The blackout of Cuban social media reflects a new worrying normal
Protests erupted Due to the country’s economic crisis, food shortages and rising Covid-19 infection around Cuba on Sunday, the national island’s ruling party responded by blocking access to popular platforms for Facebook, WhatsApp and other popular communications and social networks. That is a measure authoritarian governments have repeatedly expanded in recent years, the increasing Balkanization of the internet has made it a useful tool for repressive regimes that seek to stifle unrest.
The Cuban government has done something like that before, especially when access to WhatsApp and Twitter was interrupted last November when protests in Havana were localized. It seems to have gone further this time. Reports indicate on Sunday that Cuba had short and general Internet disruptions; after the return of connectivity, not only Facebook and WhatsApp, but also Instagram, Signal and Telegram were difficult or impossible t
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With protests erupting around Cuba on Sunday over the country s economic crisis, food shortages, and Covid-19 infection spike, the island nation s ruling party responded by blocking access to Facebook, WhatsApp, and other popular communication and social media platforms. It s a measure that authoritarian governments have deployed repeatedly in recent years, a go-to tool for repressive regimes looking to stifle unrest made possible by the increasing balkanization of the internet.
The Cuban government has done something like this before, disrupting access primarily to WhatsApp and Twitter during a surge of more localized protests in Havana last November. But it appears to have gone further this time. Reports indicate that Cuba suffered some short, widespread, general internet outages on Sunday; after connectivity returned, not only Facebook and WhatsApp but Instagram, Signal, and Telegram were difficult or impossible
Colombia: UN and OAS experts condemn crackdown on peaceful protests, urge a thorough and impartial investigation
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GENEVA/ WASHINGTON D.C.(14 May 2021) - UN and OAS human rights experts today condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful protests in Colombia, and called on the Government to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the reported killings, sexual violence, allegations of torture, and cases of alleged arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
“We are deeply distressed by the excessive and unlawful use of force by police and members of the ESMAD (Mobile Anti-Riot Squad) against peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders and journalists across Colombia,” the experts said. The experts have received reports of at least 26 killings most of which being young people, 1,876 cases of police violence, 216 cases of injuries including police officers, approximately 168 disappearances, 963 alleged arbitrary detentions, at least 12 cases of sexual vio
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Journos turn creative as economic woes hit newsrooms
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Despite a bleak outlook for the press, news executives from Asian publications say the COVID-19 crisis has prompted journalists to try new ways of practicing their craft in ways that may yet bring them closer to audiences and to economic survival.
All over Asia, journalists are losing their jobs as newsrooms struggle to stay afloat in the face of dwindling revenues, a trend going on for many years but hastened by lockdowns and health restrictions. This in turn has spurred digital creativity and innovation, in the form of, among others, recently retrenched journalists putting up their own online news portals or print reporters and editors experimenting with online news programs.