#Media Freedom

[hussyknee]

Ayat Khaddura, 27, was a digital content and podcast presenter in North Gaza. She was one of the five journalists murdered by Israel's targeted air strike on Nov 20, along with her sister and grandmother in her home. She posted this video in the knowledge that these were probably her last moments.

Video description:

A young Arab woman in a hijab and abaya speaks into her camera in Arabic in a high, frightened voice. The subtitles read: "This might be the last video from me. Today the Occupation Forces dropped phosphorus bombs on the Beit Lahia residential area, and frightening sound bombs. And uhm, they dropped letters from the sky ordering us to evacuate. So of course nearly everyone evacuated for the most part. Everyone ran into the streets in a crazy way. No one knows where they're coming or going. Uhm, we're all split up and around. Me and some others stayed at home. The others evacuated and left. We don't know where they've gone, that's for sure. The situation is terrifying, the scenes are horrifying [voice breaking as she starts to cry], the situation is extremely difficult. May God have mercy on us." [She closes her eyes as she starts to cry openly. End clip.]

[New clip.] The same young woman is seated on a desk in front of a world map wearing a jacket over a t-shirt and her hijab. Large video caption reads "Message from Ayat Khaddura who was martyred yesterday". Her voice is sad and resigned, and her face is tired and tear-stained as she speaks in Arabic. Subtitles read:

"We are human beings, just like other human beings around the world. We had many big dreams, but unfortunately today our dreams are that if we are killed we will be martyred in one piece, one body (not torn to pieces) so that people can recognise us, and we will not be cut off in pieces and put in a bag. [struggles not to cry.] When we are martyred there will be a shroud for us and we will be buried in a grave. Our dreams have become that the war will stop, that we stop hearing the sound of bombing. We never imagined we would reach such a stage and live such a life that does not have the lowest basic necessities. [Blinks back tears.] There are things we can't talk about, there are things that people photographed and did not document. When the war will end, who will continue to talk to people? What happened to us, how we lived, what we saw. Everything is being destroyed before our eyes." [Looks down with a sob. End video.]

Israel dropping leaflets onto trapped and hiding people minutes before bombing them is nothing but a sick PR exercise— there's nowhere safe to go, no telling where the bombs will drop, no way to not leave family members behind while fleeing. Many people in North Gaza decided not to evacuate to the South, not only because similar calls to go South have ended in Israeli airstrikes massacring the refugees, but the possibility of being killed while trying to make the journey, the lack of food and water to sustain them, and inability to leave old and disabled family members behind. Some like Hind Khaudary, who had the opportunity to leave the Gaza strip entirely through foreign embassies, stayed behind to continue reporting the situation unfolding in the North. Meanwhile, Israel is continuing to bomb the South, despite their own evacuation orders.

Ayat is one of the fifty-three Middle Eastern journalists killed since Oct. 7. Forty-six of them were Palestinian, most massacred along with their families. Air strikes on other journalists managed to kill only their families instead. This is the deadliest period for journalists recorded by the Committee to Protect Journalists in its thirty years of existence. In fact, Israel killed one of the CPJ's own journalists documenting the murders around the same time as Ayat.

Nearly all these are targeted strikes. Israel controls the census in Gaza and therefore has information on where everyone lives. They also track journalists cellphones and use surveillance drones and quadcopters (drone snipers). Journalists and their families are known to receive threatening phone calls from unknown numbers before they're eventually attacked.

As to why Israel is so concerned about journalists? For the same reason the Biden Administration has stated openly.

But the administration remains wary about Netanyahu’s endgame and seeming lack of a plan for what to do once Hamas is defeated. There was no sense that the pause would turn into a lengthier cease-fire, a senior administration official said. And there was some concern in the administration about an unintended consequence of the pause: that it would allow journalists broader access to Gaza and the opportunity to further illuminate the devastation there and turn public opinion on Israel.

Please spread news of these journalists' murders, show their faces, say their names. While Western journalists from CNN and BCC are embedded with IOF teams to safely "report" on Gaza, Palestinian journalists who have been reporting there for years, wearing a press jacket and helmet they know won't protect them, are documenting and broadcasting the situation on the ground, watching their colleagues being picked off one by one for the last month and half, not knowing when it will be their turn. Ayat was not a combatant. She was a young woman a lot like most on this site, young and angry at injustice, armed with only a degree and internet connection to fight for her people. She wanted the world to witness her last moments: documenting the situation till the end, her terror of dying, how she clung to her faith and wanted to live. Hers and her compatriots work is to resist letting their people disappear among the vast uncounted; she resisted it to her last breath.

