Category Archives: media

IFEX Roundups: April, May, June 2018

By admin | February 17, 2019

Fake news laws, letters to Facebook, and a decline in press freedom rankings: Asia-Pacific in April. Governments have begun issuing anti-‘fake news’ regulations, groups engaged Facebook about propagating hate speech, decline of press freedom rankings of Asia-Pacific countries, and Pakistan women reclaim public spaces. Malaysia’s election, Afghan attacks, defiant newspapers: Asia-Pacific in May  Malaysia’s ruling […]

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Self-care and social transformation in these neoliberal times

By admin | January 14, 2019

Published by Manila Today Sports and wellness centers are booming in many places. It’s already hip to hit the gym after work, invest in commodities affirming metrosexuality, and allot more time to boost self-confidence and inner peace. From Manila to Mumbai and Montreal to Madrid, urban centers are seeing the rise of a visible segment […]

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IFEX Roundups: January, February, March 2018

By admin | December 31, 2018

Asia-Pacific welcomes the new year – with declining freedom. A disturbing regional trend in 2017 is still evident in the first month of the new year, which featured a threat to close down Rappler news website in the Philippines, the revival of criminal libel law in Samoa, and the filing of a draconian espionage bill […]

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Improving the Philippine Internet Landscape

By admin | December 27, 2018

Written for The Diplomat magazine Internet in the Philippines is bemoaned as one of the slowest and most inefficient in the region. Despite the absence of censorship, Internet freedom in the country is only categorized as partly-free because of the unabated media killings, government intimidation of critics, the existence of state-backed online trolls, and the […]

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#StandWithRappler: Philippines revokes license of news group critical of Duterte

By admin | December 11, 2018

Written for IFEX Amid the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines, an online news group has been ordered by a government agency to stop operating — a move which many denounce as an attack on press freedom. Rappler assured its readers that it will not back down in the fight for truth and democracy.  “We intend […]

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Under neoliberalism, the problem lies with you

By admin | October 27, 2018

Published by Bulatlat What does it mean to live in the era of neoliberalism? It is to recognize that the world is a mess and that I, as an individual, can fix it by being responsible for my life. So far, nothing perverse with this line of thought. Then we add this in the equation: […]

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How Realtime Is Disrupting the Politics of Rural-Urban Dynamics in the Philippines

By admin | October 1, 2018

Published by Manila Today Time is an important currency. A farmer relies on weather patterns to plan the cultivation of his land, a worker’s monthly wage is calculated through the bundy clock, and a modern day speculator accumulates virtual cash by engaging in realtime trading. Based on the preceding, many would probably assume that the […]

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Why the Philippines’ Internet Landscape Isn’t Really Free

By admin | May 24, 2018

When journalists write about Internet censorship in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is mentioned as a country where citizens and netizens enjoy media freedom. Indeed, compared to other countries in the region, the situation in the Philippines looks better when it comes to upholding free speech. Unlike in Thailand, there’s no Army Cyber Center in the […]

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IFEX Roundups: July, August, September 2017

By admin | March 5, 2018

Death in custody of a Nobel laureate, sentencing bloggers, and Pakistan’s UN review. Last July 2018 in the Asia-Pacific region saw the death of China’s most renowned political prisoner, harsh convictions against dissident bloggers in Vietnam, threats to encryption in Australia, concerns about PNG’s cybercrime act, the first ever review of Pakistan’s human rights record […]

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Myanmar’s media and Internet muzzle

By admin | October 15, 2017

Published by New Mandala Section 66 (d) is a controversial clause of the 2013 Telecommunications Law that carries a three-year prison term for defamation made using a communications network. It’s undermining media freedom and is behind a spike in defamation cases, writes Mong Palatino. Various activist groups and media networks have petitioned the parliament of […]

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