IN Media Watch Briefs | 2018-09-05
WhatsApp is rolling out radio campaigns on AIR across 46 radio stations in Hindi speaking states, reports TOI, to advise users to check the veracity of information received by WhatsApp before forwarding it. Similar campaigns in other regional languages will follow. The Facebook-owned company is under severe pressure from GOI..
Newsrooms in Brazil team up to fact check WhatsApp
IN Digital Media | 2018-08-08
Comprova, a fact-checking collective made up of 24 newsrooms around Brazil, launched this week in the lead up to the October elections.
UP Govt’s WhatsApp diktat to journos
IN Media Watch Briefs | 2018-09-03
UNI reports that Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur district authorities have asked journalists to furnish details of their WhatsApp groups. They have been told to register their WhatsApp groups with the state's information department, headed by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself. The order says that those who fail to comply would face legal action under the IT..
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |14/07/2018
The Supreme Court asked whether the government is trying to create a surveillance state while hearing a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MLA Mahua Moitra on the tender for a Social Media Communication Hub. But in Kashmir, admins of Whatsapp groups have been directed to register themselves with the district administration since..
Use of social media for news falling, says Reuters report
IN RESEARCH STUDIES |15/06/2018
Facebook declines as a source of news for users, WhatsApp picks up, and trust in news across nearly 40 countries covered in the report averages 44 per cent.
IN OPINION |08/07/2018
There were no social media or messaging apps when the Nellie massacre occurred. Yet it happened. Media reporting is taking the easy way out,
Bringing hate video perpetrators to book
BY ARITRA BHATTACHARYA| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |08/06/2018
The fact that Bangla Sanskriti Mancha activists were primary informants for most stories in the media highlights the role that city-based NGOs can play in bringing such issues to light..
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |30/05/2018
The I and B ministry under the new minister may have dropped the idea of regulating online media but will now monitor it. Bloomberg reports that the ministry has posted a tender online calling for a company to provide analytical software and professionals to "power a real time New Media..
BY RAJEESH KUMAR| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |28/05/2018
Social media in Kerala has been spreading falsehoods and panic over the Nipah virus
Fake news and religious hatred on WhatsApp in Karnataka elections
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |19/05/2018
Real news about fake news: fake audio on WhatsApp in India, and a fake pre-election poll purportedly sponsored by the BBC, showing a big victory for the BJP.
Now you can see those wicked ads
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |11/05/2018
Recode.net reports that the US Congress has just published all the political Facebook ads purchased by Russian groups accused of wanting to sow discord before and after the 2016 U.S. election.These are the ads that were purchased by the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-backed online troll farm, both before and after the..
Twitter updates privacy policy
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |25/04/2018
Amidst the global furore over the privacy policies of tech companies and the data they share with third-parties, Twitter has announced its updated
How Facebook could reinvent itself - three ideas
BY JEFF INGLIS| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |21/04/2018
It could take responsibility for the content it publishes and start competing to provide the most accurate news instead of the most click-worthy.
Is Facebook's business model going against human rights?
BY SARAH JOSEPH| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |11/04/2018
Social media was initially a boon for human rights, but human rights abuses might be embedded in the business model that has evolved for social media giants in their second decade.
Online regulation: another hasty move?
BY A HOOT COMMENT| IN LAW AND POLICY |06/04/2018
PM Modi and Smriti Irani need to tread wisely if their legacy is not to be a hasty one which does more damage than good. The media policy legacy of an earlier BJP government was a positive one.
BY RAJEESH KUMAR| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |22/03/2018
The Cambridge Analytica controversy should make us all think more critically about Facebook and what it does
The Congress’ hits and misses on Twitter
BY SIMRAN AGARWAL| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |01/03/2018
Analysing the tweets for a month revealed what works and what doesn’t, and that Rahul Gandhi does better than his party.
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |25/02/2018
Hotstar has put out what it calls its India Watch Report for 2018 which says the country has seen a five times growth in video consumption over the last year, with 96 per cent of all usage being focused on long form video. Penetration of video consumption in smaller cities with less..
