Thematic Patterns of Disinformation about COVID-19: The Framing of Checks in the Fato ou Fake and Lupa Agencies

This article, which integrates broader research, aims to identify the fake news patterns propagated in the process of disinformation about COVID-19 that were evaluated by the Brazilian fact-checking agencies Fato or Fake and Lupa. Aiming at this goal, we considered the strategies for spreading false information about the disease from January to September 2020. As a methodology, we used part of the procedures associated with media framing, focusing on the themes and labels of the checked information. Politics and death were the two main issues in misinformation assessed by the agencies, closely followed by themes related to cure and prevention. Personalities were particularly relevant at Lupa. The high frequency of the political issue reveals the ideological polarization that Brazil is experiencing, leading to global health crises such as the new coronavirus pandemic.

Media Regionalism as a Historical Feature of Quebec Mass Media

The current issue of information access for different nations within one state is examined. The media of Quebec, the only francophone province of Canada, give us a clear example. However, Russian scholars almost disregard this domain. Therefore, the research is based on the Canadian works (M. Brunet, A. Beaulieu and J. Hamelin, W.H. Kesterton) in French and in English. The Royal Commission on Newspapers Report (1981), which described two separate media systems (French media and English media), was used as well. The focus is on the Franco-Canadian national problem and its influence on Quebec media historic evolution. This process moves from bilingual editions (two first newspapers were published in French and in English simultaneously) to modern monolingual media system. Through comparative analysis, the relationship between media bilingualism and media monolingualism in Quebec of 18-21st centuries is examined. Quebecs modern information politics can be defined as media regionalism (French language and specific Quebec content). Media regionalisms object is to resist federal doctrine one country - one nation with two languages, the base of Official Language Act (1969). As a result, the absence of traditional federal official media bilingualism in Quebec, which tries to save its national heritage by media regionalism, was discovered.

Open Source Seeds and the Revitalization of Local Knowledge

This article engages with the resistance against the global erosion of seed diversity following the modernization and industrialization of agriculture over the 20th century. This resistance spans from local farming communities that preserve and safeguard traditional landraces to international movements which oppose proprietary seed regulations and promote free sharing of seeds. The article focuses on the latter and presents a study of the open source seed movement: an initiative to apply strategies from the open source software movement to ensure the free circulation of seeds. The erosion of seed diversity can be seen not only as a loss of genetic diversity but also a memory loss where traditional, collective knowledge about how to grow certain landraces is forgotten. Consequently, the open source seed movement is not only about saving seeds but also about preserving and revitalizing local and traditional ecological knowledge against privatization and enclosure through intellectual property rights. The aim of this article is, thus, to analyze the open source seed movement as an act of revitalization in relation to intellectual property rights and in the context of information politics.

Keterlibatan WALHI dalam Politik Lingkungan Hidup terhadap Kasus Kabut Asap di Riau

Penelitian ini menelaah keterlibatan Walhi dalam politik lingkungan hidup terhadap kasus kabut asap di Riau dengan menggunakan sudut pandang Walhi sebagai organisasi non-pemerintah (NGO) yang banyak memberikan pengaruh dalam proses pengambilan kebijakan oleh pemerintah terhadap isu-isu lingkungan, khususnya di Riau pada saat bencana kabut asap. Ada upaya penggunaan relasi kekuasaan oleh Walhi sebagai organisasi non-pemerintah (NGO) melalui konsep kesempatan politik (political opportunity) dalam mengangkat isu bencana kabut asap di Riau sehingga menjadi isu lingkungan dalam lingkup internasional. Strategi advokasi transnasional (transnational advocacy) digunakan oleh Walhi Riau untuk memperlihatkan garis relasi kekuasaannya sebagai organisasi non-pemerintah (NGO) untuk memengaruhi kebijakan pemerintah daerah provinsi Riau terkait bencana kabut asap. Mulai dari strategi (1) information politics, yaitu kemampuan dalam menghasilkan informasi dan mengarahkan dampak yang akan terjadi dari informasi yang didapat. (2) symbolic politics, yakni kemampuan dalam menyerukan simbol maupun aksi yang dapat memunculkan opini publik dan framing serta konstruksi suatu isu, (3) leverage politics, merupakan kemampuan dalam memengaruhi situasi tertentu pada saat salah satu pihak tidak mampu memberikan pengaruh, dan (4) accountability politics, adalah usaha dalam mempertahankan aktor yang berkuasa agar tetap memegang kebijakan yang telah ditetapkan.

The Strategies of Transnational Advocacy Networks: A Support to Anti-Fracking Movement In The United Kingdom (2013-2019)

The implementation of fracking activities in the United Kingdom that involves the pumping of water, chemicals, and sand underground to explore shale gas has caused several hazardous impacts. This situation has sparked protests from various kinds of demonstrators, both individuals and organizations. In response to the public objection to fracking activities, the British Government tended to fight back against the action. The detention of demonstrators ultimately created a pattern of limited advocacy among the public against the British Government. It has prompted an NGO called Friends of the Earth to start mobilizing these issues to the international realm by promoting principled ideas or norms to form a transnational network, aiming to influence national policy. The authors explain the transnational advocacy network's role in influencing British policy by applying the concept of Transnational Advocacy Network (TAN) from Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink. Specifically, the role is analysed based on TAN’s strategies, namely Information Politics, Symbolic Politics, Leverage Politics, and Accountability Politics. The authors also use Constructivism Theory to explain how norms and ideas can influence national policy. This research uses qualitative methods with secondary data collection techniques to describe and interpret some relevant phenomena to become an integrated explanation.

The Strategies of Transnational Advocacy Networks: A Support to Anti-Fracking Movement In The United Kingdom (2013-2019)

The implementation of fracking activities in the United Kingdom that involves the pumping of water, chemicals, and sand underground to explore shale gas has caused several hazardous impacts. This situation has sparked protests from various kinds of demonstrators, both individuals and organizations. In response to the public objection to fracking activities, the British Government tended to fight back against the action. The detention of demonstrators ultimately created a pattern of limited advocacy among the public against the British Government. It has prompted an NGO called Friends of the Earth to start mobilizing these issues to the international realm by promoting principled ideas or norms to form a transnational network, aiming to influence national policy. The authors explain the transnational advocacy network's role in influencing British policy by applying the concept of Transnational Advocacy Network (TAN) from Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink. Specifically, the role is analysed based on TAN’s strategies, namely Information Politics, Symbolic Politics, Leverage Politics, and Accountability Politics. The authors also use Constructivism Theory to explain how norms and ideas can influence national policy. This research uses qualitative methods with secondary data collection techniques to describe and interpret some relevant phenomena to become an integrated explanation.