AFGHANISTAN: Radio Begum suspended and two employees arrested as tyrannical media repression escalates 

RSF: The newsrooms of Radio Begum, an emblematic women’s radio station, were raided, leading to the arrest of two of its employees.

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AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan detains two more journalists as watchdogs denounce crackdown

VOA: Azerbaijani authorities detained two more journalists this week, bringing the number held in the past year to nearly two dozen.

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CAMBODIA: British investigative journalist banned from Cambodia

The Guardian: Treatment of Gerald Flynn, who writes for the outlet Mongabay, condemned as attack on independent media.

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CHINA: Five years after breaking key stories on COVID-19, journalist Zhang Zhan is dying in detention (Press release)

RSF: Exactly five years ago, Zhang Zhan travelled to the city of Wuhan to cover the very beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of this “information hero” who alerted the world to the pandemic and who is at risk of death due to her prolonged hunger strike protesting her mistreatment. 

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CHINA & GERMANY: DW Chinese launches new Instagram channel (Press release) 

DW: On February 14, 2025, DW Chinese will launch its new Instagram channel, providing a platform tailored for a young, globally-minded Chinese-speaking audience, with a special focus on empowering women.

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong media regulator loses bid to appeal to top court over RTHK satire that ‘insulted’ police

Hong Kong Free Press: Hong Kong’s Communications Authority has lost a bid to appeal to the top court to overturn a previous ruling, which cleared its 2020 warning that public broadcaster RTHK’s satirical show had “insulted” the police.

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INDIA: Indian media pile into lawsuit against OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT

BBC News: India’s biggest news organisations are seeking to join a lawsuit against OpenAI, the US startup behind ChatGPT, for alleged unauthorised use of their content.

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INDONESIA: Indonesia’s Media: Balancing Tradition and Technology

Open Gov: The National Press Day celebration in Pekanbaru, Riau provided a platform for experts to discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities facing journalism in an era of rapid digital disruption. The event focused on the critical role of traditional media in an increasingly digital world while exploring how the industry can adapt to new technological trends.

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JAPAN: Japan’s NHK celebrates its centennial: Pioneering the future of TV (Paywall)

Realscreen

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JAPAN: Tokyo high court rules denying a passport to journalist is illegal

Japan Times: The Tokyo High Court on Thursday ruled that the government’s decision to deny a passport to freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda is illegal.

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NEPAL: National Assembly passes Media Council Bill

The Himalayan Times: A session of the National Assembly today passed the ‘Media Council Bill-2080 BS’.

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PAKISTAN: ‘Wild and Distasteful’: Journalists assemble against Pakistan’s new cybercrime law

Dawn: The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act is objectionable for all — even those journalists who otherwise feel social media is being misused.

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PHILIPPINES: Philippine media is at a crossroads — and it’s impacting journalists

Rappler: Economic conditions and an ever-evolving information landscape are crippling journalists determined to continue reporting for their communities.

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SINGAPORE: BBC tells some staff in Singapore bureau to reapply for jobs amid restructuring exercise

The Straits Times: British broadcaster BBC has told 12 staff in its Singapore bureau to reapply for new roles after closing their positions.

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SINGAPORE: LASALLE and Mediacorp join hands to shape new generation of media professionals (Press release)

Mediacorp: The MOU will pave the way for a suite of student engagement programmes and activities to be carried out over a three-year period.

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SOUTH KOREA: Three KBS-hired crew members handed to prosecutors over nailing props to heritage site

Korea JoongAng Daily: Andong Police Station on Monday turned over three KBS-hired crew members to the prosecution for putting nails into a 450-year-old Unesco-listed heritage building in Andong, North Gyeongsang.  

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TAJIKISTAN: ‘Real Journalism Is Dying’ — Tajikistan’s War On Independent Media

RFE/RL: Tajikistan has jailed a veteran journalist for criticizing regional officials and another reporter faces 17 years in prison on undisclosed charges in a new clampdown on independent media in the country.

