The fallout from the June protests in Turkey is settling into a growing pattern of reprisal against those dissenting against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, critics of his government say. But that pattern may be backfiring, …
censorship
Internet Censorship Is Taking Root in Southeast Asia
Every time Le Anh Hung starts to write he thinks of his three young children. The 38-year-old has already been imprisoned twice for blogging about human rights and corruption from his home in Hanoi and lives half-expecting …
Crackdowns and Executions Provoke Shock and Outrage in China’s Business Community
When China’s biggest real-estate developer speaks up on Sina Weibo, the nation’s Twitter-like social media service, people listen. On July 14, Wang Shi, the founder of property firm China Vanke, used his account to bemoan how …
Must-Reads from Around the World
The CDC says the current strain of bird flu cannot cause a pandemic, why is Chinese art underrepresented around the world and Germany has experienced its biggest spike in immigration in almost two decades
Portrait of an Activist: Razan Ghazzawi, the Syrian Blogger Turned Exile
On July 18 Razan Ghazzawi, a Syrian blogger and media activist, was in the city of Douma, 45 minutes outside the capital, when she received a call: Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters, dug in in the central Damascus neighborhood of …
In Burma, Media Reform Tests the Limits of Free Speech
Both the government and the opposition are adjusting to the new media ecosystem
No Laughing Matter: Parody Tweet Leads to a Detention in China
A tweet that combined the plots of the “Final Destination” teen horror films with China’s 18th Party Congress did not impress China’s censors
Must-Reads from Around the World
On deck for Wednesday: Three Vietnamese bloggers get sentenced to jail for speaking out on corruption, South Korea faces a debt crisis, and protests roil Europe
Why Is Ecuador Julian Assange’s Choice for Asylum?
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has appealed for asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. It’s a curious choice: under President Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s free speech record has been dismal.
Must-Reads from Around the World, June 12, 2012
The world news you need to know on June 12: Putin cracks down on opposition as protesters mass; the U.S. hands India, but not China, a waiver allowing it to temporarily circumvent sanctions and import Iranian oil; and the debate …
Amid Censorship, China’s Tiananmen Crackdown Is Remembered Online
In the years immediately following 1989, the anniversary of the deadly June 4 crackdown on demonstrators in Beijing was marked by smaller memorial protests. At universities in the northwest of the city, students would distribute …
In China, Google Offers a New Tool to Detect Sensitive Words
Like many tech-savvy people in China, Kai-Fu Lee spent some time Friday tinkering with Google’s new feature, which allows users to see in advance which search terms might trigger a block from the mainland’s system of online …
Lady Gaga, Deemed Satanic by Conservative Groups, Is Bullied Out of Indonesia
The show won’t go on. Lady Gaga this weekend announced that she is canceling a sold-out concert in Jakarta because of threats of violence from religious hard-liners. The gig, scheduled for June 3, was staunchly opposed by …