"Drawing on cases from across the continent, contributors explore the form and nature of social media and government censorship, often via antisocial media laws, or less overt tactics such as state cybersurveillance, spyware attacks on social media activists, or the artful deployment of the rhetoric
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of "fake news" as a smokescreen to muzzle critical voices. The book also reflects on the Chinese influence in African governments’ clampdown on social media and the role of Israeli NSO Group Technologies, as well as the tactics and technologies which activists and users are deploying to resist or circumvent social media censorship." (Publisher description)
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"This book offers a ten-year perspective on ongoing and evolving practices of digital activism across the Middle East and North Africa, drawing on interviews and ethnographic evidence collected between 2012 and 2022. It examines the shifting narrative around digital activism in the region, from the
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wake of the 2011 uprisings to the 2019 series of protests coined 'the second wave of the Arab Spring'. It considers how media activists navigate the transition from the emergent to the mainstream in a climate of contentious politics, following the civil mobilisations of the pro-revolutionary youths in Tunisia, Egypt, and Lebanon. It outlines the particularities of these three different political contexts and media environments, featuring case studies of the Tunisian blogosphere, online campaigning in the Egyptian elections and interviews with social media activists. In light of this empirical evidence, the book offers a critique of the increasing prevalence of a security perspective through which online activism has been viewed and its deleterious effect on digital political engagement in the region." (Publisher description)
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"Local media that cater to their local communities are still rare in Arab countries due to government control and centralization of media production. In some transitional states, however, we observe a mushrooming of new local small media initiatives after regulation modes have changed. Yet, these me
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dia operate in often fragile states in which a sustainable development of autonomous media is difficult to achieve. In this study, we investigate how local media in Iraq and Libya unfolded and developed over the past decade(s) after regime change. We map the status quo and compare the proliferation of small local media in both countries against the backdrop of media capture and flawed media regulation – patterns that are typical for transitional states." (Abstract)
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"Africa is a diverse and complex continent, consisting of 54 countries, 5 regions and about 2,000 languages. This report identifies what influences African youths' attitudes and decisions. It is based on a survey of 4,500 people, aged 18–35, in nine African countries: Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Ivory
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Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. These nine countries act as proxy for the continent and provide evidence of a wide range of attitudes to the issues raised." (Page 2)
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"The Global Handbook of Media Accountability brings together leading scholars to 'de-Westernize' the academic debate on media accountability and discuss different models of media self-regulation and newsroom transparency around the globe. With examination of the status quo of media accountability in
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forty-four countries worldwide, it offers a theoretically informed, comparative analysis of accountability regimes of different varieties. As such, it constitutes the first interdisciplinary academic framework comparing structures of media accountability across all continents and represents an invaluable basis for further research and policy-making. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of media studies and journalism, mass communication, sociology and political science, as well as policy-makers and practitioners." (Publisher description)
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"The online harassment of journalists is a phenomenon which has been on the rise in Europe over the last decade and it affects journalists' working lives. As an expression of mob censorship, online harassment raises questions about how media organisations react to online aggressions targeting their
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journalists, the consequences on the victims’ well-being and on the role of journalism in society. Yet, previous research has shown the lack of support mechanisms provided by journalists’ employers. In this article, we explore the hypothesis that the lack of organisational support towards targeted journalists is partly due to the challenges faced by media managers when trying to make sense of the phenomenon. This article offers a unique viewpoint on how 22 Belgian media managers from five media organisations struggle to define what online harassment is and how to respond to it. In turn, it shows that the vague understanding of what online harassment is seems to favour case-by-case organisational responses. Missing words and unstructured actions related to online harassment impede media managers from addressing online harassment as a collective issue in journalism and its consequences on the democratic debate." (Abstract)
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"An international team of contributors draw upon global and non-Western traditions to discuss the philosophical origins of ethics and the tension that exists between media institutions, the media market and political/ideological influencers. The chapters then unveil the discrepancies among internati
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onal journalists in abiding by the ethics of the profession and the extent to which media ethics are understood and applied in their local context/environment. Arguing that the legitimacy of ethics comes not from the definition per se, but from the extent to which it leads to social good, the book posits this should be the media’s raison d'être to abide by globally accepted ethical norms in order to serve the common good." (Publisher description)
