Featured stories about Middle East & North Africa
Stories about Middle East & North Africa
In Turkey, the state resorts to censorship majeure
Rocked by a devastating earthquake, citizens in Turkey now have to also deal with censorship measures imposed by the state amid an outcry of public criticism.
European Parliament’s Report on Pegasus spyware indicates involvement of North Macedonia companies
Pegasus and Predator spyware can allegedly extract all communications records from mobile devices. A European Parliament report and journalist investigations suspect wide illegal use in and outside of the European Union.
Governments are still free to use the Pegasus software without human rights safeguards in place
There is an urgent need to regulate the global trade in surveillance technology with the inclusion of human rights safeguards.
In Turkey, local court hands popular mayor a jail sentence
The court's decision is largely viewed as the ruling party's attempt to sideline any potential competition ahead of the general election in June 2023.
In Turkey, social media platforms become complicit in censoring media and freedom of speech
Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook have become complicit in aiding the state to silence independent voices in Turkey, even at times when content is not political.
In Turkey, a football federation joins a list of institutions with powers to censor content online
Granting a football federation rights to censor content in the absence of a court order is yet another sign of a narrowing environment for freedoms.
Turkey throttles internet access following deadly explosion in Istanbul
"Those who impose a broadcast ban, supposedly so that the public does not panic, are scaring everyone more by suppressing all the media."
How Palestinian youth resisted Israeli occupation: With a haircut
A new generation that has become hopeless over the brutal realities of Israeli apartheid now leads the fight. Palestinians express sympathy for those youngsters but also support their resistance.
Turkish lawmakers ratify new disinformation bill
Aimed to combat fake news and disinformation, the 40-article legislation passed by Turkey's parliament, is a threat to freedom of speech say critics of the bill.
The world must hear the voice of Iranian women
The Iranian government is attempting to silence the online and offline voices of women and all dissidents through a brutal and ongoing crackdown.
Unfreedom Monitor report: Morocco
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Morocco is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Unfreedom Monitor Report: Egypt
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Egypt is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Repeated cyberattacks across the Western Balkans highlight need for an organized approach to security
Microsoft experts trace the Albanian attack, which took out public services websites to Iran, leading the Albanian government to take diplomatic action.
Whistleblowing is a service to society: Interview with Disruption Network Lab director Tatiana Bazzichelli
Whistleblowers are painted as heroes or villains, but what motivates them? Global Voices spoke to Tatiana Bazzichelli, a writer who recently edited "Whistleblowing for Change," an anthology on the subject.
Iranian women’s rights activists face new online threats
Flooding social media accounts with fake followers and then mass reporting the accounts is a regular tactic used by state forces to silence rights defenders in Iran.
Unfreedom Monitor Report: Turkey
Advox research into digital authoritarianism in Turkey is now in a report. Read an excerpt and download the full pdf.
Under BTK's eye: investigation reveals Turkey's information and communication authority has been collecting private user data for over a year
The private user data collected by the Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) has been described by main opposition party as the biggest tapping scandal in the history of the Republic.
Access the Unfreedom Monitor database
The Unfreedom Monitor is an Advox initiative to deepen our understanding of the relationship between technology and authoritarian power. In the first phase of this project, researchers working in 11 countries and four key themes conducted analysis of incidents, narratives, and media items, to explain acts of digital authoritarianism and...
Turkey blocks access to two news websites
On June 30, Turkey’s Radio and Television High Council blocked access to the Turkish language websites of Deutsche Welle and Voice of America after two news outlets refused to obtain a broadcaster license.
Trace Turkey's path to normalizing the practice of blocking news websites
The sweeping legislative amendments to national laws as well as exhaustive institutional oversight by government institutions have created an environment of unlimited digital censorship in Turkey.
