As German hate speech law sinks Titanic’s Twitter post, critics warn new powers go too far
The satirical magazine Titanic appears to have been an unlikely victim of Germany’s recently adopted online anti-hate speech law, NetzDG. “We were truly surprised,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief Tim Wolff told CPJ, as he explained how Twitter blocked the Titanic account for 48 hours after the magazine republished a post Twitter had deleted, in which Titanic…
Cameroon detains U.S.-Cameroonian writer over critical commentary
Lomé, Togo, December 8, 2017–Cameroonian authorities detained Patrice Nganang, a Cameroonian-American academic and columnist, as he attempted to fly to Zimbabwe from Douala on December 6, according to his lawyer and media reports. The lawyer, Emmanuel Simh, told CPJ that Nganang is being held in Yaoundé on accusations of offending the president in a Facebook…
Armed men beat Iraqi journalist in Erbil
Beirut, July 11, 2017–Authorities in northern Iraq should conduct a thorough and credible investigation into the beating of journalist Ibrahim Abbas and should bring all those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Five armed men assaulted Abbas in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil yesterday, according to the journalist, news reports,…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 11, 2017
Twelve witnesses against journalist say testimony extracted under torture Twelve out of 13 witnesses prosecutors called yesterday to testify that Nedim Türfent, a former reporter for the shuttered, pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was a member of a terrorist organization recanted their written testimony, saying police extracted it under torture, the daily Evrensel reported. Police…
Eluding the Censors
For all its faults, Facebook is a lifeline for journalists in less developed countries By Karen Coates Squeezed between China and Vietnam, Phongsali is the northernmost province of Laos, a land of mountains, valleys and isolated villages that is home to more than 15 ethnic groups. As recently as a few years ago, news traveled…
Deciding who decides which news is fake
Authorities decry the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the internet, and technology companies are wrestling with various measures to combat fake news. But addressing the problem without infringing on the right to free expression and the free flow of information is extremely thorny.