Social media raps media persons
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |30/01/2018
A senior journalist, Abhisar Sharma took to Facebook live to call out Aaj Tak anchors, Sweta Singh and Rohit Sardana and slam them for distorting news and spreading lies on the Kasganj Republic Day celebrations clash that led to one death. Now, after social media criticism over the inflammatory tweet..
Internet shutdowns become chronic
BY SIMRAN AGARWAL, RAHUL BHATNAGAR, SHILPI GOYAL| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |05/01/2018
There was not a single month in 2017 when an internet shutdown was not in force in some part of the country.
Why governments must not block social media criticism
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |17/12/2017
This is the paradox of social media as a tool for political dissent: Exercising freedom of expression is easier than ever before, but so is censorship.
Facebook’s community censors curb free speech
BY GEETA SESHU| IN CENSORSHIP |21/11/2017
Accounts that are satirical, expose hate speech, or are totally harmless are being blocked for ‘violating’ Facebook guidelines.
The latest trends in digital publishing
BY THE HOOT| IN MEDIA BUSINESS |09/10/2017
Publishers are losing direct traffic, regional language sites see an uptick, WhatsApp is India’s largest media consumption platform, and start-ups find that millennials are willing to pay for news.
Kashmir journos on Twitter’s block list
BY MOAZUM MOHAMMAD| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |05/09/2017
The two “objectionable” tweets included a photograph in which security forces have made a youth a human shield to prevent protests.
Facebook bot that engages with users
IN MEDIA TECH BRIEFS |01/09/2017
Propublica has built a Facebook bot which is a tiny computer program that automatically converses with you over Facebook Messenger to determine you experiences with reporting hate speech on Facebook. Its says its objective is to learn more about Facebook’s secret censorship rules and what the social media determines is hate speech. (Nieman..
BY SHUMA RAHA| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |25/08/2017
Politicians who lie, spin or make tall claims are being mercilessly exposed by new fact-checkers – private citizens or websites – fighting against fake news
Trolling ourselves to death in the age of Trump
BY JASON HANNAN| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |22/07/2017
Our dominant media shape not just content, but the entire affective structure of public discourse,
Using social media to whitewash sexual assault
BY RAJEESH KUMAR| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |19/07/2017
A social media campaign backing Kerala actor Dileep shows how public opinion can be turned in favour of someone accused in a sexual assault case
The media dangerously misuses the word ‘trolling’
BY JENNIFER BECKETT| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |05/07/2017
“Trolling” is different from flaming or doxing, as it is from cyberstalking, cyberviolence and cyberhate,
The crisis in social media: where are we headed?
BY JEFF JOSEPH PAUL KADICHEENI| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |29/05/2017
Should what is not accepted on the streets be accepted online, ask the Germans as they prepare to pass a new law. Facebook’s inconsistent guidelines are damning..
Paying publishers to use Facebook Live
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |18/05/2017
The Columbia Journalism Review reports that over the last 12 months Facebook has been paying select media partners to use Facebook Live, in an effort to promote this live streaming platform. It says the New York Times is among 140 media companies and celebrities whom the social media giant enticed to..
Facebook Live adds fuel to fire in Kashmir
BY JEFF JOSEPH PAUL KADICHEENI| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |19/04/2017
When Mark Zuckerberg said “Live is like having a TV camera in your pocket” he did not anticipate what Facebook’s new feature might trigger in a conflict situation..
Mobiles top device for news access: youth survey
BY THE HOOT| IN RESEARCH STUDIES |15/05/2016
And news websites are the largest source of news for youth followed closely by newspapers and newsapps.
What does the internet mean to low-income Indians?
BY SMARIKA KUMAR| IN RESEARCH STUDIES |26/02/2016
It’s a basic need. They all want it. But a new study shows how education, age and gender determine internet access.
BY INJI PENNU|IN DIGITAL MEDIA|21/10/2015 ?
