Fact-checking starts with self-accountability

Posted on January 10, 2025 by beenasarwar

The recent disbanding of Facebook and Instagram’s third-party factchecking programme has raised fears about the kind of news and information that will shape public discourse. Whatever facts or non-facts get pushed out, it is up to us, citizens who are news producers and consumers through our social media apps, to be the change. The Social and Digital Media Ethics Code and Pledge, an initiative by Sapan News, is a step in this direction.

By Beena Sarwar / Sapan News

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta disbanding of Facebook and Instagram’s third-party factchecking programme, following the lead of Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, may well lead to strengthening a public narrative that further undermines values of humanity, inclusivity and democracy.  

This makes it all the more important for those of us who strive to uphold these principles and who value facts over opinion, to buckle down and do what we can to “hold the line,” to use the words of Filipina journalist Maria Ressa.

That is why we at Sapan News last year initiated a Social and Digital Media Ethics and Responsibility Pledge, which provides guidelines with resources to help social media and digital media users enhance their credibility. Endorse here

Endorse the Pledge
Continue reading →

Filed under: Media, Resistance | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

ChanukahForCeasefire; a Jewel in Ivory in Berlin; #SapanforSAARC this Sunday; and the NewsMatch challenge for Sapan News

Posted on December 10, 2023 by beenasarwar

Greetings to those observing Hanukah and salute to those participating in #ChanukahForCeasefire demonstrations around the United States. Thousands of Jews have been lighting candles at #ChanukahForCeasefire gatherings, coming together “to mourn, find hope, and fight on — for ceasefire, freedom for all held captive, and an end to siege on Gaza,” says IfNotNow, a movement of American Jews “organizing for equality, justice, and a thriving future for all: our neighbors, ourselves, Palestinians, and Israelis.” To find one near you, go to: https://innmvmt.org/chanukah.

Such actions, and those of thousands including high school students marching around the world to call for #ceasefirenow, provide hope in a world that feels heavy. It is unbearable to think of the thousands killed, maimed and displaced in conflict areas, especially children.

Public opinion worldwide is clearly for #CeasefireNow, calls being ignored by those who could stop the bombing that continues to claim lives. What can we do? Hold on to ourselves and do what we can, where we can, when we can. Inform ourselves, share information – double-check before sharing so we don’t pass on #fakenews — donate to causes, participate in public actions.

Continue reading →

Filed under: 'Internally Displaced Persons', covid-19, Health, History, Human rights, Interfaith, journalism, Media, Palestine, prisoners, Progressive politics, Resistance, Southasia, Violence in the name of religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Two years of Sapan, honouring Lyse Doucet, a music competition, and more

Posted on March 24, 2023 by beenasarwar

Can you believe Sapan has been at it for two years?

That’s the Southasia Peace Action Network, Sapan, ICYMI (‘in case you missed it’ for the uninitiated, helping you get with it, you’re welcome)

Excited for the second anniversary event up this Sunday, hosted by the amazing Khushi Kabir in Dhaka, taking forward the legacy of our late friend Kamla Bhasin at Sangat.

We’ll review what we’ve done over the past two years – the collaborations, the discussions, the film club and more. Taking up all kinds of cross-cutting and cutting-edge topics. It’s been thought-provoking, inspiring, and fun.

We will honour the inspiring journalist Lyse Doucet for her humanitarian reporting, an award initiated by Dr Tayyaba Hasan presenting it from the Sapan platform. Dr Hasan heads the Hasan Laboratory at Harvard Medical School – the bio at the link does not convey why she is doing this — you’ll have to tune in to find out.

Sapan honours Lyse Doucet: A lifetime of humanitarian reporting. Photo: Amanda Benson
Continue reading →

Filed under: Afghanistan, Resistance, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

‘Can journalists be activists?’ – Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture 2023 – II

Posted on March 24, 2023 by beenasarwar

Following up from my earlier post, here’s the video recording of the Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture 2023 I delivered online recently for the Center of Excellence in Journalism at IBA, Karachi.

Text of my talk below with slides.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Freedom of expression, journalism, Media, Pakistan, Southasia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

‘Can Journalists be Activists?’ Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture 2023

Posted on March 21, 2023 by beenasarwar

Wednesday, 22 March 2023, 6 pm Pakistan time / 9 am ET

Register at this link

Honoured and humbled to be invited to present this year’s Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture, named for someone who remains a role model for so many journalists and women, someone I knew personally and admired greatly.

