Area for five years four hundred thousand syrians are trapped there the news continues here on aljazeera after the listening post so stay with us. Facing realities growing up when did you realize that you were living in a special place the socalled secret city getting to the heart of the matter why ease activists to live in jail just because he expressed himself he had the story on told to aljazeera at this time and. Rushed. Me off. Because i. Dont. Think its true and like. In the west. Hello im Richard Gilbert and youre at the listening post here are some of the media stories weve been tracking this week both russia and cambodia have elections upcoming its not a great time to be an opposition figure or journalist in either having difficulty getting followers on twitter thats ok just by some more journalists have been arrested in turkey over a story the governments clearly sensitive about and the alternative swearing in ceremony in nairobi that was meant to send a political message. Russias president ial election takes place about six weeks from now the kremlin has been clamping down on critical voices and as the opposition politician at the heart of this story Alexei Navalny will tell you theres nothing particularly subtle about the governments tactics no volley was arrested last week and is you to base channel was shut down in the middle of a broadcast he was probably banking on the attention that he gets from global news outlets International Coverage along with his online following have been central to the volleys media strategy as the kremlin has steadily tighten the screws on domestic news outlets over the past few years ownership of mass media in russia has shifted almost entirely into the hands of the kremlins allies moscow has also blocked access to v. P. N. To the Virtual Private Networks that allowed citizens to surf. Invent censorship online and a new law is in the works that would require some journalists and bloggers to register as foreign agents its no wonder that the loudest voices in russia these days are those who call president Vladimir Putin a National Savior our starting point this week is moscow. Not to sell Alexei Navalny sure but his arrest last weekend in moscow does not really fall under the category of breaking news in russia its the fourth time of all these been arrests since calling for a boycott of a president ial election in which he has been banned from running. Both his arrest and the storming of his foundations you tube studio in mid broadcasts were tailor made moments for the meet. The i should also some of the its not going to end the line in the film its just. That sound you hear is a chain saw the police playing very part in the new spectacle this particular video is played of erratic during the conversation that the hosts are having while the police is trying to break through the door of this meeting about they calling themselves journalists youre working for a politician and this is a political channel probably youre not really a journalist and this whole video falls into alex saying of all these Campaign Strategy he knows if he goes out he will probably be arrested and the footage that you saw was done quite professionally you see two young girls looking to hang with admiration as if he were some celebrity just like star and quit was more sinister but this is an opportunity to mobilize support of. New because if you. Doesnt produce media events will disappear the politicians its also an opportunity to show one more time to the Global Community that the leader of a protest has been arrested and i think and when the western media covers the arrest it helps them build an image might get the image. Somebody has to cover election of all made since russian news outlets owned or controlled by the kremlin have effectively blackball to western news organizations however have never met a russian dissident they didnt like is it worth your life. Because there is a big target on you no question whether its a soviet era soccer off or soldier in that sense or in the volley today your position they tend to give them a volley story the surface treatment the one time blogger the Anti Corruption crusade bypassed probe putin news media by using social media to take on the crime where the foreign coverage tends to fall short though is the only back story this past rotations with russian nationalist movements in two thousand and seven he likened muslims to incite. In two thousand and eight it was george he called them roads and said they should all be deported from russia and in two thousand and thirteen he publicly backed nationalist skinheads to attack democrats. That used to be one of the main points of criticism of what extent i dont use his nationalistic ideas but recently here tried to shift more out to mainstream liberal values so i dont think that western media didnt notice at least ideas they just dont write about this now because he doesnt say anything. Nobody is base of support is not there. It is not russia but it is mostly in the west among American Government officials and i make and media and some european governments that. Believe that is political left in the russian benefit them and that is why in the western media and the valley is president of theres a lot of shit but the reality is that the government in russia is quite lenient when it comes to nevada and his supporters. Because even though flout a mere putin has authoritarian tendencies his government applies them quite selective politically that means a dissident like Alexei Navalny gets arrested frequently but is never locked up for long the kremlin takes a similar approach to the news media again it can act in authoritarian ways but falls somewhere short of being dictatorial the first thing closing or did when it came to power in two thousand was arresting