COMMENT BLOG
A remark, a critique, an opinion…
COP 28: Let’s ensure traditional ecological knowledge is integrated into climate policy
Indigenous leaders from around the world gathered in New York last month during UN Climate Week to raise awareness about the need to bring Indigenous and traditional perspectives into climate policy. Their call is to recognize the vital role that these communities,...
Enabling a rights-based AI?
The latest report to warn about the societal risks of artificial Intelligence (AI) documents extensive research of human rights online. Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence assesses internet freedom in 70 countries, accounting for...
Digital technologies help counter language loss
In 1999, a public hearing on “Languages and Human Rights” took place at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands. A panel of five experts in communication, language rights, and international law heard test cases of threats to linguistic rights. They...
Africa Climate Summit: To save a planet in crisis, we need community media
The Africa Climate Summit 2023 on September 4–6 in Nairobi came with high expectations of radical proposals to address climate change. “Driving green growth and climate finance solutions for Africa and the world,” the theme promised. In their Nairobi Declaration from...
Why grassroots communication is key to stopping Amazon deforestation
The Amazon is being decimated — by the expansion of the agricultural frontier, by illegal economies linked to drug trafficking, and by an economic model that privileges mining and ranching and negatively impacts vulnerable communities. These activities are pushing...
Can social media change my mind?
A number of recent research reports investigate the impact social media has on mental health, social well-being – and political polarization. One study, supported by Meta, involved collaboration with a number of US universities to examine the impact of social media –...
Derailing the UN Sustainable Development Goals
To mark the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit held in London 25-28 July 2023, Article 19 issued a briefing assessing the progress made towards meeting one of the SDGs’ weaker targets on freedom of expression and access to information. As WACC and other civil...
Independent investigative journalism in times of crisis
The importance of quality, independent, investigative journalism for bringing clarity to issues cannot be overstated. During times of political crisis, the perceptions of ordinary audiences may be muddied by partisanship, and by hardship when the crisis is economic....
Media viability vs. platforms for those without a public voice to be seen and heard
Commercial media outlets around the world are struggling to stay afloat financially. This is related in part to the shift of advertising revenue away from commercial media organizations and towards social media companies like Facebook and Google. This shift is...
Gender equality “moving backwards”
The headline in the Statista information bulletin leapt out at me. Highlighting a recent report from the World Economic Forum, it stated that based on current trends, it will take another 131 years to close the global gender gap, 30% higher than its 2020 prediction...
Migrants and refugees in the media
According to a recent report (The Guardian, 19 May 2023), the BBC has commissioned a study on whether a broad range of viewpoints on migration are being reflected in all aspects of its immigration coverage. Samir Shah, who contributed to the UK government’s...
Anticipating a Fake News Pandemic
A lot of talk about fake news and chatbots like ChatGBT-4, Bing AI, Jasper, Bard and FreedomGPT. One concern is what threats they pose to the integrity of professional journalism. “This tool is going to be the most powerful tool for spreading misinformation that has...
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance