"These are the background case notes complied for MEMO 2018.1: Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation. For details on the methods behind this content analysis please see the methodology section of the report. This document contains data from over 500 s
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ources organized by country. The sources include high quality news articles, academic papers, white papers, and a range of other grey literature. As an annotated bibliography, the country cases here make use of significant passages from these secondary sources, and every effort has been made to preserve full citation details for future researchers. The full list of references can be found in our public Zotero folder, with each reference tagged with a country name." (Page 3)
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"The retrospection, which covers Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates, includes the following highlights: Internet penetration has increased in every country since 2013. The biggest increase occurred in Lebanon – from 58 percent to 91 percent in the la
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st five years; Smartphones are the ‘go-to’ device, connecting 97 percent of people to the internet as declining numbers of people (45 percent) rely on computers as their primary source of internet access; In terms of social media, fewer Arab national now use Facebook (74 percent) and Twitter (27 percent), while Instagram and Snapchat have risen to 40 percent and 29 percent respectively, due perhaps in part to the privacy these applications provide; Direct messaging is ubiquitous, with 97 percent of people using it; 47 percent of people send messages to group chats; Trust among Arab nationals in mass media is widespread, but figures have declined in several countries such as Tunisia (from 64 percent to 56 percent) and Qatar (from 69 percent to 64 percent); Most Gulf nationals say news media in their country is credible, but nationals elsewhere tend to disagree (Qataris are among the highest group in this respect with 62 percent saying their national media is credible, and Jordan among the lowest, at just 38 percent - down from 66 percent in 2013); At the same time, the belief that international news organizations are biased against the Arab World has grown. An average of 37 percent of Arab nationals thinks this." (https://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2018/05-mideast-media-retrospective.html)
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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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"Amid civil war, failing states, and terrorism, Arab liberals are growing in numbers and influence. Advocating a culture of equity, tolerance, good governance, and the rule of law, they work through some of the region's largest media outlets to spread their ideals within the culture. Broadcasting Ch
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ange analyzes this trend by portraying the intersection of media and politics in two Arab countries with seismic impact on the region and beyond. Through TV talk shows, drama, and comedy, local liberals play off the government's anti-Islamist agenda to more thoughtfully advocate religious reform." (Back cover)
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"This chapter sought to analyze the portrayals of Sinai people in the Egyptian media as it pertains to the people themselves. It started by giving the reader an overview of the current Sinai’s social, security, and economic status quo and structures. Then, it examined how image building could be o
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r not an essential tool for political control over Sinai; before moving into how and why specific people’s images are constructed and deconstructed by the mass media and how this is affecting and affected by the different and multiple aspects of development. While many Arabic and Western studies tackled the Sinai Peninsula issues, yet almost no single research focused on the people themselves: How they perceive their own identity?! How they evaluate their image in other Egyptian’s eyes?! And how they judge what is being presented to them via Egyptian media?! A quick glance at the development measures that could boost the integration of Sinai’s people into the formal Egyptian economy and provide alternatives to smuggling, we would easily realize that “the poor state of Egypt’s public finances and the myriad challenges facing the country as a whole could mean that the needs of the Sinai may continue to be neglected despite the promise to invest” (Watanabe 2015). Bright promises only follow almost every terroristic attack and then fade out. Although the officials quickly introduce many symbols and discourses of unity to the people there, quick observations more quickly show that the development of a sense of belonging at their popular level is slow." (Conclusion)
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"Dans des pays caractérisés par une profusion d’images essentiellement venues d’autres continents, et par une production très inégale, voire inexistante, quels ont été les modèles dominants de production ? Quels sont ceux que les mutations en cours font émerger ? Quels sont les enjeux é
