Global Media News

Social Media And Politics In India

Social media has become a major part of Indian politics. It is seen as the gateway to getting younger people to vote and a way to build up your popularity level.  Many Indian politicians seek out various ways to get high recognition on social media website. Some do it the old fashion way by putting their personalities to the forefront and others trick the public into believing they have a bigger following than they actually do.

      A new development in the social media world has some politicians in India being accused of buying fake followers. By buying the fake followers, the politicians are simulating a popularity level that they don’t have in order to gain more votes. These thousands of followers who don’t exist are secretly purchased from various websites such as Sibersoft.com and foxfans.com.

    Indian politicians like Narendra Modi, who has one of the highest amounts of twitter followers compete to see who can gain the most followers. Interestingly enough, it is reported that out of Narendra Modi2 million twitter followers, 70 percent are fake.

 According to Siliconindia.com, “Narendra Modi has recently started Twitter accounts in many other Indian Languages, apart from English. It is reported that the IT cell of BJP has been working to create followers in the regional accounts. A recent study conducted by a new media technology firm, www.nextbigwhat.com states that more than 70percent of the followers of Narendra Modi are ‘Fake’.” 

     Most of the politicians that purchase fake followers only do it for a couple of reasons, to persuade the voters and to seem popular. They use the fact that young people like to vote for whoever is popular and cool on social media to their advantage. This brings up the question of if politicians should do whatever it takes to get votes or should they mostly rely on their personality and ideas to get them votes.  

 

 

Philippine Journalist Murders Are A Rising Concern

 The Philippines have an open US style democracy that allows the press to spwak their mind, critics in the philippines believe that the government does not do enough to investigate the killings of the journalists that are open and passionate about their work.

According to New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists  lists nine journalists murdered in the Philippines last year. Three are known to have been killed in relation to their work.

Since 1992 to present day, 76 journalists have been murdered. In the worst incident, 32 journalists were among 58 people murdered in the southern island of Mindanao in 2009 by a powerful political clan that was trying to stop a rival from running in elections.

 

The Philippine Center of Investigation of these 23 media-killing cases since November of last year, half are stopped in their tracks because of the poor handling of evidence by police and because of investigators failure to detect or arrest any suspects.

Only four of the 23 are actually in the trial stage.

Twelve of the murder cases have no charges filed against anyone at this moment in time, while the remaining seven are still in the level of the public prosecutor or the Department of Justice for the determination of probable cause.

In the end only less than a fifth of the media murder cases have moved beyond the investigation phase.

 

In 2013 The Presidents of the Philippines Benigno Aquino has repeatedly said he is determined to crack down on the murders, but most of the people dont believe this and especially local press believe  if these crimes are solved the brains behind the killings will go unpunished.

Global Media News Webcast #7: March 27, 2014

Global Media News for Thursday March 27, 2014

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.   We scour the web for news about the world's media.

This week on Global Media News:  China, Turkey, Japan, Malaysia & Pakistan!

• Twitter Blocked in Turkey
• Chinese Telecom Huawei Penetrated by the NSA
• Malaysian Airline Sends Text Message to Grieving Families
• Social Media Rumors Spark Run on Rural Chinese Banking
• Pakistani Prime Minister Promise Press Freedom?
• Line: Messaging App Growing Fast in Japan

This is our seventh webcast of the spring season!   See you next week!

Listen to our next webcast from the New Media Newsroom  streaming live on Thursday, April  3 @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April 3, 2014.

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China Doesn't Censor "House of Cards"

    China has been in the news lately for censorship. Well this story still has to do with China and censorship but the big news is the fact that China is not censoring a popular television show " House of Cards". Many experts are surprised that China hasn't censored the series due to Chinese characters on the show are portrayed in a somewhat negative light. CNN has reported that not only have the Chinese politicians not censored the show, they like it.

 "'We didn't know the second season would have so much to do with China -- probably because of the increasing importance of China in global affairs,' Charles Zhang, Sohu's chief executive, told me at a press conference Tuesday. 'Many Chinese people -- including officials -- are watching it now and we have had no problem.'"

    It is interesting that the Chinese government has decided not to censor the show, especially the second season which has a lot to do with China. The New York Times  reports that the absence of censorship is surprising because in the past, anything that has a negative connotation towards China undergoes heavy censorship and editing.

"The new season of 'House of Cards' focuses on a host of issues that would typically be regarded as sensitive by the Chinese authorities: cyber-espionage, currency manipulation, tensions between China and Japan in the East China Sea, and the extravagant and corrupt lifestyles enjoyed by the offspring of China’s revolutionary leaders.

