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Guy Berger

@guyberger.bsky.social
362 followers 250 following 48 posts

Consultant. Former UNESCO director for free expression and media development. Emeritus professor journalism & media studies, Rhodes University, South Africa. commspolicy.africa

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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
How South Africa hopes to deal with online disinformation in its upcoming local government elections www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
CATERING FOR A CLEAN CONTEST IN SA’s UPCOMING ELECTIONS Since its first democratic poll in 1994, the country of Nelson Mandela has resolved its political differences relatively peacefully. But… | Guy...
CATERING FOR A CLEAN CONTEST IN SA’s UPCOMING ELECTIONS Since its first democratic poll in 1994, the country of Nelson Mandela has resolved its political differences relatively peacefully. But today,...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
In which I argue that we should talk about "public access journalism" rather than "public interest journalism" www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
For Linked in FIVE THESES ON PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM ONE: Is it tautologous to qualify journalism with the adjectives “public interest”?  I mean, news that’s not in public interest, surely ain’t… |...
For Linked in FIVE THESES ON PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM ONE: Is it tautologous to qualify journalism with the adjectives “public interest”?  I mean, news that’s not in public interest, surely ain’t “j...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Tracing the concerns of Information Integrity back to African journalists in 1991 - and taking inspiration for these new times www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
“RELIABLE INFORMATION IS NOT A LUXURY” Glad to make that pitch for information integrity - in the just-published UNESCO Courier. (link in comments below) My article suggests we revisit the 1991… | Gu...
“RELIABLE INFORMATION IS NOT A LUXURY” Glad to make that pitch for information integrity - in the just-published UNESCO Courier. (link in comments below) My article suggests we revisit the 1991 UNESC...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
My take on the UN Scientific Panel's new AI report: too timid, too diplomatic. Here's why it misses the major issue: the economics of AI www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
WHAT THE UN’S AI PANEL GETS WRONG. I asked Google Gemini about the format of the Panel’s report. It said: “A two-column layout is not advisable for PDFs designed to be read on a computer screen. It… ...
WHAT THE UN’S AI PANEL GETS WRONG. I asked Google Gemini about the format of the Panel’s report. It said: “A two-column layout is not advisable for PDFs designed to be read on a computer screen. It f...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
How to assess age limits for teenagers on social media? There's good guidance on children's digital rights from the International rapporteurs on freedom of expression www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Just out for comment: the African Union's draft Guidelines for Access to Data, covering both private and public sector data holdings. A big advance for the right to information in Africa. achpr.au.int/en/news/pres...
achpr.au.int
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS: “African Guidelines on Promoting and Harnessing Data Access as a Tool for Advancing Human Rights and Sustainable Development in the Digital Age”
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), through its special mechanism on freedom of expression and access to information in Africa, is under
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 19/03/2026
I don't really feel like the press coverage of the metaverse implosion honestly captures the access tech press' role in propping up Mark Zuckerberg's fake innovation mythology if you go back and read "journalism" from this era, 97% was indistinguishable from advertorial
Headline: "At SXSW, Mark Zuckerberg says metaverse is 'Holy Grail' of social experience"
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
What to do when big tech don't give access to data showing what content is labelled as AI-generated? I wrote about this opacity in regard to flagging #deepfakes here: www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
#informationintegrity #digitalpolicy #deepfakeresearch | Guy Berger
DEEPFAKES: WHEN PARALYSIS HITS ANALYSIS How are we supposed to understand - and effectively mitigate - deepfakes that pose a danger, without evidence? I investigated this in an Issue Brief for last ...
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
One of the craziest things about Musk-era twitter is that because linking to anything is penalized by the algo, no one uses links and you have NO IDEA where any of the info you see is coming from. It's madness!