Some of Facebook’s policies fuel hatred against women and minorities. Time for some answers from Mark Zuckerberg,
Digital India and the political class
BY NANDITA JHA| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |07/10/2015
If the personal use of digital tools is a measure of conviction, many leading politicians today, including several cabinet ministers, would fall short.
BY NANDITA JHA| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |03/10/2015
Half the country’s CMs have no truck with websites, blogs or Twitter.
TRAI goes off at a tangent on net neutrality
IN MEDIA PRACTICE |17/04/2015
For internet freedom activists, the TRAI consultation paper is trying to smuggle in controls that will deepen the digital divide.
IN LAW AND POLICY |25/03/2015
In an impressive judgement, the Supreme Court has protected free speech by striking down Section 66A of the IT Act.
BY Sukla Sen| IN MEDIA FREEDOM |01/03/2015
Two men butchered Avijit Roy on a busy Dhaka street last week and severely injured his wife Rafida Ahmed. He paid for being a freethinker with his life,
Mangalyaan, the social media native
BY Agatha Jayan E| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |24/10/2014
Unlike space missions of the past, ISRO concentrated on the 'social image' of Mangalyaan: the personified Twitter account and the first-person updates preceded the launch.
Move over columnists and op-ed writers
BY ALKA GURHA| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |23/08/2014
Web videos are more powerful in sending out catchy messages and triggering debate.
Women stay away from Indian politicians online
IN MEDIA PRACTICE |02/05/2014
An analysis of some of the popular Twitter accounts of Indian politicians, political parties and journalists show that women voters do not follow them,
Kashmiris side-step narrative control
BY Freny Manecksha| IN CENSORSHIP |15/02/2014
Post 2004, Kashmiris have begun creatively engaging with technology to express their own narratives despite censorship,
Censorship of online media â€" a timeline
IN |17/06/2013
There have been several instances of censorship of online media in India since 1999. Here’s a list :
Andhra FB case underscores 66A misuse
BY Madabhushi Sridhar| IN MEDIA FREEDOM |18/05/2013
Under Section 66A of the IT Act, critical comments on cyberspace are inviting penal action, even arrest.
IN MEDIA PRACTICE |27/04/2013
The concept of online petitioning is riding high on the wave of social change sweeping the world.
The powerful world of Bangla bloggers
BY SYEDA GULSHAN FERDOUS JANA| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |17/12/2012
Over a lakh bloggers? The extraordinary world of the Bangladeshi blogging community reflects a mini nation.
IN MEDIA FREEDOM |01/12/2012
As it stands, section 66(A) of the IT Act has no inherent space for a different approach. One that would allow for counselling or review.
The rumour mills on social media
BY Geeta Seshu| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |14/09/2012
Internet and mobile media inflamed the situation while traditional media failed to counter the damage done.
Proactive manipulation of web content
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |26/09/2012
Large swathes of online content are disappearing, and the losses are far more difficult to reverse than the mere blocking of a website,
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |27/08/2012
Has Tata Docomo's photon broadband service blocked the popular blog Wordpress.com? The first reports about this came from a tweet and now, a complaint has been loaded by blogger Kamayani Bali Mahabal who is unable to access her blogs Kracktivism, fassmumbai, kashmirsolidaritymumbai, kabirkalamanch . All her efforts to contact the..
Dissecting the social media blocks
IN CENSORSHIP |23/08/2012
Could the government have been more transparent? How can websites defend themselves against a govt ban?
Indian ISPs block entertainment sites for Oman users
IN MEDIA FREEDOM |19/07/2012
Indian ISPs are filtering content for Oman 'net users, extending 'national'-level filtering to upstream' filtering of content,
Religious intolerance behind attack on popular Maldivian blogger
IN |10/07/2012
The brutal attack on 'Hilath' was not unexpected,
Digital Revolution : The battle for Arab freedom
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |02/04/2012
As the Arab world continues to transform, millions of Arabs are going online to socialize, discuss, protest and spread news about social and political issues.
IN MEDIA FREEDOM |30/04/2011 ?
Personal data is being perilously retained on the Web
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |05/03/2011
A right to Information petition has been filed by a civil society group vwith the Department of Information Technology and the Department of Telecom seeking to know how and why some blogger sites have been banned in specific ISPs. All ISPs are not affected.
