Freedom House has just launched its latest annual report on the state of democracy and freedom on the Internet. It also contains has rankings of nations according to measurements of their openness. Out of 65 countries assessed 25 recorded a loss of some freedom. China was the least free nation.
Social Sciences and Humanities Librarians’ Blog
Global data hub on human trafficking
Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative is the first global data hub on human trafficking publishing harmonized data from counter-trafficking organizations around the world. It was originally launched in 2017 but now has expanded data and visualisation features. These include an interactive map with timelines and information on routes and victims.
Junk News Aggregator
A new resource which aims to track the spread of junk news on Facebook. It has been devised by the Computational Propaganda group (COMPROP) of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at the University of Oxford. The full methodology is displayed on the website. See the latest top 10 junk news stories posted in the last […]
US Mid-Term Elections
Lots of links on this subject. New York Times collected examples of misinformation over 4,000 were sent from social media. Other sources of fact checking and overviews of political accuracy include: Politfact has been checking claims made about the election by the President and other commentators Washington Post fact-checker Media Matters for America News coverage […]
Advertising on Social Media
As a move to greater transparency Facebook has launched this searchable database about political adverts appearing on Facebook and who is funding them. It covers US election spending. There are also statistical snapshots taken every week. Google transparency report also has a political ads section and Twitter has a list of political campaign advertisers.
Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists
The United Nations has designated 2nd November as a day against impunity for crimes against journalists. On this day the call on nations to condemn attacks on journalists and to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice. For more information and links see http://www.un.org/en/events/journalists/ This year UNESCO has launched a special campaign #TruthNever Dies It has profiles […]
Under reporting of missing and murdered indigenous women (Canada and US)
The MMIW Database logs cases of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and two spirit people in Canada and the United States, from 1900 to the present. It is being complied by a PhD Student Annita Lucchesi. The website provides information about current under reporting and lists her research reference sources. It has data on […]
Twitter release data on state-backed propaganda from Iran and Russia
https://about.twitter.com/en_us/values/elections-integrity.html#data As part of it openness and transparency policy, Twitter have released information and datasets indicating that thousands of sources from Russia were used during the USA election campaign to manipulate news sources. TechCrunch discusses and gives links to the datasets.
How students engage with the news
A report from the US based Project information literacy which has implications for librarians and educators concerned with information literacy and the fight against fake news. During 2017/18 a sample of 5,844 respondents returned an online survey administered at 11 U.S. colleges, universities, and community colleges. Topics discussed include competency in evaluating sources and use of […]
Brexit Statutory Instruments Dashboard
Westminster Lens A new tool launched by the Hansard Society. It aims to monitor how many Brexit SIs are being laid before Parliament each week. It is estimated that over 800 will be needed to set the statute book in order for exit. At the moment it lists 71 Brexit-related SIs have been laid since […]
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