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
It's U.S. foreign policy that the whole world must serve up our data to the AI giants that are now an arm of the U.S. government. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Exclusive: US orders diplomats to fight data sovereignty initiatives
President Donald Trump's administration has ordered U.S. diplomats to lobby against attempts to regulate U.S. tech companies' handling of foreigners' data, saying in an internal diplomatic cable seen ...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Suggestions to cope with how Agentic AI complicates Data Governance www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
linkedin.com
ON DATA GOVERNANCE AND AGENTIC AI This is a topic addressed in the recently published toolkit produced for the 2025 G20, to which I was pleased to be lead writer. (link in comments) The toolkit makes…...
ON DATA GOVERNANCE AND AGENTIC AI This is a topic addressed in the recently published toolkit produced for the 2025 G20, to which I was pleased to be lead writer. (link in comments) The toolkit makes ...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
How do you say something different to what an AI service would? One way is to use AI-generated images. Specifically, rock art style African animals to convey a message to the SADC’s forum of Election Management Bodies (EMBs), for their AGM in eSwatini in December. commspolicy.africa?page_id=134
commspolicy.africa
Latest news
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Move slow... and move fast. That's the advice I gave to Election Management Bodies in southern Africa at their AGM this week. Concretely, it means a hardnosed calculation of costs and benefits of AI adoption - and the importance of AI adaptation www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
ELECTIONS: ADOPT AI OR ADAPT TO AI? What’s an African election management body (EMB) to do? You already got to defend your professionalism against political pressures.  And to run your elections on a…...
ELECTIONS: ADOPT AI OR ADAPT TO AI? What’s an African election management body (EMB) to do? You already got to defend your professionalism against political pressures.  And to run your elections on a ...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Tomorrow Tuesday, a webinar on prospects for information as a public good - in the face of Generative AI. Along with the idea of Re-generating AI. Work within the system, or outside of it? We'll debate this as part of the International Panel on Social Progress www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
Generative AI - how does it impact prospects for information as a public good? Generative AI companies aren’t exactly making things don’t look good for the information ecosystem. Courtesy of them… | ...
Generative AI - how does it impact prospects for information as a public good? Generative AI companies aren’t exactly making things don’t look good for the information ecosystem. Courtesy of them, we...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
"AI systems are reshaping Africa’s relationship with the global economy, determining whether the continent remains locked into extractive relationships or develops genuine technological sovereignty." And journalists are missing this story. www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
dailymaverick.co.za
African media must follow the money and treat AI as a story about power, not tech
AI systems are reshaping Africa’s relationship with the global economy, determining whether the continent remains locked into extractive relationships or develops genuine technological sovereignty.
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Steve Klabnik @steveklabnik.com · 04/08/2025
this is pretty shitty blog.cloudflare.com/perplexity-i...
blog.cloudflare.com
Perplexity is using stealth, undeclared crawlers to evade website no-crawl directives
Perplexity is repeatedly modifying their user agent and changing IPs and ASNs to hide their crawling activity, in direct conflict with explicit no-crawl preferences expressed by websites.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
My new piece, “AI is Not Africa’s Savior: Avoiding Technosolutionism in Digital Development,” is published on @brookings.edu! I reflect on the need to put the lived experiences and needs of African communities over AI hype, which is becoming prominent. www.brookings.edu/articles/ai-...
brookings.edu
AI is not Africa’s savior: Avoiding technosolutionism in digital development | Brookings
Chinasa T. Okolo discusses how Africa can ensure AI progress serves the contitnent's broader goals of social and economic empowerment.
