Nigeria’s security agents have abused the pretext of their own “war on terror” to threaten, harass, arrest, detain, and seize the equipment of local reporters. Alastair Sloan reports
Nigeria: Journalists targeted in “war on terror”
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Alastair Sloan
Alastair Sloan
Alastair Sloan is a London-based journalist writing about injustice, politics and international affairs. His work appears regularly in The Guardian, The Independent, The Huffington Post, Policy Mic (columnist) and Index on Censorship.
Russia: Vladimir Putin and the rise of swearbots
In an attempt to police Russia’s ocean of foul language, enter the swearbot, a computer programme forecast to go live this autumn, enforcing laws passed last spring. It should automate the rooting out blasphemous Russians, Alastair Sloan reports
Barret Brown saga comes to a close with worrying implications for journalists
Last Tuesday “hacktivist journo” Barrett Brown pled guilty in a US court after a long-running battle with the FBI. He had reported on a high-profile Anonymous hack as well as posting provocative videos on YouTube baiting FBI officials. Alastair Sloan reports
“If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent, the TPP has you in its crosshairs”
With secret trade negotiations reportedly at a critical stage, campaigners have mounted a global plan to draw the attention to the role that internet providers would play in preventing the free flow of information. Alastair Sloan reports
Putin’s Russia: Censoring anti-invasion sentiment
Censorship of anti-war sentiment in Russia now uses a mixture of state-sponsored media attacks, arms-length loyalists, crooked think tanks and legal strong-arming – but is it working? Alastair Sloan reports
Egypt: Bassem Yousef steps away from journalism after plagiarism
Dr Bassem Youssef, the former heart surgeon and Egyptian TV presenter likened to Jon Stewart, has declared he is taking extended time off from journalism, after an anti-semitism and plagiarism row swept through Egypt. Alastair Sloan reports
Back to the USSR: Punitive psychiatric treatment returns to Russia
Punitive psychiatric treatment is returning to Russia. This is a throw back to Soviet times, with opposition activists condemned by a kangaroo court to bogus psychiatric treatment courses, with no chance of release until a doctor says so, Alastair Sloan writes
Chinese tourists are inadvertently reporting on the Tibetan struggle
While Tibetans face fierce internet restrictions, Chinese tourists appear to be breaching “the great Firewall of China” by sharing holiday snaps with friends back home. Alastair Sloan reports
China ramps up army of “opinion monitors”
The Chinese government has revealed it is expanding their censorship of the internet with a new training programme for the estimated two million “opinion monitors” Beijing organised last year. Alastair Sloan reports
Qatar bills itself as a “bastion of free speech”
Freedom of speech clashing with commercial concerns has been an ongoing theme for many media and internet companies operating on an international stage, but it’s rare that a country’s liberal approach to expression is presented, in itself, as a prime investment opportunity. Alastair Sloan reports
Indonesia suspected of hacking to silence abuse allegations
Human rights organisations suspect a live YouTube broadcast detailing abuses by the Indonesian government may have been the real reason behind “technical difficulties” at an environmental conference in Oregon, Alastair Sloan reports
China’s suprise freedom of speech crackdown on WeChat
WeChat was the darling of the Chinese start-up scene, the sexy competitor to Weibo domestically, and Twitter and WhatsApp, on the global stage. That was until China cracked down, Alastair Sloan reports