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ADDED 02/21/2019

Maria Ressa’s arrest spells more trouble for press freedom in increasingly illiberal Asia

FROM 02/18/2019 | CNN

BY Euan McKirdy

The arrest of Maria Ressa, a Time Person of the Year, award-winning journalist and frequent critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, has renewed fears for the future of press freedom in the southeast Asian nation and around the region. Ressa, co-founder of online news outlet Rappler and former CNN bureau chief, was arrested in connection with “cyber […]

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ADDED 07/21/2018

Authoritarians used to be scared of social media, now they rule it

FROM 07/21/2018 | Boing Boing

BY CORY DOCTOROW

A new report from the Institute For the Future on “state-sponsored trolling” documents the rise and rise of government-backed troll armies who terrorize journalists and opposition figures with seemingly endless waves of individuals who bombard their targets with vile vitriol, from racial slurs to rape threats. The report traces the origin of the phenomenon to a series […]

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ADDED 03/08/2018

Filipino chief justice asks people to fight authoritarianism

FROM  | ABC News

BY Jim Gomez, Associated Press

The Philippines‘ embattled Supreme Court chief justice urged Filipinos on Wednesday to stand up against authoritarianism and threats to human rights, in an indirect criticism of the country’s volatile leader, who has long called for her removal. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is facing two ouster attempts, including by President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, whose legal counsel asked […]

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