TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a law into effect that significantly tightens control over various religious denominations and organizations. The law, published on the presidential website this week, mandates that all denominations and religious groups reapply for state registration, which authorities reserve the right to refuse. It’s the latest step in … Read more
Authoritarian campaigns to clamp down on dissent and control the media have driven scores of journalists from countries like Afghanistan, Belarus, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Russia into exile. But what is increasingly different today is that the repression of a free press does not stop at the border. Authoritarian governments are in unprecedented ways … Read more
Vietnamese authorities announced last week the results of a monthslong investigation into TikTok, finding that the social media platform’s censorship processes failed to filter out content that violates Vietnamese laws. The probe, which started in May after authorities accused the app of hosting “toxic” content that “poses a threat to the country’s youth, culture and … Read more
When you ask ChatGPT “What happened in China in 1989?” the bot describes how the Chinese army massacred thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. But ask the same question to Ernie and you get the simple answer that it does not have “relevant information.” That’s because Ernie is an AI chatbot developed by the … Read more