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THAILAND: Thai media regulator jailed for abusing power in TrueID scandal

Thaiger: A high-ranking member of Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has been sentenced to two years in prison for abusing her position in a controversial case involving the OTT media platform TrueID.

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THAILAND: Thai PBS signs cooperation agreement with CMG, a major Chinese media outlet (Press release)

Thai PBS: Thai PBS enhances cooperation with international media organizations, signs MOU with China Media Group, a leading Chinese media organization, to exchange content, technology and personnel.

AUSTRALIA: ABC staff ‘disgusted’ by broadcaster’s handling of Antoinette Lattouf unlawful termination claim

The Guardian: ABC union members say legal argument around existence of Lebanese race ‘destroys any hope’ that broadcaster intends to address alleged systemic racism.

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AUSTRALIA: Australian Community Media flags future further reduction in print editions

ABC: ACM’s Tony Kendall says the company planning to move all its remaining print editions to one edition per week on Saturdays.

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AUSTRALIA: ‘Blatantly racist’: ABC arguing Lattouf must prove Middle Eastern races exist angers cultural groups

The Guardian: Arab Council Australia calls broadcaster’s legal defence ‘disturbing’, while Australian Lebanese Association notes ‘irony’ considering nature of case.

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AUSTRALIA: Do young Australians still trust social media?

ABC: Often called digital natives, most young Australians use multiple social media platforms. But in the wake of some big changes to platforms like Meta and TikTok, do young Australians still trust social media?

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SAMOA: Media restricted at court case of national interest

Samoa Observer: Journalists attempting to gain entry into the courtroom where former cabinet minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt was appearing on Friday found themselves unable to enter the room.

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REGIONAL: Pacific media embraces digital transformation

FBC: While digital journalism is already being used by news outlets in Fiji, other Pacific islands have yet to adopt new methods for broadcasting their stories.

AUSTRIA: Further personnel decisions at ORF: Six senior editors appointed (Press release – German) 

ORF

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AUSTRIA: “Nagging”: ORF grandees step into the breach for their house (German) 

Der Standard: Appeal to those responsible for politics: “The basis for public broadcasting is the clearest possible distance from party politics”

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AUSTRIA: New ORF offers in simple language: ORF Topos and FM4 offer articles and podcasts (Press release – German) 

ORF: In addition to its services for subtitling, translation into Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) and audio description, the ORF is also expanding its offering in simple language.

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BELGIUM: Debate: “Journalists, shut up!” (Event) (French) 

AJP: Threats, intimidation and gagging procedures against journalists in Belgium: join us on 19/02 for a debate proposed by the Kiosque media collective. 

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BELGIUM: Delayed (or not), moderated (or not), censored (or not): a look back at the behind-the-scenes issues surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration speech on RTBF (French) 

RTBF: On this subject, as on many others, there is no ready-made answer. In any case, RTBF made a choice and the journalists recalled that this choice was a matter of editorial independence , without accepting pressure from whatever quarter.

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BELGIUM: VRT strengthens the European media innovation sector with international trend analyses (Press release – Dutch) 

VRT: Future Media Hubs, the international network of VRT in collaboration with RTBF and supported by the Flemish Department of Culture, Youth and Media, today presented the trend report for 2025.

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CZECH REPUBLIC: A strong year for Czech Television’s digital platforms. iBroadcasting, online news, sports and education scored points (Press release – Czech) 

Česka Televize: Czech Television’s digital platforms reached an average of 2.4 million real users per month last year. The most successful online product was iVysílání, where the content was watched by an average of 1.4 million users per month.

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CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech Opposition Blocks Public Media Funding as Elections Approach – QUICK TAKE 

Visegrad Insight: ANO and far-right SPD stall fee hikes for Czech TV and radio

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DENMARK: Søren Pind calls for a fight against what he calls “media violence”: “They exist, the victims. And there are more of them than you think” (Paywall – Danish) 

Berlingske: The entire spectrum, from media platforms that have effectively suspended libel legislation for the time being, to influencers and bloggers with wide reach, to the journalistic media, needs new tools to be used, writes Søren Pind.

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FINLAND: Yle News’ Whatsapp channel already has 100,000 subscribers – the creators tell us what makes the channel special (Finnish) 

Yle: The majority of subscribers to Yle News and Yle Mix’s Whatsapp channels are young people.

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FINLAND: Yle Saami is looking for a new manager – Maiju Saijets has resigned (Opportunity – Finnish) 

Yle: Yle Sámi is looking for a new director. The current director, Maiju Saijets, has resigned as of next April. She has been on study leave since May 2024.

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FRANCE: New reform of public audiovisual funding (3 February – French) 

Act-Juridique: To support public broadcasting, the legislator published an organic law to replace the proceeds from the broadcasting fee abolished by the 2022 finance law, but also because, in this law, the maintenance of the financial assistance account by a fraction of the proceeds from the value added tax was only planned until December 31, 2024.

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FRANCE: Public audiovisual is not “a shame”, but a common good of all citizens that we want to preserve (French) 

SNJ-CGT: The funding of public broadcasting (France Télévisions, Radio France, INA, France Médiaş Monde) continues to suffer from uncertainties and cuts in resources.

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GEORGIA: Georgia ramps up curbs on media, NGOs with drastic new laws 

Politico: The fresh restrictions come amid a political crisis over disputed elections and the government’s reversal on its EU membership bid.

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GERMANY: ARD political programmes for young people: New channel for investigative journalism on TikTok (Press release – German) 

ARD: ARD’s political programmes are launching a new TikTok channel for investigative journalism. Under the name ‘ARD Team Recherche’ (@teamrecherche), exclusive research from across ARD will be published on the platform with immediate effect.

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GERMANY: German civil activists win victory in election case against Musk’s X

Reuters: Elon Musk’s social media platform X must release information enabling researchers to track the spread of election-swaying information on the network, a German court ruled on Friday.

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GERMANY: Reform proposals for public broadcasting (German) 

WDR: The WDR Broadcasting Council welcomes the fact that the reform resolutions of the Conference of Minister Presidents of October 25, 2024 (Reform State Treaty) and December 12, 2024 (Broadcasting Financing State Treaty) fundamentally strengthen public broadcasting in the long term, address the need for economical use of resources and protect social interests.

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IRELAND: RTÉ Internship Programme 2025 – Applications Now Open (Opportunity – Press release)

RTÉ: We’re thrilled to announce that applications for the 2025 RTÉ Internship Programme are now open.

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ITALY: The “war” of Sanremo: Rai challenges the TAR ruling (Italian) 

Il Giornale: Rai lawyers filed an appeal against the TAR ruling that declared the direct awarding of the Sanremo Festival illegitimate, ordering a competition open to all televisions for the next editions

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LIECHTENSTEIN: End of public broadcasting in Liechtenstein – mistake or opportunity? (Listen – German)

Radio Liechtenstein: The referendum has been passed: the law on public broadcasting in Liechtenstein will be abolished at the end of the year and Radio Liechtenstein is now de facto facing closure.

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RUSSIA: EFJ and IFJ condemn the expulsion of Le Monde correspondent

EFJ: The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) on Thursday expressed their support for the Moscow correspondent of the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Benjamin Quénelle, who has just had his accreditation revoked by the Russian authorities. The EFJ and IFJ call on the Russian authorities to reverse their decision.

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SLOVAKIA: Robert Fico without a proper opponent? STVR faces sanction from the Media Council (Slovak) 

Aktuality: The media regulator has launched administrative proceedings against STVR based on a listener’s complaint. Radio Slovakia, which falls under the umbrella of television broadcasting, is therefore facing a sanction, which the council will ultimately decide.

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SLOVAKIA: Tibor Gašpar denies that the coalition is in crisis. Michal Šimečka compared it to a falling apart car (Slovak) 

Aktuality.sk: The parliament has been without a speaker for almost a year now. The coalition has also failed to elect members of the STVR Council.

