Using technology to build power in Afghanistan & combating electoral disinformation in Latin America
We hope you're doing well and staying safe. We have been concerned about the developments in Afghanistan amidst the Taliban take-over of the country. We stand in solidarity with journalists, especially female journalists, who are witnessing uncertainty, terror and harassment.
This week in The Checklist, we look at a possible situation of the Taliban operating the Afghan government's social media accounts. Would this give them additional influence and spread misinformation, propaganda and extremist content? Would the platforms monitor them actively to ensure there's no misuse or flouting of rules? We will continue to monitor this closely.
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The latest top stories
Twitter, Facebook May Let Taliban Control Afghan Government Social Media Accounts (Forbes)
The Taliban control all 34 provinces in Afghanistan, Kabul, the capital city, the presidential palace—and possibly soon a slew of valuable digital assets: Twitter and Facebook accounts once operated by the nation’s democratically elected government. The social media companies say they won’t rule out allowing the Taliban to run those channels, which number more than two dozen across the two sites. Doing so would almost certainly hand the insurgents a useful platform on which to spread propaganda and misinformation, it is likely to reopen long-simmering debates about what should be on the internet and who should determine what belongs there.
"Most crucially, these Afghan government platforms could give Taliban social media posts an added sheen of respectability and legitimacy. A post from an account belonging to a Taliban commander is one thing. One from a nation’s Ministry of Defense is another, particularly in an era where internet users have shown little ability to critically analyze what’s shared online." — Abram Brown, Senior Editor, Forbes
Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru sign declaration to combat electoral disinformation (EFE)
Representatives of electoral institutions from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru signed a declaration in Quito with the aim of jointly combating false news and disinformation generated around electoral processes. Among the commitments of the meeting, the participants reiterated their intention to continuously apply good regional practices for verifying information (fact-checking) and actions against disinformation from electoral bodies, the media, civil society organizations and other state and private institutions.
To carry out the objective of the declaration, the signatories intend to maintain cooperation and reciprocal assistance to carry out technical advisory actions, as well as training and electoral observation missions. Also, exchange information and experiences; promote effective political participation, "without leaving anyone behind"; and ensure proper communication management, especially on digital media. — Representatives of electoral institutions from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
Misinformation, anxiety drive hesitancy despite vaccination efforts to curb COVID deaths (Punch)
The high level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria is causing concern, with experts linking it to misleading and false advice from religious leaders to shun the vaccine, as well as fears of side effects Only 1.42 million Nigerians have been fully vaccinated, representing 0.7 per cent of the country's population. Vaccine hesitancy is limiting the uptake and acceptance of vaccines, with many believing that the coronavirus is all a myth.
"The National Orientation Agency and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control during the height of the pandemic regularly sent out text messages and did broadcasts on radio and TV to sensitise the populace on the Covid-19. But all that has stopped now and some people think this is a sign that the virus was all a scam and never real." — Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, President of Nigeria's National Association of Resident Doctors
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