Absolutely worth the time to watch this

News outlets are finding creative ways to cope with internet shutdowns in south and Southeast Asia.

One of the greats. Shame he wasn't recognized with the Nobel Prize. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Writer Who Condemned Colonists and Elites, Dies at 87 www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...

Good stuff indeed! If you're curious about the conclusion, the workshop identified four urgent tasks: 1. Establishing a consortium like Coders without Borders or a similar collaborative to connect AI developers with democracy movements.

Hey @chenoweth.bsky.social, this is good stuff. Thanks. ash.harvard.edu/resources/ho...

Our friends at the @foruminfod.bsky.social are looking for submissions exploring the potential of digital taxes as mechanisms for funding journalism. See link below for deets.

Tip @mediagazer.com: A new fund for journalism launches in Brazil. Why is this important? @sergio.nucleo.jor.br explains that it’s specifically targeted at funding outside the major cities, & beyond the usual recipients. Instead it’s designed to address news deserts: nucleo.jor.br/english/2025...

As a dear friend, comrade, mentor, and hero, Bob McChesney has meant the world to me. I am heartbroken by this irreplaceable loss, but Bob's vision for a truly democratic media system lives on. To honor him, we must continue the struggle. Here's a wonderful tribute by @nicholsuprising.bsky.social

This is a data viz masterclass. Enjoy.

NEW: A cool investigation we did with iStories, Paper Trail Media and Der Standard about how RT is paying English and German influencers to produce pro-Russia content. It looks at how the Kremlin engineers conservative Westerners to move to Russia for its "traditional values." Please share!

Comforting?

Excellent essay by Nilima Gulrajani at @odi.global, but I don't believe that a global "independent commission" can chart a way towards a new consensus on international cooperation.

BASAS Annual Lecture 2025 with @naomihossain.bsky.social looks so good #Bangladesh: www.basas.org.uk/news-events/...

📝The sudden loss of US funding will jeopardize media development and freedom. @benequista.bsky.social explains how the sector can weather the storm. innovating.news/guest-essay/... @cnti.bsky.social

The media freedom movement has been set back by years, but everyone in the community is steadfastly committed to rebuilding

This “Triffin World” theory—that the US is essentially subsidizing global growth through dollar reserves—actually seems persuasive. But the solutions prescribed here don’t seem to consider the national and global political realities. Buckle up, folks.

Last week, we published the first research synthesis of our Observatory on Information and Democracy. Covering more than 1600 sources, it provides a unique state of the knowledge on information ecosystems. You can find it here. 🧵 observatory.informationdemocracy.org/reports/

Register for "Strengthening Media to Safeguard Democracy" to learn more about the Media Viability Manifesto. The event will take place on Jan. 28 in Brussels. @imsforfreemedia.bsky.social @unesconow.bsky.social docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🧵 This week's top #MediaDev & #DigitalMedia news: @cima-media.bsky.social looks back on trends in media development and digital media governance:

I know a lot is happening in the world right now, but please spare some of your attention for the growing crackdown on democratic rights in #Ethiopia. --> movedemocracy.salsalabs.org/democracy--a...

I’m not convinced of the impact of fact-checking in promoting accuracy to FB users, but it did provide a revenue stream for smaller newsrooms.

With the passage of the UN Cybercrime Convention looking imminent and inevitable, here are some examples of how cybercrime laws, absent adequate safeguards, are already being weaponized by authoritarians.

CIMA and the International Forum for Democratic Studies co-hosted an outstanding discussion in DC in September with civil society practitioners, technologists, journalists, and researchers. Here's what that discussion concluded on the path ahead for defending democratic norms in tech governance.

Findings here go strongly against public perception. 9 out of 10 young people (15-29) read news online, accoding to this Newsworks study.

Latin American governments have been working to make government advertising more transparent, but it's not been enough to stop governments from using advertising dollars with political purpose

Quite a track record left behind by Ambassador Gitenstein and @verajourova.bsky.social on #pressfreedom and #mediadev in Europe. This blog also highlights their collaboration with CIPE and CIMA on innovative finance. More to come, I hope...

It reminds me to the #SudanMediaForum, a coalition of Sudanese media outlets (including the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate) created last April to collaborate among them and seek international support and solidarity.

The National Association of Media in Ukraine is formalizing the role it's been playing as a conduit for solidarity between Ukrainian news outlets and foreign media. I don't think I've ever seen a platform of this kind before. #mediadev #Ukraine umafund.org.ua

I'm building a #StarterPack for people and orgs shaping a world where free, safe, sustainable and independent public interest media can thrive. Recommendations welcome. go.bsky.app/9KZLNGr #JournalistProtection #ExpressionRights #MediaDevelopment #MediaPolicy #SustainableMediaBusinesses #Tech&Media

Timely little explainer on how to define digital public infrastructure

I'd just like to say how lovely it is to see you all again. #mediadev #internationaldevelopment #democracy #humanrights #blueskyforthewin

Many journalists from eastern Africa have found safe haven in Nairobi over the years. If this kind of impunity takes hold in Nairobi, I don't know where they will go in the future. #kenya

This UN Cybercrime Convention doesn't have the safeguards that journalists and democracy activists wanted. Expect to see this treaty abused. #mediadev #digitalrights cepa.org/article/us-a...

Our list of collaborators studying media, creating media, and defending media freedom go.bsky.app/UziyjQS

“There’s nothing that works like persistence” - Maina Kiai #WM12Assembly

Here we go! The World Movement for Democracy’s 2024 Global Assembly in Johannesburg! #globalassembly2024

IFJ and IFPIM team up to provide support to independent news media in #Palestine. www.ifj.org/media-centre...

This kind of actionable research on media sustainability on understudied markets is exactly what is needed. #mediadev

A truly wonderful opportunity to do important work. This is one of those "big-break" job opportunities. Please do share with your networks. #mediadev www.ned.org/about/jobs/#...

It is a bit frightening to think we can't track on-line trends anymore, but is a more fragmented internet necessarily a bad thing? www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/12/internet-information-trends-virality-tracking/676888/

@freedomhouse.bsky.social has tallied 112 direct and physical attacks carried out transnationally against journalists who had fled their countries. Rwanda is the top offender.

This week I had a piece on journalistic AI ethics come out in SA's Daily Maverick. Perhaps of interest @benequista.bsky.social? www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023...

Let’s do this! Hoping Bluesky will be the one, and not just a short-lived rebound relationship. 😄