Despite its heavy emphasis on China, however, the show did not undergo any censorship by government authorities before its release, Charles Zhang, founder and chief executive of Sohu, said in an interview on Tuesday. The episodes available online on Sohu, said Mr. Zhang, are no different from the American version aside from the addition of Chinese subtitles. Sohu has secured the rights to broadcast the first three seasons of 'House of Cards.'

'This is only a fictional story, not something that actually happened,' Mr. Zhang said."

    Maybe things are beginning to change in China? But then again it is very possible that changes can be made and more things will be censored in China.

Malaysian Air Lines contact people via text messages

Due to the horrible weather in the southern Indian Ocean the search for the missing  Malaysian air plane that has been suspended.   According to the BBC  The high winds and the strong rain that was had been occurring while they were looking for the airplane made it impossible to continue the search. With the help of social media outlets the air plane company was able to put messages online. 

The Malaysian newspapers printed the front pages with darkened ink to pay special tribute to the people who were killed aboard the missing flight.  In Beijing the family members of the people who were aboard the flight were angry that the Malaysian government delayed information about the missing plane.  New data that emerged stated that the flight landed in the Indian Ocean.  The Pearce Air Force Base in Australia solved part of the mystery of what happened to the plane. They concluded that the plane landed in the Indian Ocean.

 Due to research they discovered that the plane indeed landed in the Ocean.  One of the quotes that the New York Times stated was  “It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.” Even though people were not happy with the outcome, it brought some closure to relatives and friends of the victums.  Many people still refused to believe that this really happened.  Even though the search was going on for about two weeks people had hope. Some people thought that the plane was taken over and that they brought the people to a remote location.

It was annouced via text messaging that the Malasian Air Plane had crashed into the Indian Ocean.  People are also talking about the crash on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedn and other social media  websites. When it was announced that they think that the plane landed in the ocean many people had to be put on stretchers and in wheelchairs. Many women were crying so hard that friends and family members had to help them walk. 

 

sources: BBC and New York Times

Italian Singing Nun Becomes Overnight Media Sensation

An Italian nun wowed a panel of judges with her singing voice during a blind audition for the television show called 'The Voice of Italy.' Sister Cristina Scuccia's performance of "No One" by Alicia Keys soon created a media frenzy and became one of the most popular viral videos in the world. Since the performance was uploaded to YouTube eight days ago, it has more than 33 million views.

Although the show is not the most creative of ideas, the television media medium spins off shows that were first popular elsewhere. 'The Voice of Italy' is Italy's version of 'The Voice' here in the United States, where four musicians take on the role of judging someone's voice without physically seeing them. Not surprisingly, the judges were shocked when they turned around and saw a woman dressed up as a nun. Scuccia then told them she was a real nun after one of the judges sat there in disbelief.

The Daily Mail says that with her popularity on YouTube, she's become the fastest growing internet sensation ever, surpassing Korean rapper PSY when he released "Gangam Style." According to their report, it took only three days to garner 13 million views on the popular social media site. Scuccia also received support on Twitter, getting support from Alicia Keys herself, and getting her own hashtag, "#suorcristina."

Scuccia is a member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Holy Family in Italy and had four sisters accompany her to the audition. She took her vows to become a nun in 2010 and also trained her singing voice for years.  Sister Cristina will be aided by Italian rapper J-Ax. As long as her and her heavenly voice on the show, expect 'The Voice of Italy' to have higher than normal ratings.

Japanese Social App Growing at a Rapid Rate

    Line, a Japanese social app, was originally created for smartphones usage, has grown rapidly in past two years.  According to Eric Pfanner:

Line, a two-year-old messaging application that lets people exchange information, send silly stickers and play games with their friends. It already has 230 million registered users — a milestone that Facebook did not reach until it was five years old.

What started out as just a way to communicate with others is now manifesting into something much bigger.  Akira Morkiawa, chief executive of Line, stated:

We would like to turn Line into a common language for the world. Our plan is to become the No. 1 online service.

Morkiawa also goes on by explaining how he wants Line to be bigger than Facebook and Google in a interview at the company's headquarters.  He also states in this interview he realizes that facebook has many more users, but Line's advantage is that it was originally made for smartphones unlike facebook, twitter, zynga, and google plus. Thus, the company does not have to figure out how to fix any technical glitches there may be with designing software that is able to move from desktop computers to mobile devices. 