Time: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 06:00 PM (Pakistan)

Agenda

  • 5:50 – 6pm Producer at CEJ to admit registered attendees
  • 6:00 pm: Amber Shamsie, CEJ director, – Welcome and introduction to Razia Bhatti Memorial Lecture lecture series
  • 6:05 pm: Remarks by Dr Akbar Zaidi, IBA Executive Director
  • 6:10 pm: Umber Khairi, Coordinator RBMI Lecture Series, introduces lecture and speaker
  • 6:18 -7:00 Beena Sarwar
  • 7:00: Umber Khairi moderates Q&A session and discussion (questions sent via zoom chat)
  • 7:30 pm: Umber Khairi will conclude and thank

I believe the session will be broadcast live at the CEJ-IBA YouTube channel. If not, the recording will be available there later anyway,

Filed under: Freedom of expression, Gender, Human rights, journalism | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

A Bollywood lyricist’s daughter in Pakistan and other stories

Posted on February 13, 2023 by beenasarwar

Some steps in a journey sparked by India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests in 1998

Screenshot from Sapan News site, designed by Aekta Kapoor.

Inspired by email updates from Isa Daudpota and Harsh Kapoor of South Asia Citizen’s Wire (SACW) after India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons, I too had begun a bcc email list. This developed into my beena-issues Yahoo-group in 1998 but I had begun to post more irregularly after 2009 when I started a WordPress blog, Journeys to Democracy. Yahoo shut down its Groups platform a couple of years ago.

Now, as I work on developing a new media entity, Sapan News Network syndicated features which emerged from Sapan, the Southasia Peace Action Network (thanks to Aekta Kapoor for the beautiful website), SubStack seems like a good place to revive something like the Yahoo-group community feel. But then there’s also Medium where I have over 2.4K subscribers. All very confusing. Welcome feedback and suggestions.

Continue reading →

Filed under: journalism, Personal | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

India-Pakistan @ 75 and graphic images from Ukraine: Two articles and some context

Posted on August 18, 2022 by beenasarwar

Sharing two recent pieces, this time not part of the Sapan News Network syndicate. One commissioned by The Wire, and the by The Conversation.

Below – some context and what the editors wanted.

The “piano man,” a war refugee, became one of the symbols of resistance emerging from conflict. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images, Lviv, Ukraine, March 29, 2022.
Continue reading →

Filed under: censorship, Human rights, journalism, Kashmir, Pakistan-India, prisoners, Resistance | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

PFUJ condemns abduction of two journalists, announces countrywide protest on Monday

Posted on August 7, 2021 by beenasarwar

UPDATE 5.45 PST: Journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat released on bail. Federal Investigation Agency says they were arrested for their alleged contempt against Judiciary, Army and some “women”…

Tweet from Amir Mir’s brother journalist Hamid Mir

————————-


I don’t normally post back-to-back but the situation warrants it. Hours after my last blogpost Stand in solidarity with journalists, two more journalists have been picked up. What is this andher nagari, land in darkness…?

Image of HRCP tweet – Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ) has strongly condemned abduction of two senior journalists Syed Imran Shafqat and Amir Mir from Lahore from their residences in Lahore on Saturday and demanded their immediate release.

The PFUJ also announced to hold countrywide protest from Monday against growing incidents of journalists’ abductions in Pakistan.

The abductors were reportedly from Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which, PFUJ, believes is involved in taking actions against the journalists at the behest of the government.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Freedom of expression, Human rights, journalism | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Farewell Saleem Asmi: A quiet warrior slips into the night

Posted on November 12, 2020 by beenasarwar

Saleem Asmi, Nov. 29, 1934 – Oct. 30, 2020

First published in The News on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. Reposted here with more photos.

Saleem Asmi: Portrait by Sharjil Baloch, 2014-2015.

By Beena Sarwar

His old friend S. M. Shahid termed Saleem Asmi a ‘Marxist Sufi’ in his compilation of biographical essays, ‘Living Souls: Memories’. Asmi Sahib would typically brush aside the accolades that came his way, not because he didn’t appreciate himself but because he had no false pride, false humility, or a shred of hypocrisy.

I can imagine his chuckle at the couplet by his favourite poet initially chosen by family and friends to inscribe on his gravestone:

Ye masaail-e-tassawuf, ye tera byan Ghalib
Tujhey hum vali samajhtalay jo na baada khwar hota

The way you talk of philosophy Ghalib, the mystical way you explain it
You would have been considered a saint yourself, had your drinking been less.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Obituary, Progressive politics, Student politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Journalism and “the lives and aspirations of the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir”

Posted on August 13, 2019 by beenasarwar

Facebook.com/IshtyaquesCartoons

The largest people-to-people group in the region, the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy has since its formation in the mid-1990s been calling for India and Pakistan to see Kashmir not as a territorial dispute but as a matter of the lives and aspirations of the peoples of Jammu and Kashmir, who must be involved in any dialogue about their future. That seems even further from the table now. Continue reading →

Filed under: democratic political process, Human rights, Kashmir, Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Next Page »