BY Subarno Chattarji| IN BOOKS |16/02/2011
The Hoot excerpts a passage from Pradip Ninan Thomas’s Strong Religion, Zealous Media.
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |03/01/2011
What will be the impact of mobile phones on journalism? The wag would say Niira Radia, but seriously, it is a question worth asking as the firms who got 3G licenses in 2010 begin to roll out their services here.
BY Uddipana Goswami| IN CENSORSHIP |10/08/2010
Frantic posts for and against well-known social activist Akhil Gogoi on a facebook fan page forced a ‘shut down’ of the page on August 4, days before a crucial offline protest was to be held,
Student rape case: media offenders
BY Madabhushi Sridhar| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |01/08/2010
The blog giving details of the assaulted school girl and the publicity given to the blog by the media will play into the hands of the accused.
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |29/06/2010
In a first of its kind, an ‘anti-censorship virtual shelter will seek to help provide security for journalists and bloggers,
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |22/04/2010
In an election year the Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar has turned a blogger. His blog (nitishspeaks.blogspot.com) was launched on Monday. His aides say that the CM wants to reach out to a much wider public, but skeptics say that though it might project him as a bit net savvy, blogging did..
Indian blogger ostracized in the US media
BY Suneetha B| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |24/12/2009
An Indian freelance blogger is found guilty of repeated instances of plagiarism and misattribution.
BY hoot| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |24/06/2009
Should anonymity be an entitlement for all bloggers? And if not, for which kinds
Online Campaigns: Look Who¿s on Twitter?
BY Usha m Rodrigues| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |29/05/2009
The promise of civic engagement via new technologies remains limited to the upper classes, and it will be a while before it reaches the masses.
BY hoot| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |01/02/2009
A blogger indulged in some abusive free speech about Barkha Dutt’s reporting of the Mumbai seige. And invited a legal notice for defamation from NDTV.
BY MAYA RANGANATHAN| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |24/11/2008
What began as a potential public sphere is now steadily transforming into the most unethical of all media.
Blogs on women and children in MP
BY Anil Gulati| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |06/01/2007
This blog makes the effort to translate the Hindi news items into English or adapt it from Hindi edition and reproduce it.
BY Mahima Kaul| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |27/12/2006
Bloggers in India may be turning into a self-conscious and coherent force. But the shadow of censorship still hovers.
Internet fuels jailing of journalists
IN MEDIA FREEDOM |07/12/2006
The Committee to Protect Journalists finds that one in three journalists jailed in 2006 is an Internet blogger, or online editor or reporter.
IN REGIONAL MEDIA |13/09/2006
Jammu and Kashmir’s web presence reflects the complete failure of the official state information mechanism
IN MEDIA WATCH BRIEFS |30/11/2005
With blogs around mainstream media had better be on its toes. A blogger has now pointed out the remarkably similarity in paragraphs in certain film reviews in the New York Times and those in reviews of the same films by the Hindu’s film critic. http:
The Times of India plagiarises again?
IN MEDIA PRACTICE |18/10/2005 ?
Yet another blogger posts evidence of plagiarism by the TOI, this time in the Bombay Times
David and Goliath – a virtual parable
BY sajan v| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |14/10/2005
If blogs are to be taken seriously, they should live up to the standards of accountability and reliability of the mainstream media that they so deplore.
Rude encounters with Internet censorship
BY Vij| IN DIGITAL MEDIA |01/10/2003
An Internet discussion group created by a militant outfit of the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya invited government censorship, which in turn triggered a ban on thousands of Yahoo! Groups.
BY shubha singh| IN MEDIA PRACTICE |01/04/2003
The Internet that has continued to give the most graphic and immediate picture of the war. The widespread use of video on the Internet provided its own images.
Gadgets and the new age journalist
IN DIGITAL MEDIA |01/01/1900
It is good to remember that despite the advances technology isn`t foolproof. It can ruin you but it can also save you.
