the aid library

Digitalisation and civic space: chances and challenges

Kai Schächtele; Ingo Dachwitz; Felix Zimmermann; Chris Köver; Christine Meissler; Martina Hahn; Sven Hilbig

Berlin: Brot für die Welt (2022), 58 pp.

"Multifaceted, uncensored, promoting democracy - that is the internet, many people had long hoped. But from today's perspective, this is not true - or only partially. Because the big digital platforms and the world wide web are both: media of freedom and control. In many places, they support civil s... more

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Qualitative research using social media

Gwen Bouvier; Joel Rasmussen

London; New York: Routledge (2022), viii, 203 pp., illustr., bibliogr. p.176-199, index

ISBN 978-0-367-33350-8 (hbk); 978-0-367-33347-8 (pbk); 978-0-429-31933-4 (ebook)

"[This book] guides the reader in what different kinds of qualitative research can be applied to social media data. It introduces students, as well as those who are new to the field, to developing and carrying out concrete research projects. The book takes the reader through the stages of choosing d... more

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Online caste-hate speech: pervasive discrimination and humiliation on social media

Damni Kain; Shivangi Narayan; Torsha Sarkar; Gurshabad Grover

Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) (2021), 32 pp.

CC BY

"In India, religious texts, social customs, rituals, and everyday cultural practices legitimise the use of hate speech against marginalised caste groups. Notions of "purity" of “upper-caste” groups, and conversely of "pollution" of “lower-caste” groups, have made the latter subject to discri...mination, violence and dehumanisation. These dynamics invariably manifest online, with social media platforms becoming sites of caste discrimination and humiliation. This report explores two research questions. First, what are the specific contours of caste-hate speech and abuse online? Semi-structured interviews with 12 scholars and activists belonging to Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi (DBA) groups show that marginalised groups regularly face hate and harassment based on their caste. In addition to the overt hate, DBA individuals and groups are often targeted with abuse for availing reservations – a constitutionally mandated right. More covert forms of hate and abuse are also prevalent: trolls mix caste names and words from different languages together so that their comments appear meaningless to individuals who are not keenly aware of the local context. Such hateful expression often emerges as a reaction from “upper-caste” groups to DBA resistance and social justice movements. Our respondents reported that the hateful expression can sometimes silence caste-marginalised groups and individuals, exclude them from conversations, and adversely impact their physical and mental well-being. The second question we explore is how popular social media platforms and online spaces moderate caste-hate speech and abuse. We analysed the community guidelines, policies and transparency reports of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Clubhouse. We find that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube incorporated "caste" as a protected characteristic in their hate speech and harassment policies only in the last two or three years – many years after they entered Indian and South Asian markets – showing a disregard for the regional contexts of their users. Even after these policy changes, many platforms – whose forms for reporting harmful content list gender and race – still do not list caste. Social media companies should radically increase their investment and capacity in understanding regional contexts and languages; they must focus on the dynamics of casteist hate and abuse. They will need to collaborate with a diverse set of DBA activists to ensure that their community guidelines effectively tackle overt, covert and hyper -local forms of caste-hate speech and abuse, and that their implementation and reporting processes match these policy commitments." (Eexecutive summary) more

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The chilling: a global study of online violence against women journalists

Julie Posetti; Nabeelah Shabbir (eds.)

International Center for Journalists (ICFJ); UNESCO (2022), 325 pp.

ISBN 979-8-218-09201-6 CC BY-NC-SA

"Online violence against women journalists is one of the most serious contemporary threats to press freedom internationally. It aids and abets impunity for crimes against journalists, including physical assault and murder. It is designed to silence, humiliate, and discredit. It inflicts very real ps... more

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A review of food and nutrition communication and promotion in Ghana

Phyllis Parbey; R. Aryeetey

African journal of food, agriculture, nutrition and development, volume 22, issue 2 (2022), pp. 19602-19623

CC BY-NC-ND

"As part of the process to develop food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) for Ghana, this rapid evidence review examined the nature, extent, sources, and medium of food and nutrition information dissemination and promotion in Ghana. PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Open Access Theses Dissertatio... more

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Wielding influence in the age of coronavirus: how the Chinese communist party shapes narratives and builds influence in Africa

Tom Bayes

Berlin: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2021), 125 pp., abbrev. p.6-7, bibliogr. p.101-125

ISBN 978-3-95721-977-0 CC BY-SA

"The geopolitical implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has dislocated global life, shaken economies and caused over 4 million deaths, continue to play out. For China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP), China’s status as the virus’ origin posed political risks, heightened by international s... more

Digital platform regulation: global perspectives on internet governance

Terry Flew; Fiona R. Martin (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2022), xvii, 319 pp., illustr., index

ISBN 978-3-030-95220-4 (ebook); 978-3-030-95219-8 (print) CC BY

"Once a specialised and niche field within internet and digital media studies, internet governance has in recent years moved to the forefront of policy debate. In the wake of scandals such as Cambridge Analytica and the global 'techlash' against digital monopolies, platform studies are undergoing a ... more

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Mediating Catholicism: religion and media in global Catholic imaginaries

Kristin Norget; Marc Loustau; Eric Hoenes del Pinal (eds.)