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"This report examines eight cases of police and/or judicial harassment targeting known Moroccan dissidents, and two cases targeting independent media institutions. The report examines in detail 12 cases tried by Morocco courts." (Methodology)
"Media of the Masses investigates the social life of an everyday technology - the cassette tape - to offer a multisensory history of modern Egypt. Over the 1970s and 1980s, cassettes became a ubiquitous presence in Egyptian homes and stores. Audiocassette technology gave an opening to ordinary indiv
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iduals, from singers to smugglers, to challenge state-controlled Egyptian media. Enabling an unprecedented number of people to participate in the creation of culture and circulation of content, cassette players and tapes soon informed broader cultural, political, and economic developments and defined "modern" Egyptian households. Drawing on a wide array of audio, visual, and textual sources that exist outside the Egyptian National Archives, Andrew Simon provides a new entry point into understanding everyday life and culture. Cassettes and cassette players, he demonstrates, did not simply join other twentieth century mass media, like records and radio; they were the media of the masses. Comprised of little more than magnetic reels in plastic cases, cassettes empowered cultural consumers to become cultural producers long before the advent of the Internet." (Publisher description)
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"Depuis le début du siècle courant, le Maroc a entrepris une série de stratégies centrées sur les technologies numériques. Il en a fait un choix politique délibéré et de premier ordre. La logique sous-jacente à l’ensemble de ces stratégies consistait à faire du numérique un outil de d
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éveloppement économique et social. Et l’ambition qui présidait était de faire de la transformation numérique la clef de voute de la transformation de l’économie, de l’administration, du territoire et de la société. Après presque deux décennies, et malgré les quelques avancées quantitatives réalisées ici ou là, les stratégies mises en oeuvre ont débouché sur un bilan mitigé. La montée en puissance demeure toujours un voeu pieux, faute d’une vision claire, de niveaux de pilotage cohérents et de mécanismes d’évaluation et de gouvernance probants." (Dos de couverture)
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"This Media Landscape Guide provides a snapshot of the media in Morocco, including the audiences, the producers, the preferences of different groups in the community, the communications culture, and the languages associated with the media. It gives an insight into the role of media in development wo
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rk, crisis preparedness, recent disasters, and the (at time of writing) ongoing COVID-19 response. The guide also gives an overview of each media sector including, digital and social media, radio, television, print and other traditional forms of mass communication. It should be noted that with the constantly changing nature of the media landscape, this is not a comprehensive overview of all media outlets and platforms but rather a snapshot summary of those most relevant at the time of writing." (Introduction)
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"This briefing document provides an overview of key developments in digital authoritarianism in 11 countries and explains the theoretical framework and methodology behind The Unfreedom Monitor project. The document also provides a basis for expanding this research to other countries to deepen our un
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derstanding of digital authoritarianism globally, as well as its crucial implications for the future. The preliminary sample of 11 countries was chosen to reflect a range of factors: system of government, approach to human rights (including rankings in indexes), and corporate relations. The countries are: Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Morocco, Myanmar, Russia, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, and Zimbabwe." (Publisher description)
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"Drawing on cases from revolutionary France to the Russia of Vladimir Putin, the international authors probe the nature and agency of local blasphemy accusations, the historical and legal framework in which they were expressed and the violence, both physical and symbolic, accompanying them. In doing
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so, the volume reveals how cultures of blasphemy, and related acts of heresy, apostasy and sacrilege, were a companion to or acted as a trigger for physical action but also a form of how violence was experienced. More generally, it shows the importance of religious sensibilities in modern society and the violent potential contained in criticism or ridicule of the sacred and secular alike." (Publisher description)
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"Past UNESCO support resulted in the establishment of a Monitoring Unit on the Safety of Journalists in partnership with the Union of Tunisian Journalists (Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens (SNJT) and OHCHR, which has been piloted since 2018. Throughout the reporting period, the MDP has p
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rovided support to reinforce this unit, its methodology, and its coordination mechanisms. The Monitoring Unit has since provided monthly and annual reports on attacks against journalists, which include a gender-specific component. It has produced special reports on current issues, such as the electoral period of 2019, the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, and access to information in 2021. Its scope of action was also strengthened in synergy with a project on access to information funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. Furthermore, the safety of Tunisian journalists was reinforced through a series of capacity-building activities in 2019 and 2020, which included trainings for members of the judiciary on the safety of journalists and the rule of law, workshops on physical safety for women journalists, and workshops on preventing violent extremism and safety." (Page 2)
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"The MDP has sought throughout the reporting period to assist in the implementation of Morocco’s new legal framework, while also supporting compliance to international standards. Actions build on previous work such as an agreement signed with the Ministry for the Reform of Public Administration in
