"This study examines disinformation and propaganda in war in the age of information particularly through social media. It analyzes Twitter's posts of the Afghan government and the Taliban, from January to March 2018. For understanding disinformation, 952 tweets of both parties were crosschecked with
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four national media outlets and a civilian protection advocacy group; and to recognize how the belligerents tried to present and propagate, their contents were analyzed to identify terms that dominate their outbound information. The study found discrepancy in information disseminated by the warring parties and mainstream media. Terrorism and Jihad were dominant frames of government and the Taliban, respectively. The findings could contribute to a greater body of literature regarding propaganda in operationalization of social media in the conflict zone." (Abstract)
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"The bulk of this report is based on data collected by a survey of more than 80,000 people in 40 markets and reflects media usage in January/February just before the coronavirus hit many of these countries. But the key trends that we document here, including changes in how people access news, low tr
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ust, and rising concern about misinformation have been a backdrop against which journalists, editors, politicians, and public health officials have been battling to reach ordinary people with key messages over the last few months. We know that this crisis has substantially increased the amount and frequency of news consumption as well as influenced attitudes to the news media, at least temporarily. We’ve captured this in a second set of polling data collected in April when the crisis was at its peak in some countries. This has helped us to see the impact of the crisis in terms of sources of news and also reminded us of the critical role that the news media play at times of national crisis, including documenting that people who rely on news media are better informed about the virus than those who do not. While many media companies have been enjoying record audience figures, news fatigue is also setting in, and the short-term and long-term economic impact of the crisis is likely to be profound – advertising budgets are slashed and a recession looms, threatening news media, some of whom are struggling with adapting to a changing world. Against this background, this year’s report also focuses on the shift towards paying for online news in many countries across the world, with detailed analysis of progress in three countries (the UK, USA, and Norway). This year, our report carries important data about the extent to which people value and trust local news, perhaps the sector most vulnerable to the economic shocks that will inevitably follow the health crisis itself. And we also explore the way people access news about climate change as well as attitudes to media coverage for the first time." (Foreword)
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"In this small book, we have identified 10 heroes from different media channels of the country and documented their stories. Our colleagues took their time and went for in-depth discussion with those media soldiers and transcribed those into pieces of stories. These stories embodied their first-hand
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experiences, fear, concerns, hope and aspiration. We believe, these stories will be inspirational and a reference for any pandemic journalist in future." (Preface)
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"The Routledge Companion to Media and Activism is a wide-ranging collection of 42 original and authoritative essays by leading contributors from a variety of academic disciplines. Introducing and exploring central debates about the diverse relationships between both media and protest, and communicat
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ion and social change, the book offers readers a reliable and informed guide to understanding how media and activism influence one another. The expert contributors examine the tactics and strategies of protest movements, and how activists organize themselves and each other; they investigate the dilemmas of media coverage and the creation of alternative media spaces and platforms; and they emphasize the importance of creativity and art in social change. Bringing together case studies and contributors from six continents, the collection is organized around themes that address past, present and future developments from around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Myanmar was originally portrayed as an internet success story. Connected in a matter of months after five decades of military dictatorship, Myanmar people were supposed to be able to communicate freely, access unimpeded information online, experience the benefits of a range of compelling and empowe
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ring digital services, and connect with the world. While social media opened up the country’s information and communication ecosystem in an unprecedented way, it also came with its share of challenges. Low levels of digital and media literacy, amidst a context of political transition, dominated by rising inter-communal tensions and the formalisation of a Buddhist nationalist movement, made for a dangerous cocktail. Facebook, which came to dominate the Myanmar internet ecosystem, failed to acknowledge and effectively mitigate the risks, letting its platform get abused and weaponised. This case study looks at the role of Facebook in fomenting violence in Myanmar. It explores how the social media platform was weaponised, reviews Facebook’s response to the situation, and draws learnings and recommendations for how risks may be better mitigated, moving forward." (Introduction)
