"Our study is the first to identify and analyse who is shaping African Twitter conversations during elections over the past year. The study found that 53 per cent of the leading voices on Twitter around ten elections on the continent during the past year came from outside the country in which the el
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ections were contested. Bots, and accounts displaying machine-like behaviour, were active across all elections, particularly in Kenya, where they accounted for a quarter of all influential accounts. One of the more surprising findings from the study was the limited influence politicians had on the conversation. Rwanda was the exception, where 1 in every 3 influential handles was a political account – the highest figure across all elections analysed. This doesn’t mean politicians weren’t being talked about. Many of the top hashtags included references to politicians or political parties, including #UmaAngolaParaTodos in Angola, #Weah in Liberia and #Kagame in Rwanda. This study demonstrates that people continue to seek out the voices they trust with established journalists and news outlets consistently ranked in the top three influencers across all elections. With fake news and bots influencing conversations on social media, people continue to search for traditional sources of verified, accurate information." (Introduction)
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"In a nutshell, the nascent print media of Ethiopia is in danger of a complete collapse. This is not the effect of the digital tsunami; it is primarily because of unprofessionalism and authoritarianism. Undoubtedly, the spread of mobile telephones and the Internet further endangers their existence.
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The price of newspapers and magazines has increased to 13 birr on average, which is expensive for many. That is partly why some readers prefer to rent for a few minutes. The more subtle reason for scanning rather than buying is disregard and distrust for the publications. The political environment is not conducive to allowing the public to enjoy a number of high quality media products. Private newspapers, magazines, radios and television stations tread very carefully. But the public’s hunger for a courageous press that gives informed analysis and accurate news is more evident than at any other time. That is why nearly every household installs satellite dishes to watch alternative media based outside of the country. Those are the only dissidents discussing hardcore political issues with no fear of harmful ramifications. Internet penetration is low, but surging. If the government liberalizes the telecoms sector in the near future, the flow of information could generate active citizens that will demand more freedom. However, the repression of recent years has followed Internet-based protest movement, leading to heavy censorship." (Conclusion)
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"The boundaries between media, politics and business have always been blurry in Albania. However, because of the small size and the high number of outlets the market was perceived by some local observers as vibrant and plural. However, a joint research project between Reporters Without Borders and t
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he Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania, reveals that the Albania media scene is highly concentrated in the hand of few major owners, who have strong political affiliations, and control more than half of the audience share and nearly 90% of the market share." (http://www.mom-rsf.org/en/countries/albania)
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"Mexico’s booming media industry is controlled by some of the richest businessmen on earth. While the sector grows at a rate three times that of the overall economy, an alarming concentration of media ownership goes hand in hand with the well-known lack of safety for Mexico’s journalists, many o
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f whom cannot even make a living from their precarious salaries, increasing their vulnerability to pressures of all kinds. The almost traditional concentration of a lot of power in the hands of very few media magnates and politicians also comes as a result of blatant regulatory flaws." (http://www.mom-rsf.org/en/countries/Mexico)
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"This research is aimed at assessing national vulnerabilities and preparedness to counteract foreign-led disinformation in 14 countries of Eastern and Central Europe. The Visegrad states (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), Eastern Partnership countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia
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, Moldova, Ukraine), the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Romania are covered. An integral part of the research is the Disinformation Resilience Index, which is quantitative assessment of exposure to Kremlin-led disinformation and the level of national resilience to disinformation campaigns." (Page 1)
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"These recommendations are given to media of all four countries as they are important for the development of media in all four countries: It is necessary to create stronger communications between NGOs and the media; to foster cooperation and trust between the civil society and the media; to act as a
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watchdog by exposing corruption and help to promote good governance and accountability by providing accurate, balanced and timely information that is of interest and relevance to the public; to carry out monitoring and advocacy work within state structures; give voice to powerless groups and put pressure on public authorities; to contribute to public engagement; to diversify the sources of information for news reports; to conduct vocational trainings for journalists on investigative journalism, data journalism, fact checking; to develop editorial policy and to follow it." (Recommendations, page 49)
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"Macedonia and Montenegro saw the largest overall score increases this year, in comparison to 2017. The improvement across all objectives this year for Macedonia’s media sector can be attributed to political changes that prioritize media in democratic reforms. Although Montenegro’s score improve
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ment shows promising progress and puts it in the Near Sustainability category, weaknesses in the country’s media sector include low revenue generation, declining professional development opportunities, political biases, and low adherence to professional standards. Kyrgyzstan and Serbia saw the largest overall decreases in their scores. While Kyrgyzstan’s MSI score for the business management objective increased slightly, all other objective scores experienced a decline, moving Kyrgyzstan from Near Sustainability in 2017 to Unsustainable Mixed System in 2018. Serbia’s scores in all MSI objectives are indicative of a downward trend in the country’s media space. Among the factors feeding this spiral are: media content is more polarized now than at any time in almost 20 years; an increase in fake news; editorial pressure on media; and a poor overall economic operating environment." (Executive summary)
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"This report presents the findings of a media environment assessment in Ethiopia led by International Media Support (IMS) within the context of the present socio-political developments in the country [...] The specific objective of the mission was to carry out an assessment of the media landscape in
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Ethiopia, and to delve into specific areas related to communication and community engagement in order to identify possible avenues for future media development activities by IMS. The assessment covers both the private and public media sector, centering on the restrictions and enabling factors for strengthening free, independent and professional media in Ethiopia." (Introduction)
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"Only a few media companies have a predominant market position and thus a potentially high influence on public opinion in Tanzania. Whereas the regulatory framework should in theory safeguard media pluralism and prevent media concentration, it shows considerable gaps in practice. Moreover, the legal
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environment restricts data collection and research." (http://www.mom-rsf.org/en/countries/tanzania)
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"Viewership, listenership and readership in the Sri Lankan media market is highly concentrated among a few media owners, many of whom have political affiliations. Limited access to ownership information and a number of regulatory shortcomings pose a further threat to media pluralism in the country."