Empires and colonizers win wars by reducing people to numbers. When people become numbers they become collateral, cattle, "unavoidable casualties". This is what Palestinians have fought for decades to show: "We Are Not Numbers". If the West wants to kill human beings with impunity, everyone gets to see exactly which lives and loves and hopes it's snuffing out forever.

[luminalunii97]

Recently, 227 out of 290 members of Iran parliament voted to execute those who were arrested in the past 8 weeks of uprising. According to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the number of arrested protesters are more than 14,000 people. Islamic republic has a long history of mass murders. In the 1988 massacres of political prisoners, more than 30,000 people were executed. In 2019 protests, the government killed more than 1,500 protesters during the internet shutdown. They never stop their criminal ways because blood and bone is the foundation of their reign.

These people, who have the dream of freedom in mind, are going to be sentenced to death if international human rights organizations don't do something about it. We're not talking about nameless faceless people. These 14,000 lives have friends and families, pets and lovers. Let's get to know some of them:

This is Hossein Ronaghi. He is an iranian blogger and human rights activist. He's also a computer programmer and one of his activism areas is internet restrictions and how to go around them. He has a long history of political activities and since 2009 protests, he has been a political prisoner on and off. During current protests, he was called to turn himself into Evin prison or his family will be in danger, so he did that. But even though he was there voluntarily, security forces violently attacked him and beat him. Currently he's in prison with broken legs and no medical attention and a 46-day-long hunger strike. His life is in danger.

These are Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, the two journalists who covered Mahsa Amini's murder news. This is not the first time the government arrest and punish someone who spread a crime news instead of arresting those who committed said crime. Media freedom is a joke in Iran and those who speak the truth get silenced. A while ago in an interview with Shargh daily, the newspaper Niloofar works for, she addressed sexism in her field of occupation and explained: "sometimes a female journalist would think with herself maybe I should just give up this job, this job has many safety issues and the salary isn't good at all. but most of them stay. Women journalists never give up."

This is Fatemeh Sepehri, a political activist. She oppose Khamenei leadership and demands a democratic future for iran. She's a mother who lost her child custody to sexism. Her husband was a martyr of Iran-Iraq war. Her brother is also a political prisoner. She was kidnapped at the beginning of current protests and is being kept in solitary confinement.

This is Leyla Hosseinzade, former Tehran university student. She didn't believe in hijab and still doesn't. She refuse to wear hijab while in jail and that put her in a dangerous situation with security guards. She's currently on a hunger strike.

This is Faezeh Barahui, a young Baluchi girl who was arrested during protests in Zahedan, has been in prison for weeks.

This is Fetemeh Mashhadi Abbas, a professor in Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences. She was kidnapped and is now being kept in Evin prison.

This is Toomaj Salehi, Iranian rapper who's songs are mostly protest songs aimed at the regime. He was brutally arrested and is under heavy torture at the moment.

This is Nazila Maroufian, a journalist who's in Evin prison because she interviewed with Mahsa Amini's father.

This is Marzieh Ziari, a women's rights activist in iran who was arrested and her current condition is unknown.

There are many many many more people. This is just a thin list of more known ones. According to HRANA, among all these arrested citizens, 1,941 of them have been identified and their arrests have become publicly known, 438 of them are university students. Children are among prisoners too but their number has not been reported. The wellbeing or placement of some prisoners are not known and that causes a lot of concerns.

[wikipediapictures]

Anything to Say?

[tomorrowusa]

In his waning hours in power, Philippine President Dictator Rodrigo Duterte ordered the news site Rappler to be closed down.

Rappler was founded by Maria Ressa who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize largely because of her courageous work at Rappler.

Fortunately Rappler can appeal the order. But if it’s upheld, they should consider moving offshore to Guam or Australia the way the Russian news site Meduza moved to Latvia.

The US government should consider sanctioning the corrupt oligarchic autocrats who have been running the Philippines in recent years. They are more interested in filling their pockets with loot than providing good governance to the country. 

There is no reason the Philippines shouldn’t be thriving like neighboring countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, or Thailand. Instead, the country’s main export is talented people who have given up on trying to make a decent and honest living in their own country.

A dozen or so filthy rich dynastic families are strangling the country. Controlling news sources and overloading social media with bullshit is how they retain their privileged economic status and political power. Attempts to suppress Rappler are in keeping with this.

[iri-desky]

GET KOSA TRENDING.

STOP SCROLLING NOW!

AS OF FEBRUARY 21ST, 2024, WE GOT FIVE DAYS UNTIL THE DAY OF DECISION OF THE KOSA BILL, WHICH WILL CAUSE MASS CENSORSHIP ROUND THE INTERNET IF PASSED. WE NEED EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AND CONTRIBUTE. I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU ALL.

