"We analyzed more than 13,000 statements during the project. This report primarily builds on the statements that were collected between 24 February and 24 June 2015, three months before and one month after the parliamentary elections that took place in Ethiopia on 24 May 2015. FINDING 1 - Hate and d
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angerous speech are marginal forms of speech in social media. Only 0.4% of statements in our sample have been classified as hate speech (i.e. speech that incites others to discriminate or act against individuals or groups based on their ethnicity, religion, or gender) and 0.3% as dangerous speech (i.e. speech that builds the bases for or directly calls for widespread violence against a particular group) [...] FINDING 2 - The elections on Facebook were a “non-event” - they were broadly discussed, but there was widespread disillusionment. Most Ethiopian Facebook pages discussed the elections, but many statements either directly referred to, or seemed informed by, the perception that the outcome of the elections was already predetermined, with low levels of suspense and low expectations on the part of online users [...] FINDING 3 - Dangerous speech is a distinctive and more deliberate form of attacking other groups or individuals. When compared to hate speech, as well as to other types of messages, dangerous speech reflects a more deliberate strategy to attack individuals and groups. Almost all dangerous statements in our sample are uttered by individuals seeking to hide their identity (92%). This proportion is significantly lower for statements classified as hate speech (33%) and offensive speech (31%) [...] FINDING 4 - The political, social and cultural views reflected in social media in Ethiopia are less polarized than might be expected ..." (Executive summary)
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"This document provides general guidelines for electoral management bodies (EMBs) and other stakeholders, including political parties, candidates, citizen journalists and other social media commentators, who wish to agree on a code of etiquette for the publication and dissemination of election-relat
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ed news and information. Of course, each country must adapt these guidelines to develop a code of conduct that suits its particular political context and its own population’s use of social media." (Introduction)
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"In contrast to most recent studies focusing on how ICT and new media were catalysts for the 2007/08 post-election violence, this article will shed light on the role of Kiswahili and social media in the process of fostering participation in the 2013 general election campaigns. It takes a closer look
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at how the use of Kiswahili and mobile phones has shaped citizen engagement by offering new forms and spaces of expression. It will give insight into evolving digital practices of political communication during the 2013 general elections in Kenya." (Abstract)
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"For the last couple of years, there were more reporting on disability in the media but most of them only reporting and portraying the ‘uniqueness’ of disability. In the election news reporting, media only portray the Persons with Disabilities on the voting process but the news still did not hav
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e the clear message and even used incorrect terminologies. Learning for these experiences, General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) which is the consortium of Jaringan Pendidikan Pemilih untuk Rakyat (JPPR/ People’s Voter Education Network), Persatuan Penyandang Disabilitas Indonesia (PPDI/Indonesian Association of Persons with Disabilities) and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), took an initiative to develop the Media Guidelines for Reporting on Accessible Elections. This guideline explains about the terminology on disability and accessible election, how to interact with Persons with Disabilities, and how to make the news article on the political rights of Persons with Disabilities. The guidelines also provides the examples of good reporting and the contact information of the Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) in Indonesia. We hope the guidelines will be useful for the journalist to report on the Persons with Disabilities, especially to report on the accessible election. By having good and massive reporting on accessible election, we hope the public have more knowledge about the political rights of Persons with Disabilities. As a result of this efforts, the public awareness is increased and together we can advocate the political rights of Person with Disabilities in elections." (Foreword)
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"Kuwait boasts high levels of political and media freedoms compared to many countries in the Middle East, and it enjoys a vibrant social media scene. The Kuwaiti parliamentary election in February 2012 was the first election in which candidates widely utilized Twitter during their campaigns. This ar
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ticle presents a content analysis of tweets sent by the 50 winning members of parliament (MPs) during the campaign period. It seeks to ascertain the Twitter usage patterns of MPs and determine whether Twitter was an effective tool in gaining votes. Although Twitter was widely used among MPs, it was employed less for information sharing or communicating about political issues and more for engaging with followers. This article concludes that no relationship existed between using Twitter and gaining votes. Rather, the social media platform acted as a natural extension of off-line interactions between MPs and the electorate." (Abstract)
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"In 2014 Malawi experienced its first-ever tripartite elections involving presidential, parliamentary and local government contests. The role of the media was monitored in a major operation covering radio, television, newspapers, news websites and social media. The results revealed that, with the ex
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ception of state-controlled media, news outlets played a broadly positive role, providing fair coverage for the four leading candidates and reporting on a broad range of topics. Social media provided a lively platform for the views and opinions of mainly partisan participants (presumably mostly from the urban elite). On the negative side, coverage of the presidential and to a lesser extent the parliamentary contests dominated, so that the amount of news about local government issues was minimal. The most important negative aspect of the campaign was the one-sided coverage provided by the two state radio channels, the state television station and its online news service." (Abstract)
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"This paper seeks to identify the extent to which the national TV and radio programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks), part of BBC Media Action’s governance work in Kenya, supported accountability, peace and inclusion at the time of the 2013 Kenya election. It shows the specific value placed on Sema Ken
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ya by audiences and experts at election time [...] Sema Kenya is a weekly programme, in the Kenyan national language of Swahili, involving a panel discussion led by questions from the audience. In its first season, episodes were recorded in 14 different locations across the country. Sema Kenya is not an election programme, which allowed it to tackle local and national governance issues and present a diversity of views and dialogue at a time when the rest of the Kenyan media maintained a very narrow election focus [...] The research also shows that at a time when media coverage and debate was influenced by a peace agenda, resulting in an avoidance of sensitive issues, Sema Kenya provided the public with arguably more detailed information than other media sources." (Abstract)
