Author Archives: Elizabeth Coddington

Regulate the Hate

In the Arab Nation, there is a problem with “hate speech.” In this article, the definition of hate speech is discussed at great length, because there is no finite definition. As shown in the picture above, Aidan White, the director of the Ethical Journalism Network, believes that hate speech needs to be defined by five basic principles. They are:

the status of the speaker
the reach of the speech
the intention of the speaker
the content and form of speech
the economic, social and political climate

A lot of the time, hate speech varies from nation to nation because of the regulation of the government. “Governments define it to serve their own interests,” said White.

This means that technically, the government could consider hate speech to be anything that paints the government and its authoritative figures in a negative light. A simple opinion could be twisted and manipulated and put into the category of hate speech. This contributes to the volatile environment that many journalists have come to face in the Arab nation. The words that they write are under constant scrutiny, and left to the interpretation of the government.

If there is so much government regulation in Arab media, then why can’t there be a governing body to establish what exactly constitutes hate speech? There needs to be guidelines established to determine what is and is not acceptable in the media. This will help to regulate the government as well as those that are publishing the possible hate speech. The intrusive and overbearing governments have a chance to interfere and have a positive outcome.

Hate speech is a negative form of propaganda that should be avoided at all costs. It should be a point of focus without the government tainting the definition and regulation.

Hate speech fuels the danger that journalists face. It is important to eradicate it from usage and practice ethics, self-regulation and good governance.

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/beirut-seminar-targets-ar_b_6163680.html

Reality TV in Morocco

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Reality TV isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Morocco. But, on 2M TV, one of Morocco’s most popular stations, a new chat show called “Al Khayt Al Abyad” is slowly easing Moroccan society into the world of reality television. It has “given a modern twist to old customs and taken Morocco by storm,” said John Thorne, a journalist for the National World.

The show, hosted by Nassima el Hor, is not as harsh and brash as the reality television that we are used to seeing in America. It is unusual for Moroccans to air their problems out in public. There is no shameless behavior for the sake of ratings or cheap claims to fame. However, there are some dramatic appeals that still draw viewers, but they are very limited. Sensitive topics are sometimes avoided and are definitely not poked at. Filming has also been paused in the past to allow for a fight to cool down, instead of exploiting the heat of the moment. I found this very interesting.

“Al Khayt Al Abyad” follows a Moroccan tradition that when people observe neighbors in conflict, they intervene. Intervening into other people’s business sounds a lot like the popular themes shown on American reality television. However, this show wants viewers to take away lessons on how to forgive and apologize. There is good at the heart of the drama.

It is believe that the “glare of television cameras” adds to the content of the show. People always act differently when they know that a camera is around and therefore, someone is watching. The cameras bring about a positive change in people. Instead of acting out, people are actually, surprisingly, more likely to resolve their problems with their loved ones. That is what this reality show is all about: bringing people together and resolving conflict.

It truly is interesting to see the difference in reality television between media in Morocco and America. Despite some similarities, I believe it is the culture of the nations that create the differences.

Sources:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/africa/moroccan-tv-shows-reveals-details-of-family-life

Libyan TV Anchor Delivers News While Holding AK-47

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This would never be acceptable in the United States. That’s all that I can think about while watching this video. And how lucky are we, as American citizens, that this will never be acceptable?

If an American news anchor had brandished a gun on live television, threatening any citizens that goes against him/her and his/her beliefs, I would imagine that the delay in a live broadcast would allow the technicians or head of the station to end the broadcast immediately. And if that failed, the cameras would be cut or the anchor would have been removed from screen. At the very least, his microphone would have been muted.

This is an example of the difference in power among the media structures, between the privately owned TV stations and the government owned TV stations. This anchor was clearly broadcasting from a government owned news station. The people in power at the station allowed this action to go on because of their own political affiliation. Not to mention, the man was holding a gun. If it wasn’t just a prop, I would bet that he was running the show.

This message is threatening. Seeing a gun on live television is unsettling and scary. At least, in America, where this kind of activity is uncommon, it is. Is this the norm in Libya? I was able to find a few more video examples of passionate news anchors ranting on camera, enraged at those citizens crazy enough to go against the ruler that they believe and support so whole heartedly, Muammar Gaddafi.

It seems that this kind of activity has happened far more than it should in Libya. Once is too much. I wonder how the people in Libya reacted when they saw this image, this angry and armed man, being broadcast into their homes from their television sets.

I know that I would be terrified. I can’t imagine any children seeing that image and not being scarred for life. I don’t know what I would do if I saw this live, but I believe that a wave of unrest would travel through the American public. There would be a swift, demanding call for change and action. That man would not have his job any longer and he would be held accountable for his threat on the safety of the people.