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kate conger @kateconger.com · 25/07/2025
Between Musk & the Trump administration, Media Matters has been squeezed to the brink. In settlement discussions, lawyers for X demanded the organization hand over all its cash and shut down — all because MM reported ads appeared on X next to antisemitic content. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/u...
nytimes.com
Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
A new policy brief gives a little-heard perspective on AI. Informed by African interests in the 2025 processes of the G20, the authors signal potent connections and problems within the international AI tech stack www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
A new policy brief gives a little-heard perspective on AI. | Guy Berger
A new policy brief gives a little-heard perspective on AI. Informed by African interests in the 2025 processes of the G20, the authors signal potent connections and problems within the international A...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
A call for the G20 to come out in support of payment by AI companies for scraping news websites: media20.org/wp-content/u...
media20.org
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Africa's Continental AI Strategy now has an implementation plan. The African Alliance for Access to Data (I'm convenor), urges the plan to reference: the relevance of Right to Information systems, Open Science & work towards Guidelines on access to data. dataalliance.africa/alliance-hig...
dataalliance.africa
Alliance highlights data access as key for implementing the AU’s Continental AI Strategy - African Alliance for Access to Data
Data access is a critical component for implementing the African Union's Continental AI Strategy. To realise this point, tpecific text can be added to the implementation plan for the Strategy
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Can media get any mileage with the concept of "information integrity" and the 2025 agenda of the G20 countries? South African editors see possibilities media20.org/2025/05/16/m...
media20.org
M20 policy brief: Information Integrity - Media20
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Four categories of human rights are recognised by the African Union's draft study of AI, making for unique reading. But missing is access to data as part of the right to information as concerns digital dynamics. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
linkedin.com
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has published its… | Guy Berger
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has published its Draft Study on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Other New and Emerging Technologies in Af...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
You've heard it's World Press Freedom Day, I hope. Needed more than ever. But where did it originate? With African journalists in 1991. You can see the story here: action-namibia.org/wp-content/u...
action-namibia.org
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
achpr.au.int/en/news/pres... On World Press Freedom Day, the ACHPR encourages "the media profession to make ethical use of AI systems in their operations and to be a watchdog that reports on the societal risks as well as opportunities of AI."
achpr.au.int
World Press Freedom Day
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 03 May 2025
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Just published this co-authored report "Data deficits and democratic processes: The under-explored role of data in African elections". Find link and a summary of key points at www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
*A new report gives insight into data and African… | Guy Berger
*A new report gives insight into data and African elections* Digitalisation in Africa is very uneven, and the datafication of democratic processes follows the same pattern. This is the picture emergin...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The African Union notes "with deep concern the recent regress by technology companies with regard to information integrity ..." & calls for "developing guidelines to ensure a public interest element for all platforms operating in Africa" achpr.au.int/en/adopted-r... achpr.au.int/en/adopted-r...
achpr.au.int
Resolution on developing Guidelines to assist States monitor technology companies in respect of their duty to maintain information integrity through independent fact checking - ACHPR/Res.630 (LXXXII) ...
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) meeting at its 82nd Ordinary Session, held virtually from 25 February to 11 March 2025:
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Lots to do with data! This research uncovers where African elections are heading in terms of stakeholder use of data. Which group will get on top of the game first - Electoral commissions, political parties, researchers, FIMI actors? researchictafrica.net/2025/01/23/f...
researchictafrica.net
Forthcoming report on data policy systems for democratic processes
Forthcoming research for the Advancing the Governance of Data for Development in Africa project shows five challenges regarding data access in African elections. Selected findings were shared in Decem...
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Paul Krugman @pkrugman.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
I wrote for The Contrarian about my decision to leave the New York Times contrarian.substack.com/p/departing-...
contrarian.substack.com
Departing the New York Times
I left to stay true to my byline
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Excerpt from Kentridge clip on Mayakovsky
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
2016, Kentridge and colleagues created the Centre for the less good idea... So the periphery comes into centre
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Kentridge recalls getting Mayakovsky's plays, while a student, which still today conveys energy and creativity to him as a reader
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Ricardo Gutiérrez @molenews1.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Suspension of U.S. media aid: the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls for mobilisation of European donors. europeanjournalists.org/blog/2025/01...
europeanjournalists.org
Suspension of U.S. media aid: EFJ calls for mobilisation of European donors
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, has been instructed to stop projects ...
