One of seven on-going projects that comprise the Pew Research Center, the Internet Project is “a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that…produces reports exploring the impact of the internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life.”

Address: 1615 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.419.4500
Website: http://www.pewinternet.org/

Collaborative partnership of the Berkman Center at Harvard, Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, and the SecDev Group in Ottawa, Canada.  Together, ONI’s “…aim is to investigate, expose and analyze Internet filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion.”

Website: http://opennet.net

North Korean propaganda is emerging on popular Internet social media sites. Not for domestic consumption – as virtually no North Korean has Internet access – but targeted to other countries, especially South Korea. But in the democratic South, considered the world’s most connected country, the government censors such content.

South Korea’s Internet censors are working harder these days to keep up with an expanding number of Web sites showing material from or sympathetic to North Korea.

But is it a good thing for the South to censor the North?  And can it even be done?   That, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

It seemed too good to be true, and perhaps that should have been the first warning. “Haystack” was said to be just the needed tool for Iranian democracy activists to break through governmental firewalls and hide their identity.

In the end, it may have put them at risk.  How did the promise of Haystack go so wrong?

Some ideas, and blame, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Armed with little more than a flammable message, pastor Terry Jones set the Internet on fire recently when he announced he planned to burn copies of the Quran at his Florida church.

He now says he doesn’t intend to follow through on his threat, but damage has already been done. With few followers and fewer resources, Jones was able to seize the world stage in part through the use of social media. Which leaves some asking: If Jones can do it, who and what else may be next?

That, and more, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

The false rumor that President Barack Obama is Muslim has been getting a lot of attention recently, fueled in part by a new poll suggesting a growing number of Americans believe it to be true.

The rumor itself isn’t new – it’s been around since before Mr. Obama began his run for the Presidency. But it has been spreading rapidly lately – due in large measure to the Internet.

VOA’s Doug Bernard has a deeper look here.

The Internet is the latest battleground in Thailand’s stormy political climate as the government attempts to shut down Web sites critical of it and the monarchy. The government is using tough laws to silence online criticism, but net users are finding ways to be heard.

During months of political protests earlier this year, the Thai government shut down thousands of Web sites it said fanned the protests or criticized the royal family.

VOA’s Ron Corben in Bangkok has more on the story.

A media watchdog group called Reporters Without Borders has accused the United Arab Emirates of arresting people who used the popular BlackBerry device to organize a street protest against petrol price increases. The incident highlighted how governments around the world are increasingly using internet and mobile technology to undermine civil liberties.

Internet freedom activists say the Dubai episode is the latest incident in an alarming trend – that entire governments are censoring the internet.

VOA’s Mana Rabiee has much more here.

Is the Internet Making Us Smarter, or Dumber?

A controversial new book by journalist Nicholas Carr makes the bold claim that the Internet is not only changing how we think, but that it’s also lessening the quality of our thought.  Amid the many changes the Internet is bringing to our cultures, a new questions arises: what changes is it bringing to our minds?

VOA’s Doug Bernard has this look.