Brazil: a journalism that legitimizes power
In an impassioned article, LAB author Marcos Colón denounces the double-standards afflicting the mainstream press in Brazil, prompt to condemn those who defend the Amazon, its rivers and people as radicals and vandals, while they hail the confidence, predictability and business-friendly character of projects to dredge rivers and construct massive ports for exporting soya.
Chile’s pivotal elections
This article is reproduced from OpenDemocracy.net under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. You can read the original here.
Extremist candidate José Antonio Kast...
Big Tech’s Invisible Hand
LAB Partner Agencia Publica has recently launched a special investigation conducted by 17 journalism organizations from around the world—from El Salvador to Indonesia—to shed light on one of the most powerful forces shaping the world we live in: Big Tech lobbying.
El Salvador: you couldn’t just sit there and watch
Cornelia Gräbner describes an extraordinary set of documents which capture the most intense and dangerous phase of repression in El Salvador, leading up to the 1992 Peace Accords.
Mexico: murder of a photo-journalist
Alberto Amaro Jordán is a journalist from Atexcatzingo, just east of Mexico City. He founded La Prensa de Tlaxcala in 2018. He has been attacked, threatened and arrested by police officers and intimidated by members of organized crime groups. He told Amnesty International about the worsening situation for press freedom.
Trump’s war against Brazilian justice
Social media platform Rumble was ordered to suspend accounts of a Brazilian far-right influencer. It did not comply. So Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered it to shut down. Now Rumble and Trump (via 'Truth' Social) are using the US courts to attack the Brazilian judiciary, accusing it of attacking free speech.
Journalism in Amazonia
Journalists in the Amazon face unique dangers, as the murders of Dom Philips and Bruno Pereira underlined. Amazônia Latitude interviewed a number of journalists working in the Amazon who stress the need for local journalism, 'committed to life'.
TikTokers of the Darien Gap
The jungle connecting Colombia to Panama is the scene of one of the most urgent migrant crises in the world. This video report from 070 concentrates on migrant 'influencers' who are documenting the Darien Gap crossing on TikTok, a short-form video social media app, and creating travel guides for those who risk the crossing.
Brazil: intimidation of the press takes many forms
Attempts to intimidate journalists are on the increase. Police investigations, and prosecutions (often dropped) for infringement of the state security law and the new law for the defence of democracy are creating a climate of fear.
Venezuela: Covid and free speech
A massive fine levied on independent news outlet El Nacional threatens to further curtail press freedoms, while the government seems intent on preventing independent reporting of Covid infections and deaths
