Monday, September 24, 2012

Anti-Islam Movie Contradicts Youtube's Community Guidelines

Google, if wishes, has all the reasons to remove the anti-Islam movie which creates a big fuzz these days. Such removal will not be the first time, as Google has already removed such offending clips when it came to holocaust denial. It had also removed numerous videos posted during Gaza Invasion, as the videos contained dead bodies claimed to be killed by Israeli soldiers.
Term:
YouTube is not a shock site. Don't post gross-out videos of accidents, dead bodies or similar things intended to shock or disgust.
Try the following link and see for yourself.
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7FBB27616F4428B7

The anti-Islam movie is in clear contradiction to the following Google Community Guidelines, but still resides there safe and sound in youtube, enjoying the popularity.
1. Hate Speech
Term:

We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).
In the same page Hate Speech is defined as:
"Hate speech" refers to content that promotes hatred against members of a protected group. For instance, racist or sexist content may be considered hate speech. Sometimes there is a fine line between what is and what is not considered hate speech. For instance, it is generally okay to criticize a nation, but not okay to make insulting generalizations about people of a particular nationality

2. Harassment
Term:
Things like predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, intimidation, invading privacy, revealing other people’s personal information, and inciting others to commit violent acts or to violate the Terms of Use are taken very seriously. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from YouTube.
In the same page Harassment is defined as:
It comes down to respect. YouTube is all about sharing and interacting with the community in respectful ways. If you're not sure whether a video or comment you've made crosses the line, follow a simple rule of thumb: if you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it on YouTube. And if you're looking to attack, harass, demean, or impersonate others, go elsewhere.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sri Lanka's Rating Based on Media Freedom For the Past Ten Years

I was just going through the rating of countries according to media freedom from Reporters Without Borders'.
What caught my eyes is that we (Sri Lankans) are just one step better than Somalia, and rated 163rd of 179 countries.
I then started comparing the ratings given to us during the past ten years. The results below.
2002 - 51
2003 - 89
2004 - 110
2005 - 115
2006 - 141
2007 - 156
2008 - 165
2009 - 162
2010 - 158
2011/12 - 163

Numbers speak. No comments from me.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Controversial Anti-Islam Movie and Controversial Reaction

I was just going through the news on the new controversial movie (Innocence of Muslims). Given that it is a low budget film, directed by a pornographic film director, and the producer/financier is a fraudster, I would say anyone can clearly see the purpose of the film.
It has more to do with making huge profit with small investment, more than religious hatred or freedom of speech. I would say the people behind the video clip have achieved their targets already.
I am glad that Libya has appologized for what happened, and takes actions to protect law and order.

I saw a quite interesting statement in Al-Jazeera, which I find strikingly true.

The unrestrained anger against a YouTube clip has even led to outrage among some Syrian activists, with one tweeting that "the only thing that seems to mobilise the Arab street is a movie, a cartoon or an insult, but not the pool of blood in Syria".