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"The election protests in Moscow in December 2011 signified an important moment for Russian society. Political dissent, historically reserved for the private domain of Soviet kitchens and in recent years to the regulation-free space of the Russian Internet (RuNet), entered the public space of Moscow
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streets. Just like the protests revealed the long-held tension between the political discussion (and action) in Russian public and private spheres, the coverage of the protests by different media brought to light similar struggles in Russian journalism. This project combines the textual analysis of the protests' coverage by two progovernment and two oppositional media with the analysis of their connections to the RuNet-a space that played an important role in the protests' organization and coordination. The project aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role RuNet-a private space that increasingly becomes more public-plays in the development of Russian journalism." (Abstract)
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"La información periodística sobre las elecciones es prioritariamente canalizada y recibida por los medios noticiosos tradicionales: la prensa, la radio y la televisión. El empleo de Internet para estos cometidos -informar o informarse- aparece como poco relevante, siendo considerados más import
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antes los intercambios de informaciones o comentarios en ámbitos de relaciones sociales directas con familiares, amistades u organizaciones de pertenencia. Si bien la gran mayoría de las personas usa complementariamente la radio y la televisión para informarse de los temas electorales, es este último medio el que concentra las principales audiencias urbanas, probablemente debido a las particularidades de su carácter audiovisual que le permiten brindar una representación más "realista" y emotiva de los hechos, las declaraciones y los personajes. Los periódicos aparecen relegados a públicos más pequeños." (Conclusiones, página 18)
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"SAEF’s major finding in Malawi was that although the media had covered the entire election process fairly well, it had failed to give equitable coverage to all three parts of the elections – presidential, parliamentary and local government. The press gave 40% coverage to the presidential race,
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11% to the parliamentary one and 1% to local government elections, according to research done by the Media Monitoring Project of the US funded Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). The state broadcaster, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) performed poorly at first in that it gave 90% coverage to the ruling Peoples’ Party and the incumbent President, Dr Joyce Banda and only 10% to opposition parties. Only after complaints were lodged with Government through the Minister of Information did the figure of 90% drop to 70%." (Executive summary)
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"PakVotes, a pilot project supported by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), used social media platforms and a network of reporters located in areas outside of major cities in Pakistan to track violence during the 2013 elections. The project offers lessons that could guide future efforts to use socia
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l media to record and publicize conflicts and the use of violence during elections and other major events. The hashtag #PakVotes trended for several days around elections,serving as a popular alternative news source to the mainstream media, which was not as diverse in its geographic coverage, sources or story types." (Page 1)
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"This guide is designed to be a key reference tool for electoral practitioners including electoral management bodies (EMBs), independent broadcasting authorities and international assistance providers. It aims at improving an understanding of some of the key issues related to media and elections. Th
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e guide is comprised of ten chapters that deal with the issues of media and communications during the electoral process. Each chapter can be read independently so that electoral practitioners only concerned with one facet of media and elections can turn directly to that section as a resource." (Page vi)
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"Das Radio ist, zusammen mit dem Fernsehen, das mit Abstand meist genutzte Medium in Deutschland. Auch die bundesdeutschen Parteien nutzen es häufig für ihre Werbung im Vorfeld von Wahlen. Trotzdem führt Wahlwerbung im Radio im Gegensatz zu Wahlwerbung auf und in anderen Trägermedien (z.B. Ferns
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ehen, Internet) ein sozialwissenschaftliches Schattendasein. Vor diesem Hintergrund klärt Peter Brück die allgemeinen Voraussetzungen für Wirkungen von Wahlwerbung im Radio und erarbeitet ihre speziellen Wirkmechanismen. Er untersucht die Intentionen und Strategien der Parteien sowie ihre Wirkungen auf die Rezipienten aus politikwissenschaftlicher Perspektive und unter Beachtung der Befunde aus Kommunikations- und Werbeforschung." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"L’appui à la couverture médiatique du scrutin vise trois objectifs : offrir une information suffisante au citoyen pour que son choix électoral soit posé en connaissance de cause; garantir le pluralisme à travers la visibilité octroyée aux différentes forces en présence; crédibiliser le
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processus électoral à travers la circulation d’une information fiable permettant aux citoyens de se convaincre de la transparence du scrutin. Un appui efficace à la réalisation de ces objectifs demande une inscription dans le long terme. Il s’agit de modifier durablement les perceptions, les capacités et les pratiques des acteurs concernés avec pour horizon l’échéance électorale. Les médias s’intègrent en outre dans un cadre plus global, mobilisant un large spectre d’acteurs – instance de gestion des élections, parlements, organisations de la société civile, partis politiques, système judiciaire et sécuritaire — dont les objectifs sont parfois contradictoires, interdépendants et s’influencent mutuellement. Mettre l’accent sur ces liens entre médias et autres acteurs de l’élection est également crucial. Le changement politique et social est porté par l’action conjointe des réformateurs au sein de chaque groupe, et de militants dans les zones d’interaction entre ces groupes. Concrètement, s’inscrire dans le long terme et en interaction avec les autres acteurs de l’élection conduit à privilégier une approche dans le cadre du cycle électoral : l’appui aux processus électoraux et l’assistance aux médias en période électorale sont conçus de manière cyclique, d’une échéance à l’autre." (Recommendations, page 24)
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"This article will discuss recent trends in Malaysia’s media surrounding the 2013 general election (GE13). It will argue that the GE13 produced two important trends in the media industry. First, there was increased political-party participation in social media, citizen journalism and blogging. In
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fact, it practically led to a ‘cyberwar’ between political parties, making the realm of the online and social media increasingly polarised and partisan. Second, many mainstream media outlets in Malaysia successfully pursued a platform of more ‘balanced’ coverage, suggesting an increased space of negotiation and contestation amongst the previously muzzled print, television and radio industry. This article will conclude with an assessment of the future trends in the media industry in Malaysia post GE13." (Abstract)
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