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Originally posted here.By: NewsBTC

Only with the right tech, tools, and infrastructure can we usher in the Web3-based decentralized future the world needs. Cherry Network was built to do just that. Heres how. From Centralization to Decentralization via Blockchain The concepts of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and transparent, auditable transactions secured in a blockchain have been revolutionary for multiple reasons. First, they raised the bar in terms of what was possible in the provision of massively scaled online apps and services. Why should end users be restricted by the rules and limits of centralized apps and platforms instead of everyone participating on equal terms? Blockchain-based decentralization offers a way around this, and helps give the power back to the user. Second, this changing of the guard and the removal of centralized gatekeepers has opened new frontiers of value for innovations and ideas targeted at the billions of global users who have grown weary of the restrictions, unfettered clout, and unilateral censorship power of centralized tech powerhouses. Because of these developments, it is no wonder that blockchain-based apps and services have taken the world by storm. We now have successful crypto and blockchain projects operating in every field from healthcare, finance, and entertainment to governance, education, transportation, and more. From Web2 to Web3 Blockchains early days took place in Web2, which was largely dominated by large, centralized apps and platforms. Think of Apples App Store, Googles Play Store, YouTube, Facebook, and other centralized platforms that boast billions of users but are controlled by centralized entities. With the growth of the decentralized, user-focused Web3, however, things are changing rapidly. We now have decentralized apps and solutions that run on trustless, transparent, and censor-proof smart contracts connecting with decentralized file storage replacing centralized Web2 apps running on centralized servers. This is a monumental paradigm shift that, although occurring slowly, is the inevitable endgame for Web2 apps and services. Once Web3 gains critical mass and all the worlds leading brands, apps, and services migrate to decentralized infrastructures, having the right network backbone and the right tools, incentives, and support services in place will be critical to value creation, profitability, and success Enter Cherry Network Cherry Network is a layer-1 blockchain infrastructure that bridges smart contracts to decentralized file systems. Using the infallible if-else logic of smart contracts, integrating services built on that logic with decentralized data storage, and building an ecosystem of secure, transparent, low-cost, and high-performance products, services, and solutions, Cherry Network is revolutionizing the very concept of blockchain-based decentralized app development. Some of the key features of the platform include complete user and developer privacy, decentralized storage of data, and seamless payments integrations, as well as on-chain staking, full EVM compatibility, and zero-knowledge rollups (off-chain processing of transactions that are rolled up and brought on-chain in a single transaction, reducing cost, congestion, and time). With on-chain throughput of around 20,000 TPS, multiple wallet integrations, high-level partnerships, and a bevy of development activity within the ecosystem, Cherry Network should quickly become a vital component in the landscape of Web3-native decentralized applications. Development Team Cherry boasts a core team with over a decade of experience in the cryptocurrency space. The team is led by Herman Jacobs, CEO of Cherry Labs, an incubator focused solely on the Cherry ecosystem, who is responsible for overseeing the technical and business side of the network. Partners and Projects Cherry Network has several partnerships in place with some of the most high-profile investment firms in the industry. These include Luben Capital and Shima Capital. There are also many exciting projects being built out on the platform, including Seedling.cm, which is a high-growth investment launchpad for retail investing at the VC level, Cherish.cx, a complete content platform for artists and creators that is fully decentralized and free of censorship, and Unigate.finance, which is a decentralized protocol for payments and crypto services. Cherry and the Future As the world converges on a decentralized Web3 future for the internet, we expect to see an influx of projects, talent, and capital entering this space. Cherry is positioned as an innovative and forward-thinking crypto project that espouses all of the key principles of blockchain and decentralization, like transparency, solving real-world problems, and creating value. In shunning meme-coin and moon-coin marketing, not focusing on price but on value, and building tools and solutions that work for everyone, Cherry will be at the forefront of the next tech revolution. Over the next few days and weeks, Cherry will announce a new high-level partnership, and the network mainnet will be launched between June 12 and 14, 2022. Staking will go live one week later, and within the next few weeks dozens of projects will be using the Cherry Chain as a host of developer tools and resources are built out for the ecosystem.. Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.cherry.network/.