London: Bloomsbury Academic (2022), 240 pp.

ISBN 978-1-350-22821-4 (pdf); 978-1-350-22817-7 (hbk)

Taking control? Internet censorship and surveillance in Russia: Update

Ulrike Gruska

Berlin: Reporters Without Borders (2021), 53 pp.

Other Editions: also published in German and Russian

"This update to the RSF report “Taking Control? Internet Censorship and Surveillance in Russia” (published in November 2019) focuses on the period between the 2019 elections and the parliamentary elections in September 2021. It describes how the Kremlin has severely restricted press freedom and ... more

Arabische Medien

Carola Richter; Asiem El Difraoui (eds.)

Konstanz; München: UVK (2015), 344 pp.

ISBN 978-3-86764-509-6

"Im Fokus des ersten Teils stehen transnationale Phänomene wie die Bedeutung des Satellitenfernsehens und der Sozialen Medien sowie die Rolle von Minderheiten, Gender und Islamisten in den Medien. Diese Beiträge geben den aktuellen Stand der Forschung wieder und reflektieren diesen. Im zweiten Tei... more

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Responsible journalism in conflicted societies: trust and public service across new and old divides

Jake Lynch; Charis Rice (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xii, 216 pp., index

ISBN 978-1-00-317821-7 (ebook)

"Applying an inclusive concept of ‘conflicted societies’ that goes beyond those affected by violent conflict to include traditionally ‘stable’ but increasingly polarised democracies, such as the UK and the USA, contributors engage with longstanding questions and new challenges surrounding co... more

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Pacific crises: COVID, climate emergency and West Papua

Philip Cass; David Robie (eds.)

Pacific journalism review, volume 27, issue 44958 (2021), pp. 1-174

CC BY-NC-ND

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Entrepreneurial journalism in Africa: opportunities, challenges and risks for media in the digital age. Learnings from a conference held by KAS Media Africa in Accra, Ghana, 16-19 September 2018

Francis Mdlongwa (ed.)

Johannesburg: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2019), 64 pp.

ISBN 978-0-9870243-5-0

" ... there seems to be an understanding that the media is important and that society needs the media. In October 2018, KAS Media Africa, therefore, gathered the CEOs of media houses, publishers and editors-in-chief from 16 different countries, both from Anglophone and Frenchspeaking Africa, in Accr... more

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De-Westernizing visual communication and cultures: perspectives from the Global South

Thomas Herdin; Maria Faust; Guo-Ming Chen (eds.)

Baden-Baden: Nomos (2020), 225 pp.

ISBN 978-3-8487-6577-5 (print); 978-3-7489-0693-3 (online)

"This edited volume gives voice to pluralised avenues from visual communication and cultural studies regarding the Global South and beyond, including examples from China, India, Cambodia, Brazil, Mexico and numerous other countries. Defining visual communication and culture as an umbrella term that ... more

Fluter. Soziale Medien

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb) (2022), 50 pp.

"Wie sozial sind Soziale Medien? Es gibt mindestens zwei asoziale Dimensionen im jetzigen Regime der Sozialen Medien: Sie sind sozial vor allem für die Betreiber und ihre Eigentümer. Der in Deutschland geltende Verfassungsgrundsatz der "informationellen Selbstbestimmung" wird für Nutzer und Nutze... more

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Perspectives on political communication in Africa

Bruce Mutsvairo; Beschara Karam (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2018), xxiii, 272 pp., 12 illustr., index

ISBN 978-3-319-62057-2 (ebook); 978-3-319-62056-5 (print)

"Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally drawing comparisons with other regions of the world, this book critically addresses the development of the field focusing on the current opportunities and challenges within the African context. By using a wide variety of case studies that include Moza... more

Digital inclusion: an international comparative analysis

Massimo Ragnedda; Bruce Mutsvairo; Gerard Goggin (eds.)

Lanham: Lexington Books (2018), xx, 223 pp., index

ISBN 978-1-4985-6212-6

"The volume examines the risks and opportunities of a digital society characterized by the increasing importance of knowledge and by the incessant rise and pervasiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs). At a global level, the pivotal role of ICTs has made it necessary to rethink... more

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Media feast, news famine: ten global advertising trends that threaten independent journalism

Michelle Foster

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2017), 25 pp.

Atlas der Zivilgesellschaft. Freiheitsrechte unter Druck: Schwerpunkt Digitalisierung

Kai Schächtele; Ingo Dachwitz; Felix Zimmermann; Chris Köver; Christine Meissler; Martina Hahn; Sven Hilbig

München; Berlin: oekom Verlag; Brot für die Welt (2022), 86 pp.

ISBN 978-3-96238-379-4

Other Editions: shortened version also published in English

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Social media and politics in Africa: democracy, censorship and security

Maggie Dwyer; Thomas Molony (eds.)

London: Zed Books (2019), xiii, 299 pp., index

ISBN 978-1-78699-497-4

"Drawing on over a dozen new empirical case studies – from Kenya to Somalia, South Africa to Tanzania – this collection explores how rapidly growing social media use is reshaping political engagement in Africa. But while social media has often been hailed as a liberating tool, the book demonstra... more