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The business of independent Myanmar media post-coup: Experimenting with business models inside the country and in exile

Jane Madlyn McElhone et al.

Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) (2024)

"More than three years after the coup, a significant majority of the 40 senior media executives interviewed for this report say they are still dependent, partially or fully, on grants to run their operations. While they cannot control the external factors impacting on their work, be that the conflic ... more

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Russia's Legislative Minefield: Tripwires for Civil Society Since 2020

Human Rights Watch (2024), 205 pp.

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Masters of Manipulation: Authoritarian Propaganda in Russia and Turkey

Ali Çelikkan, Andrey Zhvirblis, Can Ertuna, Evgeniy Shtorn, Evin Baris Altintas, Gökçer Tahincioglu, Olga Romanova, Onur Öncü, Roman Zholud, Sibel Yükler

Potsdam: Friedrich Naumann Stiftung; Journalisten und Anwälte für Meinungsfreiheit (JAM) (2024), 38 pp.

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Jiangshanjiao, Do You Get Your Period? Understanding Feminist Expressions Against State Propaganda in China

Kedi Zhou

International Journal of Communication, volume 18 (2024), pp. 3711-3729

"In February 2020, the Communist Youth League introduced two virtual idols, Jiangshanjiao and Hongqiman, on Weibo to gain political solidarity during COVID-19. However, the move sparked massive criticism for using an animated female idol while ignoring the needs of female medical workers in the pand ... more

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Russian Bans on ‘Fake News’ about the war in Ukraine: Conditional truth and unconditional loyalty

Elena Sherstoboeva

International Communication Gazette, volume 86, issue 1 (2024), pp. 36-54

"This article examines Russia’s practice of the ban introduced by the so-called ‘fake news laws’ during the war against Ukraine. It blends doctrinal legal with discourse analysis to study how and why Russian courts have applied the laws, which epistemology of knowledge they have constructed wh ... 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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Women and the media in Afghanistan: How to support female media workers in a challenging landscape

Catharine Buckell, Mahdi Zaki, Shukrana Azizi Suzanne Devai

London: BBC Media Action (2024), 50 pp.

"Women in Afghanistan continue to have less access to information than men, particularly through TV and the internet. At least 33% of women (more in rural areas) rely on family as a key source of information, while men prioritise other information sources. Yet Afghan women’s information needs have ... never been more pronounced – due to restrictions on their activities, many are confined to their homes. Women in Afghanistan with media access rely on this more than ever to keep updated on issues that concern them, and spend more time accessing and using media: "Now women are in the confines of their homes… The virtual space is the only window for us to learn about what is happening." (Female FGD participant, Herat). Two-thirds (65%) of female survey respondents say that the media is “very important” in their daily lives, compared with half (51%) of male respondents. Despite various efforts to cater to female audiences, 67% of female and male respondents feel that Afghan media only “somewhat” or “rarely” meets women’s needs. Reflecting restrictions on media content, respondents complain that domestic media contains too much religious content and not enough entertainment. However, educational content is still allowed, providing women and girls who are denied access to schooling with a vital source of education. Respondents are more satisfied with the balance of content in international media and media run by Afghans in exile, and they are more likely to watch some types of entertainment, such as movies, on international than domestic TV. However, a number of international media outlets are inaccessible from Afghanistan. Journalists inside Afghanistan are banned from working with international TV/radio channels or news sites, and some have been arrested for doing so. 87% of respondents say the presence of women in the media in Afghanistan has decreased since August 2021. Only 41% could name a female presenter or journalist. Almost all of those named by respondents worked in the media before 2021, or currently work from outside Afghanistan. Audience members support women featuring in news and educational programmes but are less supportive of them featuring in comedy and sports content. Over half (54%) of the general survey respondents say they would support a female relative to work as a journalist. A further 12% would support a female relative under certain conditions, including wearing the hijab and travelling with a mahram (women cannot leave their home without a male chaperone)." (Executive summary, page 6) more

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The emergence of China's smart state

Rogier Creemers, Straton Papagianneas, Adam Knight (eds.)

Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield (2024), ix, 250 pp.

"China’s emergence as a technology leader has become a major factor in geopolitics, transforming global political and economic relationships. In its bid to achieve digital great power status, China’s government has reformed laws and policies, drastically increased investment, and become more ass ... more

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“Voices from the Island”: Informational annexation of Crimea and transformations of journalistic practices

Ksenia Ermoshina

Journalism, volume 25, issue 3 (2024), pp. 528–546

"After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, the peninsula experienced a progressive transition of telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure under Russian influence, followed by a wave of repression of Ukrainian media. Between 2014 and 2015, dozens of Ukrainian media organization ... more

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Digital authoritarianism: A systematic literature review

Tony Roberts, Marjoke Oosterom

Information Technology for Developpment (2024), 25 pp.