the owner of and the future he didnt control over to be pretty quickly that it took control of our biggest internet newspapers like. But then social networks became very important and she faced a problem that you cannot just close facebook so this is the biggest challenge now for the kremlin actually is clustered year expressed of there is a cluster of Media Outlets that the state directly implement through the terms of editorial policy channel one and beg a target for example both of which with own channels then there are Media Outlets owned by Large Business with a loyal to the state this includes channel five invest and run t. V. There is no doubt that there are lists of people who like nirvana and who are banned from appearing on these channels and then there are opposition media such as in the via give us media that i know im a do that we should take the counter petition will. And media executives developed an internal system of value where they thought. Of what kinds of things they can and cannot do otherwise they wouldnt keep their job. But still if you are not a very emotional source less than one Million Euros per month usually they will allow you. Theres a reason for that Vladimir Putin understands that he does not need to control all of the russian news media just the bulk of the major play which is why for the most part the kremlins leaves newspapers alone knowing that print journalism is nowhere near as influential as television and by tolerating the existence of an independently minded Radio Station like echo moscow or a relatively small critical television outlet. There is just enough media plurality in russia for the governments defenders to say things like this contrary to popular west and. Not all media in russia support the government positions their opposition magazines and newspapers their opposition Radio Stations and i mean it has access to newspapers and magazines he has access to radio he has access to a channel for example and despite all that. We see in the last few months in the last year that he has not been able to garner. Significant support. With Alexei Navalny affectively neutralized that clears the way for russian mainstream Media Outlets to focus on the job at hand. Which is casting vote in their putin the president who stood up to the west during the showdown over ukraine as the savior that russia and russians meet. All the four course on how bad is everything going ukraine. A new berlin meets and the police have got to see how bad the situation is in europe you know because of me gratian because its explained like in the phrasing. Of show them you say try to explain that russia is still only want island in the old prices accordingly and venues which will feel that lets them. Defending us from these in the face there is a specific narrative that they are trying to push right now but there is this documentary about. Restoring a nation a lot of strain involved in the northern part of russia good only the what is the but those are the president but the and the message of the story is to try to come by some sort of further lead narrative and put. The ability to restore justice to bring order and to show have as this national say there so that sort of really just sentiment that plays out here is something that the kremlin is trying to exploit. That added religious element suggests that after all these years russian news outlets are still managing to find new ways to showcase blood to me. As far as most of the Mainstream Media are concerned this story is about a National Savior who must not be questioned against a flawed outsider he must not be mentioned its no contest and thats just how the kremlin likes. Were discussing other media stories that are on our radar today with one of our producers flo philips flo the turkish government has made another series of arrests journalists are among those being held what exactly are they accused of yes so this might. The crackdown is much like many others in turkey its all about quote silencing the spread of terrorist propaganda turkeys interior minister announced the arrest of more than three hundred people including politicians activists and at least four journalists but all written social media posts criticizing the governments attacks on the kurdish y p g militia in the syrian province of affray in the news outlets affected other Mesopotamian News Agency r. T. T. V. The online independent newspaper t twenty four and the leftist online paper how can nab see a turkey has a track record of arbitrary arrests especially since the failed coup in two thousand and sixteen whats driving this latest round while ankara seems determined to control the media narrative on what it calls Operation Olive Branch the military campaign was launched with the goal of quote crushing the Kurdish Militia the wipe e. G. The government in ankara claim the y. P. G. Has ties to the p. K. K. A kurdish separatist movement that the Ruling Ak Party calls a terrorist group the majority of Media Outlets in turkey who are increasingly progovernment have supported the intervention in syria but the government is clearly on easy about any dissent that might be way in its campaign the other story youre looking into is an expose of a company that is alleged to sell smaller words on twitter a socalled follower factory first of all who broke that story the New York Times so theyve published an extensive comprehensive investigation really lifting the lid unveiling a whole world of fake social media accounts and the companies behind them the report revolves around one specific company deveny which sells twitter followers to businesses celebrities even politicians. The way it works is that deveny creates fake accounts on twitter and these bots can then be automated to follow retreat even like to be news clients posts but