Only with the right tech, tools, and infrastructure can we usher in the Web3-based decentralized future the world needs. Cherry Network was built to do just that. Heres how.

From Centralization to Decentralization via Blockchain

The concepts of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and transparent, auditable transactions secured in a blockchain have been revolutionary for multiple reasons. First, they raised the bar in terms of what was possible in the provision of massively scaled online apps and services. Why should end users be restricted by the rules and limits of centralized apps and platforms instead of everyone participating on equal terms? Blockchain-based decentralization offers a way around this, and helps give the power back to the user. Second, this changing of the guard and the removal of centralized gatekeepers has opened new frontiers of value for innovations and ideas targeted at the billions of global users who have grown weary of the restrictions, unfettered clout, and unilateral censorship power of centralized tech powerhouses.

Because of these developments, it is no wonder that blockchain-based apps and services have taken the world by storm. We now have successful crypto and blockchain projects operating in every field from healthcare, finance, and entertainment to governance, education, transportation, and more.

From Web2 to Web3

Blockchains early days took place in Web2, which was largely dominated by large, centralized apps and platforms. Think of Apples App Store, Googles Play Store, YouTube, Facebook, and other centralized platforms that boast billions of users but are controlled by centralized entities. With the growth of the decentralized, user-focused Web3, however, things are changing rapidly. We now have decentralized apps and solutions that run on trustless, transparent, and censor-proof smart contracts connecting with decentralized file storage replacing centralized Web2 apps running on centralized servers.

This is a monumental paradigm shift that, although occurring slowly, is the inevitable endgame for Web2 apps and services. Once Web3 gains critical mass and all the worlds leading brands, apps, and services migrate to decentralized infrastructures, having the right network backbone and the right tools, incentives, and support services in place will be critical to value creation, profitability, and success Enter Cherry Network

Cherry Network is a layer-1 blockchain infrastructure that bridges smart contracts to decentralized file systems. Using the infallible if-else logic of smart contracts, integrating services built on that logic with decentralized data storage, and building an ecosystem of secure, transparent, low-cost, and high-performance products, services, and solutions, Cherry Network is revolutionizing the very concept of blockchain-based decentralized app development.

Some of the key features of the platform include complete user and developer privacy, decentralized storage of data, and seamless payments integrations, as well as on-chain staking, full EVM compatibility, and zero-knowledge rollups (off-chain processing of transactions that are rolled up and brought on-chain in a single transaction, reducing cost, congestion, and time). With on-chain throughput of around 20,000 TPS, multiple wallet integrations, high-level partnerships, and a bevy of development activity within the ecosystem, Cherry Network should quickly become a vital component in the landscape of Web3-native decentralized applications.

Development Team

Cherry boasts a core team with over a decade of experience in the cryptocurrency space. The team is led by Herman Jacobs, CEO of Cherry Labs, an incubator focused solely on the Cherry ecosystem, who is responsible for overseeing the technical and business side of the network.

Partners and Projects

Cherry Network has several partnerships in place with some of the most high-profile investment firms in the industry. These include Luben Capital and Shima Capital. There are also many exciting projects being built out on the platform, including Seedling.cm, which is a high-growth investment launchpad for retail investing at the VC level, Cherish.cx, a complete content platform for artists and creators that is fully decentralized and free of censorship, and Unigate.finance, which is a decentralized protocol for payments and crypto services.

Cherry and the Future

As the world converges on a decentralized Web3 future for the internet, we expect to see an influx of projects, talent, and capital entering this space. Cherry is positioned as an innovative and forward-thinking crypto project that espouses all of the key principles of blockchain and decentralization, like transparency, solving real-world problems, and creating value. In shunning meme-coin and moon-coin marketing, not focusing on price but on value, and building tools and solutions that work for everyone, Cherry will be at the forefront of the next tech revolution.

Over the next few days and weeks, Cherry will announce a new high-level partnership, and the network mainnet will be launched between June 12 and 14, 2022. Staking will go live one week later, and within the next few weeks dozens of projects will be using the Cherry Chain as a host of developer tools and resources are built out for the ecosystem..

Interested in learning more? Visit https://www.cherry.network/.