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"In its 2020 presidential and legislative elections, Taiwan combatted and defeated Chinese propaganda and disinformation through a whole-of-society approach, one in which the government became better at debunking fake news and raising awareness of these attacks; civil society became more alert and c
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reated non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to detect, debunk, and block fake news online; and companies such as Facebook and LINE (similar to WhatsApp) became faster at finding and removing fake accounts and disinformation. Using Taiwan’s most recent elections as an example to elucidate the nature of Chinese propaganda and disinformation, this report identifies China’s motives, tactics, and actors in its foreign information warfare. Similar to Russia’s, China’s motives are to destabilize democracy and weaken governance in a target country by sowing doubts and chaos in its society, undermining its self-confidence, and increasing polarization and disunity. Its tactics include the following: 1) worsen existing social, political, economic, and generational divides; 2) exploit weaknesses in the informational system; 3) financially control and absorb traditional media; 4) employ its cyber army; 5) obfuscate the attack source through technological, commercial, and legal means; and 6) make the attacks partisan so that one side will at worst not condemn it and at best magnify the effects of its attacks. Its actors are the Chinese Cyberspace Administration, Central Propaganda Department, United Front Department, People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, 50-Cent Party (cyber army) and its content farms, and provinces, as well as agents from the target country employed by the Chinese government." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"Higher levels of disposable incomes, growing urbanization and mobility, and further industrialization in some parts of the world are leading to growing amounts of EEE. On average, the total weight (excluding photovoltaic panels) of global EEE consumption increases annually by 2.5 million metric ton
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s (Mt). After its use, EEE is disposed of, generating a waste stream that contains hazardous and valuable materials. This waste stream is referred to as e-waste, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), a term used mainly in Europe. This monitor provides the most comprehensive update of global e-waste statistics. In 2019, the world generated a striking 53.6 Mt of e-waste, an average of 7.3 kg per capita. The global generation of e-waste grew by 9.2 Mt since 2014 and is projected to grow to 74.7 Mt by 2030 – almost doubling in only 16 years.
The growing amount of e-waste is mainly fueled by higher consumption rates of EEE, short life cycles, and few repair options. Asia generated the highest quantity of e-waste in 2019 at 24.9 Mt, followed by the Americas (13.1 Mt) and Europe (12 Mt), while Africa and Oceania generated 2.9 Mt and 0.7 Mt, respectively. Europe ranked first worldwide in terms of e-waste generation per capita, with 16.2 kg per capita. Oceania was second (16.1 kg per capita), followed by the Americas (13.3 kg per capita), while Asia and Africa generated just 5.6 and 2.5 kg per capita, respectively. In 2019, the formal documented collection and recycling was 9.3 Mt, thus 17.4% compared to e-waste generated. It grew with 1.8 Mt since 2014, an annual growth of almost 0.4 Mt. However, the total e-waste generation increased by 9.2 Mt, with an annual growth of almost 2 Mt. Thus the recycling activities are not keeping pace with the global growth of e-waste. The statistics show that in 2019, the continent with the highest collection and recycling rate was Europe with 42.5%, Asia ranked second at 11.7%, the Americas and Oceania were similar at 9.4% and 8.8%, respectively, and Africa had the lowest rate at 0.9%. The fate of 82.6% (44.3 Mt) of e-waste generated in 2019 is uncertain, and its whereabouts and the environmental impact varies across the different regions." (Executive summary, pages 13-14)
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"The Access to Information Program (A2I) was a five-year Central Asia regional program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Internews under Cooperative Agreement 176-14-00005 from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2019. During the first phase of
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the project (2014-2017), Internews implemented activities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The second phase focused on activities in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan only, while Kyrgyzstan’s media sector was supported with a new standalone project. The project aimed to strengthen the long-term sustainability of targeted media outlets, facilitate regional cooperation and conduct a number of activities designed to promote the modernization of newsrooms throughout the region, improving the financial viability of media, and increasing access to information that will keep government institutions accountable to citizens. A2I activities were implemented toward the following Project Goal: Increase citizen access to civically-relevant information in order to improve governance outcomes. From October 1, 2014 until September 30, 2017, the project was based around the following four objectives: Objective One: Increased regional cooperation to improve the competitiveness of non-state media outlets through content generation and sharing; Objective Two: Increased resilience of independent media to survive the impending treaty mandated shift to digital broadcasting across Central Asia; Objective Three: Professional standards for diverse and sustainable media voices; Objective Four: Improved legislative and policy environment. In 2017, USAID awarded Internews a two-year cost extension, under which the program goal remained the same, but the objectives were slightly adjusted to reflect the changing environment and needs of the media community in Central Asia." (Executive summary)
