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.

Human Rights Defenders in the Western Balkans. Intimidation instead of Recognition - Reports

This landmark report by Civil Rights Defenders explores how human rights defenders face intimidation instead of recognition in the six Western Balkan states

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.

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

The Global Disinformation Order: 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation - Reports

The report highlights the findings from the three-year project on monitoring organised social media manipulation campaigns around the globe. One of the key discoveries is the increase by 150% in social media manipulation campaigns over the last two years

European University Students And Social Media. How Do They Talk About Online Disinformation In View Of The 2019 European Parliament Elections? - Academic Sources

European students see misleading news as a threat to younger generations, but consider themselves immune as they are confident in their ability to detect unreliable web content. This is one of the findings of this master thesis, which examines students' attitude towards social media and disinformation online

“We are Amaya”. Advocacy for Academic Freedom - Reports

A detailed description of the activities carried out during the 2019 edition of the Seminar Series on Advocacy for Academic Freedom, held for three months at the University of Trento, Department of Sociology and Social Research, in collaboration with Scholars At Risk (SAR). The seminar was a first national experiment for Italy

Independent Journalism Center of Moldova - Stakeholders

The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) is one of the first media organizations in Moldova. It was founded in 1994 as a project of the Open World House, and in 1998 it became an independent organization.

Currently, the IJC defines its mission through the prism of democratic values by contributing to the consolidation of free and viable media — including new media — by means of training programs for journalists, media education, advocacy campaigns, research, and non-profit journalistic products. From a legal point of view, the IJC is a non-governmental, non-commercial, and apolitical organization.

Over the years, the IJC has launched and carried out various projects to improve both working conditions for journalists in Moldova and the national legal framework governing the media. Also, various actions have been conducted in support of press freedom or to strengthen the solidarity of the media community and to promote professional ethics.

Since February 2000, the IJC has been a member of the South East European Network for the Professionalization of the Media (SEENPM) and since June 2001 has been a member of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX).

The IJC currently manages four portals: Media Azi which is used to publish media news, information about IJC activities, reports, and studies; Mediacritica, designed to promote media literacy and critical thinking; Moldova Azi, a multimedia resource providing access to all video materials produced by the IJC Campaign and Production Department; and the website of the School of Advanced Journalism.

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