Read more:
Cherry Network Empowering Creativity, Freedom, and Decentralization with Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts and User-Friendly Content Creation Tools -...

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Social media sensation Libs of TikTok was locked out of its Twitter account on Wednesday for a tweet about kids at drag shows that was deemed to be "abuse and harassment."

Only after losing an appeal and deleting the offending tweet was Libs of TikTok allowed to tweet again. "Twitter thinks its abuse to document drag shows. I think its abuse for drag shows to be taking place in front of kids," Libs of TikTok wrote in an update on their Substack about the ordeal, which included the news that the tweet was banned in Germany.

On Wednesday night Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon reported, "BREAKING: Twitter just locked out @libsoftiktok for posting a thread about several recent drag shows for kids. The thread allegedly violates Twitter's rules against abuse and harassment. You know what's actually abusive? Drag shows for kids."

According to screenshots, the specific tweet flagged by Twitter read, "~MEGA DRAG THREAD~ They say its innocent. They say its just about inclusion and acceptance. They say no one is trying to confuse, corrupt, or sexualize kids. They lie." It was originally posted on May 30.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST: GUNS HARM CHILDREN MORE THAN CHILD PORNAGRAPHY, SO LETS RESTRICT THEM

The Libs of TikTok account, which shares videos of left-wing individuals openly expressing their social and political views, was locked out of Twitter. (Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

"You can promote drag shows for kids on Twitter. That's fine. You can even share videos of yourself performing in them. The only thing you can't do is criticize them," Dillon tweeted. "Somehow the feelings of a few drag queens matter more to Twitter than the corruption of a generation of children."

In an update on Thursday morning, Dillon also announced that Twitter denied Libs of TikToks appeal to overturn the violation.

"Twitter has denied Libs of TikTok's appeal," Dillon tweeted with an image reading that Twitter determined "a violation did take place" of their "rules against abusive behavior" with the tweet.

Libs of TikTok tweeted later on Thursday afternoon, confirming that the account was reopened. The offending tweet has been replaced with the message "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules. Learn more."

"Im back! Apparently posting videos and flyers of drag events is abusive but the actual events are just innocent family friendly entertainment," the accounted tweeted.

Dillon previously reported shortly after Libs of TikToks original tweet in May that the account was banned from participating in Twitter ads, though the notification did not specify the reason.

Twitter app displayed on an iPhone screen in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

SCHOOLS, ORGANIZATIONS CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH WITH DRAG SHOWS FOR MINORS

"Libs of TikTok has been banned from running ads on Twitter. A notification of ineligibility was sent out that failed to offer a specific reason," Dillon tweeted at the time.

In May, Libs of TikTok was also suspended from Instagram over the claim that the account violated the platforms Community Guidelines but it was not specified how. Instagram later restored the account over twelve hours later claiming that Libs of TikTok was "disabled by mistake."

The Libs of TikTok account usually shares videos of left-wing individuals openly expressing their social and political views on social media. It has been suspended from Twitter twice so far, once only hours it had been reinstated.

The TikTok logo is seen on an iPhone. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Both Twitter and Dillon did not immediately respond to Fox News requests for comments.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The recent moves by Twitter follow years of conservative users complaining that social media is attempting to censor their views. Dillons own company Babylon Bee was locked out its Twitter account back in March.

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.

See the original post:
Twitter censors Libs of TikTok, labels their tweets showing kids at drag shows 'abuse and harassment' - Fox News

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This is part two of a two-part investigation into the SSSs increasing repression of Uzbekistans journalists. Part one is available here.

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN: An 11-week investigation into freedom of the press in Uzbekistan found that one of the biggest challenges journalists and bloggers face is pressure from the State Security Services (SSS). Journalists and bloggers say the SSS threatens and intimidates them and their families, and compels them to delete stories. The SSS demands that journalists and bloggers stop covering certain topics, such as high-level corruption within the government, the dealings of wealthy businessmen, religious practices, or anything vaguely disrespectful to the president or his family.