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"This fully updated second edition of the popular handbook provides an exploration of thinking on media ethics, bringing together the intellectual history of global mass media ethics over the past 40 years, summarising existing research and setting future agenda grounded in philosophy and social sci
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ence. This second edition offers up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of media ethics, including source ethics, social media, the roots of law in ethics, and documentary film. The wide range of contributors include scholars and former professionals who worked as journalists, public relations professionals, and advertising practitioners. They lay out both a good grounding from which to begin more in-depth and individualized explorations, and extensive bibliographies for each chapter to aid that process. For students and professionals who seek to understand and do the best work possible, this book will provide both insight and direction. Standing apart in its comprehensive coverage, the Handbook is required reading for scholars, graduate students, and researchers in media, mass communication, journalism, ethics, and related areas." (Publisher description)
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"This book tells the story of community radio in four South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The three parts of the book focus on policy (discussed country by country), issues in practice, and case studies. In effect, however, each of the chapters touches on these topics to
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one degree or another. The first section presents very helpful background on the introduction of community radio in the four countries, focusing not only on policy issues but also on the history of setting up the stations. The second section calls attention to particular challenges such as the role of NGOs, radio spectrum management, the introduction of somewhat advanced technologies into rural communities, the role of women, the possibilities of community radio for disaster response, and issues of sustainability. The third section (the case studies) offers a good deal of practical suggestions to address challenges such as conflicts in the communities, assessment of the stations, and the practices of democracy." (Review in "Religion and Social Communication", vol. 20:2, 2022, page 418-421, https://www.asianresearchcenter.org)
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"Taking a global and interdisciplinary approach, the Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories provides a comprehensive overview of conspiracy theories as an important social, cultural and political phenomenon in contemporary life. This handbook provides the most complete analysis of the phenomenon
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to date. It analyses conspiracy theories from a variety of perspectives, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It maps out the key debates, and includes chapters on the historical origins of conspiracy theories, as well as their political significance in a broad range of countries and regions. Other chapters consider the psychology and the sociology of conspiracy beliefs, in addition to their changing cultural forms, functions and modes of transmission. This handbook examines where conspiracy theories come from, who believes in them and what their consequences are." (Publisher description)
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"We conducted a mixed-methods research project in Nigeria, India, and Pakistan consisting of surveys, survey experiments, and semi-structured interviews, to better understand the spread and impact of misinformation, and in particular of misinformation on mobile messaging apps (MIMs). One of our goal
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s was to evaluate the relevance and prevalence of viral false claims in each country. We found evidence that popular “false claims” debunked by fact-checking companies are widely recognized, but, unsurprisingly, news from mainstream media are more widely recognized than the false claims. This is certainly a good sign, which confirms similar trends reported elsewhere. However, we also found preliminary evidence that misinformation circulates wide on messaging apps. When asked whether and where they encountered researcher-selected false claims, participants reported to be exposed to more false claims than “mainstream claims” (i.e., true) on messaging apps, while this was not the case for traditional media, such as newspapers and TV News. While others have found false claims to be more prevalent on social media than on mainstream media, this is the first systematic evidence that messaging apps might be the primary source for spread of misinformation." (Executive summary)
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"This toolkit aims to assist community radio stations to understand each of the 17 Goals, engage with different actors and stakeholders, map policies and initiatives at the level of both, central and state governments in India, and provide ideas for design of content and outreach campaigns. After re