"Authoritarianism is in the ascendancy across the globe, with digital technologies being used by both governments and non-state actors to repress rights and freedoms. Competing terms have emerged to conceptualize such use of digital technologies, including the term digital authoritarianism and a ran ... more

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Russia's Information Warfare in the Middle East

Arik Segal

Potsdam: Friedrich Naumann Foundation (2024), 36 pp.

"This policy paper provides an overview of Russian information warfare in the Middle East. It includes a brief overview of Russian information warfare methods and Russian foreign policy in the Middle East. It then delves into Russian information warfare in the Middle East, evaluates its effectivenes ... more

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Data-centric authoritarianism: How China's development of frontier technologies could globalize repression

Valentin Weber

Washington DC: National Endowment for Democracy (NED); International Forum for Democratic Studies (2024), 38 pp.

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Different Global Journalisms: Cultures and Contexts

Saba Bebawi, Oxana Onilov (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2023), xvi, 205 pp.

"This edited collection seeks to better understand how journalism across cultures differs, presenting an in-depth exploration of global practices that departs from the typical Western-centric approach. Journalists across the world are trained, generally speaking, within Western models of reporting a ... more

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Decoding Social Media’s Role in the Resurgence of the Taliban: A Literature Review

Nassir Ul Haq Wani

Kabul: Kardan University, Kashmir Research Information System (2023), 22 pp.

"The study assesses the extent to which Taliban 2.0 utilised social media as a political mobilisation strategy and provides a response through discourse analysis and a literature review. The study results indicate that the tactical use of social media was more apparent in 2021 when they were promoti ... more

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Politicizing for the idol: China’s idol fandom nationalism in pandemic

Yan Wang, Ting Luo

Information, Communication & Society, volume 26, issue 2 (2023), pp. 304-320

"Chinese idol fans have been identified among the main forces in cyber nationalist activisms in recent years, acting as the nationalist fans protecting the state as an idol in response to external political shocks. Their skills in acknowledging, involving, and even reinventing the image of the state ... more

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Disruptions as Opportunities: Governing Chinese Society with Interactive Authoritarianism

Taiyi Sun

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press (2023), xv, 283 pp.

"[This book] addresses the long-standing puzzle of why China outlived other one-party authoritarian regimes with particular attention to how the state manages an emerging civil society. Drawing upon over 1,200 survey responses conducted in 126 villages in the Sichuan province, as well as 70 intervie ... more

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The adoption of social messaging apps in Iran: Discourses and challenges

Abolghasem Bayat, Mohammad Fathian, Naser Bagheri Moghaddam, Amirali Saifoddin

Information Development, volume 39, issue 1 (2023), pp. 72-85

"Today, social networks are the most popular and widely used applications among smartphone users all around the world. Three years ago, the Telegram messaging app was the most widely used social messaging app in Iran due to its technical features and user-friendliness. Despite its popularity, Telegr ... more

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Preparing to Publish: How Journalists Negotiate Content Restrictions in Semi-Authoritarian States

Ruth Moon

International Communication Gazette, volume 85, issue 2 (2023), pp. 120-140

"Journalists act strategically in response to their political environments, using practices like self-censorship to avoid negative repercussions from powerful actors. But what does self-censorship look like in practice? Grounded in theories of policy response and media sociology, this study uses jou ... more

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A Light That Cannot Be Extinguished: Exiled Journalism and Transnational Repression

Jessica White, Grady Vaughan, Yana Gorokhovskaia

Washington, DC: Freedom House (2023), 18 pp.

"1. Increasing attacks on independent media globally are forcing journalists to flee their home countries. Working from abroad, these reporters remain crucial sources of information about some of the world’s most authoritarian countries. But safety in exile is not guaranteed. 2. At least 26 govern ... more

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Journalistic practices in restrictive contexts: A sociological approach to the case of Iran

Banafsheh Ranji

London; New York: Routledge (2023), 131 pp.

"Based on fieldwork conducted in Iran, this book discusses how it is possible for journalism to exist and function in a restrictive context. The book brings together a range of structural (macro), organizational (meso), and individual (micro) processes to analyse journalistic practice in a political ... more