The investigation was blessed by the government of Uzbekistan which welcomed me as an American journalist and U.S. Fulbright Scholar a research grant from the U.S. State Department to research challenges journalists in this country face in reporting about corruption and government malfeasance. From March to June, I interviewed more than 40 journalists, bloggers, human rights activists, media watchers and government media monitors. I had previously interviewed nearly 100 journalists about obstacles to press freedoms in eight other post-Soviet countries.

Journalists in other post-Soviet countries face problems with intimidation, police overreach, court citations, fines, arrests and blocked websites. For example, in Belarus, the KGB openly films protesters and makes no secret of following journalists. But here, the SSS operates mostly in the shadows. Their threats and intimidations stifle journalists from reporting about corruption and problems that the newly elected president says he needs to know about to make reforms. The result is a media that is timid and self-censoring, a populace that is afraid to speak out, and a country that promotes the faade of a free press when in reality it is a country in the grip of propaganda.

Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific.

Despite repeated requests, the SSS refused to meet with me in the course of reporting this story.

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Rost 24 Threatened

Rost 24 editor, Anora Sodikova, announced on April 14 that she and her colleagues had been threatened with harm if she didnt delete a story and video about Uzbekistan businessman Jakhongir Usmanov. His name came to Sodikovas attention in the big data leak known as the Pandora Papers, which listed him as an owner of an offshore company, according to the story. Sodikovas report also linked Usmanov to a charity fund that allegedly channeled large sums of money through this offshore account.

Sodikova refused to say publicly who was threatening her, even to Ezgulik, Uzbekistans only independent registered human rights organization, which is backing her. But she told me: It was the SSS who made the threats.

Anora Sodikova started her own media platform, Rost 24, a year-and-a-half ago after she was fired from a state-run news agency for posting a story on Facebook about residents reactions to a dam collapsing. Photo provided by the author.

If I say it was the security forces, there will be a problem, she said. Besides, how can I prove it?

At the same time Sodikovas colleague received threatening phone calls, a sniper blogger began a smear campaign against her on social media alleging she was having an affair.

This sniper blogger said the next time he would show pictures, she said. Just like they did with Feruza.

Last year a female journalist from Qalampir.uz, Feruza Najmiddinova, was the target of a smear campaign when someone spread a video of a woman having sex with a man on a balcony. The anonymous poster said it was Najmiddinova having sex with a man who wasnt her husband. Since then, Sodikova, a Muslim, has feared the SSS would use this tactic to ruin her reputation.

This was the third time the SSS had pressured Sodikova to take down a story. The first time she ignored the threats. The second time, in May 2020, an SSS officer called her husband, she said. That time she took down the article.

After the second SSS encounter, Sodikovas husband separated from her for six months because he said he was afraid for their childrens safety.

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My husband said to me, If you want to live with me, if you want to keep our family safe, if you love me and our children, you should give up your job. I told him I love my family and my friends. I cant give up my job. I like my job also.

She and her husband reunited in October 2020. Recently her oldest son Googled her name and asked: Mom, are you really in danger?

I told him Im okay.

But later Sodikova learned that the Uzbekistan Creative Union for Journalists had gotten involved in her case.

As the head of the union, I cant skip this case, said Olimjon Usarov, who until a year ago was the government spokesperson for the Uzbek Supreme Court. I asked the prosecutor to investigate the case. To threaten a journalist is unlawful and criminal. If that person actually exists who threatened her, he will be found.

Usarov said the police pulled phone records from her phone and her colleagues phones. They pulled surveillance videos near her home and office trying to find the man who came up to her in a restaurant and told her to take down her story. Police asked to speak with her husband.

Anora asked us to take back the case, Usarov said. That was interesting for me.

Sodikova did not welcome the unions involvement. Instead, she worried that the government was trying to set her up. That is why she asked them to stop the investigation. She said she also fired her reporters at Rost 24 because she suspected they might be working with the SSS.

They are trying to say that I did this for PR for my media company, Sodikova said.

A high-level media official close to the investigation who asked that his name be withheld told me he thought Anora made up this story.

The investigation showed that there were no records of such people and no calls, he said. There were no threats. We are actually wondering why this happened and why Anora claimed this and what was behind all this.

The high-level media official said that a public announcement and press conference about the results of the investigation would happen soon.