(IMPORTANT UPDATE: Kosa will not necessarily pass on the 26th. It only has the support to pass in Senate, and we STILL HAVE TIME. That being said, time is of the essence.)

WE'RE DOWN TO THE WIRE BUT WE CAN'T GIVE UP YET. IF WE GIVE UP, EVERYTHING IS OVER. IF WE DON'T, AT LEAST WE HAVE A CHANCE.

I'M THE ONE WHO SOUNDED THE ALARM, AND I'M NOT GOING TO CURL UP AND DIE YET.

Reblog this post in every LEGAL way you can under the Tumblr guidelines with the appropriate tags. TELL AND TAG EVERYONE YOU KNOW, then add the tags to see below... and more if you can think of any complying.

Visit badinternetbills.com if you want to find a way to defeat KOSA. It WILL NOT take much of your time. Reblog with any other information or sources, too-- but make sure to reblog if you can.

Reblog if you support lgbtq+ content.

Reblog if you support questioning queer youth and/or abused youth getting the information they need.

Reblog if you support Ao3 and/or other sites that wholeheartedly preserve talentedly made media.

Reblog if you're going to repost this on other sites than Tumblr and spread the word across Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, or elsewhere, alongside the link to badinternetbills.com.

Reblog if you think KOSA is unfair and shouldn't be anyone's problem -- including the adults ALL OVER THE DAMN EARTH forced to face the mass censorship it causes because "think of the American Children!".

Reblog if you support internet activism and Palestine.

Reblog if you hate fascism or censorship, and don't want actually serious and helpful conversations censored on the internet.

Reblog if you value the internet in any way at all whatsoever.

CHECK THIS PETITION, TOO! https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-kosa?recruiter=1331807538&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf&recruited_by_id=57368c40-d0fd-11ee-98f7-2175430f819f&share_bandit_exp=initial-36809664-en-US

(Also, please reblog with at least "stop kosa" as a tag and not "kosa". I made the mistake of not adding just "kosa" as a tag...)

We won't let this stand any longer. Let's start a riot and get this trending.

[pressfreedomday]

THAILAND - Launch of the world press freedom index 2024.

Launch by Reporters without Borders of the 2024 “World Press Freedom Index” followed by a panel discussing on media freedom in the Mekong sub-region.

[imperialgurgaon]

On World Press Freedom Day, we salute the brave journalists who strive to keep us informed and empowered. Your dedication to truth inspires us all.

[head-post]

‘Media pluralism test’ should achieve its goals

Karim Iburki and Mark Dempsey believe that the inclusion of a “media pluralism test” in the proposal for a European Media Freedom Act is a very welcome innovation. However, some changes at Board level are needed for its successful implementation, Euractiv reports.

Mark Dempsey is a Senior EU Advocacy Officer at the free speech organisation Article 19. Karim Iburki is a board member of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) and President of the Conseil supérieur de l’Audiovisuel.

Read more HERE

[crinaboros]

Bullied over a Freedom of Information request for environmental data

As data reporter, I'm used to working with databases, not being the subject of one.

But following an aggressive episode to persuade me to give up on an FOI request pursuing government transparency sent to the Romanian Environment Ministry, I ended up in a database.

In particular, a map of media freedom abuses, which I warmly recommend to any journalist who has ever faced harassment, threats, humiliation or abuse of any kind in pursuit of transparency.

Media Freedom Map features the particulars of this case, currently under investigation at the Romanian Ministry of Environment - https://lnkd.in/ek9ikRH6.

The International Press Institute has expressed “concern over major obstruction facing journalists in accessing public data on illegal logging and deforestation”.

Difficult access to environmental data is part of EU’s logging infringement against Romania, currently unfolding.

[official-amirul]

Media Freedom Index

By Reporters Without Borders

Malaysia is ranked first in Southeast Asia & ranked 73rd in the world in the Media Freedom Index

[hussyknee]

Dithered about posting this, because IMO calling people heroes is dehumanizing. These are people going through something unimaginable who're doing their best to help their people survive alongside thousands of other medical and rescue workers. They put on a hard hat that won't protect them, a vest that makes them a target, and document horrors that slowly drain their will to live, all while watching each of their colleagues and family members picked off one by one, nearly all in targeted strikes— air strikes, drone snipers, being shot from helicopters. The unlucky ones like Wael and Momen Al-Sharafi lose their entire family in strikes meant to kill them and go right back to work to make their deaths mean something.

Five more journalists have been killed since this infographic was made. Killing journalists is a war crime. Gaza is reported to be the deadliest conflict for journalists in decades. All because Israel faces zero consequences on the world stage, protected by the US and nearly every Western country.

