Freedom of speech & expression under attack in Pakistan, Brazil & Sierra Leone
This week in The Checklist we take a look at attacks on freedom of speech and expression in different regions. In Pakistan, rage against Aurat March, a march by feminist activists on Women's Day, took the form of a dangerous disinformation campaign. In Brazil, a YouTuber and digital influencer was summoned after referring to President Jair Bolsonaro as a genocidist in a post on his social media. A new bill proposed in Sierra Leone could lead to further suppression of digital rights and freedoms, especially of people criticizing the government.
In India we take a look at trends and tactics of misinformation as five states go to polls in March and April 2021. Stay tuned for more updates on how fact-checkers are addressing misinformation around these polls.
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A coordinated online attack has forced some organizers behind Pakistan’s Women’s March into hiding (Rest of World)
In the days after Pakistan’s annual Women’s Day March, a coordinated disinformation campaign against the organizers quickly spread on social media on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, forcing them to go into hiding.
False information about the marchers was picked up by Pakistani journalists with major platforms, many of whom have a long history of disparaging the Women’s Day event. Even the Pakistani Taliban, a group that has largely receded after the war on terror but remains influential in parts of the country, released a statement condemning the march and its organizers, warning them that their behavior wouldn’t be tolerated.
"I haven’t left my house in five days. I’ve deleted all my social media accounts. I’m spending my time scrubbing photographs of everyone who could be affected...But not everyone has the luxury of laying low, of hiding themselves, and we have to make sure that those people are going to be safe, especially because they are more vulnerable....It’s a lot of trauma that will haunt us for a very long time." — Saima, an organizer of the women's march
Sierra Leone’s new cybercrime bill could turn a phone into a crime scene (Global Voices)
Sierra Leone's government has proposed a bill to deter the sharing violent and potentially harmful messages that contain incitement. The bill has already passed the pre-legislative stage in parliament, but activists and members of the opposition have argued that it could lead to the suppression of digital rights and freedoms — especially when the government is being criticized.
"Everyone is a potential target for criminalization of speech if the ruling party deems one’s online content offensive. The Bill lacks clear definitions of what constitutes a cyber-crime, ceding too much power to the Minister of Information to draw regulations and determine punitive measures." — Alhaji Koroma, Sierra Leonean journalist
TikTok is repeating Facebook’s mistakes in Myanmar (Rest of World)
Tik Tok has a seen surge in misinformation and hate speech in Myanmar. Though the platform took down such content in early March, activists and researchers have pointed to its slow and inconsistent response. They fear misinformation on the platform to spread discord, divide the protest movements and spur acts of violence.
"This platform is not taking action [or] taking responsibility,” said Htaike Htaike Aung, executive director at Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO), a Yangon-based internet-freedom group. “This will sooner or later lead to something like how Facebook [failed] in the Rohingya crisis, by being the platform hosting all these dangerous narratives."
Brazil's Most Popular YouTuber Summoned to Testify for Calling Bolsonaro a Genocidist (Folha De S. Paulo)
Police Chief Pablo Sartori, head of the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police's Computer Crime Repression Police Department, summoned YouTuber Felipe Neto to testify for calling President Jair Bolsonaro (no party) a genocidist because of his management of the Covid-19 pandemic. City Councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (Republican), son of the President, requested the procedure. Felipe Neto is under investigation for the crime of slander, under the National Security Law, which was issued during the military dictatorship.
The National Security Law provides for imprisonment of one to four years for anyone convicted of slandering or defaming the president. The Penal Code determines detention from six months to two years, and a fine, for the crime of slander.
Meedan Updates
Misinformation trends and tactics in poll-bound West Bengal, India
India will witness four state assembly and one union territory elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry between March and April 2021. Of these, West Bengal will go to polls first and is expected to be the most contentious state election. It is among the handful of states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the current ruling party at the centre, is not in power. Stakes are high both for the BJP and the current Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal that is fighting to retain its ten year turf. In this blogpost, we take a look at the emerging trends and tactics of misinformation uncovered by our fact-checking partners in India.