COMMENT BLOG
A remark, a critique, an opinion…
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...
Speaking up against enforced public amnesia
“History is not mute. However much they burn it, however much they break it, however much they lie about it, human history refuses to shut its mouth. Time past continues pulsating, alive, within time present, although time present doesn’t wish it or doesn’t know it.”...
Artificial Intelligence and the Master’s House
“For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change”– Audre Lorde Audre Lorde’s admonition that the tools of oppression cannot be...
“Getting our skates on” as communication rights advocates
“Get your skates on!” I sometimes hear, especially from harassed parents trying to speed up apathetic children. I can’t call communication rights advocates apathetic, but we should feel pushed to move faster and harder in...
Communication rights on World Day of Social Justice
The lives of many people today have improved immeasurably compared to the past. On average, income and life expectancy have increased, and extreme poverty has declined. Yet, progress has been extremely uneven. In principle, genuine social progress is high on the...
#SaferInternetDay: Here’s to a misogyny-free Internet
The message to end misogyny, sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the digital realm has been iterated and reiterated countless times in as many spaces and languages the world over. Yet, there still lacks global consensus on what constitutes such behaviour....
Climate change and global economics: Whose voices are heard at Davos?
Each year, political and economic leaders gather in Davos, Switzerland, in meetings organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Issues discussed at Davos are typically at the top of national and international agendas, and many see the gathering as one of the key...
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance