"[...] this paper presents approximately 30 worldwide examples of successful AI use to promote various aspects of democracy. At the same time, the corresponding challenges that need to be addressed are highlighted. From the examination of international examples, the following theses can be derived:
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AI systems can promote all aspects of democracy in a similar way; the use of AI systems for democracy requires the functioning of democratic structures; focus not only on generative AI: significant advantages can also come from processing and identifying AI systems; AI systems that promote democracy must be particularly comprehensible and transparent; AI systems facilitate participation but do not enable it; AI systems can make large amounts of data usable—for both citizens and the state; AI must be considered in the context of existing digitalization processes; not everything that AI systems can do is desired in a democracy." (Executive summary)
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"The surveillance of journalists, including using spyware technology, poses a fundamental threat to media freedom, the digital safety of journalists, and source protection within the European Union. The agreement on the European Media Freedom Act in December 2023 offers some further protections agai
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nst the fast evolving threat to journalists and their sources. Those involved in pushing the deal over the line and ensuring the removal of explicit references to national security in exemptions deserve credit. Yet the full impact of the Article 4 provisions – as all other new rules in the EMFA – remains to be seen and effective implementation will be vital. Greece and Hungary offer the strongest examples of why strong enforcement will be needed. However, both countries have already demonstrated how overly broad and vague exemptions for national security have already been used to justify the otherwise unjustifiable surveillance of journalists." (Conclusion)
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"This report examines political communication and media trust in the age of generative artificial intelligence systems (AI). Firstly, it provides a brief explainer of generative AI tools and techniques, looking separately at systems that generate text and those that generate or manipulate images, vi
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deos and audio. By reference to real-world examples, the paper then surveys the ways in which generative AI systems have recently been used by political actors, distinguishing between three different use-cases: political campaigning, entertainment and disinformation campaigns. Building on this empirical analysis, the paper distils important insights for policymakers, which highlight the need to: refrain from falsely labelling content as AI-generated to avoid overstating the technical capabilities and persuasive power of those spreading disinformation; acknowledge the multimodality of threats posed by generative AI, in particular voice-generation; delimit fair-use cases of generative AI for political campaigning, given these technologies are already widely used for legitimate political communication purposes; raise awareness of how seemingly non-political uses of generative AI can be exploited for politics, in particular the creation of non-consensual intimate content. This is followed by an evaluation of emerging technical and policy solutions, namely the detection and labelling of deepfakes as well as the development of systems to certify content authenticity and provenance. The section concludes with a discussion of the emerging legal landscape, including the European Union’s AI Act." (Executive summary)
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"The abuse and harassment against women journalists has become increasingly frequent and more coordinated in Mexico. As demonstrated throughout this study, it aims to threaten, silence, and stigmatize women journalists, with the potential to keep them out of public spaces. Despite the importance of
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selfcare actions and collective care, State responsibility in Mexico and its institutions at national and local levels to guarantee journalistic work that is free of violence is vital for any democracy. Currently, there are no public policies based on an intersectional approach that would allow a proper and relevant response to the patterns of violence against women journalists. The shortsightedness with which institutional responses have been developed has failed to generate protections or reparation. It has not managed to change the context of violence to which women journalists are subjected, nor modify the structural inequality between men and women. Moreover, the levels of impunity in the country still lead to violence materializing into crime. The recommendations of this paper seek to share the best practices from civil society groups and networks working to enhance existing protocols while defending women journalist´s freedom of expression and freedom of the press." (Conclusions)
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"The study presented here [...] is not limited to generalised theses and descriptions of the Balkan media scene under Russian influence that only scratch the surface. Rather, the focus is on documenting the effectiveness of Russian state media in the region with a focus on Serbia, which also has an
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impact on its neighbours Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro (NATO member), all three of which are EU accession candidates. From this, strategies and recommendations for action are derived as to how the politically poisonous influence of Kremlin propaganda could be curbed after years of futile endeavours." (Introduction)
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"[...] o presente livro, enquanto resultado de um esforço coletivo do GP Comunicação, Mídias e Liberdade de Expressão da Intercom, busca oferecer um balanço crítico dos debates sobre liberdade de expressão construídos no campo comunicacional brasileiro que abordam o contexto do governo de J
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air Bolsonaro, suas condições históricas de possibilidade e suas reverberações posteriores, já que a chegada da extrema-direita à política institucional brasileira, mais do que risco iminente, consolidou-se como preocupante realidade com as eleições legislativas de 2022. Da mesma forma, os acontecimentos de 8 de janeiro de 2023 mostraram que o fantasma do golpismo que assola a democracia brasileira, muito longe de constituir um delírio fantasioso, ronda entre nós absolutamente encarnado em setores das Forças Armadas, em órgãos policiais, em governos locais e no Congresso." (Resumo)
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"Two years in the making, this report unfolds regional perspectives of new forms of funding, financing and investment for public interest media. It provides a multistakeholder reflection in four regions of the world on how public interest media can best be supported over the next decade. Through con
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textualised research, it offers insights into the funding landscape including opportunities, needs, challenges, gaps and recommendations. The question is not whether interventions are needed to tackle the economic crisis facing journalism, but how this support should be structured. The report sheds new light on what it will take to deliver sustainable and independent media that truly deliver journalism that is a public good." (Summary)
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"A más de 60 años de que las primeras radios comunitarias iniciaran operación en América Latina, y bajo las transformaciones sociotécnicas que caracterizan el tiempo presente, resulta pertinente y urgente problematizar dichos fenómenos de comunicación alternativa con el fin de evidenciar su v
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igencia para esta región del mundo. Por ello, este trabajo busca ofrecer un conjunto de tesis que puedan esclarecer y al mismo tiempo robustecer el interés de la academia sobre estos proyectos de comunicación contrahegemónica que nacen desde la subalternidad. Los planteamientos aquí hechos abrevan de la perspectiva interdisciplinaria que caracteriza la comunicación alternativa como marco teórico para entender y situar a las radios comunitarias latinoamericanas como fenómenos comunicativos que expresan no solo procesos por democratizar la comunicación y la información, sino que a la vez estas iniciativas encarnan una visión (incómoda al orden existente) de cómo entender y operar los medios de comunicación." (Resumen)
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"This survey focuses on six key aspects related to misinformation: 1) clarify the definition of misinformation to differentiate it from intentional forms of false information; 2) categorize proposed approaches to manage misinformation into three types: detection, verification, and mitigation; 3) rev
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iew the platforms and languages for which these techniques have been proposed and tested; 4) describe the specific features that are considered in each category; 5) compare public datasets created to address misinformation and categorize into prelabeled content-only datasets and those including users and their connections; and 6) survey fact-checking websites that can be used to verify the accuracy of information." (Abstract)
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"Drawing on a broad range of case studies across the continent, the volume considers what constitutes communication rights in Africa, who should protect them, against whom, and how communication rights relate to broader human rights. While the case studies highlight the variation in communicative ri
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ghts experiences between countries, they also coalesce around common tropes and practices for the implementation and expression of communication rights. Deploying a variety of innovative theoretical and methodological approaches, the chapters scrutinise different facets of communication rights in the context of both offline and digital communication realities. The contributions provide illuminating accounts on language rights, digital exclusion, digital activism, citizen journalism, media regulation and censorship, protection of intellectual property rights, politics of mobile data, and politicisation of social media." (Publisher description)
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"The global importance of the press and freedom of speech in promoting democracy, good governance, and human development is widely recognized. Unfortunately, despite being crucial for the advancement of democracy, violence against journalists in Indonesia and other countries continues to increase. I
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n addition to encountering physical, psychological, and sexual harm, journalists also confront the legal consequences imposed by provisions of certain Laws that can potentially subject them to criminal charges. This paper seeks to explain violent incidents and potential articles in the existing and the Indonesian New Penal Code, the Information and Electronic Transaction Act, and the Personal Data Protection Act that might be employed to criminalize journalists. The imposition of these laws may significantly impact press freedom, impartiality, and information integrity, they are inextricably linked to press freedom and media independence limitations. A normative legal approach is used in this study. Data were obtained from existing laws, online data, research studies, and contemporary books. The study employs a descriptive-qualitative analysis. The study’s findings indicate that violence against journalists is prevalent in different parts of Indonesia. Journalists often encounter infringements upon their rights to access information by employing physical or psychological means such as intimidation, harassment, and various forms of violence, including the possibility of being imprisoned by employing articles stipulated in some Indonesian Laws. Threats of criminalization, violence and attacks against journalists will create a fearful climate for media professionals, impeding the free circulation of information, opinions, and ideas for all citizens." (Abstract)
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"Since the 2000s, China has deepened public relations in its engagement with Africa primarily through economic investment and assistance. The present work looks at China’s African public relations and the mechanism that shapes public perception of China, focusing on Mali. Mali is not a major desti
