted to know more about the possible cure and treatment of COVID-19. This trend also justifies the ongoing global search for a possible cure for the virus, especially the consideration for the local cure in some African countries. “Social Media platform” is the most used platform to gather information about COVID-19, followed by Television, Websites, Radio, Printed Media, Consultation with Medical staff and Communication through Non-medical sources being the least used source of information. According to the respondents, the information from Multilateral Organizations (e.g. World Health Organization, United Nations, ICRC, etc.) is most trusted by the respondents (scored 3.66 out of 5) and followed by medical staff (scored 3.36 out of 5) and international news houses (scored 3.27 out of 5). Most suspicious information is circulating on the topics of treatment and prevention, and the majority of them have encountered much of the information on local and traditional treatment." (Pages 4-5)
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"Young Ivorians are adept at using digital media. They are creative when it comes to using digital media and many have developed strategies to cope with media malpractices such as cyberbullying or hate speech. These are two significant, indicative findings from the present MIL INDEX country study. B
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oth seem very impressive considering the challenges of high illiteracy rates and the strongly politicized national media landscape in Côte d’Ivoire. The results of the study are drawn from eight focus groups conducted in the beginning of 2019 in Abidjan and Bouaké and interviews with eight local experts. They confirm that young people are very good at using and creating content on social media but urgently need better critical, analytical, and reflective skills.
This MIL INDEX study is aimed at obtaining a concise picture of media- and information-related skills amongst youths under the age of 35 in Côte d’Ivoire. It addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) according to DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action.
In terms of access the focus groups conducted for this study reveal that young urban and semi-urban Ivorians use a variety of different media for purposes such as consuming information, communication, entertainment, education, or business information. Digital media, particularly social media platforms and instant messengers, are the most used and most popular among this age group and are generally preferred over traditional media. Nonetheless, radio and television are still valued for their auditory and visual input which are significant characteristics considering the high illiteracy rates of about 40,4 % present in Côte d’Ivoire (UIS, 2018). A divide between more urban and more rural regions is visible in the case of radio programs, which are more popular in more rural settings. The focus groups suggest this is due to the fact that local radio stations are often the only media which provide news relevant to more remote areas. Most other media show a tendency to focus only on news from the capital. Printed media are widely regarded as too costly and outdated by Ivorian youths.
The results of the analysis dimension indicate that most focus group participants possess a good digital and media knowledge while at the same time many lack awareness of their rights to freedom of expression and access to information. Striking was that youths generally consider content provided by traditional media to be more trustworthy, but mainly consume social media content. This and often very loose definitions of what media quality means showed that there is still room for improvement when it comes to the young people’s analytical skills. Overall, urbanites seem to question the trustworthiness of media content slightly more than youths from more rural regions.
Results from the reflection dimension confirm that Ivorian youths are constantly exposed to malevolent forms of communication and media malpractices such as cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and disinformation. Most young people show strong abilities when it comes to recognizing media problems and using prevention or coping strategies to handle them. Exceptions are politically motivated disinformation and biased reporting which are taken as normal in the Ivorian context. Due to this tendency towards normalization only very few young people reflect critically upon this media malpractice. Reflection on a deeper level such as on the impact of media messages or motivations of news outlets is often missing among young people." (Executive summary)
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"From 21 to 23 November 2018, eight communication officers working in French-speaking Africa for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) met in Dakar, Senegal, to talk about how they have used radio as
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a tool for humanitarian communication. They also learned how to evaluate their programmes’ impact with the help of Adrien Zerbini from Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss non-governmental organization that provides information to communities in crisis so that they can take personal and political action. The ICRC and Fondation Hirondelle signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2017 on working together in the field. This guide serves as a written record of the best practices discussed at the Dakar workshop and provides simple, helpful, easy-to-use guidelines. The guide is divided into two sections: part one contains ten golden rules and some tips for producing a good radio broadcast; part two outlines the different types of broadcast and how to evaluate a programme’s impact." (Introduction)
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"Teachers can cultivate gender-sensitive graduates able to impact on the future communication environment to help make it inclusive, diverse and open. Scholars from 10 universities from across all world regions have collaborated on this project: Complutense University (Spain), Hawassa University (Et
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hiopia), Howard University (United States), Iberoamerican University of the Dominican Republic (UNIBE), National Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (Chile), RMIT University (Australia), SNDT Women’s University (India), Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, (Ecuador), University of Padova (Italy). In preparing this curriculum, members of these Unitwin universities embarked on a year-long process of research, mapping and writing to ensure that cultural differences were taken into consideration in writing the chapters. This underpins the focus on core concepts such as gender mainstreaming, gender sensitivity, equality and equity, all which have been reflected in the book. It also ensures a wide range of information and up-to-date evidence, that can appropriately resonate in different ways in different countries." (Foreword)
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