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	Truth is not the result of an algorithm by UNESCO, Amnesty, Global Voices   March 2017 (UNESCO)   As the media landscape continues to be shaken by technological change and political polarization, more than 200 media experts gathered at UNESCO Headquarters today, 23 March, to discuss shared challenges and identify ways forward.   The Colloquium Journalism under fire: challenges of our time, featured lively debates from leading social scientists, journalists, and representatives of social media companies and media development organizations through four roundtable discussions.   Topics ranged from rise of identity politics, to threats to business models, responses to the spread of “fake news”, the role of social media platforms, and the importance of journalism training and media and information literacy.   In her opening remarks, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova explained that the event comes within the spirit of the Organization’s mandates to promote freedom of expression and to “act as a laboratory of ideas”, providing “a forum for debate on difficult questions of the day.”   “Combined with the concept of ‘fake news’, we see the rise of new forms of manipulation, propaganda, disinformation, raising questions that go to the heart of free, independent and professional journalism today,” observed Director-General Bokova.   These issues were the subject of a recent Joint Declaration on ‘Fake News’, Disinformation and Propaganda issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and his counter-parts at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).   In the colloquium’s opening, the President of the World Editors Forum, Marcelo Rech, identified additional challenges to journalism, including a growing lack of public trust in polarized media environment, the development of echo chambers on social media, and challenges to economic models.   “In opposition to fake news and echo chambers, professional journalists have to become 24/7 certifiers of the reality around us,” Rech stated. “Truth is the scarcest good in this new and scary world. But truth is exactly the product good newsrooms manufacture.”   The complex relationship between traditional media and social platforms appeared throughout the day’s discussions.   In light of Facebook’s major role as a platform for content distribution, Norwegian newspaper editor Espen Egil Hansen called Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg “the world’s most powerful editor”, noting that the company had moved beyond a tech company to being a media company.   However, Facebook does not fit currently into traditional regulatory frameworks developed for telecommunications companies or the media industry.   Maria Ressa, editor-in-chief and CEO of the Filipino online news site Rappler, urged more cooperation between traditional media and social media companies, stating, “We must work more closely with the tech platforms.”   The day ended with a reminder of the importance of quality journalism and media and information literacy for preserving truth, authenticity and critical thinking.   “Truth is not the result of an algorithm,” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Frank La Rue, in reference to the automated procedures that determine the rank order of social media newsfeeds and search engine results. “Truth is something we build together through honest dialogue.”   The role of journalism in facilitating this space for dialogue will be at the heart of this year’s celebration of World Press Freedom Day, under the theme Critical Times for Critical Minds: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.   The colloquium on “Journalism under Fire” was organized by UNESCO’s Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development with the support of the International Programme for the Development of Communication, the World Associations of Newspapers and News Editors (WAN-IFRA), and the Governments of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.   A summary of the highlights of the colloquium will be published on the conference website in the coming weeks. This will in turn provide input to the 2017 edition of the UNESCO flagship series World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development, to be published in November 2017. http://bit.ly/2oUIgdQ   http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/03/29/the-future-of-free-speech-trolls-anonymity-and-fake-news-online/ http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/new-guide-to-fake-news-aims-to-help-the-public-understand-how-these-stories-circulate-online/s2/a702355/ http://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/exposed-facebook-fails-ethical-challenge-transparency   * Ethics in the News, Ethical Journalism Network report (52 page): http://bit.ly/2jALTng   24 March 2017   Mexico: Journalism should not be a life threatening profession. Third reporter killed in a month. (Amnesty)   The killing of the third journalist in a month in Mexico raises new alarms about the state of free expression in the country, said Amnesty International.   Miroslava Breach, a reporter for La Jornada and el Norte de Juarez, was shot dead while she was in her car outside her home in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Miroslava was known for reporting on issues including organised crime and drug trafficking.   “In Mexico a ‘war’ is raging against journalists. The country has turned into a no-go zone for anyone brave enough to talk about issues including the increasing power of organised crime and the collusion of these groups with the authorities,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.   “Journalism should not be a life threatening profession. Instead of looking the other way and ignoring this bloodshed, the Mexican authorities must take concrete measures to protect journalists and anyone daring to talk about the country’s ills. This crime should be urgently investigated and those responsible, brought to justice.”   According to the organization Article 19, more than 103 media workers have been killed in México since 2000, with 11 in 2016 alone. Reporters Without Borders said that in 2016, Mexico was the third deadliest country for journalists in the world, only behind Syria and Afghanistan.   http://bit.ly/2piXExd http://bit.ly/2o7AH0k http://bit.ly/2qPhjcl http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/16/crusading-mexican-journalist-javier-valdez-shot-dead-in-sinaloa http://correspondent.afp.com/remarkable-journalist Visit the related web page
	All of us need to stand up for the basic values of human dignity and equality everywhere by Salil Shetty Secretary General of Amnesty International   22 February 2017   Politicians wielding a toxic, dehumanizing “us vs them” rhetoric are creating a more divided and dangerous world, warned Amnesty International today as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world.   The report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, delivers an analysis of the state of human rights around the world, covering 159 countries. It warns that the consequences of “us vs them” rhetoric setting the agenda in Europe, the United States and elsewhere is fuelling a global pushback against human rights and leaving the global response to mass atrocities perilously weak.   “2016 was the year when the cynical use of ‘us vs them’ narratives of blame, hate and fear took on a global prominence to a level not seen since the 1930s. Too many politicians are answering legitimate economic and security fears with a poisonous and divisive manipulation of identity politics in an attempt to win votes,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.   “Divisive fear-mongering has become a dangerous force in world affairs. Whether it is Trump, Orban, Erdogan or Duterte, more and more politicians calling themselves anti-establishment are wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people.   “Today’s politics of demonization shamelessly peddles a dangerous idea that some people are less human than others, stripping away the humanity of entire groups of people. This threatens to unleash the darkest aspects of human nature.”   Seismic political shifts in 2016 exposed the potential of hateful rhetoric to unleash the dark side of human nature. The global trend of angrier and more divisive politics was exemplified by Donald Trump’s poisonous campaign rhetoric, but political leaders in various parts of the world also wagered their future power on narratives of fear, blame and division.   This rhetoric is having an increasingly pervasive impact on policy and action. In 2016, governments turned a blind eye to war crimes, pushed through deals that undermine the right to claim asylum, passed laws that violate free expression, incited murder of people simply because they are accused of using drugs, justified torture and mass surveillance, and extended draconian police powers.   Governments also turned on refugees and migrants; often an easy target for scapegoating. Amnesty International’s Annual Report documents how 36 countries violated international law by unlawfully sending refugees back to a country where their rights were at risk.   Most recently, President Trump put his xenophobic pre-election rhetoric into action by signing an executive order in an attempt to prevent refugees from seeking resettlement in the USA; blocking people fleeing conflict and persecution from war-torn countries such as Syria from seeking safe haven in the country.   Meanwhile, Australia purposefully inflicts trajic suffering by trapping refugees on Nauru and Manus Island, the EU made an illegal and reckless deal with Turkey to send refugees back there, even though it is not safe for them, and Mexico and the USA continue to deport people fleeing rampant violence in Central America.   Elsewhere, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Thailand and Turkey carried out massive crackdowns. While other countries pursued intrusive security measures, such as prolonged emergency powers in France and unprecedented catastrophic surveillance laws in the UK.   Another feature of “strongman” politics was a rise in anti-feminist and LGBTI rhetoric, such as efforts to roll back women’s rights in Poland, which were met with massive protests.   “Instead of fighting for people’s rights, too many leaders have adopted a dehumanizing agenda for political expediency. Many are violating rights of scapegoated groups to score political points, or to distract from their own failures to ensure economic and social rights,” said Salil Shetty.   “In 2016, these most toxic forms of dehumanization became a dominant force in mainstream global politics. The limits of what is acceptable have shifted. Politicians are shamelessly and actively legitimizing all sorts of hateful rhetoric and policies based on people’s identity: misogyny, racism and homophobia.   “The first target has been refugees and, if this continues in 2017, others will be in the cross-hairs. The reverberations will lead to more attacks on the basis of race, gender, nationality and religion. When we cease to see each other as human beings with the same rights, we move closer to the abyss.”   Amnesty International is warning that 2017 will see ongoing crises exacerbated by a debilitating absence of human rights leadership on a chaotic world stage. The politics of “us vs them” is also taking shape at the international level, replacing multilateralism with a more aggressive, confrontational world order.   “With world leaders lacking political will to put pressure on other states violating human rights, basic principles from accountability for mass atrocities to the right to asylum are at stake,” said Salil Shetty.   “Even states that once claimed to champion rights abroad are now too busy rolling back human rights at home to hold others to account. The more countries backtrack on fundamental human rights commitments, the more we risk a domino effect of leaders emboldened to knock back established human rights protections.”   The world faces a long list of crises with little political will to address them: including Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Central America, Central African Republic, Burundi, Iraq, South Sudan and Sudan. Amnesty International’s Annual Report documented war crimes committed in at least 23 countries in 2016.   Despite these challenges, international indifference to war crimes has become an entrenched normality as the UN Security Council remains paralyzed by rivalries between permanent member states.   “The beginning of 2017 finds many of the world’s most powerful states pursuing narrower national interests at the expense of international cooperation. This risks taking us towards a more chaotic, dangerous world,” said Salil Shetty.   “A new world order where human rights are portrayed as a barrier to national interests makes the ability to tackle mass atrocities dangerously low, leaving the door open to abuses reminiscent of the darkest times of human history.   “The international community has already responded with deafening silence after countless atrocities in 2016: a live stream of horror from Aleppo, thousands of people killed by the police in the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’, use of chemical weapons and hundreds of villages burned in Darfur. The big question in 2017 will be how far the world lets atrocities go before doing something about them.”   Amnesty International is calling on people around the world to resist cynical efforts to roll back long-established human rights in exchange for the distant promise of prosperity and security.   The report warns that global solidarity and public mobilization will be particularly important to defend individuals who stand up to those in power and defend human rights, who are often cast by governments as a threat to economic development, security or other priorities.   Amnesty International’s annual report documents people killed for peacefully standing up for human rights in 22 countries in 2016. They include those targeted for challenging entrenched economic interests, defending minorities and small communities or opposing traditional barriers to women’s rights. The killing of the high-profile Indigenous leader and human rights defender Berta Cáceres in Honduras on 2 March 2016 sent a chilling message to activists but nobody was brought to justice.   “We cannot passively rely on governments to stand up for human rights, we the people have to take action. With politicians increasingly willing to demonize entire groups of people, the need for all of us to stand up for the basic values of human dignity and equality everywhere has seldom been clearer,” said Salil Shetty.   “Every person must ask their government to use whatever power and influence they have to call out human rights abusers. In dark times, individuals have made a difference when they took a stand, be they civil rights activists in the USA, anti-apartheid activists in South Africa or women’s rights movements around the world. We must all rise to that challenge now.”   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2017/02/amnesty-international-annual-report-201617/ http://reliefweb.int/report/world/human-rights-defenders-under-threat-shrinking-space-civil-society-enar http://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/brave/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/ Visit the related web page
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