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Intimidation, Repression and Censorship: The Status of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression in Afghanistan

Rawadari (2024), 26 pp.

"The Taliban have revoked and suspended laws that included the right to access information and freedom of expression, and currently there is no effective legal mechanism to protect media outlets and journalists against interference and intimidation. This has led to widespread violation of the right ... more

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Expat Afghan Media and Local Media amidst Taliban Constraints

Ahmad Zubair Jamshidi

International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, volume 12, issue 1 (2024), pp. 141-149

"This research study delves into the intricate landscape of media in Afghanistan after 15 August 2021, focusing on the coexistence of local and Expat Afghan Media within the challenging context of Taliban constraints. In the wake of the Taliban's resurgence and control of Afghanistan, The challengin ... more

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Freedom of Afghan Media: Challenges facing Afghan journalists in Afghanistan and abroad

Mujtaba Haris

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) (2024), 38 pp.

"Erosion of Media Freedom in Afghanistan: Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021, media freedom in Afghanistan has drastically declined. Over half of the country's media outlets have closed, leading to widespread unemployment among journalists. The Taliban's media policies enforce strict ce ... nsorship, resulting in self-censorship and threats to journalists still working. As one journalist in Kabul said, "The media in Afghanistan is dead; we were forced out of our jobs, and those who remain face daily threats." Severe Content Censorship: The Taliban has imposed strict regulations on media content, banning any reports that contradict their interpretation of Islamic values or Afghan national interests. As a result, 95% of journalists surveyed in Afghanistan reported facing restrictions when attempting to document and broadcast their work. "We are no longer allowed to report on incidents involving the Taliban, especially when it comes to conflicts within their ranks," shared a journalist from Badakhshan. Gender-Based Discrimination and Exclusion: Female journalists have been systematically targeted, leading many to leave the profession. Women working in the media are subjected to strict limitations, such as being required to cover their faces while on air and being denied opportunities to work. This has effectively silenced female voices in Afghan media. Arbitrary Detention and Physical Abuse: The Taliban have used arbitrary detention and physical abuse as tools to suppress independent journalism. Journalists are often detained without charge, held in poor conditions, and subjected to physical abuse. "Many of us live in fear of being arrested without cause," said one journalist who had been detained. The report found that 73% of detained journalists reported experiencing physical abuse during their detention. Self-Censorship as a Survival Tactic: The pervasive atmosphere of fear and intimidation has led to widespread self-censorship among journalists, both within Afghanistan and in exile. This has resulted in a homogenized media landscape, with many journalists avoiding sensitive topics to protect themselves from potential repercussions. A journalist in Afghanistan said, "Many of us live in fear of being arrested without cause." (Key findings, page 6) more

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Länderkurzinformation Afghanistan: Informationslage

Nürnberg: Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (2024), 6 pp.

"Die beschriebene Quellenlage stellt auch für die Länderanalyse eine Herausforderung dar. Afghanische Medien geben einen guten Überblick darüber, wie die Taliban sich präsentieren möchten. Auch neue Verordnungen und Erlasse der Zentralregierung sind so nachvollziehbar. Dies gilt jedoch nicht f ... more

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Media Freedom in Afghanistan

United Nations Human Rights (2024), 26 pp.

"This report examines the state of media freedom in Afghanistan for the period from 15 August 2021 to 30 September 2024. Under the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the media sector grew exponentially in the country, leading to the broadening of media platforms and greater access to ... more diverse domestic sources of news and information. However, after 15 August 2021, a large number of media outlets ceased their operations. This has been attributed to different factors, including loss of revenue stemming from the overall economic difficulties of the country, the withdrawal of donor support after the Taliban takeover, an exodus of journalists, as well as various restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities. The de facto authorities continue to create an extremely challenging operating environment for media, including but not limited to censorship and difficulties in accessing information. Additionally, journalists and media workers are subjected to intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment, court proceedings and imprisonment for performing their functions. The de facto authorities’ measures interfering with editorial content and internal operation of media outlets have substantially diminished media freedom. Between 15 August 2021 to 30 September 2024, UNAMA HRS documented instances of human rights violations affecting 336 journalists and media workers – 256 instances of arbitrary arrest and detention (249 men, 7 women), 130 torture and ill-treatment (122 men, 8 women) and 75 threats or intimidation (66 men, 9 women). The lack of transparent procedures in determining violations and the use of intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detentions on those who criticize the de facto authorities create a culture of self-censorship and negatively impact freedom of expression. On 19 September 2021, the de facto authorities’ “Government Media and Information Centre” issued an 11-Point Guidance to media, forbidding the publication of content deemed contrary to Islam and Afghan culture, or more broadly deemed to be against national interests. Media are often required to co-ordinate and seek approval from the de facto authorities prior to publishing a report, while news agendas are subjected to pre-vetting, which is tantamount to censorship. What constitutes content in violation of the guidance on editorial content is subject to broad and uncertain interpretation. Nonetheless, the fact that violations, or perceived violations, can lead to severe punishment creates a pervasive culture of self-censorship among journalists. As these instructions aim at limiting the range of permissible topics for public discourse and in penalizing media outlets being critical of the de facto authorities, they are incompatible with the conditions needed to limit freedom of expression under the ICCPR." (Executive summary, page 3) more

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Edtech platforms from below: A family ethnography of marginalized communities and their digital learning post-pandemic

Kiran Vinod Bhatia, Payal Arora, Siddhi Gupta

Learning, Media and Technology (2024), 15 pp.