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SPAIN: Appearance of José Pablo López before the parliamentary control committee of RTVE (Press release – Spanish) 

RTVE: RTVE President José Pablo López announced this Thursday in the Senate that the Corporation expects to close the 2024 financial year with losses of 22 million euros , four million less than those announced in its previous appearance and eight less than originally planned.

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SWEDEN: Sameradion’s reporting ahead of the Sami Parliament elections begins now (Press release – Swedish) 

SR: On Thursday it is Sámi National Day and what could be a better way to recharge than to start Sameradio’s reporting ahead of and about the Sami Parliament elections on May 18.

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SWITZERLAND: Swiss public television to cut 50 jobs 

Swissinfo.ch: Swiss public television SRF will axe 50 full-time positions by the beginning of next year as it aims to save CHF9 million by the end of 2026.

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UKRAINE: We invite you to the online conference Ukrainian Media During the War (Event)  

NUJU: The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) invites you to an online conference on the third anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: ‘Ukrainian media during the war: challenges, experience, future.’

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REGIONAL: Can the European Media Freedom Act address Media Capture?

IPI: New report on the readiness of EU Member States to implement the EMFA rules to protect media pluralism and editorial independence published today

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REGIONAL: Governments in Europe should force big tech to pay for news

EFJ: The US president Donald Trump has threatened to target Europe after launching then pausing import tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) believes that now is the right time for European governments to make tech giants pay to profit from content produced by European news outlets and their journalists.

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REGIONAL: Western media stifled by Russia (French) 

Les Echos: The accreditation of the correspondent of “Le Monde” in Moscow has been officially withdrawn. The duration of accreditations for the press in Russia has been reduced from one year to three months for “unfriendly” countries, and they are the subject of negotiations between the chancelleries.

IRAN: Iranian Journalist Jila Baniyaghoob Interrogated by IRGC Intelligence Amid Ongoing Crackdown

IranWire: Jila Baniyaghoob, a journalist and women’s rights activist, said she was interrogated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence for two hours on Monday.

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ISRAEL: DW launches new Instagram channel for target group in Israel (Press release) 

DW: The channel aims to appeal to DW’s young, urban target group in Israel with intercultural topics, curiosities and interesting facts about Berlin and Germany.

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SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia emerges as the epicentre of Media & Entertainment in 2025

Broadcast Pro ME: According to a January 2025 Statista report, Saudi Arabia leads the MENA media industry, holding a dominant 30% market share.

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TURKEY: Eurovision 2025: Turkey Considers EBU Complaint Over Greece’s Entry “Asteromata”

Greek City Times: Turkish media covering the contest report that the country’s public broadcaster, TRT, is considering filing a complaint with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) if certain allegations about the song’s theme are confirmed.

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TURKEY: Press professional organizations in front of the courthouse for BirGün: “We will continue to fight”

Evrensel: A protest was held in front of the Istanbul Courthouse, where BirGün journalists Uğur Koç and Berkant Gültekin and birgün.net Responsible Manager Yaşar Gökdemir were brought to the prosecutor’s office upon the call of press professional organizations.

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TURKEY: TGC: If the news is real and in the public interest , it will be published, presented and commented on.

TGC: The Board of Directors of the Turkish Journalists Association described RTÜK President Ebubekir Şahin’s announcement that the news bulletins would create pessimism and that a penalty would be imposed from the upper limit as “unacceptable”.

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TURKEY: X blocks access to at least 42 journalist, activist accounts in Turkey

Turkish Minute: Social media platform X has blocked access to at least 42 accounts belonging to Turkish journalists, activists and media organizations operated by journalists living in exile, marking yet another act of censorship.

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UAE: UAE media chief extends help to press organisations

Gulf News: The National Media Office and the UAE Media Council extended their full cooperation to UAE media houses in the UAE to disseminate news and present the UAE to the world.

