News of media

CONTRADICTIONS

Pictures speak louder than words

01-02-2020 08:57 Peronists have made an art of posing at asados, sipping on some mate, and generally looking merry, in order to indicate to their followers that they are getting things done.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

ENVIRONMENT

Greta Thunberg puts Africa's climate activists in media spotlight

31-01-2020 14:14 The young Swedish activist is calling for media visibility for Africa's environmental struggle, while a controversy erupted in Davos after Ugandan Vanessa Nakate was excluded from a photo of climate activists taken by a news agency.

MEDIA WARS

AT&T under pressure to defy Maduro's censors in Venezuela

20-01-2020 07:00 President Maduro’s opponents want AT&T’s DirecTV unit to restore half a dozen international news channels it was required to take off air by the Venezuelan government.

Bolivia fires

Evo Morales not trending among Bolivia’s youth ahead of vote

07-10-2019 15:57 Dissatisfaction over the president’s response to devastating fires has prompted young Bolivians to reconsider their votes in the upcoming election.

AREA 51

'Storm Area 51' brings a party – but not thousands– to infamous US base

21-09-2019 18:20 Inspired by the "Storm Area 51" Internet craze, to which millions responded, thousands gathered at the gates of the infamous Area 51 US Airforce Base on Friday. Their mission brought a grand celebration of spontaneous comradery to two quiet Nevada towns.

PASOs 2019

Pro-Macri Twitter bots deliver final PASO scandal

09-08-2019 18:10 The incoherent tweets became a viral conversation on Thursday and Friday, with both campaigns pointing fingers at each other.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Internet a lifeline for Venezuela's embattled independent media

18-07-2019 14:30 Starved of advertising revenue and battling a stranglehold on the newspaper industry, Venezuela's independent media have been decimated by the country's years-long crisis.

GUEST VOICE

The Commander in CEO

06-07-2019 09:33 While it’s true that some political processes still play out over months and years, today we increasingly see politics move to the beat set by social media, whether via viral content, expediting key global geopolitical events, or via a late night presidential tweet.

by Andrei Serbin Pont

Journalists' Day

British and Canadian Embassies in Buenos Aires celebrate Journalists’ Day

21-06-2019 13:56 Members of the Argentine media gathered in the Recoleta residence of the British Ambassador where he and his Canadian counterpart discussed media freedom.

by Jonah Shrock

2019 Elections

'Defend change': Macri launches social media blitz

02-06-2019 08:44 In past elections, Macri's PRO Party has shown a particular savviness with social media in comparison to more traditional parties like the Peronists.

BATTLE AGAINST 'FAKE NEWS'

More than 85 media outlets join forces to combat misinformation in electoral campaign

24-05-2019 09:31 The Reverso programme, which will run from June to December, aims to train journalists throughout Argentina to debunk viral fake news during the presidential election campaign.

ON THE SIP GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SIP cedes control in Salta

27-10-2018 07:47 It saddens me that the Salta Declaration ended up being a document that benefits the large companies that dominate today’s digital world, namely Google and Facebook.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

AS I SEE IT

Media battered by a technological tsunami

01-09-2018 10:28 Change is coming so fast that all attempts to adapt to whatever happens to be the current circumstances are provisional at best.

by James Neilson

FACT-BASED JOURNALISM

Fake news: the media industry strikes back

01-09-2018 09:04 How major media organizsations, often in partnership with big technology and social media firms, are trying to step up fact-checking and support fact-based journalism.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE MEDIA

Fake news and the online battle for the truth

01-09-2018 08:41 The rise of the Internet and social media has dramatically altered access to information across the globe. But it has also increased the proliferation of false information, with some experts fearing we have entered a new ‘posttruth’ age.

‘NOTEBOOK’ SCANDAL

Cristina strides back to court

18-08-2018 08:21 Compromised construction industry bosses are turning on CFK en masse to secure plea bargains with Judge Claudio Bonadio.

AS I SEE IT

The old guard counter-attacks

04-08-2018 10:45 The rise of social media has provided defenders of the old order with a chance to tell the world they are defending Truth in the war to the death it is waging against purveyors of fake news.

by James Neilson

RESISTANCE IN THE US

Social (media) activism: The changing face of protests

23-06-2018 09:19 The protest marches that have filled the United States’ streets since the election of President Donald Trump rely on multiple voices, a stark change from the heyday of 1960s social activism where there often was one famous face connected to a cause.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Facebook and Google hate journalism

19-05-2018 11:17 These companies hate having to deal with pesky reporters that constantly question their good intentions, as they despise responding to inquiries regarding how little they pay in taxes.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

SLAIN BRAZILIAN ACTIVIST

Lies, slander and social media: The character assassination of Marielle Franco

22-03-2018 13:36 Marielle Franco was gunned down in an apparent organised hit, prompting tens of thousands of Brazilians to protest. Now, vicious slander campaigns on social media, shared by political figures, are attempting to slur and tarnish her legacy.

FACEBOOK UNDER FIRE

UK Parliament asks Zuckerberg to testify in data misuse case

20-03-2018 11:57 The request comes amid reports that a UK-based company allegedly used Facebook data to help US President Donald Trump win the 2016 election.

ON THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

Marcos Peña and the paradox of free speech

03-03-2018 13:00 The letter delineates its vision for the media ecosystem. In what purports to be a defence of free speech lies a thinly veiled message to traditional media companies essentially telling them to sink or swim. On their own.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

INDEX ON CENSORSHIP

Forty-five years later, the censors are as busy as ever

03-03-2018 12:44 Index’s Mapping of Media Freedom project recently reported rising numbers of attacks on journalists covering protests in the 42 countries it covers. Reported attacks grew from 50 in 2016 to 70 in the first nine months of 2017.

by Andrew Graham-Yooll

BIAS, OBJECTIVITY AND TRUST

Argentines deliver a damning verdict on nation's media outlets

24-02-2018 11:08 Report by Pew Research Center shows just 37% of Argentines believe stories cover political issues fairly

by Jacob Meschke