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(http://www.mom-rsf.org/en/countries/sri-lanka)
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"The seemingly buzzing Lebanese media market is, in fact, controlled by only a few highly politicized owners that are either directly affiliated with political parties or belong to Lebanese dynasties. Additional threats to media pluralism arise from clear editorial lines defined by politics, close t
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ies among the dynasties, and a number of regulatory shortcomings." (http://www.mom-rsf.org/en/countries/Lebanon)
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"The 43 country reports included in this year’s Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) capture the different experiences and approaches in setting up community networks across the globe. They show that key ideas, such as participatory governance systems, community ownership and skills transfe
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r, as well as the “do-it-yourself” spirit that drives community networks in many different contexts, are characteristics that lend them a shared purpose and approach. The country reports are framed by eight thematic reports that deal with critical issues such as the regulatory framework necessary to support community networks, sustainability, local content, feminist infrastructure and community networks, and the importance of being aware of “community stories” and the power structures embedded in those stories." (Back cover)
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"This report, which follows the Council of Europe’s list of “Indicators for Media in a Democracy”, intends to provide an analysis of the current media situation based on the standards upheld by this list. The aim of this report is to raise awareness on the status of affairs in the media scene
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for an array of actors, such as policymakers, government representatives, media professionals, professional associations, media experts, and civil society. The report is based on methodology that uses varied instruments and feedback from different relevant actors that affect legal, political, economic, and professional environment for media operation. Apart from collecting and classifying statistical data from publicly available sources, existing research, and surveys, the primary research consisted also in legal analysis conducted for the purpose of comparing Council of Europe standards to domestic legislation, carrying out of surveys with stakeholders, and in-depth interviews with key players in the media fi eld, judges, government representatives, parliament, and public institutions. Using a specially designed questionnaire, a survey was conducted on a sample of 110 editors-in-chief, media owners, and journalists of different media outlets across the country, including representatives from minorities. In-depth interviews were conducted with media owners, media managers, and editors of mainstream media outlets, as well as with other actors with direct input and knowledge on media scene, such as the Audiovisual Media Authority, public broadcaster RTSH, journalist trade union, professional associations, the Media Council, journalists from various media, etc." (Introduction, page 7-8)
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"This rapid review synthesises data from academic, policy and NGO sources on the role media can play in creating/easing tensions between refugees and the host community, and within the host community itself. Acknowledging the importance media can play in perceptions, and considering the confessional
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and political nature of the media, the review also maps the media/social media in Lebanon and highlights some successes in utilising media to ease tensions. Key findings are as follows: Due to the Lebanese media being party-controlled or linked it has a political message and focuses on one confessional group, therefore it is often negative towards refugees and Lebanese citizens from other confessions, thus creating tensions. In a survey carried out in 2016 by UNHCR 29% of the Lebanese respondents highlighted that media has a strong impact on the perception of refugees. More than two thirds of the respondents acknowledged that discussions in the media trigger reactions against refugees, and that the Lebanese media reports negative stories about refugees (Alsharabati, 2017: 15-16). In a discourse analysis of Lebanese media conducted in February 2015, topics that can be perceived as viewing refugees in a negative light formed the majority of the reporting and also often had a negative tone. However, humanitarian stories about refugees were also reported, often in a positive tone (Sakada et al., 2015). In 2013 a UNDP-led pact, entitled "Journalists' Pact for Strengthening Civil Peace in Lebanon", was signed by 34 media institutions. The idea behind the pact was to create more ethics in Lebanese journalism, enhance neutrality, depoliticise reporting, increase accuracy, and create responsibility for reporting." (Overview, page 2)
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