IGF 2018 WS #191 Truth or dare : how to reconcile internet and journalism ?
Format:
Other - 90 Min
Theme:
Evolution of Internet Governance
Subtheme:
MULTISTAKEHOLDERISM
Organizer 1:
sophie busson
, Reporters without borderss
Organizer 2:
Isabel Amossé
, Reporters Without Borders RSF
Organizer 3:
Elodie Vialle
, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Speaker 1:
Christophe Deloire
, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Additional Speakers:
Moderator
Elisa Lees Munoz. (
@IWMF
) Elisa is the IWMF’s Executive Director. She leads the organization to achieve its mission to support women journalists to develop their careers by providing training, tools and assistance to achieve gender equity and so that they can work as safely as possible.  Elisa enhances the IWMF’s brand, and delivers the annual Courage in Journalism and Lifetime Achievement Awards She has grown the IWMF by expanding its programs into new geographies, such as Latin America, the Great Lakes Region of Africa; introducing new initiatives such as the IWMF’s work on behalf of photojournalists and a focus on physical, online and emotional security; partnering with organizations who support female journalsits; and driving communications and outreach to expand our mission.  She is a frequent spokesperson and author on issue at the intersection of gender and the news media. Elisa has been dedicated to social justice since graduating from the University of Maryland with degrees in International Relations.  Before joining the IWMF, Elisa led the Crimes of War Education Project and before that was an election monitor for the OSCE in the Balkans and monitored the human rights of scientists for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Speakers :
Joy Wathagi Ndungu
(
@wathagindungu
) is the Vice President/ Co-founder at Digital Grassroots and is the Lead Coordinator for the East Africa Youth Internet Governance Forum. She is also the current Google Policy Fellow at Paradigm Initiative where she is working on a Digital Rights Project. In 2017 she was an Internet Society Fellow for the
[email protected]
Program. She was part of the 2018 Mozilla Open Leaders Program and she continues to work on Digital Rights in Africa in various capacities. Wathagi majors in International Law at the University of Nairobi where she is undertaking a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B).
Swati Chaturvedi
(
@bainjal
) is an award winning print and broadcast journalist who has worked for The Statesman, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times and Zee news. Her first book, Daddy’s Girl, a murder mystery was published by Penguin Random House in September 2016. Her second, a non-fiction investigation was published in December 2016 to international acclaim. “I am a Troll - Inside the BJP’s secret digital army” has received wide coverage for it’s investigation into how the party in power is paying to abuse citizens in a democracy. Swati is a columnist with Gulf News and
NDTV.com
. She does regular investigative stories for TheWire.com. She lives and works in New Delhi, India.
Christophe Deloire
(
@cdeloire
) is the Secretary General for Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières (RSF), an international non-governmental organization defending press freedom and access to information with more than 30 years of accomplishments. Thanks to its unique global network of local correspondents investigating in 130 countries, 13 national offices and a consultative status at the UN and UNESCO, RSF is able to have a global impact, gather on-the-ground information, conduct major advocacy campaigns, and assist and defend news providers all across the world.
Christophe Deloire will be introducing RSF’s report “
Online harassment of journalists: the trolls attack
", and RSF’s
Journalism Trust Intitiative (JTI)
to fight disinformation online and restore journalism trust.
Amy Awad
. Amy is the Manager of Legislative and Regulatory Policy (Broadcasting and Digital Communications) at Canadian Heritage. Her team examines issues related to Canadians’ transition to the digital world including online disinformation. She previously worked at Employment and Social Development Canada where she was involved in the negotiation and implementation of labour provisions in Canada’s free trade agreements. Prior to joining the government, she was a litigator for the Ontario Nurses’ Association and worked at a national human rights and advocacy organization. Amy holds degrees in software engineering and law including a masters in law and technology from the University of Ottawa. She articled at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Relevance:
“Disinformation, amplification and intimidation” are – as RSF described in its
latest report, in July 2018
– widely used nowadays to drown reliable journalistic reporting in manipulative content. The explosion in the use of the label “fake news” and in cyber-harassment shows the aim not only of hounding and intimidating journalists but also discrediting them in order to better silence journalism online. Behind these attacks on the freedom to inform, it is democracy itself that is being targeted and, with it, the public’s freedom of opinion.
This workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss how to respond to these ever-changing attacks and the methods that should be used to promote online journalism. The debate will examine the roles and liability of the various stakeholders in the field of news and information (including journalists, governments and big tech corporations) and the various options as regards governance and regulation (including state regulation, self-regulation, meta-regulation and incentives).
Session Content:
The session will provide an opportunity for open dialogue on
best solutions for governance and regulation
to address today’s challenges for free information online : disinformation, amplification (trolls), intimidation of journalists.
A universal human right, freedom of expression and access to information have increasingly been recognized as essential for building peaceful, just and inclusive societies (Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development). In the context of digital continuous innovation and information wars, it is essential to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss shared concrete solutions for protecting fundamental freedoms online.
Tag 1: Freedom of information
Tag 2: Human Rights Online
Tag 3: internet governance
Tag 4: Fake news
Tag 5 : Cyberviolence
Interventions:
The session will be open with brief opening remarks by
the moderator, International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF)’s Executive Director,
Mrs Elisa Lees Munoz
, who will introduce each panelist and lead an interactive discussion with subject matter experts and in-person and online participants. (5min)
For each of the main thematic areas (journalism crisis / information jungle / propaganda and information wars / online intimidation of journalists)  the moderator will ask the experts and professionals their assessment of the efficiency of the existing regulation and governance policies. They will then expose their solutions to improve the system and defend quality journalism online. (40 min)
Following the initial responses of the panellists, the moderator will open up the discussion for comments and questions from in-person and online participants, for for each of the main thematic areas (journalism crisis / information jungle / propaganda and information wars / online intimidation of journalists). In particular, participants will be invited to react on how these global trends have impacted their regions and their organizations, and to propose solutions and ways forward.  (45 min)
Diversity:
The moderator and at least 2 experts are women. Furthermore, given the goal of highlighting different approaches to disinformation and Internet governance across the globe, diversity of geography is an essential aspect of our panel composition. Our panelists come from different geographic situation and from diverse stakeholder communities, such as : media, NGO, government, academia.
Online Participation:
RSF offers to ensure online participation with a streaming with a live streaming on our Facebook fan page (more than 250 000 followers). We will provide them with the possibility to interact with us during the debate. The moderator will ask questions from our online community at the end of the debate. The idea is to deliver an inclusive, collaborative and crowd-sourced presentation.
Discussion Facilitation:
The moderator coordinates the process and ensures that people are actively involved in asking open questions. These will be prepared in advance. There is also the possibility for external and online audiences to ask questions. Depending on the room, either microphones will be available for participants to queue, or one or two persons will circulate with roving mics. The moderator actively asks panelists to respond to questions from the (online /) audience.
Onsite Moderator:
Elodie Vialle
Online Moderator:
Isabel Amossé
Rapporteur:
Sophie Busson
Session Time:
Wednesday, 14 November, 2018 -
11:50
to
13:20
Room:
Salle XI

