Crackdown on media freedom in North Africa Western Asia
This week we bring you updates from Egypt, Nigeria, Myanmar and Iran. Across the North Africa Western Asia (NAWA) region, crackdown on free speech and media freedom has intensified, posing an important risk on the health of the information ecosystem in these countries. In Egypt, three staff members of the Egypt Initiative for Protective Rights (EIPR) were arrested and are currently being investigated under bogus charges of “joining a terrorist organization” as well as “spreading false news,” proving that authoritarian governments will use vague and draconian laws under the guise of fighting misinformation as a tool to crack down on civil society and political activists. In Lebanon, the government was the only country refusing to sign the Global Media Freedom Coalition statement calling for ensuring journalists’ safety and media freedom. We will continue to track and share issues related to freedom of speech, media independence and online misinformation.
As news related to the COVID-19 vaccine development is being shared, our inhouse medical expert and award-winning journalist Dr. Seema Yasmin shares information on the vaccines and their development process.
Stay safe and happy reading, Checklisters.
Your COVID-19 questions
Journalist and medical doctor, Dr. Seema Yasmin shares weekly highlights from Meedan's public health journalism tool, learnaboutcovid19.org.
What do we know so far about AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccines?
Dr. Seema says: "On Monday November 23rd, AstraZeneca reported efficacy data from its Covid-19 vaccine trial. When volunteers received two full doses one month apart, the vaccine was around 62% efficacious. When a half dose was followed up with a full dose two weeks later, the efficacy was 90%. The difference in efficacy for the two dosing strategies is not yet understood.
AstraZeneca’s announcement follows Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine news. Both of those vaccines use mRNA technology to help the body mount an immune response; both are around 95% efficacious, and both have major downsides. An mRNA vaccine has never been approved for use in humans and both vaccines are expensive and must be kept frozen. In fact, Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine needs an ultra-cold chain which means the vaccine must be frozen at -94 Fahrenheit, making it costly and tricky to transport (it would have to be kept on dry ice the whole time), and causing concerns about spoilage since the vaccine goes bad within days of being thawed. On the other hand, AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate uses old school vaccine technology which incorporates the spike protein of the new coronavirus onto a common cold virus. The AstraZeneca vaccine candidate is also cheaper and can be stored at regular fridge temperature making it much easier to transport and store in clinics.
So, what’s next? To get authorization for emergency use, the drug makers will need to submit two months of safety data when at least half of the study volunteers have received the second doses of vaccine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will review the data, as will the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices which helps decide who can receive the first doses of the limited supply. If all goes well, the vaccines will receive emergency use authorization and potentially full approval in the future. Then the challenge of producing hundreds of millions of doses and vaccinating people around the world will begin.
History shows that the first vaccine for a disease isn’t usually the best vaccine for a disease. Cheaper, more effective, easier-to-administer vaccines often follow. The international effort to develop a Covid-19 vaccine means there will likely be multiple vaccines for the disease using different vaccine technologies."
Highlights from emerging economies
Egypt: End shocking reprisal campaign against leading Egyptian rights group (Amnesty International)
The Egyptian government has arrested three employees of human rights organization Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) after staff met with Western diplomats in Cairo. They are being held on fabricated charges of "joining a terrorist group," "spreading false news," and "misusing social media."
"These arrests, the smear campaign against the organization and the government’s baseless claim that EIPR operates illegally, show that this is a well-planned and concerted attack. Accusing NGO staff of ‘joining a terrorist group’ is an assault on the organization and the human rights values it represents." — Amnesty International
Nigerian government-aligned Twitter network targets #EndSARS protests (DFR Lab)
Two networks of Nigerian Twitter accounts are amplifying pro-government content and appear to be staging an online suppression campaign to delegitimize the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality. These are coordinated social media campaigns in Nigeria to cover up and change the narrative around the #EndSARS protests using hashtags hashtags to post, retweet and quote-tweet meme-like graphics, as was discovered by DFR Lab.
"This network appears to be an attempted counter of the #EndSARS movement’s popularity online, combining a mixture of social media influencers and sockpuppet accounts to amplify content beneficial to the Nigerian armed forces, President Buhari and the Nigerian government. At the same time, these accounts cast doubt at the legitimacy of the protests and the demands underpinning them.
This behavior is deceptive, and creates the impression of support for this content where there is little authentic support for it. There are also indications that the network is expanding: new sockpuppet accounts have already joined the accounts indicated here since our research began."— DFR Lab
Facebook’s experimental hate-speech policy seems to be working (Rest of World)
Facebook has faced years of criticism for its failings in Myanmar. Campaigners in the U.S. and in Myanmar had been pressuring the company to prepare for the 2020 elections to prevent further violence.
In response, Facebook began trialing a new, more active approach to dealing with hate speech and political disinformation in the run up to the vote on November 8. It involved limiting users’ ability to reshare old pictures without context — a common misinformation tactic — and working with local partners to verify political parties’ pages and fact-check stories.
"While Facebook’s experimental approach still had profound flaws, it demonstrated that the company does have the tools to deal with the corrosive misinformation and bigotry that have proliferated on the platform worldwide....We need to give them credit where it’s due. They did pretty well. But if anything, it shows that when they want to, they can". — Victoire Rio, Myanmar Tech Accountability Network
Digital Rights and Technology Sector Accountability in Iran (Filter Watch)
Using Ranking Digital Rights' Corporate Accountability Index, Filterwatch and Taraaz take a deep dive into the publicly disclosed policies and communications of local (Soroush, Gap, Bale, and BisPhone) and foreign (WhatsApp and Telegram) messaging services used regularly in Iran. The objective is to assess these companies' commitment to human rights online.
Read the English report here.
"Overall, our assessment shows that while companies have made minor attempts to disclose their policies and practices, those disclosures are not sufficient to earn Iranian Internet users’ trust in their services." — Filterwatch and Taraaz
Deputados bolsonaristas serão investigados por campanha contra o TSE (Congresso Em Foco)
The Attorney General's Office (PGR) will be responsible for investigating the disinformation campaign and cyber attack suffered by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in the first round of Brazilian municipal elections, on November 15.
The entity (SaferNet) points to the existence of a group of parliamentarians, digital influencers and other political actors who engaged in conspiratorial narratives about alleged frauds in the electronic ballot boxes and in the process of counting and totaling votes, through the massive dissemination of messages and misleading content. on social networks that suggest some degree of coordination. Parliamentarians, because they have a privileged jurisdiction, must be prosecuted and tried in the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
Meedan Updates
Meedan welcomes 3 new Brazilian partners
In time for the municipal elections across Brazil this past weekend, Meedan is pleased to announce three new Brazilian partners using our Check software for fact-checking. They are: Estadão Verifica, an initiative of Estadão; Agência Lupa, and Fato ou Fake, by Globo Group. The latter initiative brings together journalists from G1, O Globo, Extra, Época, Valor, CBN, GloboNews and TV Globo.
Job opportunities at Meedan
We have open positions for: Senior Frontend Engineer & Program Manager, Digital Health Lab
Meedan is a fast-paced, small, software development startup that relies heavily on the unique skills of each team member. Our team members are able to work flexibly and respond to challenges across a range of project areas. We encourage individuals from historically underrepresented communities in technology and journalism to apply, including women, people of color, people with disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQ.