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PDFThe world’s worst online oppressors are using an array of tactics, some reflecting astonishing levels of sophistication, others reminiscent of old-school techniques, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. From China’s high-level malware attacks to Syria’s brute-force imprisonments, this may be only the dawn of online oppression.
This just one of the entries in the latest Digital Media Mash Up from the Center for International Media Assistance
Global Censorship Update
Iran Ranked as World’s Worst Internet Oppressor
Iran has been dubbed the “least free” country in terms of internet freedom in a new report titled, “Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media.” (4/28, OpenNet Initiative)
Turkey Forbids ‘Forbidden’ From Internet Domain Names
A total of 138 words have been banned from Turkish Internet domain names and now tens of thousands of Turkish websites face closure. (4/28, Hurriyet Daily News)
Digerati See Censorship in New Web Rules
Attention Indian bloggers and social media fiends: the next time you’re composing a witty tweet or posting an edgy item on Facebook, please take care that what you’re writing isn’t “grossly harmful” or “harassing” or “ethnically objectionable” or – oh, the humanity! – “disparaging.” (5/2, Wall Street Journal)
China: Exposing Internet Surveillance Abroad
The U.S-China Human Rights Dialogue did not have any concrete consensus last week. (5/2,
Global Voices)
A Sri Lankan court has banned the news website LankaeNews.com until 12 May – but the site carries advice on how readers can overcome the problem by using a proxy server. (5/3, Guardian)
Who Is Restricting the Russian Internet?
Compared with Freedom House’s previous Freedom on the Net report, Russia’s position in the ratings has dropped. (5/3, Global Voices)
China Creates New Agency for Patrolling the Internet
A powerful arm of China’s government said Wednesday that it had created a new central agency to regulate every corner of the nation’s vast Internet community, a move that appeared to complement a continuing crackdown on political dissidents and other social critics. (5/4, New York Times)
Free Speech Meets Internet Censorship as Media Moves Online
Governments worldwide are developing new tools to censor reporters as the media increasingly moves online, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. (5/2, Huffington Post)
Digital Media’s Continuing Role in the Middle East Protests
Blogging in Egypt: Virtual Network, Virtual Oppression
I have been blogging in various platforms since 2006, focusing on human rights conditions and police abuses in Egypt. During this time, the Egyptian regime was widely described as one of the most “liberal-moderate” and sometimes “semi-democratic” regimes in the region, but meanwhile, hundreds of young people were hijacked, jailed, fined, and intimidated. (5/2, Committee to Protect Journalists)
Social Media, Emerging Street Opposition Behind Syrian Uprising
Activists say tools such as Facebook and Twitter were not widely known in Syria until just a few months ago. As the Arab Spring spread across North Africa and the Middle East, Syrian youth began learning about the role of social media in it. Now thousands engage in social media. (5/5, VOA News)
Reactions on Social Media to News of Bin Laden’s Death
How the Social Web Reflected on Bin Laden’s Death
News of terrorist Osama bin Laden’s death has been spreading across the social web with a speed and volume only seen in the most dramatic world events. In fact, many of you heard the news via Twitter or Facebook before turning to traditional news sources. (5/3, Mashable)
Bin Laden Fallout: How Abbottabad Tweets Reveal Changes In Modern Warfare
Governments arehaving to change how they carry out and report military operations because of the rise of social media, and the strike on Osama bin Laden was a prime example. (5/5, Christian Science Monitor)
Nigerian Election and Digital Media
8000 Observers Report on Nigerian Elections via Text Messaging
One of the largest parallel vote tabulation efforts is under way right now in Nigeria to observe and monitor gubernatorial elections. (4/27, MobileActive.org)
Nigeria: Social Media and the 2011 Elections
Global Voices interview with Tolu Ogunlesi, a Nigerian poet. The interview discusses the role of social media in the Nigerian elections. (5/4, Global Voices)
Colombia’s Lleras Law
Preventing Piracy or Creativity? The “Ley Lleras” Translated – Colombia’s Version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
A familiar debate is raging in Colombian intellectual property circles – copyright holders versus consumers of information – over whether copyright laws prevent piracy or creativity. (4/25, Colombia Law and Business Post)
Colombia: Following the ‘Lleras’ Law
The bill to regulate infractions on authors’ rights on the Internet, known as the “Lleras” Law, has continued generating reactions and debate in the Colombian Internet sphere, as recently covered on Global Voices. (5/3, Global Voices)
Digital Media News for Activists
Google for Nonprofits, Useful Stuff
Hey, folks, the craigconnects team and I recently had the opportunity to talk with the folks over at the Google for Nonprofits program about their latest stuff. Nonprofits should look into this. Here’s our interview with Kristen Olsen Cahill, the Product Manager for Google.org. (5/2, Huffington Post)
Center for Public Integrity launches iWatch News
The Center for Public Integrity announces the launch of iWatch News. The free, daily news website dedicated to investigative and accountability reporting can be found at www.iwatchnews.org. (5/3, Poynter)
What’s the Best Social Media Policy for News Organizations?
So far, most legacy news organizations have been all over the map when it comes to social media policies. The old guard doesn’t want reporters and editors to go on Twitter and show bias or give opinions on stories in progress. (5/3, MediaShift)
Reuters Announces Launch of Reuters Live Stream
Reuters today announced the launch of Reuters Live Stream, an online service providing live video access to breaking and scheduled news events from around the world. The service was designed for easy integration with newsrooms, and puts editorial control in the hands of online publishers. (5/4, Poynter)
Datran Media Acquires Citizen Journalism Platform Allvoices
Digital Marketing company Datran Media has acquired Allvoices, a fast-growing citizen journalism platform. (5/4, TechCrunch)
Video: Changing the World, One Map at a Time
Hosted in the beautiful city of Berlin, Re:publica 2011 is Germany’s largest annual conference on blogs, new media and the digital society, drawing thousands of participants from across the world for three days of exciting conversations and presentations. (iRevolution, 5/4)
Research Updates
Berkman Center Relaunches Media Cloud
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is pleased to announce that the Media Cloud Dashboard is open for public use. The Media Cloud Dashboard tool generates weekly word clouds of mainstream and new media news content. (5/6, Berkman Center)
To subscribe to CIMA’s Digital Media Mash Up, please e-mail Anthony Abate at anthonya@ned.org. Center for International Media Assistance | 1025 F St. NW | Suite 800 | Washington | DC | 20004
CIMA is an initiative of the National Endowment for Democracy.