Mad Dogs

President Shavkat Mirziyoyevs disdain for the SSS is well known. He has called them mad dogs and unscrupulous people in uniform. He has said he doesnt trust any security official and would rip off their epaulets if I have to. In February 2018, Mirziyoyev said he had received evidence of the torture of two local businessmen in SSS custody in the Bukhara region and promised that the officers would be held accountable.

What the president was talking about was the torture of Dilfuza Ibodovas two brothers, Ilhom and Rahim Ibodov, while in SSS custody in 2015. Ilhom was beaten to death by SSS officers and other prisoners. Rahim was sentenced to eight years in prison. Even while Dilfuza and her mother were writing letters begging government officials to investigate her brothers case, the SSS threatened her not to discuss the case.

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Dilfuza Ibdova is a blogger and owner of the website tezkor-yangiliklar.uz in Bukhara. She investigates those who say they were wrongly charged or convicted. She says the SSS do not bother her because several went to prison after they severely beat and tortured her two brothers, killing one. Photo provided by author.

But Dilfuza didnt back down.

I was not afraid of anything because I had nothing to lose, she said.

When the president personally took an interest in the Ibodov case, the perpetrators were brought to justice: six officers and four prisoners were sentenced to prison for up to 18 years; two other officers were found guilty of exceeding their authority, according to the U.S. government and human rights reports. The court proceedings were closed and the decisions were not made publicly available.

Feeling she had the personal protection of the president, Dilfuza, a former kindergarten teacher with no training in journalism, started blogging. In 2020, she registered her media platform with the Agency for Information and Mass Communications, the governments media monitor. She is the sole reporter. She reports on news, current events and, for a fee, she investigates criminal cases to determine if the charged are guilty. She said shes not afraid to write about government officials.

The state security forces are afraid of me, she told me. What do you expect when eight of them went to prison? I can write about anything.

But Dilfuza is one of the few bloggers and journalists who feel this way.

Shuhrat Shokirjonov is the bureau chief of Kun.uz in Samarkand and has 14,000 followers on Twitter. Photo provided by author.

Shuhrat Shokirjonov is the bureau chief for Kun.uzs Samarkand office. He also blogs on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. On his social media accounts, he mostly posts his opinions about various social issues and then embeds links to his factual stories on Kun.uz.

Occasionally, he says, the SSS contacts him and tells him to delete material. Two years ago, on May 9 what used to be called Victory Day and now is called Memory Day he criticized the government for having a parade. He said the SSS told him to delete the story. They said that criticizing the parade caused misunderstanding between post-Soviet countries. I didnt change my mind, but I deleted.

Shikirjonov avoids writing about the SSS because he knows he will face pressure if he does. Otherwise, he feels mostly free to criticize the government because he always has a reason and provides proof. Still, he says, I am afraid to be blamed for no reason by the security services. He is afraid that free expression in the media can be taken away, just like in Russia when President Vladimir Putin suddenly outlawed all media dissent about the war in Ukraine.

Another blogger from Samarkand said he recently moved to Tashkent in part because of the SSS and police surveillance in his hometown. At the beginning of the war, Farukh Turamurodov, who goes by the name Samarkandi online, said he posted on his Facebook page a picture of a car with the symbol Z on its back window. The symbol has become one of support for Russia in its war in Ukraine.

Farukh Turamurodov goes by the name Samarkandi online where he blogs in his spare time about social issues. He said he recently moved from Samarkand to Tashkent because of police and SSS intimidation. Photo provided by author.

An hour later, the SSS contacted him and asked him to delete it.

In 2020, the SSS told him he shouldnt criticize higher class workers, such as government officials, the president and his family, police and the SSS.

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He wrote a post that didnt name the president but referred to him as the the man wearing the black suit. The SSS contacted him and told him to take it down because it wasnt respectful.

Then last November he complained online about a government app that wasnt working and he was summoned to the police station. He later learned that two other bloggers were also summoned the same day. It was then that he decided to leave Samarkand.

Bloggers in other regions of Uzbekistan report that they are followed and frequently questioned by the SSS. When I traveled to the Fergana region, the journalists I interviewed and the manager of the hotel where I stayed were contacted by the SSS and asked questions about what I did, where I went, and who I spoke with.