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nation for Chinese investment, yet public perceptions of China appear to be uniquely positive. How may we explain this trajectory? The work undertakes a longitudinal examination, comparing China’s economic developments in Mali (2010–20) with Malians’ perception of China’s influence on the Malian economy that shapes the general perception and attitude towards China (2010–20) and the media’s role in this process. Some questions guide this study: how do Chinese economic activities in Mali shape Malians’ perception of China? How does the media contribute (if any) to shaping Malian perception of China’s developmental programmes? Employing a mixed research method and a range of datasets, I find that economic investment does not necessarily shape positive public perception of China in Mali. Instead, how the public receives information about economic investments shapes and enhances a positive perception of China in Mali. Consequently, China would substantially enhance its image-building effort when its foreign economic development assistance is linked with public relations, making economic programmes more visible through media representations. I based the theoretical discussion on the media agenda-setting framework." (Abstract)
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"Journalism, particularly in conflict reporting, poses significant emotional challenges, with journalists often grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumas. This research delves into the emotional dimensions of journalistic practice, examining journalists’ perspectives on menta
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l health care, external support, and the imperative of emotional literacy in their training. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 Venezuelan journalists aged 30–62, this study sheds light on the emotional toll of reporting in Venezuela, where journalists face stressors such as economic uncertainty, political tensions, self-censorship, perceived repression, physical threats, natural disasters, and social unrest. Employing interpretative phenomenology and thematic analysis, the research reveals how pervasive risks render their work emotionally taxing, compounded by challenging living conditions and emotionally draining stories that spill over into their personal and family lives. While some seek psychological or religious support, financial constraints, cultural taboos, and geographical limitations hinder therapy for others. The findings underscore the necessity of emotional training for journalists, irrespective of gender, age, experience, contract status, or religion. Such training is proposed to equip journalists with coping mechanisms, ensuring the maintenance of ethical journalism amid adversities. Recognizing and addressing journalists’ emotional well-being emerges as crucial not only for their personal welfare but also for upholding journalistic standards." (Abstract)
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"Journalists are allegedly suffering exploitation and abuse at exiled news outlets, but there’s debate over whether the responsibility to respond falls on donors or a media industry that is taking gradual steps to self-regulate." (Introduction)
"The media plays an important role in disseminating vital information and being ‘watchdogs’ of government misconduct. Press freedom is constitutionally guaranteed in the Philippines, but the space for journalists and media companies continues to shrink. This is because constant attempts have bee
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n made to suppress and silence them through the government’s targeted attacks, which can be characterized into three categories: classifying media as allies and enemies, the weaponization of laws, and personal and institutional attacks. The emergence of COVID-19 made press freedom even more challenging due to the threat of infection and government-imposed restrictions and measures. This research deployed interviews with multiple journalists and a review of secondary data. The study shows that state interference, challenges in fulfilling journalistic roles, and the obstruction of the free flow of information during the pandemic resulted in three levels of fear among journalists: fear of losing one’s network, fear of losing credibility, and fear of personal safety." (Abstract)
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"The coronavirus pandemic brought immense challenges to journalists worldwide, including new threats to media freedom, journalism safety and practice. The impact of the pandemic on journalism is yet to be fully understood and examined but this paper contributes to the field by focusing on the impact
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of the COVID-19 health crisis on the media in countries with democratic deficits, such as Bulgaria. Studies on former Eastern bloc countries have become few and far between recently so this research aims to fill this gap by examining how the coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions have impacted journalism practice in Bulgaria and how journalists, and independent media organisations responded and adapted to the pressures in 2020. Our findings from semi structured interviews with media practitioners show that it is the independent media that has borne the brunt of the crisis. In addition to existing challenges to press freedom, many Bulgarian journalists encountered new limits to their daily practice in reporting on a topic of significant public importance." (Abstract)
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"The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for newsrooms across the world range from severe economic hardship to increased threats to press freedom. The “perfect storm” that engulfed the media and journalists globally has threatened and continues to challenge their existence, and the core of the
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ir mission to serve the public interest. This study maps the impact of external political, economic, legal and societal factors on journalistic freedom and the way(s) news organizations and journalists operate in times of global crisis in four Southern European countries. It provides a fuller cross-national perspective on the complex relationship between media, journalism and politics in countries with existing democratic deficits. Findings are based on 32 semi-structured interviews with journalists working in four Southern European countries, namely Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, conducted in 2022. We find increased economic challenges to their fragile media markets, high level of state intervention, political parallelism in coverage of the pandemic and beyond, and numerous threats to the autonomy of journalists that hamper journalism and question its development in the future. The study’s implications are relevant to different contexts, particularly in countries where journalism and media face similar challenges." (Abstract)
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