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Jean-Paul Marthoz @jpmarthoz.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
The Israeli authorities did not allow foreign journalists' access to Gaza, except embedded with the IDF, and at the same time, lambasted Gaza-trapped Palestinian journalists as biased or "militants". The news impasse must cease, say press freedom groups. www.cbc.ca/news/world/j...
cbc.ca
3 Palestinian journalists on covering the war in Gaza — and surviving it | CBC News
As foreign media members were not allowed into the Gaza Strip, the responsibility for reporting fell on the shoulders of local journalists who shot footage of their neighbours and sometimes their own ...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
What will the artist William Kentridge have to say in his lecture at UCT Summer School, coming up shortly? Title: To Cross One More Sea. Perhaps that we always hope there is only one more to go. www.kentridge.studio/mhome/
kentridge.studio
Kentridge Studio
William Kentridge (born Johannesburg, South Africa, 1955) is internationally acclaimed for his drawings, films, theatre and opera productions.
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
The difference between censorship and content moderation? It's a question of whether international human rights standards govern limitations on expression www.linkedin.com/posts/guy-be...
linkedin.com
Guy Berger on LinkedIn: Listening now to Courtney Radsch, PhD introduce live the report of the…
Listening now to Courtney Radsch, PhD introduce live the report of the International Observatory on Information and Democracy. The report has a promising…
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
This #Wapo investigation shows the impact how Musk used X to get 200m followers for political influence. What was a platform is now a weapon. Might we see similar instrumentalisation on X.ai ? www.washingtonpost.com/business/int...
washingtonpost.com
Musk’s influence on X eclipses all members of the incoming Congress, combined
The tech billionaire’s X account blasts his political messages to an audience far bigger than Trump reaches on the platform, data analysis by The Post shows.
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
At Politikens Boghal in Copenhagen, I asked for Marietje Schaake's book "The Tech Coup". Sold out. Likewise at their sister shop. If there's a sequel - suggested title: "Tech *Capture* (of the US state)" - maybe one could fund a copy and dig into the post-election scenario. Coup to capture, right?
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Peter Cunliffe-Jones @pcunliffejones.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
The goal of fact-checking and media literacy is being misrepresented by those who spread false information. In this piece, @guyberger.bsky.social & I argue we need a new framing showing not just what we are *against* - but what we are *for*: "information integrity". www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
poynter.org
The next chapter for fact-checking: information integrity - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their car...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
<<“Countering information disorder” has served fact-checkers well... Updating in favor of “fighting for information integrity” can help position us to embrace what’s coming up next.>> And what's coming next (post the US-election) ain't fun-n-games for factchecking. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
poynter.org
The next chapter for fact-checking: information integrity - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their car...
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Would WAPO do a headline like "Biden in Latin America" or "Biden in Europe"? One could hope the paper and its readers know where Angola is... then again maybe not #AfricaIsACountry
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
6 of 10 gen Z in USA get "news" from social media, so I worry about this generation with its loneliness - Maria Ressa #Tutu Lecture
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Journalist Yousra Elbagir: Tutu was able to laugh and carry on. You, Maria Ressa? Answer: "Hope comes from action"
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Journalist Yousra Elbagir: "Online violence normalisés offline violence" #Tutu Lecture
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Maria Ressa: AI llms are being used in warfare and mistargeting drone attacks.. "It's a bleak time.."
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Journalist Yousra Elbagir says her parents and neighbours are amongst the millions who have had to flee Sudan, introducing a panel with 2 Nobel prize winners #Tutu Lecture
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
"First they came for the journalists, then we didn't know what happened next", quips Maria Ressa in a serious warning to world in the face of a threat of democracy dying.
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Social media cenetration is 43 percent in South Africa, and with greater penetration there will be more polarisation, warns Maria Ressa - so "build trust now"
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
No facts, no truth, no democracy... Pursuit of truth is a peace building mission, essential for accountability - Nobel laureate Maria Ressa
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Guy Berger @guyberger.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Tutu stood for truth against power, and we can't be neutral in a world increasingly shaped by lies says Maria Ressa
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