A day to remember
Today is Remembrance Day, marking the end of World War I in 1918. The minute’s silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month commemorates the sacrifices made by the fallen, attesting to the horrors of war and the fragility of peace. Today, then, is a fitting day for CMT postdoctoral research fellow Ayesha Jehangir to reflect on the types of journalism that fan the flames of war.
Also in today’s newsletter, Monica Attard tackles Twitter, which has erupted into outrage since Elon Musk took over. He wants speech to be as free as a bird. But then he started banning accounts. And then started charging verified users $8 per month. Literally and figuratively, free speech has its limits on Twitter. Unfortunately, the limits of hate speech are being stretched. ‘Hate speech skyrocketed when Musk acquired Twitter,’ writes QUT academic Tim Graham, after crunching the data. From a free speech perspective, it’s heartening at least that Graham was able to post his findings on Twitter.
Below you’ll also find Monica unveiling our ambitious new report into the state of regional news in Australia and Esther Chan reflecting on last week’s TechCamp event, at which CMT hosted journalists from Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu and many more Pacific nations, all learning from one another how to counter misinformation and do journalism more ethically. It was uplifting and enriching – and, of course, entirely pacific. Read it in full:
Sacha Molitorisz, Senior Lecturer, UTS Law