Pressure from the security services has only gotten worse over time, explains Bahodirxon Eliboyev, a journalist-turned-blogger in the Fergana region. Government spying and monitoring has had a chilling effect on both journalists and citizens, he said.

The security services can buy some journalists, Eliboyev said. If the authorities order, journalists write everything that officials want. Thats not journalism. Thats propaganda. Censorship is now in our minds and our hearts.

Bahodirxon Eliboyev runs a Telegram channel blog from Fergana called Ma-News Agency. He was formerly fired from two journalism jobs for writing about controversial topics. He started two magazines but they were also shut down for coverage of controversial topics.

On July 24, 2018, Mirziyoyevs birthday, Eliboyev said he wrote a blog post wishing the president a happy birthday and asked him not to forget the millions of Uzbek migrant workers in Russia and other countries because they cant make a living in their home country.

That afternoon four SSS officers pounded on the door of his garage apartment where he was napping, he said.When they saw I was living out of a garage, they asked; Dont you have a home? He said he told them: I cant work as a journalist. So where can I live? I cant earn money at the one thing Im good at.

They warned him he would go to jail if he kept writing about forbidden topics.

He told them: I can write whatever I want because your jail is like my garage. But your jail is more comfortable because I dont need to find bread. You bring me bread. Your jail is for me freedom. Two hours after our interview, Eliboyev sent me a text. Hed just gotten off the phone with the SSS. They wanted to know what he told me, he said.

First-hand Experience With the Censors

When I came to Tashkent in March, I met with various editors and owners of independent newspapers, including Kamariddin Shaykhov, part owner of the Qalampir.uz media platform where the walls are covered with photos and illustrations of human rights issues, such as domestic violence and government repression. Shaykhov said his media outlet routinely receives letters and warnings from the Agency for Information and Mass Communications telling them to either take a story down or to remove comments on stories.

Once we get a letter from the Agency, for the next two to three hours, our articles are under three to four times more self-censorship, he said. Psychologically it takes a few hours before we are logically thinking. You must fight self-censorship or leave with bruises.

Kamariddin Shaykhov standing before one of the walls in Qalampir depicting Uzbekistani journalists from history.Photo provided by author.

After our meeting, I thought it would be insightful to write for an independent media outlet and see what happened, especially one that was fighting for freedom of speech, as Shaykhov professed. I proposed writing a weekly guest column for Qalampir about my interviews with Uzbekistani journalists. Shaykhov agreed since the government had approved my research.

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But when I turned in my second column about SSS pressure faced by journalists, including myself, in the Fergana Valley, I was summoned to the Qalampir offices and told that they couldnt run a story about the SSS. Shaykhov and his silent business partnerwhose famous singer wife, according to documents, owns 75 percent of Qalampirdefended the actions of the SSS for two hours. How do you know the security services officers werent just trying to protect you? How do you know their motives were bad? both men asked.

It was the last I heard from Qalampir.

In an attempt to be fair, I repeatedly requested an interview with the SSS. I sent letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Agency.

Dilshod Saidjonov, from the Agency, characterized my request as nave.

They are so secret they dont even have a website, he said. Even if you got an interview with the security services, there would still be the same problems in Uzbekistans media: no will to improve; weak education; and lack of analytical skills.

Still, I persevered. I asked journalists who knew SSS officers to request an interview for me. I even wrote a blog post on my website about my quest for an interview with the SSS, had it translated into Uzbek, and had several bloggers targeted by the SSS to post it on their blogs. I still did not hear back.

Link:
Uzbekistan's Journalists: 'Censorship in Our Minds and Hearts' - The Diplomat

ON THE THAI-MYANMAR BORDER

With the risk of arrest or injury high for those reporting on the Myanmar junta, many journalists have fled to borderlands or neighboring countries.

From there, journalists like Hsa Moo try to keep news flowing to their audiences.

Working from the Thai border, Hsa Moo documents evidence collected directly from her sources in Myanmars Kayin State. Her coverage includes military clashes and how the military coup is impacting communities and internally displaced people or IDPs.