I'm not sure whether all of the journos in the video are still alive by now. If we're going to fail them so badly, their bravery, kindness and determination deserves to be seen and remembered. In two months, they have done more to counter the systematic dehumanization of Arabs and Muslims carried out by the Western military entertainment complex for decades than most have managed in a lifetime, showing the courage and independence of the women, the gentleness of the men, the innocence of the children, the grief of the parents, the suffering of the elderly.

Most of these people are in their early to mid-20s, the youngest is 17 (Motaz is 24, Bisan 25, Plestia 22). This video is set to Motaz Azaiza's favourite song.

[media-bias-fact-check]

Media Freedom Suffers Record Setbacks Globally in 2022

The easing of restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic meant more journalists were out on assignment in 2022. But that, combined with an expansion of deadly conflicts, has triggered a spike in killings and jailings of journalists.

[mahoganygold213]

[endimpunityday]

Independent, free and pluralistic news media is crucial for democracy, accountability and transparency and should be nurtured by States and the international community as a public good.

Media freedom and safety of journalists have declined dangerously around the world with grave negative impacts on human rights, democracy and development globally, a UN expert warned today.

“In a climate of surging authoritarianism and backsliding of democracies, populist leaders have actively sought to demonise and discredit independent journalists and many governments have introduced restrictions on freedom of expression contravening international law,” said Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

In a report presented to the Human Rights Council, Khan examines opportunities, challenges and threats to media in the digital age. She focuses on three major concerns: online and offline attacks and killing of journalists with impunity; criminalization of journalism and legal and judicial harassment of journalists; and the erosion of independence, freedom, pluralism and viability of the media by State and corporate actors, including digital companies.

“Silencing journalists by killing them is the most egregious form of censorship,” Khan said as she urged the Human Rights Council to consider robust measures to address impunity, including an international taskforce on the prevention, investigation and prosecution of attacks against journalists.

“The age-old practice of using the law to suppress reporting has been revived with a new ferocity in the digital age,” said Khan, noting the increased use in recent years of criminal legislation and “fake news” laws to suppress freedom of expression online and prosecute and punish journalists with heavy fines and harsh imprisonment.

The report highlights digital technology as both enabling groundbreaking journalism and creating new threats, ranging from online gender-based attacks against women journalists and targeted digital surveillance of journalists to orchestrated online disinformation campaigns and the role of digital platforms as gatekeepers controlling the availability, accessibility, diversity and dissemination of news with no public accountability and little transparency.

“The overriding problem is not of gaps in international law but of the failures of compliance and implementation, rooted in the lack of political will,” Khan said.

The report recommends urgent and concrete action by States, international organizations and companies to address the multiple, complex and often interconnected physical, legal and digital threats in a holistic way in line with international human rights law.

“Without concrete action backed by political will, the prognosis for media freedom and the safety of journalists is grim,” said Khan. “Independent, free and pluralistic news media is crucial for democracy, accountability and transparency and should be nurtured by States and the international community as a public good,” she said.

The Special Rapporteur also presented a report on her country visit to Hungary that took place in November 2021.

[pressfreedomday]

Can there be security without Media Freedom?

This side event will provide an opportunity to discuss key findings of this report with members of the expert group. The discussion is closely linked to the main topic of this year's World Press Freedom Day "Shaping a Future of Rights – Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights" and aims to highlight how media freedom contributes to security and to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Panel Discussion: Can there be Security without Media Freedom?

[blorbfoosh]

Stop KOSA.

I know, I don't this stuff, but I keep on seeing this everywhere and not gonna lie, it's f r e a k i n g me out. I think we all know what KOSA is at this point, it's a bill that will restrict almost everything that we know in this time.(if passed, of course.) Information that will help our queer friends, help us express ourselves, and just genuinely know more about the world, gone. I just don't get it. It's the twentieth century, people can date the same gender or not have to choose at all. Everything can and will happen. So why hold on to the past, where everything has to be black and white? Why keep holding this gate closed? Free will, free speech- It exists. Hell, America's literally called 'The Land of the Free.' Act on it. Passing KOSA won't keep us safe. If a five-year-old can cuss, that's on the parent for not monitoring them. The internet is a vast place with it's ups and downs, and just because some little down might affect you does not mean you have to stomp all pissy on our lawns and subsequently ruin what we take joy in. The U.S. does not own the whole internet, it's all over the world. We've got one more day. So spread the word. Get this trending. Reblog it. Just- Do whatever you can. I don't want this bill passed just as much as the others who've reacted to other posts. The toll it will take on the internet will be devestating- And I don't want to live in a future where all wells of knowledge are locked away. Speak up, speak out.