EXECUTIVE EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Legend has it that an apple a day keeps the lie away. That was the slogan of Apple Daily, the most vocal pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. But what happens when the apple tree falls? On Thursday, Apple Daily printed its last…
Tag: Media censorship
INDONESIA: GOVERNMENT BLOCKAGE TO END ALL LGBT AND PORNOGRAPHY ON INTERNET TUMBLES INTO IRRATIONALITY AND OVERKILL
ELIZABETH SOELISTIO WRITES FROM INDONESIA – This sprawling country, the world’s fourth most populous, is no stranger to internet censorship. However, the consequences of Indonesia’s recent censorship tactics are not only felt by the individual users but also by the community around them. First, there is the censorship of homosexuality…
SAUDI ARABIA: RITZ PRISONERS WALKING FREE MEANS BIGGER MEDIA CONTROL
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh ended its tenure as the world’s most glamorous jail. It was the only prison with five-star service, until its detainees moved out and the hotel became available to guests who came voluntarily. In November 2017, the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s…
SOUTH KOREA: How ‘Democratic’ Is It, Really?
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – On Nov. 3rd, the South Korean government made the controversial, yet entirely legal decision to rewrite history textbooks. Many scholars and political opponents of the Park administration immediately condemned this move. Two weeks later, 70,000 protesters congregated in Seoul in an attempt to confront the South Korean government’s move…
SOUTH KOREA: Popular App is a Bad Babysitter
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – Smart Sheriff, the most widely used child-monitoring app in South Korea, has been pulled from the market and public sphere altogether, after issues with privacy and security raised concerns about the program’s safety. Initially, the surveillance app was created with the intent to serve as a pseudo-babysitter, where parents…
JAPAN: Committing Journalistic Seppuku
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – In a piece from The Japan Times, Columbia University’s Gerald Curtis states that, “the [Japanese] government doesn’t have to muzzle the press if the press takes it upon itself to do the muzzling.” Shigeaki Koga, an ex-bureaucrat at Japan’s Ministry of the Economy, wants to tear…
THE PHILIPPINES: Another Filipino Media Professional Murdered
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – Filipino media violence has steadily risen ever since November of 2009, when leaders of a political clan and their “private army” massacred 58 people, 32 of which were journalists, in Maguindanao province. Now the problem continues, as media professionals around the country are constantly putting their lives…