Its a tough beat. Airstrikes from Myanmar military warplanes and helicopters make travel risky in what is one of the hardest hit regions.

Under attack

Normally controlled by the Karen National Union armys 5th Brigade, the region has come under attack from junta forces.

When you go, you face the Burmese army shelling and everything, said Hsa Moo, as she edited photographs of a bombed village.

But she added, When you see the [displaced people] and when they see you, they also feel very happy because they know that somebody, some people, still care for them,

Hsa Moo contributes to the Karen Peace Support Network, a civil society network for one of Myanmars ethnic groups. Made up of 30 organizations in Myanmar and Thailand, the network provides support and information to communities in the region.

Like Hsa Moo, many Myanmar journalists have chosen to work in neighboring countries. Some are trying to avoid arrest. Rights groups say the junta is using laws to target critics.

If you are inside Burma [Myanmar] they will just block or censor everything. The government has a propaganda newspaper and the TV shows, but that is all the lies, Hsa Moo said.

The junta is also proposing cybersecurity legislation that could block the use of Virtual Private Network or VPNs.

With access blocked in Myanmar to social media and other websites, VPNs have offered a workaround for those wanting access to information.

Many had come to rely on social media as a source of news. When Myanmar opened up in the early 2000s, a number of independent media turned to Facebook as a platform to post news from their regions.

Myanmar is not like other countries. Before, it was called the Facebook nation because 99% of the public use Facebook so that is why [military] also tried to ban Facebook, said a Kachin news editor, who goes by the pseudonym Seng Li.

Seng Li oversees a network of journalists, mainly in an area under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization.

Both Kachin and Kayin states have territory controlled by ethnic armed groups who want autonomy.

Apart from a 17-year cease-fire, the Kachin Independence Organization and its military arm, the Kachin Independence Army, have been at war with the Burmese army since 1961.

Rights groups believe the junta targets media to try to silence criticism.

For the junta, the enemy is now anyone reporting a narrative that differs from the propaganda pushed out by the ludicrously named Tatmadaw True News team, said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch (HRW). Tatmadaw is the official name of Myanmars armed forces.

Journalists still operating inside Myanmar are now almost all reporting from hiding, where they courageously continue to try to do their work despite huge obstacles and the risk of arrest at any time, Robertson told VOA.

Arrest risks

Military spokesperson Gen. Zaw Min Tun has denied that the junta arrests journalists for their work.

Media workers are arrested only if they are involved in violence or anti-military activities or treason, he told VOA.

The regional group Reporting ASEAN however has documented over 120 arrests of journalists since the military seized power in February 2021. Of those, at least 48 are still in custody, data show.

Authorities sometimes add additional charges to those already detained, potentially adding years to their prison term.

Han Thar Neing, co-founder of news website Kamayut Media, received a two-year sentence on March 21, on charges of spreading false news.

Now, the 40-year-old faces an additional charge under an Electronic Transactions Law that could add seven years to his sentence.

Its an unexpected turn of events for his family, who already suffer from chronic stress, unable to see him in person at Yangons Insein Prison.

Han Thars family can deliver limited food supplies to him twice a month, through the prison officials, but cannot see him.

His sister Kyi Thar says her heart sinks every time she sees footage of her brother on the news, sometimes in a blue prison uniform, his hands and ankles shackled.

I hope for the future, journalists like my brother including other Myanmar journalists will be treated like the other countrys journalists, she said. They are journalists doing their job of covering the news and they dont commit any crimes.

International bodies have criticized Yangons treatment of prisoners held in Insein prison, including detained activists and reporters.

Myanmar's prisons are among the poorest and most brutal in the Southeast Asia region, so the imprisoned journalists must be facing the equivalent of hell on earth, HRWs Robertson told VOA.

Incarcerated journalists should be allowed regular, unhindered access to relatives, and to legal counsel, and be made immediately eligible for release on bail, Robertson added.

Despite the risks that reporting on life in Myanmar brings, reporters continue to cover the conflict, both from within and outside the country.