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conomiques, industriels et sociaux de cette mutation numérique ? Quels en sont les principaux acteurs ? Qu’en est-il de la participation et du rôle des États ? Quels liens financiers, politiques, juridiques, demeurent avec les anciennes métropoles coloniales, avec les nouveaux acteurs de la production ? Qu’en est-il des équipements et de la formation des personnels ? Des contributions de chercheurs abordent ces questions en différents pays d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient, sous des angles économiques, sociologiques et historiques. Complémentairement, six témoignages de producteurs évoquent leur métier, et les questions spécifiques qui se posent pour eux en travaillant en et avec ces aires géographiques." (Présentation)
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"The four countries concerned in this publication – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya - each have a complex set of challenges - and opportunities - in relation to the advancement of free and independent media. Yet, they share several trends and certainly the tensions between laws pertaining to f
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reedom of expression, political actors and the judiciary practice. Four legal experts have taken up the challenge to briefly introduce in this study both the legal frameworks and the tension points, and to formulate key recommendations to address the deficiencies in law or practice. These recommendations are a means by which non-governmental organisations and rights defenders can pursue their critical advocacy work." (Preface)
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"Ereignisse wie die ägyptische Revolution von/seit 2011 lassen sich als komplexe Medienereignisse beschreiben, in denen Medien weniger eine Dokumentationsfunktion übernehmen, sondern das Ereignis selbst zu einem wesentlichen Teil konstituieren und seinen Verlauf prägen, und die sich damit sowohl
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im sogenannten Realraum als auch zu großen Teilen im virtuellen Raum des Internets ereignen. Die vorliegende Arbeit schaut zurück auf dieses Ereignis, und versucht—in Theorie und Praxis—die ihm zugrundeliegende Medialität aus medienwissenschaftlicher Perspektive zu erforschen und seine Konsequenzen für eben diese Rückschau, also für eine zeitgemäße Geschichts- und Archivpraxis zu ergründen. In diesem Sinne verfolgt SEEING HISTORY – The Augmented Archive die sich verändernden Medialitäten des Archivs in Zeiten des Übergangs vom Speichermedium hin zum Modus des Übertragens. Hier liegt die wahre Herausforderung für eine zeitgemäße Geschichtsschreibung: "Von den Speichermedien aus kommen die Übertragungsmedien selten in den Blick denn sie hinterlassen kaum Spuren. Weil es von ihnen kein klassisches Archiv, sondern nur Momente der Zwischenspeicherung gibt, fokussiert sie kaum eine Historiographie." (Einleitung, Seite 13)
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"Le présent ouvrage s'intéresse à la socio-économie de l'audiovisuel au Maroc. Il dresse un panorama des différents questionnements qui concernent le secteur de l'audiovisuel, ses acteurs institutionnels et économiques, ainsi que la dynamique qui les anime. De précieux renseignements y sont f
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ournis sur des sujets divers affectant le quotidien des Marocains: les modes de financement de l'audiovisuel; l'impact de la couverture publicitaire; la diffusion en TNT; la convergence technologique et l'innovation; les spécificités des usages du mois de Ramadan pour l'économie audiovisuelle; le rôle de l'État et de la libéralisation; la promotion de la citoyenneté et de la diversité culturelle amazigh; les réseaux sociaux et les nouveaux outils de développement du secteur audiovisuel marocain. Autant de questions auxquelles l'auteur apporte les réponses les plus appropriées." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"Introduite dès les années 1930 sur les terres africaines et durablement ancrée au lendemain de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, la radio s’est peu à peu adaptée à l’environnement culturel, social et politique africain. Ses évolutions successives ont suivi la courbe des mutations culturelles
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et sociopolitiques qui ont traversé l’histoire contemporaine du continent. Car, comme le dit André-Jean Tudesq, « on ne peut séparer les médias des sociétés dans lesquelles ils se diffusent. Ils ne forment pas un système autonome, mais participent à la fois aux systèmes politique, économique et culturel locaux » (2009). Mais si l’on s’intéresse uniquement à la situation de ce début de siècle, on pourrait noter plusieurs changements par rapport à celle de la dernière décennie du XXe siècle." (Résumé)
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"The article revisits classical debates about the positive and negative relation of popular culture and socio-political developments with regard to the Arab world. Within the Frankfurt School and modern Cultural Studies at times contradictory approaches to the role of entertainment in political cult
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ure are being debated. In Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies rather positive readings of entertainments’ political potential seem to prevail. During the “Arab Spring” the impact of participatory values promoted by both popular culture and the new social media (“entertainment is political”) appeared to be actually tangible. The article discusses the dynamic relation of entertainment television and individualization on a theoretical and empirical level. On the basis of a large body of follow-up discourses of media reception (group discussions) with young Egyptians during the time of the “Arab Spring,” we ask whether contemporary television shows promote both individualization on a cognitive, affective and practical level of experience as well as the appreciation of individualization as a social value. We argue that popular culture reveals tendencies of differentiation and modernization in Arab societies, which are all too often described as “collectivistic.” The case study shows that critical faculty, media literacy and the appreciation of individual articulation can be triggered by entertainment. Moments of “ironic pleasure” and transitions of simulated empathy and stimulated action are discussed." (Abstract)