this is not just about popularity for popularity sake for celebrities and other socalled online influences more followers means more money according to the data company captivate an influencer with a million followers can actually earn twenty thousand dollars for a single tweet promoting a brand or product sure but how widespread a problem are we talking about here and what if anything is being done to fix it whats become clear is that the sale and use of twitter bots is now pretty common the times report quoted desta much putting the percentage of fake twitter accounts as high as fifteen percent and that dividing itself has sold more than two hundred million followers in total but the companys founder does deny his company has actually sold any fake follows among them is customers named in the investigation are a c. N. N. Contributor hilary rosen and an editor at the Chinese State run news agency walk as well whats being done about who is not very much although twitters terms of use clearly state that users are not allowed to buy followers the companys value is directly linked to the number of twitter accounts in circulation so you can really see why it might choose not to be the. Take vigilant in dealing with these fake accounts ok thanks cambodia is another country with an election coming up the vote is five months away and it was conceivable that the government of one san the worlds longest serving Prime Minister could have lost its parliamentary majority but cambodians are now seeing a Concerted Campaign to silence opposition figures n. G. O. S and news outlets that refuse to toe the official line three months ago the government dissolved the Main Opposition Party arrested its leader on charges of treason which prompted more than half of the oppositions m. P. s to flee the country multiple Media Outlets both on the airwaves and in print have been forced to shut down over tax evasion charges that journalists say have been manufactured to silence voices of dissent listening posts johannah whos now on the state of democracy in cambodia and and information blackout that is by government design. Needs. Cambodias Prime Minister just last week he celebrated his thirty third year in power and in july he will face a sixth election after losing a significant share of the vote to the opposition in two thousand and thirteen he and his ruling party the c. P. P. Are no longer leaving much to chance in the last few months they have systematically silenced our critics and the news outlets carrying their messages in august it doesnt Radio Station is still a significant a. T. M. For those in the countryside at their licenses suspended for carrying programs produced by u. S. Government funded broadcasters are they radio free asia and v. O. A. Voice of america. In and free due. A contrary view significantly to the result of the elections in cambodia we report the truth and the true vili hurts the government we broadcast for example about deforestation and that those businessmen who are conducting a b. And d. For a facial and the children nephews nieces the Government Official and that really make the government really really unhappy with us they start them as a media that support. The Opposition Party base kinds of loot they are. Bringing a lot of things and then the Prime Minister but again his again his interests and of course the right has a lot of true blood of our sedation so to collect those people from the radio. Its significant thing. And its not just radio in september they can both be a daily newspaper known for its fervent criticism of the government was forced to print its final pages journalists believe its their content the authorities are taking issue with but the government is sticking to its line look because of the term border lee all right rule free asia. They are not the by why the law of the sovereign state but not high tax and if you live in this nation. Invasion is a crime. Trumped up tax charges close your suspensions these are just some of the tactics in one sense media playbook the arrest of numerous reporter is usually on charges of treason or attempts to overthrow the government has forced many journalists to flee the country and scared those who remain into silence case in point a journalist we spoke to at the nonpaying post one of the few remaining outlets that still offers criticism of the government the post consistently caused the Current Situation a media crackdown but once in front of our camera the reporter whose identity we chose to disguise told a different story. But its evident that there is some degree of selfcensorship being practiced at the moment because the plan post was you know starts its for possible that its a precious weve been made to stop as well and it isnt just those inside cambodia insensed scare tactics have proven effective well beyond the countrys borders even interviewees we approached outside cambodia were very reluctant to speak to us going through a huge transformation at the moment and we just dont know yet where the lines will be drawn between can be said and what can not be said and in thats. The most rational thing to do is to be very cautious people at the moment are just sort of holding their breath if you there are two pretty side the government there to speak to truths you have to leave the country for fear of arrests and pursuit persecution i myself. I have to leave the country and the government issue arrest warrant against me i cannot return to cambodia. With the space for traditional media shrinking one Online Platform has offered an alternative facebook a recent study by the Asia Foundation found that the network can since two thousand and sixteen become commodious go to source for the news but in october last year facebook chose cambodia as one of six countries to participate in an experiment