Media capture: Toolkit for 21st century autocrats - Article

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The 8th of a series of thematic itineraries to explore the Resource Centre on Media Freedom through a curated aggregation of contents. 

SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation - Article

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The 9th of a series of thematic itineraries to explore the Resource Centre on Media Freedom through a curated aggregation of contents.

Protect the Protest. Stopping SLAPP. Defending Dissent - Support Centres

A task force of nonprofit organizations that have long dealt with SLAPP threats (threats coming from strategic lawsuits against public participation).

The organizations of "Protect the Protest" have combined their expertise and collective power to protect the free speech of public interest advocates in the United States.

They declare: "An attack on one is now an attack on all".

The task force includes experienced lawyers, journalists, communications professionals, and activists, in order to stand together as one to expose courtroom bullying, and protect the right to boldly speak the truth.

The approach is threefold:

● Building Resilience to SLAPPs - providing resources and training for civil society organizations, community leaders, journalists, and the broader public on how to best protect themselves from SLAPPs and what to do if they’re targeted. This includes a network of attorneys to defend those facing SLAPPs, especially individuals and small organizations with extremely limited resources.

● Exposing SLAPPs and Those Who File Them - drawing on their own organizations’ campaigning, communications, and legal expertise to support public interest advocates and watchdogs targeted by SLAPPs. This includes campaigning against the biggest SLAPP offenders, as well as legal defense where resources allow.

● Campaigning on Strategic Issues - When a specific SLAPP poses a broader threat to civil society or to democracy, they mobilize their collective resources to protect the rights to free speech and peaceful protest. Likewise, when opportunities arise to advance anti-SLAPP policies or laws, we engage in close collaboration with other stakeholders.

Freedom on the Net 2019 - The crisis of social media - Reports

Freedom on the Net is an annual study of Internet freedom in 65 countries around the world, covering 87% of the world’s Internet users. It tracks improvement and decline in Internet freedom conditions each year.

Data Voids. Where Missing Data Can Easily Be Exploited - Reports

The assumption that for any given query there is some relevant content is not true. When there is little content available, the most relevant content is low-quality or problematic, or both. The paper shows how manipulators expose users to problematic content by exploiting search engine results

Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (9 Oct. 2019) - Legal Resources

In the present report, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 34/18 , the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression explains  how  those standards provide a framework for Governments considering regulatory options and companies determining how to respect human rights online

Albania, the controversial media law - Legal Resources

Concerns persist over the approval of the new package of amendments aimed at modifying two important laws on the Albanian media, the so-called "anti-defamation package"

ARTICLE 19 comments on new Italian regulation on ‘hate speech’ - Reports

Some improvements, but also lack of compliance with the international framework: a mixed judgment by ARTICLE 19 welcomes the new AGCOM Regulation in Italy, while hate speech remains a great concern in the country

“It Won’t Always Be Like This": How to Prepare Turkey’s Journalists for a Freer Era - Reports

A study on future of quality journalism in Turkey, based on over 100 interviews, field trips, and workshops: this report proposes innovative solutions such as the opening of “Creative Cafes” and “Journalism Experience Centres”, the sponsoring of international internship programmes, and the mapping of trusted reporters

Online Abuse Now Commonplace for Balkan Women Reporters - Reports

Reflecting the global trend, female journalists in the Balkans are more often attacked online than their male colleagues: an investigation with dozens of interviews and comments and an open platform to collect stories of attacks, harassment and threats, reports of a worrying picture where women are also left alone facing intimidation and its psychological impact