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ading this manual and completing the exercises listed we are confident that the community radio station representatives will be able to: 1. Understand and appreciate the SDGs; 2. Identify stakeholders within the geographical area of the station’s broadcast; 3. Create discussion points with the community members and actively engage with other key stakeholders to produce relevant content and outreach activities." (Introduction, page 23)
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"Worin besteht eine visuelle Kultur der Migration? Ömer Alkin liefert hierfür die erste umfassende Geschichte und Analyse des ›deutsch-türkischen Kinos‹. Mit seinem Konzept der »Polyzentrierung« macht er die populären Yesilçam-Filme aus der Türkei in der Historie des Genres sichtbar und
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wendet sich so gegen eurozentrische und epistemologisch vereinseitigende Modelle. Die postkolonialtheoretisch informierte Auseinandersetzung mit der Historie mündet so in medientheoretische Reflexionen: Ästhetische und kulturtheoretische Analysen zeigen, als was Migration in den Filmkulturen überhaupt sichtbar wird. Dabei werden die populären Filme zu »denkenden Medien«, die zu grundlegenden Erkenntnissen für die Bestimmung einer visuellen Kultur der Migration führen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Radio as a medium is continuously playing a significant role not only in the dissemination of information but also in the propagation of culture and nation-building, providing many minorities, remote, and disenfranchised areas with a low-cost civic sphere. Radio is an essential and useful tool for
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communication. The phrase “a radio service by the people, close to the people and for the people” sums up the essential features of this service. So, we can say that Community Radio must not only be run by but also serve the welfare of the society. It aims to help and benefit the public group through its programming. In this paper, the researcher intends to observe the community radio as an emerging platform to discuss developmental issues programming of broadcasts by total four CRS. So, two stations from educational category and two is from Ngo category from Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Alwar and Sirohi district of Rajasthan as a case study." (Abstract)
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"Preaching has been central to Muslim communities throughout the centuries. The liturgical Friday sermon is a prime example, although other genres that are less commonly known also serve important functions. This book addresses the ways in which Muslims relate various forms of religious oratory to a
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uthoritative tradition in 21st-century Islamic practice, while striving to adapt to local contexts and the changing circumstances of politics, media and society. This is the first book of its kind to look at homiletics beyond a specific country focus. Taking into consideration the historical developments of Muslim preaching, it offers a collection of thoroughly contextualised case studies of oratory in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Sweden and the USA. The analyses presented here show shared emphasis on struggles for legitimacy, efforts to speak authoritatively, as well as discursive opportunities and constraints." (Publisher description)
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"Transnational Korean Television: Cultural Storytelling and Digital Audience provides previously absent analyses of Korean TV dramas' transnational influences, peculiar production features, distribution, and consumption to enrich the contextual understanding of Korean TV's transcultural mobility. Ev
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en as academic discussions about the Korean Wave have heated up, Korean television studies from transnational viewpoints often lack in-depth analysis and overlook the recently extended flow of Korean television beyond Asia. This book illustrates the ecology of Korean television along with the Korean Wave for the past two decades in order to showcase Korean TV dramas' international mobility and its constant expansion with the different Western television and their audiences. Korean TV dramas' mobility in crossing borders has been seen in both transnational and transcultural flows, and the book opens up the potential to observe the constant flow of Korean television content in new places, peoples, manners, and platforms around the world." (Publisher description)
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"The spread of misinformation on Facebook in Bangladesh, a country with a population of over 163 million, has resulted in chaos, hate attacks, and killings. By interviewing journalists, fact-checkers, in addition to surveying the general public, we analyzed the current state of verifying misinformat
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ion in Bangladesh. Our findings show that most people in the ‘news audience’ want the news media to verify the authenticity of online information that they see online. However, the newspaper journalists say that fact-checking online information is not a part of their job, and it is also beyond their capacity given the amount of information being published online every day. We further find that the voluntary fact-checkers in Bangladesh are not equipped with sufficient infrastructural support to fill in this gap. We show how our findings are connected to some of the core concerns of CSCW (Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and Social Computing) community around social media, collaboration, infrastructural politics, and information inequality. From our analysis, we also suggest several pathways to increase the impact of fact-checking efforts through collaboration, technology design, and infrastructure development." (Abstract)
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