News headlines for “Mainstream Media”, page 4
Hungary’s Long Road Back
- Inter Press Service
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, May 8 (IPS) - When Péter Magyar took the stage in Budapest on the night of 12 April, he told the crowd they had ‘liberated Hungary’. The hyperbole seemed justified. His party, Tisza, had won a parliamentary supermajority on the highest turnout since Hungary’s first free election in 1990, ending 16 years of increasingly autocratic rule.
100 Days, No Outcry – The Cost of Speaking Out
- Inter Press Service
KARACHI, Pakistan, May 5 (IPS) - “We’ve abandoned this couple completely; we have not done even 1% of what they did for us all these years!” said journalist Asad Ali Toor.
Press Freedom: A Story of Lives Lost, Budgets Slashed, Status Eroded
- Inter Press Service
TORONTO, Canada, May 1 (IPS) - Press freedom is on the retreat across much of the world. As documented by recent global surveys authored by the UN and media institutes, the erosion of an independent, fearless and diversified press is a trend that has worsened for well over a decade.
The Ballot Box Illusion: How Authoritarians Repackaged the African Ballot
- Inter Press Service
ABUJA, Nigeria / NAIROBI, Kenya, April 22 (IPS) - In many countries across Africa, people have recently lined up to vote. But in country after country, there has been no real choice on offer. As CIVICUS’s 2026 State of Civil Society Report documents, what has frequently been on display is a procedural ceremony of democracy, orderly enough to satisfy observers, but hollow enough to leave those who hold the reins of power untroubled. Laws and structures that were supposed to promote democratic decisions have been manipulated into compliance checks, ticking all procedural requirements while lacking democratic substance. In too many cases, the ballot box has become a public relations exercise.
Gaza Crisis Deepens as Aid Restrictions and Ongoing Strikes Strain Humanitarian Operations
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, April 17 (IPS) - Roughly six months after the ceasefire in the Occupied Palestinian Territory went into effect, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains precariously fragile, despite a relative decline in hostilities. The crisis, marked by ongoing Israeli airstrikes and shelling, continued blockades on humanitarian aid, and widespread displacement, has pushed the majority of Palestinians in Gaza to the brink. Amid the vast scale of needs, basic services are increasingly strained, and humanitarian experts warn that the situation could deteriorate further in the coming months unless sustained aid and funding are secured.
AI: ‘African Governments Are Using “smart City” Systems to Monitor Dissent and Consolidate State Control’
- Inter Press Service
CIVICUS discusses the spread of AI-powered surveillance in Africa with Wairagala Wakabi, executive director of the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and co-editor of Smart City Surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI Surveillance Across 11 Countries, the latest report by the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
Post-Protest Bangladesh: Restoration More than Renewal
- Inter Press Service
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, April 6 (IPS) - Bangladesh’s first credible election in nearly two decades delivered a landslide win for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman, son of a former prime minister, just back from 17 years of self-imposed exile.
CONGO: ‘The Result Was Already Decided Before Polling Stations Opened’
- Inter Press Service
CIVICUS discusses the presidential election in the Republic of the Congo with Ivan Kibangou Ngoy, executive director of Global Participe, a civil society action-research organisation focused on democratic governance based in Pointe-Noire.
Nepal’s Gen Z Electoral Revolution
- Inter Press Service
LONDON, March 25 (IPS) - Less than six months after Nepal’s Generation Z rose up in protest, the country has a new prime minister. A 35-year-old former rapper who soundtracked the protests swept to power in a landslide in the 5 March election.
CHINA: ‘The State Is Using Generative AI to Engineer Reality Through Informational Gaslighting’
- Inter Press Service
CIVICUS discusses China’s tech-enabled repression with Fergus Ryan, a Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), where he specialises in how the Chinese Communist Party shapes global information environments through censorship, propaganda and platform governance. His research includes a major study on China’s AI ecosystem and its human rights impacts, as well as investigations into China’s use of foreign influencers.
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