It is upsetting to know that these actions are not taken as seriously in Libya.

This video provides a glimpse into the turmoil in Libya in only 1 minute and 3 seconds.

#Twitter in Libya and Morocco

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Twitter is one of the most popular social media apps in the world. People everywhere have become accustomed to getting their daily news in quick, condensed bits consisting of only 140 characters. Research conducted by Portland Communication in 2011 revealed that 68% of people in Africa used twitter to monitor the news within their region. Libya had 3,096 Twitter users and Morocco had 745,620 Twitter users.

Research conducted by Portland Communications: Twitter Activity of Africa in 2011.

During the Libyan revolution, the government shut down traditional media and the Internet in an effort to quiet the public unrest. Individuals took it upon themselves to spread the information about current events. Twitter replaced the previous method, which was word of mouth via telephone. Twitter became one of the most reliable news sources due to Gaddafi’s manipulation of the media. This also led to the rise of social media in North Africa.

Libyan protesters took to Twitter to win over supporters and combat the patriotic propaganda that Gaddafi and his supporters were constantly broadcasting to the public. They spoke the truth about what was going on and basically had a running play-by-play of the events of the revolution. When the government failed to tell the truth, the people made sure that the correct message was out there. A popular site for protesters to visit was libyaFeb17.com, a site where various twitter posts and media related to the Libyan revolution were congregated.

The social media impact during the Libyan revolution was so great that the New York Times was quoted to say, “Whichever side wins this media battle will probably be well on the way to ruling the country.”

Morocco was ranked 5th in Twitter users in 2011. The social media site was extremely popular among younger people in the 20-year-old range. These people will grow older with Twitter and continue to drive the growth of the social media revolution. The Portland research report also showed that most tweets were coming from cities, which makes sense because that is where the most people are, and probably a good amount of the tweet-worthy activity.

The study was conducted once again in 2014. This time Morocco and Libya do not appear on the map. This could be because they are not the most populated cities in Africa and thus do not have as much Twitter activity to be monitored. However, it will be interesting to see how the social media landscape changes as time goes on. It is inevitable that Twitter use will continue to grow and spread throughout North Africa. The link to the study is included here.

Sources:

http://www.reinventinglibya.org/blogging.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/world/middleeast/24iht-m24libya.html

Click to access How-Africa-Tweets.pdf

http://www.portland-communications.com/publications/how-africa-tweets-2014/

http://www.ibtimes.com/twitter-exploding-africa-continents-growing-middle-class-demands-adidas-gear-samsung-1575882

http://libyafeb17.com/

Blogging in Libya

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Social media has had a major role in the advancement of the Arab Revolution. It has become an important tool used by individuals to communicate, organize, and exchange ideas. Blogging in particular has become a way for journalists, or anyone with something to say, to express their ideas and share them with the public. It is interesting that blogging, such a trendy medium in the United States, can have such a powerful political influence in Libya.

Before the revolution, many bloggers were intimidated by the Libyan security’s infiltration of the blogosphere. Freedom of speech is something that we are so used to as Americans, but we must remember that not all people have the liberty that we experience. It was nearly impossible for bloggers to address current events before and during the revolution because individuals could be persecuted for the words that they write. The Libyan government wanted to shut down any negative commentary about it in order to settle the unrest that was brewing among the people.

There was no traditional media during the revolution. This was probably because the government couldn’t control every single bit of information that was being produced. So, instead of keeping the public informed, they completely blocked them out. This only fueled the bloggers because individuals took it upon themselves to spread information. They would follow up on rumors of attacks, call friends to confirm and sometimes posts videos, images and links on Twitter instead of the blogs to reduce the risk of getting caught by Qaddafi’s social media monitors.

But, once again, the government shut down communication in an attempt to hinder the inevitable change that was coming to the country. The internet was inaccessible for the majority of the revolution. This made the dissemination of information much more difficult and was a complete violation on the government’s part on the rights of its people.

Social media became such a major form of communication in Libya because people had more freedom to say what they wanted, although not much more. There was a certain distrust among the traditional forms of media because they were biased. Although not from a major news source, social media somehow became the more credible source during the revolution. Individuals couldn’t trust the major publications because they were government owned, like Al-Jamahiriya, the Libyan state-owned television channel. They would constantly produce propaganda to put the government in a positive light.

I cannot imagine living in a world where the media is so manipulated that individuals do not know the truth about the current events of their nation. The United States may have media broadcasts that spin stories in a certain way, but very rarely is there a total lack of communication. However, if this were to happen, I could see social media becoming everyone’s main source of information. The people would band together to spread the information when the government failed to do so.

Sources:

http://www.reinventinglibya.org/blogging.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/world/middleeast/24iht-m24libya.html?_r=0