This month saw a new wave of protests in Iran, as well as the arrest of hundreds of journalists and activists.

Our first podcast of 2018 discusses the efforts by the Iranian government to limit the spread of information by restricting access to several social media platforms during the demonstrations. We also examine the challenges and risks for journalists on the ground, and the efforts by NGOs and media outlets to verify and report on these stories.

Della Kilroy is joined by Storyful journalist Razan Ibraheem, Mahsa Alimardani from advocacy organization Article 19, and Rieneke van Santen, director of Zamaneh Media, an NGO working with content creators based in Iran.

Storyful Podcast

Social Media Crackdown: The Challenges of Reporting Protests In Iran

In an ever-changing media landscape, what can brands do to minimize their risks and manage their reputations online?

In this episode of the Storyful podcast we discuss the challenges global brands face on social media, and the new ways brands are analyzing social data in real-time to manage their online reputations.
 
Della Kilroy is joined by her Storyful colleagues Stefanie Baum, Senior Creative Content Strategist; Carley Yabroudy, Creative Production Manager; Dara Healy, Director of Intelligence; and Julien Goretti, Executive Director of Intelligence.

The Storyful Podcast

Social Media and Reputational Risks - What's the Best Approach for Brands?

Where does the traditional news media fit in a world in which social networks increasingly filter and edit what is viewed by the public?

In this episode, we discuss how social networks are coming under increasing pressure to police the content on their platforms, specifically offensive videos involving violence and sexual abuse. We examine the ways in which Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are attempting to moderate what we can view on their platforms.

Rachel Blundy, a journalist at Storyful's Hong Kong bureau, is joined by her colleagues Layla Mashkoor and Asia Editor Iain Martin, as well as Anne Kruger, chief of staff at ABC in Australia and formerly a principal investigator at the Cyber News Verification Lab at Hong Kong University.

Policing Social Media: How Does Moderating Social Media Content Affect Traditional News Outlets?

The ancient Iraqi city of Mosul has a history spanning thousands of years. It operated for centuries as a trading hub, where all colors and creeds made their mark. It has, over centuries, seen its share of invaders, and of bloodshed. Until recently, Mosul had borne the scars of its past while maintaining its beauty and antiquity. But then, it fell to Islamic State, in June 2014, when the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood at the city’s al-Nuri mosque and declared the creation of a caliphate.

This heralded the beginning of a brutal and vicious occupation that lasted three years, until Iraqi forces, supported by a US-led coalition, defeated Islamic State in 2017. This dark period in Mosul’s history has left thousands dead and many key historical sites in ruins.

One local historian, a man named Omar Mohammed, witnessed the worst atrocities of that time, such as public beheadings, floggings, and beatings. He felt passionate about documenting the human rights abuses and about maintaining the historical integrity of the city. So, he began blogging anonymously through his Mosul Eye page, leading a double life at great personal risk to himself.

Mohammed played the role of the dutiful local, changing his dress according to Islamic State rules, growing out his beard and wearing short trousers. He befriended IS fighters, impersonated doctors at local hospitals and operated as a taxi driver, all in the name of gathering valuable information about the behavior of the extremist group, the victims left in their wake, and the damage they’d caused to Mosul’s antiquity.

His blog gained international attention and became a vital source for news organizations, including here at Storyful. Throughout the occupation, no one knew the identity of the blogger, including his own family. Mohammed’s work took an unexpected turn when he was contacted by the relative of a family trapped in Mosul, asking for help getting them out. He was successful in his efforts and proceeded to help the escape of almost 100 families, including his own.

Mohammed had several brushes with capture but managed to escape in 2015. He fled to Europe, where he was given asylum.

Last week, Mohammed delivered a keynote address at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy. Before his talk, he spoke to our reporter Rhona Tarrant. Here, in the latest Storyful Podcast, we hear his extraordinary story.

The Secret Historian: How Omar Mohammed Survived Islamic State in Mosul

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg testified in April before a joint hearing in Congress in the US, defending his company’s use of data, in the wake of a recent scandal. 

It had emerged that a private consulting firm used personal information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without permission to build a system that could target US voters with political advertisements.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal brought up a lot of questions about how much information we share with social media companies and how much control we have over it.

The story is also timely because later this month, new regulation called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect in Europe to tighten the rules around how businesses handle data, including Facebook, which has its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

So what is GDPR and what does it mean for social media companies and its users? We spoke to Fred Logue, a lawyer specializing in technology and intellectual property, to find out more.

The Big Data Battle: will Europe’s new regulations make a difference?

The Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, recognising the equal right to life of the unborn and the mother, was passed by referendum in 1983 after a contentious campaign. While abortion had been illegal in Ireland since the mid-19th century, the amendment meant that any future legislation could only permit abortion in Ireland in limited circumstances, where the life of the mother was at risk.

The amendment has proven to be one of the most controversial legal measures in the history of the Irish state, and abortion has been frequently debated since. In a 1992 referendum, which followed the case of a 14-year-old girl pregnant after being raped, two further amendments were passed, allowing women the right to access information on abortion abroad, and the freedom to travel abroad for such a procedure.

In 2013, the Irish parliament passed the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, for the first time setting out the conditions under which a legal abortion could be performed in Ireland. 

This month, on May 25, the Irish people will vote again on the issue of abortion. The question they’ll be asked is whether or not they agree to repeal the Eighth Amendment, allowing the government to legislate more broadly for abortion. 

The campaigning has been as contentious and divisive as ever. But with one crucial difference – in the 80s and early 90s, there was no internet, no online campaigning, no Google ads, no Facebook pages. 

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and amid questions surrounding the role of social media in the Brexit and the US presidential votes, the Irish abortion referendum is serving as another important test case for the impact of social media on the democratic process. Online campaigning is a field that, for now, is outside the remit of regulation. Unlike with traditional media, there is no requirement for transparency, no accountability in terms of fundraising and advertising spend, none of the strict rules around accuracy and balance that govern coverage.  

This lack of accountability and transparency has been much reported on in Irish and international media, eventually prompting Facebook and Google to take steps to curb advertising relating to the campaign. After these moves, the question remains: has the time for self-regulation of tech companies passed? And if so, how do democratic governments legislate for and oversee online campaigning, without restricting free speech? With the US midterm elections coming in November, should US legislators be watching closely to see what happens in Ireland?

We at Storyful have been following the online campaign closely as part of the news intelligence work we do here. Today, our podcast team look at the results of our work on this referendum, and discuss what comes next.

#podcast #socialmedia #journalism #news #storyful #fakenews #media #elections #democracy #referendum

Storyful

The Storyful Podcast: Unregulated Online Campaigning in the Irish Abortion Referendum

Welcome to The Storyful Podcast. In this series, we hope to address the issues around journalism and news coverage in the 21st century. 

Storyful is a global news agency, verifying UGC news and trending video for media clients 24/7. For more information, contact: sales@storyful.com

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