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"In spite of harsh censorship, conservative morals and a lack of investment, women documentarists in the Arab world have found ways to subtly negotiate dissidence in their films, something that is becoming more apparent since the ‘Arab Revolutions’. In this book, Stefanie Van de Peer traces the
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very beginnings of Arab women making documentaries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), from the 1970s and 1980s in Egypt and Lebanon, to the 1990s and 2000s in Morocco and Syria." (Publisher description)
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"Roots of the New Arab Film deals with the generation of filmmakers from across North Africa and the Middle East who created an international awareness of Arab film from the mid-1980s onwards. These seminal filmmakers experienced the moment of national independence first-hand in their youth and reta
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ined a deep attachment to their homeland. Although these aspiring filmmakers had to seek their training abroad, they witnessed a time of filmic revival in Europe - Fellini and Antonioni in Italy, the French New Wave, and British Free Cinema. Returning home, these filmmakers brought a unique insider/outsider perspective to bear on local developments in society since independence, including the divide between urban and rural communities, the continuing power of traditional values and the status of women in a changing society. As they made their first films back home, the feelings of participation in a worldwide movement of new, independent filmmaking was palpable." (Publisher description)
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"Is there an inevitable global violent clash unfolding between the world's largest religions: Islam and Christianity? Do religions cause violent conflicts, or are there other factors at play? How can we make sense of increasing reports of violence between Christian and Muslim ethnic communities acro
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ss the world? By seeking to answer such questions about the relationship between religion and violence in today's world, Ziya Meral challenges popular theories and offers an alternative explanation, grounded on insights inferred from real cases of ethno-religious violence in Africa and the Middle East. The relationship between religion and violence runs deep and both are intrinsic to the human story. Violence leads to and shapes religion, while religion acts to enable violence as well as providing responses that contain and prevent it. However, with religious violence being one of the most serious challenges facing the modern world, Meral shows that we need to de-globalise our analysis and focus on individual conflicts, instead of attempting to provide single answers to complex questions." (Publisher description)
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"Digital Middle East sheds a critical light on continuing changes that are closely intertwined with the adoption of information and communication technologies in the MENA region. Drawing on case studies from throughout the Middle East, the contributors explore how these digital transformations are p
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laying out in the social, cultural, political, and economic spheres, exposing the various disjunctions and discordances that have marked the advent of the digital Middle East." (Publisher description)
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"L’objet de ce livre est de décrire le système médiatique français et sa manière de traiter les conflits libyen et syrien à l’aune du « modèle de propagande » mis sur pied par Edward Hermann et Noam Chomsky dans les années 1980, dans leur ouvrage de référence Manufacturing Consent. A
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insi, à rebours de l’image d’Epinal de médias consciencieux, impartiaux et garants de la vérité que les journalistes aiment renvoyer, cet essai tente de démontrer comment un large consensus structure la présentation qui est faite de l’actualité en matière internationale. De la prédominance des partis pris et de l’instrumentalisation généralisée des informations — entre autres — se dégage une nouvelle manière de voir le discours médiatique et de comprendre sa nature propagandiste." (Dos de couverture)
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"Entrepreneurship and innovation are currently high on the media industry agenda, but focus has so far been mostly on the economic sustainability of new ventures. Considering the repressive political climate in Egypt, Naomi Sakr explores the tension between economic growth and the ethical, democrati
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c practices of Egyptian startups. The study highlights, among other things, the temporal dimensions of sustainability, where focus on social sustainability can be seen as investment in stakeholder relationships that create long term economic returns." (Page xxxii)
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