See the original post here:
Myanmars Junta Block or Censor Everything, Journalists say - Voice of America - VOA News

Margaret Atwood tried burning the new, fireproof version of her novelThe Handmaid's Talewith a flamethrower. Courtesy Rethink / Penguin Random House

First released in 1985, Margaret Atwoods The Handmaid's Tale is a longtime bestseller and a longtime object of censorship. The futuristic, dystopian novel about patriarchy run wild has long been one of the United States most-banned booksfodder for those who would censor or even burn its searing words.

Now, Atwood has partnered up with her publisher, Penguin Random House, to create a version of the book thats impossible to ignite anything other than heated debate. Its fireproof.

On Thursday, auction house Sothebys sold the unburnable book for $130,000. Proceeds will go to PEN America to support its advocacy for free expression and fight against book banning.

According to the group, The Handmaids Tale is a favorite scapegoat for those who would forbid books, and is often targeted for its sexual and health-related content.

The Handmaid's Tale has been banned many timessometimes by whole countries, such as Portugal and Spain in the days of Salazar and the Francoists, sometimes by school boards, sometimes by libraries, the Canadian author said in a statement.

In its recent report Banned in the USA, PEN documents 1,586 cases of a variety of reported book bans in the United States in 2021, spanning 26 states and 86 school districts. According to the report, a disproportionate number of bans target stories about people of color or LGBTQ+ people.

Out of all the bans listed, 98 percent deviated from reconsideration guidelines recommended by the American Library Association and the National Coalition Against Censorship, per PEN.

It is not just the number of books removed that is disturbing, but the processesor lack thereofthrough which such removals are being carried out that is cause for alarm, the group writes. The state with the greatest amount of book bans last year was Texas, with 713 prohibited books per the report, followed by Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma. In 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott requested school boards to discard books he referred to as "pornography," Sharif Paget and Nicole Chavez report for CNN.

Though Atwoods novel has often faced bans itself, the group says its symbolic of an entire modern-day movement to stifle literary expression.

In the face of a determined effort to censor and silence, this unburnable book is an emblem of our collective resolve to protect books, stories and ideas from those who fear and revile them, PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.

The Handmaids Tale debuted to mixed reviews. But over the years, it has become a classic, touted by some as a frighteningly prescient prediction about the trajectory of American society. It depicts life in the Republic of Gilead, the repressive, totalitarian religious state that replaced the U.S. in a fictitious future, putting men in charge and relegating women to lives of subservience as sexually subjugated handmaids.

The books main character, wrote author Mary McCarthy in a 1986 review in the New York Times, has an unwillingness to stick her neck out, and perhaps we are meant to conclude that such unwillingness, multiplied, may be fatal to a free society. Since its publication, the book has been translated into over 40 languages, per a 2017 essay by Atwood in the Times.

Although it might look like an ordinary 384-page book, the fireproof edition is mostly made from Cinefoil, a specially treated aluminum foil, and contains other products such as fire-resistant inks and nickel wire. The technologywhich protects the book even when heated to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheitwas designed by the creative agency Rethink and the graphic arts studio The Gas Company, Inc.

The 82-year-old author has published her works in more than 45 countries and has written over 50 books. Now, The Handmaids Tale is an award-winning TV series that can be streamed on Hulu.

In her 2017 essay in the Times, Atwood wrote that she is often asked if her bleak book is a prediction about where American society is headed. Lets say its an antiprediction: If this future can be described in detail, maybe it wont happen, she wrote. But such wishful thinking cannot be depended on either.

I stopped writing [the novel] several times, because I considered it too far-fetched," she wrote for theAtlanticlast month.Silly me. Theocratic dictatorships do not lie only in the distant past: There are a number of them on the planet today. What is to prevent the United States from becoming one of them?

In a launch video presenting the fireproof book, Atwood tries and fails to burn a prototype with a flamethrower. And she is just as evasive about the future of literary censorship.

Let's hope we don't reach the stage of wholesale book burnings, as in Fahrenheit 451, Atwood said in a statement referencing the classic Ray Bradbury novel. But if we do, let's hope some books will prove unburnablethat they will travel underground, as prohibited books did in the Soviet Union.

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Read more from the original source:
Margaret Atwood Triedand Failedto Burn a Copy of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Here's Why - Smithsonian Magazine