Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 07-11-2017
A United Nations (UN) report has revealed that while the media remains the primary source of news and information in the digital age, it faces both vast opportunities and steep challenges.
The report released on Monday warns that “across the world, journalism is under fire,” citing the rise of ‘fake news’ stories that shroud the truth and muddy information.
It also revealed social media algorithms are contributing to the creation of virtual ‘echo chambers’ and exacerbating political polarization.
UNESCO’s Irina Bokova says governments have shut down the internet, notably before elections. Journalists are under wide-ranging attack and facing rising violence.
“The stakes are even higher for citizens across the world, women and men, who rely on professional journalism to navigate the development and transformation of their societies.”
However the report also highlights positive developments as civil society mobilizing to push for greater access to information, media houses cooperating with fact-checking services to push back against a torrent of disinformation, and more and more Governments adopting freedom of information laws.
Bokova says the study not only maps emerging global trends – it makes an unequivocal call to action to counter new and persistent challenges.
“This provides a unique reference point for Member States, intergovernmental organizations, civil society groups, academia, journalists and media professionals, and all those who wish to understand the fundamentals of press freedom in a changing world.”
The report also say that in the digital age, women journalists are able to develop an online presence liberated from newsroom hierarchies, and citizen journalists and activists have access to modes of mass communication that were previously unthinkable.
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