#SARAH REPUCCI CRACKED#
#SARAH REPUCCI TV#

#SARAH REPUCCI CRACKED#

In an effort to control information, governments have cracked down on the media, from preventing journalists from covering COVID-19-related press events to harassment, intimidation and arrests. Even if the media might have certain biases in certain countries, they serve a really important role for getting people information.' 'The media is the only way that people can get information that is not just the government line. 'That's really an alarming figure,' says Repucci. Control of informationĪt least 91 of 192 countries had some kind of restriction on news media during the outbreak, according to the survey.

#SARAH REPUCCI TV#

The violence has been fueled, victims and observers say, by right-wing Hindu nationalist TV channels, misinformation on social media and statements from ruling party politicians. Indeed, in April, NPR correspondent Lauren Frayer reported that Muslims say they have faced increased discrimination, harassment and attacks in India. 'They've been scapegoated throughout COVID-19 as being spreaders of the virus.' 'There have been a lot of crackdowns on minority groups who had already been a target before the pandemic, such as Muslims in India,' explains Repucci. Some authorities are using the virus as pretext for a political agenda that was already in place. said COVID-19 measures 'should not be used to clamp down on fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly.' In a July tweet directed to Zimbabwean officials, the U.N. According to the authorities, these protesters were breaching lockdown restrictions. In July, the U.N.'s human rights office received reports of Zimbabwean police using force to arrest at least 12 nurses and health care workers protesting on the street for better salaries and work conditions. The country has been using 'COVID-19 restrictions as an excuse for a widespread campaign of threats, harassment and physical assault on opposition' she says. She cites cases in Zimbabwe as one of the most egregious examples. 'Police were using the quarantine as an excuse to beat people or forcibly take them into custody,' says Sarah Repucci, coauthor of the report. Abuse of powerĪccording to the survey, 59 out of 192 countries saw some kind of violence or abuse of power as a result of lockdowns and other pandemic measures. Here are three highlights from the report. Still, Kruk says, 'we should carefully monitor' these abuses 'just as the virus has to be carefully monitored.'

'I would just caution that in the middle of a pandemic, assessing something as big as the future of democracy seems a bit premature to me,' she says. According to the report, 64% of survey respondents agreed that the impact of COVID-19 would have a negative impact on democracy over the next three to five years. It is too early to say whether these infringements will persist after the pandemic, Kruk says. The report points to clear cases where governments have used COVID-19 as a pretext to shut down opposition, marginalize minority groups and control information. Since the outbreak began, the condition for democracy and human rights has grown worse in 80 countries. Researchers surveyed nearly 400 journalists, activists and other experts in governance and democracy from March to September to find out how the pandemic is affecting freedom in 192 countries. The report, Democracy Under Lockdown: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Struggle for Freedom, was published in October in partnership with the survey firm GQR.

Sarah repucci