Photo by Donald Tong from Pexels. Used under a Pexels License.

Extrajudicial killings of people accused of blasphemy aren’t uncommon in Pakistan Photo by Donald Tong/Pexels. Used under Pexels License. A 57-year-old man was shot dead in a Peshawar courtroom as he was being trialed for blasphemy on July 29. The killer, 24, was arrested immediately — it’s unclear how he managedContinue Reading

What will a US ban on WeChat mean for Chinese netizens? · Global Voices

While many in the West have criticized Trump’s ban, some overseas Chinese dissents see the decision with positive eyes Image from Stand News. Used with permission. United States President Donald Trump signed on August 7 two separate executive orders that will ban TikTok and WeChat from operating in the countryContinue Reading

‘Wiki Loves Africa’ 2020 features images of a continent on the move · Global Voices

The annual contest diversifies Africa-relevant media on Wikimedia “My Homeland,” photo by Mohammed Yousry, Lake Burullus, Egypt, February 23, 2019, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0. A quick search for images from or about Africa on Google often drudges up reductive, cliché and exploitative images of a monolithic continent in perpetual despair.Continue Reading

How the murder of musician Hachalu Hundessa incited violence in Ethiopia: Part I · Global Voices

Speculation began to fly amid long-standing ethnic and political tensions Hachalu Hundessa interview with OMN via Firaabeek Entertainment / CC BY 3.0. Editor’s note: This is a two-part analysis on Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo musician whose murder incited ethnoreligious violence fueled by disinformation online. Read Part II here.   IconicContinue Reading

How the murder of musician Hachalu Hundessa incited violence in Ethiopia: Part II · Global Voices

Social media flooded with conspiracy theories, hate speech & disinformation Hachalu Hundessa interview with OMN via Firaabeek Entertainment / CC BY 3.0. Editor’s note: This is a two-part analysis on Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo musician whose murder incited ethnoreligious motivated violence fueled by disinformation online. Read Part I PartContinue Reading

Screenshot from an YouTube Video by ThinkZone.

‘It’s like Zoom, minus the video and the interaction’ Parents performing educational activities with children using ThinkZone’s resources received via mobile phone. Screenshot of YouTube video by ThinkZone. As classes shifted to virtual environments in India following the COVID-19 lockdown, students from remote areas and low-income families who lacked internetContinue Reading

COVID-19 and China’s information control policy · Global Voices

China’s strategy to control information and its consequences has become a global concern COVID-19 outbreak world map. Image from Wikimedia (CC: AT-SA) The following post is written by Dr. Fu Kingwah, associate professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre of the Hong Kong University and convener of censorship monitoringContinue Reading

Parks and green spaces are important for our mental health – but we need to make sure that everyone can benefit

Shutterstock How does walking through a forest make you feel? Peaceful? Blissful? Reflective? For many people, lockdown brought a new appreciation of nature and what it means for our well-being. The health benefits of immersing ourselves in “greenspace” are now widely accepted. Living in areas with grass and trees hasContinue Reading