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REGIONAL: CNN to expand its Middle East presence with new operation in Media City Qatar (Press release) 

CNN: CNN is expanding its footprint in the Middle East through the creation of a new operation in the State of Qatar as part of CNN’s broader strategy to deepen its global and regional content creation capabilities.

CANADA: CBC and Radio-Canada release 2023–2024 carbon footprint reports for television productions (Press release) 

CBC/Radio-Canada: CBC and Radio-Canada today published their 2023–2024 reports on the carbon footprints of in-house and independent television productions. CBC’s report covers data from 50 productions and Radio-Canada’s from 46 productions.

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CANADA: Too much on Facebook, too little on local media, poll shows (French) 

La Presse: Nearly two-thirds of Canadians (65%) want the federal government to allocate a greater percentage of its advertising budget to local and regional news media, according to a survey conducted for the Médias d’Info Canada group.

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US: A Plea for Institutional Modesty (Speach) 

CJR

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US: CPB Awards Harvest Public Media $1 Million for Rural Journalism Expansion (Press release) 

CPB: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded a $1 million grant to Harvest Public Media, a public media journalism collaboration covering agricultural and rural issues that gives insight into the lives of people in the Midwest, Great Plains, and farming communities throughout the country.

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US: In a Volatile Landscape for AI and Labor Rights, Journalists at ABC Secure a Win

CJR: Last week, the bargaining unit representing journalists at ABC News, which belongs to the Writers Guild of America East, “overwhelmingly” voted to ratify a three-year contract.

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US: New Animated PBS KIDS Series, SKILLSVILLE, Harnesses Gaming to Open a World of Possibilities (Press release) 

PBS: Welcome to Skillsville! SKILLSVILLE, a dynamic PBS KIDS animated series created by Twin Cities PBS (TPT), will encourage kids ages 4-8 to “power up” the skills they need for future success by depicting the benefits of one of the most popular forms of media—video games.

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US: The Democrats’ Media Array

CJR: How Trump’s opponents are thinking about our new media world.

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US: The Trump war on the news media takes an absurd turn

Nieman Lab: Here are a few of the things that, in the opening weeks of the second Trump administration, have gone from “totally normal” to “DEVIANT BEHAVIOR THAT SHOWS THE EVIL LURKING AT THE HEART OF THE AMERICAN MEDIA”

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US: Trump calls for ‘termination’ of 60 Minutes in fresh attack on US media

The Guardian: President also makes baseless claim that USAid money has been illicitly funding news organisations

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US: Trump’s attacks on government transparency erode press freedom

RSF: President Donald Trump has spent the first two weeks of his second term restricting the public’s access to government information.

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US: USAID and the Media in a ‘Time of Monsters’

CJR

AI, a new weapon of manipulation on the disinformation front (French) 

RTBF: From deepfakes aimed at influencing elections to chatbots relaying false information, the pollution of the world of information appears to be one of the great dangers of the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI).

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Deepfake video impersonates VOA press freedom reporter

VOA: At least two fake videos appearing to show a VOA journalist delivering the news have been circulating on social media this week, underscoring how experts say artificial intelligence can be used to target reporters and spread disinformation.

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How DeepSeek stacks up when citing news publishers

Nieman Lab: The DeepSeek hype cycle is in full force, but can the chatbot attribute sources more accurately than its competitors?

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International Reporters: the new website where foreign propagandists spread Russian disinformation

RSF: For over a year, the Kremlin-funded website International Reporters has been masquerading as a professional news outlet in order to spread Russian disinformation.

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Second VRT webinar: what will the media market look like in 2030? (Press release – Dutch) 

VRT: After an initial webinar on the media use of the future, VRT is now delving deeper into the changes within the media market. How will the media landscape evolve towards 2030?

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Trump’s foreign aid freeze throws journalism around the world into chaos

RSF: President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including over $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information.

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Who’s Watching What on TV? Who’s to Say?

The New York Times: People now watch so many programs at so many different times in so many different ways that measuring viewership has become a hot debate in the industry.