    Noritko Suzuki, a young office worker in Tokyo, explains how much she loves Line and the features it has to offer. Suzuki states:

she sent 50 messages a day via Line— including reports on her summer vacation, plans for an evening out and pictures of her lunch.

She also further explains how Line has cute emotion "stickers" people can send back and forth to one another via messaging. According to Pfanner:

Line says its users send more than 1 billion stickers per day.Facebook has taken notice; recently it added a sticker function to its messaging application. So has the rest of Silicon Valley. A number of messaging start-ups, including Path, MessageMe and GroupMe, have added stickers in recent months.

This may sound small, but there is actually a lot more to it than we may think. According to Neha Dharia, an analyst at Ovum, a telecommunications research firm:

If any app can make a giant like Facebook rethink their strategy, then that is the surest sign of the potential power of these services.

 

N.S.A. Breached Chinese Servers Seen as Security Threat

Huawei Technologie is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and service company.  The company is located in Shenzhen, Guandong. Huawei is the largest supplier of telecommunication equipment and internet gear maker in the world.  Sweden’s Ericsson was once the globe’s number one manufacture of communication equipment that is produced in China.  Huawei is building some of the best, most innovative, and fastest equipment in the industry. The United Stated was uncertain in 2011 of China’s new prominence in the world could become a cyber security concern of giving potential enemies the access of our network by purchasing vulnerable equipment by them.

 

 Recently reported by BBC, China wants an explanation of the NSA collection information about Huawei customers. According to BBC, the NSA has made no mention of the reports but said “it focused only on what is called valid foreign intelligence targets.”The NSA claimed that they do not steal foreign companies secrets to benefit American businesses.  

According to CNN, an article written in 2011; Huawei's media-shy founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, once served in the People's Liberation Army as a telecom technician. With the CEO of the company being apart of this group suggested concerns of Huawei could be linked to the Chinese military to spy on behalf of the government in Beijing. 

The New York Times said “one of the goals of the US operation was to find out whether Huawei had connections with the People's Liberation Army.” The operation code name was “shotgiant”, this was sought to conduct espionage through telephone networks that Huawei sold to other countries. 

Huawei has been viewed as a potential security threat and Washington has blocked some business deals in the US for fear that it would open the door to Chinese military hackers.

Brazil Tightens Internet Security as World Cup Looms

With less than 90 days until the 2014 World Cup, the Brazilian government is cracking down on safety and beefing up its security efforts for one of the most nostalgic sporting events in the world. Index on Censorship is reporting that social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will be monitored by government officials to look for suspicious activity and potential threats to the World Cup. "The Ministries of Defence and Justice, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), the Armed Forces, the Metropolitan Polices, the Federal Police and the Highway Police" are involved in the operation, Index on Censorship says.

A reason for the concern for this year's event is the number of protests by Brazilian citizens who are against the event. Dozens of people were arrested in late January after protesting the economic cost the World Cup has to the country. Citizens say that the money should be spent elsewhere, such as health and education. The surveillance is also very pricey, as is the slow progression of building soccer stadiums. Carnival was also disrupted by anti-World Cup and anti-government protestors, causing more police officers to work the yearly celebration.

This is another instance where posting something on social media could land you in trouble, but what this system doesn't consider is tourists from other countries coming in for the event. The government is only surveying its own population, but what happens if someone from Colombia decides to cause trouble? This is a flaw that the government will have to figure out, as they plan to also use this security tactic for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero.

New Member of BJP Causes Heavy Media Criticism in India

Why join forces with the opposed for the benefit of an election? According to BBC News, Bharatiya Janata Party of India has  accepted membership from  Promad Muthalik and has put national leaders and media in dismay. The media has now turned on the party and is heavily criticizing them for their actions. Papers from Indian media are even criticizing the party for going as far t0 c0nsider Muthalik's application. 

The Hindustan Times feels that "it should have been obvious to anyone with even an iota of political sense that it would be disastrous" to invite someone like Mr Muthalik into the party. They also go on to add such controversies are something the BJP can do without. At a time when the party is showing its inclusive, women-friendly, youth-compatible side, courting someone like Mr Muthalik is bound to raise suspicions of the party’s real intentions. The logic given by the state leadership was that Mr Muthalik had helped in the assembly polls, which itself does the party no credit.

Leader of the right-wing Sri Ram Sene, Mr Muthalik captured headlines in 2009 after justifying violent attacks on girls in a bar by his group in the southern city of Manglore. The Bharatiya Janata Party hoped to win the upcoming general election. Muthalik and his group believe that "girls should not go to bars", so that is how they justify their aggressive actions towards girls.