01 Oct 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Mouctar Bah, the Conakry correspondent of Agence France-Presse and Radio France Internationale, and Amadou Diallo, BBC correspondent, are reported to have gone into hiding in Guinea. The two had been threatened after reporting on the government massacre of demonstrators on 28 September.
Read more here
29 Sep 09 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Dozens of protesters were shot dead in a crowded football stadium by Guinean security forces at a demonstration against the country’s military leader Captain Moussa “Dadis” Camara on 28 September. As many as 58 people had been brought in to the Conakry morgue on Monday, according to a doctor who wished to remain anonymous.
Read more here
08 Oct 24
Join Index on Censorship at Liverpool John Moores University for a discussion on the multiple forces working to silence scientists today. Science at its core is about the pursuit of knowledge concerned with our physical world and its phenomena. Yet, for some rulers and populations, the very notion of it challenges ideological beliefs and political aims.
The silencing of scientists takes on many forms: from China, where obedience to the state trumps scientific development, forcing scientists to live in fear of arrest, to the USA, where scientists face increasing censorship for research concerning climate change and abortion, and India where the current government shows worrying signs of prioritising mythology for science students.
These barriers highlight the increasingly difficult contexts in which scientists are forced to work around the world today.
With speakers Dr Deborah Cohen, Paul Garner MB BS MD, and Dr Hannah Little. Chaired by Sarah Dawood, editor of Index on Censorship.
Deborah Cohen
Dr Deborah Cohen is an award winning medically qualified broadcaster, journalist and editor, who has worked across mainstream and academic print, digital, TV and radio. Currently, Dr. Cohen is a visiting senior fellow at LSE Health.
Having established the investigations unit at The BMJ, one of the world-leading medical and health policy journals, she specialises in complex investigations combining rigorous data analysis with journalism. Dr Cohen was recently science editor of ITV News and UK and health correspondent for BBC Newsnight leading their Covid-19 coverage. With several major investigations for BBC Panorama, Channel 4 Dispatches, ITV Tonight and BBC’s File on Four, Dr Cohen’s work has contributed to major changes in health policy and medical practice. It has led to questions being asked in parliaments around the world.
Her work has also garnered international media coverage and has been the basis of Netflix documentaries and global investigations.In addition to her experience working at the interface of the mainstream media and academia, Dr Cohen has substantial experience helping nervous doctors and scientists tell their stories and get critical information out into the public domain.
Paul Garner, MB BS MD
Paul Garner is Professor emeritus in evidence-based public health in infectious diseases. A medic, he trained in London, he worked in Papua New Guinea; then to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and then the Liverpool School. He was part of the team that set up Cochrane, and worked for 30 years in infectious diseases and guideline development. Paul developed the post-COVID-19 condition, and recovered using neuroplastic strategies.
Hannah Little
Dr Hannah Little is a lecturer in communication and media at the University of Liverpool and was previously a senior lecturer in the Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol. As well as being an academic in science communication, she has worked professionally in science communication in the UK for more than a decade and has well-received appearances at the British Science Festival, TEDx and on BBC Radio 4. Hannah is on the board of directors for Open Rights Group, a UK-based digital rights advocacy organisation that campaigns for privacy and freedom of speech online.
About Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is a non-profit organisation that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide, including by publishing work by censored writers and artists and monitoring threats to free speech. They lead global advocacy campaigns to protect artistic, academic, media and digital freedom to strengthen the participatory foundations of modern democratic societies. Since 2021, they have collated, translated, and published letters from political prisoners in Belarus in an effort to show the human stories behind the struggle for human rights and democracy in the country.
This event celebrates the launch of Index’s latest magazine. Free copies available.
Book your free place here
25 Jan 23 | Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Botswana, Burma, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Index Index, Ireland, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, News and features, Nicaragua, North Korea, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States, Yemen
A major new global ranking index tracking the state of free expression published today (Wednesday, 25 January) by Index on Censorship sees the UK ranked as only “partially open” in every key area measured.
In the overall rankings, the UK fell below countries including Australia, Israel, Costa Rica, Chile, Jamaica and Japan. European neighbours such as Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Denmark also all rank higher than the UK.
The Index Index, developed by Index on Censorship and experts in machine learning and journalism at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), uses innovative machine learning techniques to map the free expression landscape across the globe, giving a country-by-country view of the state of free expression across academic, digital and media/press freedoms.
Key findings include:
-
The countries with the highest ranking (“open”) on the overall Index are clustered around western Europe and Australasia – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.
-
The UK and USA join countries such as Botswana, Czechia, Greece, Moldova, Panama, Romania, South Africa and Tunisia ranked as “partially open”.
-
The poorest performing countries across all metrics, ranked as “closed”, are Bahrain, Belarus, Burma/Myanmar, China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Laos, Nicaragua, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
-
Countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates performed poorly in the Index Index but are embedded in key international mechanisms including G20 and the UN Security Council.
Ruth Anderson, Index on Censorship CEO, said:
“The launch of the new Index Index is a landmark moment in how we track freedom of expression in key areas across the world. Index on Censorship and the team at Liverpool John Moores University have developed a rankings system that provides a unique insight into the freedom of expression landscape in every country for which data is available.
“The findings of the pilot project are illuminating, surprising and concerning in equal measure. The United Kingdom ranking may well raise some eyebrows, though is not entirely unexpected. Index on Censorship’s recent work on issues as diverse as Chinese Communist Party influence in the art world through to the chilling effect of the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill all point to backward steps for a country that has long viewed itself as a bastion of freedom of expression.
“On a global scale, the Index Index shines a light once again on those countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates with considerable influence on international bodies and mechanisms – but with barely any protections for freedom of expression across the digital, academic and media spheres.”
Nik Williams, Index on Censorship policy and campaigns officer, said:
“With global threats to free expression growing, developing an accurate country-by-country view of threats to academic, digital and media freedom is the first necessary step towards identifying what needs to change. With gaps in current data sets, it is hoped that future ‘Index Index’ rankings will have further country-level data that can be verified and shared with partners and policy-makers.
“As the ‘Index Index’ grows and develops beyond this pilot year, it will not only map threats to free expression but also where we need to focus our efforts to ensure that academics, artists, writers, journalists, campaigners and civil society do not suffer in silence.”
Steve Harrison, LJMU senior lecturer in journalism, said:
“Journalists need credible and authoritative sources of information to counter the glut of dis-information and downright untruths which we’re being bombarded with these days. The Index Index is one such source, and LJMU is proud to have played our part in developing it.
“We hope it becomes a useful tool for journalists investigating censorship, as well as a learning resource for students. Journalism has been defined as providing information someone, somewhere wants suppressed – the Index Index goes some way to living up to that definition.”