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October 2017, through which an action plan was developed. The implementation of the ATI law was notably supported under the MDP between 2018 and 2021 through the training of Public Information Officers and the production of pedagogical tools, with the support from the highest levels of government. This resulted in the creation of a first cohort public information officers, who graduated in July 2019. In the aftermath of this activity, the Prime Minister of Morocco pledged his support to mainstream ATI within the government and to promote transparency and accountability. UNESCO also held advocacy meetings together with The Ministry of Economy and Finance and other institutions, and in particular with the Ministry of Interior that governs all civil servants at the regional and municipal levels to ensure the proper implementation of the ATI law. Support was likewise granted towards the alignment of Morocco’s media-related laws with international standards, including the law on audio-visual communication and the Penal Code. This was notably done in 2019 through workshops targeting CSOs and parliamentarians from the Commission on Media, Culture and Education. It was thus identified that members of the parliament had limited knowledge on international standards pertaining to freedom of expression and access to information. Engagement with MPs was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and by legislative elections held in late 2021. Rebuilding engagement with incoming MPs in coming years will therefore be necessary to maintain interest in this initiative." (Page 2)
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"This ground-breaking three-year global study on gender-based online violence against women journalists represents collaborative research covering 15 countries. It is the most geographically, linguistically, and ethnically diverse scoping of the crisis conducted up until late 2022. The research draw
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s on: the inputs of nearly 1,100 survey participants and interviewees; 2 big data case studies examining 2.5 million social media posts directed at Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa (The Philippines) and multi award-winning investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr (UK); 15 detailed individual country case studies. The Chilling illuminates the evolving challenges faced by women journalists dealing with prolific and/or sustained online violence around the world. It calls out the victim-blaming and slut-shaming that perpetuates sexist and misogynistic responses to offline violence against women in the online environment, where patriarchal norms are being aggressively reinforced. It also clearly demonstrates that the incidence and impacts of gender-based online violence are worse at the intersection of misogyny and other forms of discrimination, such as racism, religious bigotry, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia. Further, it identifies political actors who leverage misogyny and anti-news media narratives in their attacks as top perpetrators of online violence against women journalists, while the main vectors are social media platforms - most notably Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube." (Exexutive summary)
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"Wars in films are […] always more than just the staging or presentation of a historical event; they offer an interpretation of these events that usually corresponds with other aspects, e. g. society's evaluation of war per se, or wishes about how specific events related to war should be commemora
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ted within the public conscience. Of course, films can also act as a medium to criticize war, but the functionality of the filmic stagings of collective violence is usually determined by the interaction between producers and the audience of the film. The following chapters try to provide a variety of insights into these relationships, and although they focus on different time periods and aspects related to the semiotics, narratives, and perceptions of war in film, they all circle around certain questions related to war films in general. These are: 1. To what extent do war films present historical events that are already socio-culturally embedded within national narratives, and to what extent do their semiotics support or challenge common views about wars and collective violence? 2. Which conscious or subconscious images or visual semiotics are used within war films to connect the audience to the film and its narrative? 3. How do films create, transport, or intensify the perception and interpretation of wars within societies? To answer these, each of the contributions of the present volume engages with specific war films and connects their respective war-related motifs and narratives with these questions." (Introduction, page 7-11)
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"Journalists and independent press are tried and prosecuted with harsh charges that reach up to 20 years of imprisonment under the Penal Code, rather than the Press Code of 2016, which abolished imprisonment for criticising the monarch. The government closely monitors and controls media content thro
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ugh subsidies (fisking), advertising allocation, and rigorous regulation and licensing procedures. Opposition journalists have been jailed on dubious allegations, and been subjected to systematic slander and smear campaigns on social media platforms by pro-monarch media outlets that are largely dominated by the regime or echo the Moroccan authorities’ official line. These campaigns have largely centred on tarnishing the reputation and image of activists, reducing solidarity with their cause, and undermining their credibility in Moroccan society, resulting in self-censorship. In this stifling and threatening atmosphere, several journalists have opted for self-exile. Authorities regularly promise new reforms and democratic developments, yet they respond to protests with crackdowns, including by restricting access to information and critical tools, imposing internet shutdowns and throttling bandwidth during popular demonstrations which was the case for Hirak Al Rif movement." (Executive summary)
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