Media reports this week

Safer Internet Day 2024 reached more young people than ever before, with 52% of UK children aged 8-17 hearing about the day, alongside 32% of UK parents and carers.

The topic of press freedom has been at the heart of African Journalism Studies (AJS)’ theoretical and empirical interventions from its very inception in the 80s, with some of the pioneering scholarly articles focusing on the intricacies of press freedom in apartheid South Africa. These were followed by a raft of related articles over the years, including dedicated themed issues such as ‘Press Freedom in South Africa’ (1989), ‘Focus on Press Freedom in Africa’ (2011) and ‘Practices, Policies and Regulation in African Journalism’ (2019). This sustained commitment to subjecting the contested discourses surrounding press freedom to scholarly scrutiny remains central to AJS’s agenda. To commemorate this year’s World Press Freedom Day (3rd of May), we have pulled together a selection of articles that provide a flavour of some of the research on press freedom that the journal published between 2011 and 2021. Collectively, the articles highlight that, despite widespread shifts towards democratisation across the continent, there has equally been notable democratic backsliding in several countries, which has led to a general disregard of press freedom as evident, inter alia, in the passing of laws and practices that entrench violations of free expression and journalists being continuously harassed or murdered in the discharge of their duties. Other key issues covered encompass state surveillance, censorship, and more progressive developments in defence of press freedom. The latter includes South Africa’s independent co-regulation and press accountability system as well as the creative use of encrypted platforms to minimise physical harm, and state interference in investigative journalism networks. The picture is by no means homogenous as the first article’s comparative analysis of the struggles for a free press in South Africa and India shows. However, just as importantly, there are enduring cross-cutting threats across the continent and other regions of the Global South as shown above. The World Press Freedom Day remains a stark reminder of these threats and the pressing need to mobilise action in defence of the principles of press freedom. AJS continues to provide a platform for rigorous scholarship that explores these critical issues as well as showcasing approaches to defending press freedom

Africa’s media landscapes have shifted tremendously in the past 30 years. The end of state run monopolies in most countries brought thousands of potential sources of news,  information

 an international, transdisciplinary research and teaching initiative on 20th century anti-colonial, anti-imperial and related left periodicals of the Global South.

it is led by Hana Morgenstern, Koni Benson and Mahvish Ahmad

youtube introduction. https://twitter.com/LSEHumanRights/status/1778030366013419608

it has a directory of key journals by country and era. A collection of online teaching resources. and a reading list to guide research and learning on the topic. There is also some coverage of Black women's activism

Ofcom have published three new research reports on online harms as part of their series on the protection of children online. The reports cover: understanding pathways to online violent content amongst children; experiences of children encountering online content promoting eating disorders, self harm and suicide; and key attributes and experiences of cyberbullying among children in the UK. The reports are also available in Welsh.

Media Habits and Misinformation Susceptibility of Adults Aged 55 Years and Older

Findings from a RAND American Life Panel Survey

The second report, “Understanding disinformation in the context of public health emergencies: the case of COVID-19”, reflects on different approaches to counter disinformation.  Disinformation, unlike misinformation, is created with malicious intent to sow discord, disharmony, and mistrust in targets such as government agencies, scientific experts, public health agencies, private sector, and law enforcement. In other words, disinformation is a weaponization of information.

This consultation focuses on our proposals for how internet services that enable the sharing of user-generated content ('user-to-user services') and search services should approach their new duties relating to illegal content.

Adopted at the events celebrating World Press Freedom Day – Santiago, Chile, May 2nd to 4th, 2024 We, leaders of international and national journalistic organizations; representatives of national associations of media houses in various nations of Ibero-America, all participants in the events commemorating the World Press Freedom Day of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and […]

Ever evolving technologies in the workplace create new mediums for sexual harassment, and employers and staff need support on how to prevent and respond to the potential harms. This research offers crucial insights to aid Australian employers and policy-makers in understanding and combating workplace technology-facilitated sexual harassment (WTFSH) effectively.

Introduction What we have achieved since the Children’s code came into force Next steps Introduction Safeguarding children’s personal information is a key priority Children are growing up in a digital world; being online and using digital services is an integral part of their lives where they...

Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.

A high-level, evidence-informed guide to some of the major proposals for how democratic governments, platforms, and others can counter disinformation.  Carnegie endowment