Media Rights Agenda

MRA accuses FG of underfunding FOI implementation Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has accused the Federal Government of undermining the effectiveness of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by persistently under-funding its implementation. Expressing dissatisfaction, the civil organization group said that only one percent of federal public institutions have allocations in their 2025 budget proposals for FOI implementation and related activities. MRA in a report observed that only 13 out of over 1,300 Federal public institutions have provisions for FOI implementation in their budgets, with a proposed total allocation of N230,825,750.00, representing 0.000464 percent of the Federal Government’s budget of N49.74 trillion. https://lnkd.in/d8C-ne_P Guardian Nigeria, The ICIR, BudgIT Nigeria, Dataphyte Nigeria, INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTRE, IFEX, Africa Freedom of Information Centre, Civic Hive, Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Accountability Lab, Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development

Meta’s Dismantling of Fact-checking Endangers African Lives and Democracy On ARISE News, our #FWDwithFacts spokesperson Favour Asheolge explained Meta’s recent troubling decision to end partnerships with third-party fact-checkers and significantly weaken content moderation across its platforms. While troubling on a global scale, this decision is particularly problematic for Nigeria and Africa, where unchecked misinformation and purposefully orchestrated disinformation campaigns have already cost lives and destabilized communities. Where Meta has stepped down on digital safety, our coalition calls on the Nigerian government and African leaders to step up take immediate action: 1. Mandate transparency from Tech Platforms like Meta to publicly publish their strategies for managing misinformation and harmful content in Nigeria. 2. Establish legal frameworks that hold Tech Platforms responsible for enabling the spread of harmful content 3. Partner with civil society organizations to educate Nigerians on identifying fake news, understanding the risks involved with spreading fake news, and engaging responsibly with digital platforms. 4. Develop policy guidelines in consultation with civil society to create local and culturally contextual content-moderation guidelines to prevent the replication and expansion of these harmful policy changes in Africa. #FWDwithFacts Luminate HumAngle Media Dataphyte Nigeria Paradigm Initiative Centre for Information Technology and Development Media Rights Agenda Global Human Rights Defence CLEEN Foundation FactCheckAfrica SaferNet Initiative TechHerNG YandyTech Community Connected Development [CODE] Data Protection Officer 360 (DPO360)

As 2024 comes to a close, The Liberalist reflects on the major attacks that threatened press freedom in Africa. Eritrea leads as the most repressed country in the continent and in the world, and democratic nations like Nigeria and Kenya got labelled as hotspots for journalist harassment. According to a report by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a non-profit organisation advocating for media freedom and digital rights, between January 1 and October 31, law enforcement and security agencies were responsible for 45 out of 69 reported attacks on journalists, accounting for approximately 65 percent of the total incidents. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also sees a worrying decline in support and respect for media autonomy and increasing pressure from the state actors. Read full analysis here on notable press attacks across Africa: https://lnkd.in/db3zxDge #Africa #Democracy #HumanRights #Kenya #Nigeriangovernment #Pressfreedom #ReportersWithoutBorder #Senegal ©TheLiberalist

🎉Happy New Year from all of us at Media Rights Agenda. May 2025 bring you joy, hope, and prosperity. Here's to a year of progress and new possibilities.✨

"Season's Greetings! 🌟 We express our heartfelt gratitude to our partners, donors, stakeholders, colleagues, and supporters. Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful Christmas filled with light and laughter! 🎄🎁

News Central TV Broadcast of MRA's Press Statement on Launch of 2024 Annual Report According to an annual state of media freedom report for 2024, released by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) on December 17, 2024, the organisation noted, through a statement, that security agencies, including the police, military, and intelligence services, have consistently been the worst enemies of the media in Nigeria in recent years and were responsible for the highest number of attacks against journalists in 2024. MRA said in the 137-page report titled “Media Freedom Under Threat: The State of Media Freedom and Journalists' Safety in Nigeria 2024” that out of a total of 64 attacks against journalists that it recorded in 2022, law enforcement and security agencies were responsible for 29 of them, representing approximately 45 per cent of the attacks; while they were responsible for 34 out of the 77 attacks against journalists it documented in 2023, representing approximately 44 per cent. https://lnkd.in/dF6T62SM News Central TV

Security Agencies Worst Enemies of the Media in Nigeria, Says MRA in New Report Lagos, Tuesday, December 17, 2024: Security agencies, including the police, military, and intelligence services, have consistently been the worst enemies of the media in Nigeria in recent years and were responsible for the highest number of attacks against journalists in 2024, according to an annual state of media freedom report for the year released today by Media Rights Agenda (MRA). https://lnkd.in/dn9y8X65

🚨Please join the webinar on "Digital Rights in Africa: Reflecting on 10 Years, Visualizing the Next 10"  🗓️Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2024  ⏰Time: 1 pm WAT Our Executive Director, Edetaen Ojo, will be sharing insights on emerging issues. 📌Register: https://lnkd.in/dzjHA726 #DigitalRights Association for Progressive Communications, Koliwe Majama, Reyhana Masters, Namibia Media Trust

Take advantage of technology, FOI Act to fight corruption, MRA tells youths In a statement released to commemorate this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD), Mr. Ayode Longe, MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, said, that available evidence shows that corruption steals resources, erodes trust in officials and institutions, and deepens inequalities in the society. https://lnkd.in/danPwndg

“Viable media business models in unviable media markets” - In our DW Akademie fishbowl session at the African Women in Media #AWiM24 conference in Dakar, Senegal, we learned from some of the greatest media women how they contribute to media viability: 💡Ferial Haffajee from Daily Maverick in South Africa said that investing in a full time audience engagement manager who doesnt only deliver numbers, but puts them into context, was key to making the news outlet sustainable within a timeframe of six years. 💡Obioma Okonkwo from Media Rights Agenda in Nigeria talked about experiences with a new working group set up to negotiate fair compensation with Big Tech. 💡Imani Henrick Luvanga explained that she transformed Kings FM radio station in Tanzania into a successful media outlet by covering taboo topics in an engaging yet professional way using technology and social media wisely. My takeaway (once more): The viability crisis facing journalism is not one of ill equipped individual organisations, but one of an ill equipped system.