"In this article, we reveal how students in low-income communities in India use and ascribe meaning to dominant proprietary EdTech platforms and conferencing tools through family ethnographies. We explore how these platforms and associated online learning tools influence existing educational practic ... more

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Afghanistan 2001-2021: Gewaltideologien und ein Hauch von offener Gesellschaft

Abbas Poya (ed.)

Bielefeld: transcript (2024), 209 pp.

"Welchen Einfluss haben Gesinnungen der Gewalt auf die gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen in Afghanistan? Die internationalen Beiträger*innen richten ihren Blick auf linke, dschihadistische sowie talibanistische Ideologien und Praktiken in der jüngeren afghanischen Geschichte. Multiperspektivisch ze ... more

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Armenian Media System Overview According to the Hallin and Mancini Model

Patricia Izquierdo-Iranzo, Lianna Sayadyan

Media and Communication, volume 12, issue 7850 (2024), 16 pp.

"An overview of the Armenian media system is presented from the perspective of media professionals. Interference with the media system by the political system is analysed and the health of the Armenian media system is explored in the context of its transition from a Soviet republic towards a liberal ... more

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Media Systems and Media Capture in Turkey: A Case Study

Murat Akser, Banu Baybars

Media and Communication, volume 12, issue 7733 (2024), 17 pp.

"This article attempts to explain the current situation of the Turkish media system through the media systems approach as a case study with special attention to the concept of media capture. We propose that the Turkish media system's shift is heavily influenced by media capture. We associate four of ... more

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The Nexus of Digital Authoritarianism and Religious Populism

Ihsam Yilmaz

Religions, volume 14, issue 747 (2024), 19 pp.

"This paper delves into the intricate relationship between religious populism and the legitimization of digital authoritarianism in Turkey. Specifically, it investigates how the ruling party, AKP, has strategically linked Islamist values to state policies as a means of justifying its repressive cont ... more

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Journalists' safety before the 2024 elections

Ekaterine Basilaia, Ana Keshelashvili

Tbilisi: Center for Media Information and Social Research;DW Akademie (2024), 21 pp.

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Financial transparency of media 2023

Nino Gelashvili, Mariam Pataridze

Media Development Foundation (MDF);Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2024), 43 pp.

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News Can Help! The Impact of News Media and Digital Platforms on Awareness of and Belief in Misinformation

Sacha Altay, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Nielsen, Richard Fletcher

International Journal of Press/Politics, volume 29, issue 2 (2024), pp. 459-484

"Does the news media exacerbate or reduce misinformation problems? Although some news media deliberately try to counter misinformation, it has been suggested that they might also inadvertently, and sometimes purposefully, amplify it. We conducted a two-wave panel survey in Brazil, India, and the UK ... more

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Georgian Election Observatory (#GEObservatory24): Debunking pre-election propaganda narratives

Andreas Önnerfors et al.

University of Georgia;Fojo Media Institute (2024), 69 pp.

"The “Georgian Elections Observatory (#GEObservatory24)” was a short-term initiative aimed at fact-checking pre-election narratives leading up to the parliamentary elections on October 26, 2024, together with a few immediate post-election analyses. Unlike traditional fact-checking platforms, thi ... more

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Integrating supply and demand in social marketing programs: The Nosh-e-Jaan campaign to promote nutrition in Afghanistan

Nedra Kline Weinreich, Mustafa Basij Rasikh

Health Marketing Quarterly, volume 42, issue 1 (2024), pp. 24-47

"This case study describes a successful nutrition social marketing program in Afghanistan. By building up the domestic soy industry and supply chain, while creating consumer demand for high-protein soy products to combat malnutrition, the Nosh-e-Jaan campaign rebalanced the market dynamics for this ... more

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Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia
Top Insights

Washington, DC: IREX;USAID (2024), 357 pp.

"The 2024 Europe and Eurasia Vibrant Information Barometer (VIBE) covers 18 countries throughout Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia. With VIBE, IREX strives to capture a modern and evolving media space where people are simultaneously producers, transmitters, consumers, and actors in the information t ... more

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Vibrant Information Barometer: National Report Nepal

Pokharel Umesh, Pandey Lekhanath, Acharya Bhanu Bhakta

IREX;Asia Foundation;USAID (2024), 97 pp.

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Online Toxicity Against Syrians in Turkish Twitter: Analysis and Implications

Hala Mulki, Samir Alabdullah, Ahmed Halil, Nawari Al-Ali, Maria Kyriakidou, Ludek Stavinoha

International Journal of Communication, volume 18, issue 24 (2024), pp. 191-218

"This study examines the portrayal of Syrians on Turkish Twitter between January and August 2021 through a big data analysis of more than 30,000 tweets. We employ the concept of online toxicity to differentiate between disinformation and hate speech and explore how they are embedded in the negative ... more

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“Today’s Children, Tomorrow’s Mujahideen”: A Discourse-Theoretical Analysis of the Militarist Discourse in a Turkish Cypriot Children's Magazine

Mazlum Kemal Dagdelen

International Journal of Communication, volume 18 (2024), pp. 3668-3687

"This research offers a discourse-theoretical analysis of the construction of the militarist discourse in Turkish Cypriot children’s magazines, with a specific focus on the magazine Tuncer. The selected data for analysis consist of 14 issues published between January 1967 and December 1968. The ch ... more

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Azerbaijan digital skills assessment 2023-2024

Geneva: ITU (2024), ix, 83 pp.

"The survey findings reveal that 25 per cent of those aged between 15 and 74 have at least basic digital skills, with 7.8 per cent having above basic digital skills and 17.3 per cent having basic digital skills. The study also found that over a quarter (26.5%) of respondents below the basic level of ... more

Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia Top Insights

Vibrant Information Barometer: Europe & Eurasia
Top Insights