Ukraine is seeing a “concerning pattern of grave violations of media freedom commitments” warns OSCE media freedom representative
Three things we know about Ukraine’s media freedom crisis
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CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Ukraine: Showing solidarity for a country in crisis
On the eve of the Ukrainian election, intellectuals gathered in Kiev to discuss the country’s ongoing crisis
Demetz awarded Prague prize
Emeritus Yale University professor and author Peter Demetz was awarded the Jiri (George) Theiner prize at the Prague Literary Festival this year.
Trigger warnings: A sad lack of faith in the power of art
The message and tone of the “trigger warning” suggests a sad lack of faith in the power of art, and, by extension, humanity. We’re capable of better, writes Padraig Reidy
Leaked document reveals how EU cut commitment to greater official openness
You can find support for the public’s right to access official information in the strangest places. Like a private EU policy paper draft. As leaked to and published by the whistle-blowers’ website Wikileaks. Rohan Jayasekara writes
EU expression guidelines fail to recognise the right to information
On 12 May 2014, the Council of the European Union adopted the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression: Online and Offline (Guidelines). The initiative to adopt the Guidelines, which provide “political and operational guidance” to EU...
Counterpoint: “Right to be forgotten” is the step in the right direction
Rik Ferguson argues that the right to be forgotten is not censorship in this essay offering a counterpoint to the Index position.
Turkey: Losing the freedom to mourn
Meltem Arikan shares her anger over the mine disaster that rocked Turkey — and the arrests that followed.
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
Ben Jennings: Russia’s propaganda machine
This week cartoonist Ben Jennings takes on Vladimir Putin’s information war.