A blockade after accusing it of supporting terrorism cata has strongly tonight the allegations up to date with all of our top stories listening starts now ill see you in about twenty five minutes. Rush. Off. On. I am on the next i dont know mr and mike each of us in the west. Must lower much against burden 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 vali was arrested last week and is you tube based 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 vollies 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 circumvent. 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 live on these been arrested 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 would tailor made moments for the meet. Look i should also some of the journalists in the cut the line in the comedy show. That sound you hear is a chain saw the police playing very part in the new spectacle this particular video is made of erratic during the conversation that the hosts are having while the police is trying to break through the door of the beating of a 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 they have 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 him. Because if he doesnt. 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 feel like and when the western media covers the arrest and helps them build an image with the market. 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 tended 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 boys of criticism of accent 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 some ideas they just dont write about this now because he doesnt say anything. Now when his base of support is not moscow it is not russia but it is mostly in the west among American Government officials and i make and media and some european. 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 mean and when it comes to nevada and his supporters. Because even the flat amir 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 the room which it did when it came to power in two thousand was arresting the owner of and to reach out to control over to be pretty quickly that it took control of our biggest internet newspapers like the orlando but then social networks became very important and she faced the problem that you cannot just close facebook so this is the biggest challenge now for the kremlin actually is clustered year expressed of being 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 no by a given media that i know im a do that we should take the counter position more. And media executives have developed an internal system of valiants where they fell for over what kinds of things they can and cannot say otherwise they wouldnt keep their job. But still if you are not a very deep informational source in less than one Million Euros per month usually they will allow you exists. Theres a reason for that lattimer putin understands that he does not need to control all of the russian news media just the bulk of the major players. Which is why for the most part the kremlin 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 Western opinion not all media in russia support the government positions opposition magazines and newspapers. Opposition Radio Stations and evidently has access to newspapers and magazines he has access to radio he has access to 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 but a mere putin the president who stood up to the west during the showdown over ukraine as the savior that russia and russians. Are all live on how bad is everything in ukraine. Which have got a. Bad situation. Because of immigration because its explained like in the phrasing of. Them yes they tried to explain that russia is the only one. Of prices accordingly and venues we do feel that lets them. Defend us from these in the face there is a specific narrative that they are trying to push right now but there is. About. Restoring an asian monastery involved in the northern part of prussia girly the overages little bit of the procedure but the season of that and the message of the story is to try to come by some sort of further lead narrative and. Ability to restore justice to bring order and to show her as this National Savior so the sort of really just sentiment that plays a here is something that the kremlin is trying to exploit of. 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 us lot outside 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 most recent 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 within social media posts criticizing the governments attacks on the kurdish y p g militia in the syrian province of free news outlets affected all the 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 mike deaver way in its campaign the other story youre looking into is an expose of a company that is alleged to sell followers on twitter a socalled follower factory first of all who broke that story the New York Times said 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 divinia create 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 whats become clear is that the sale and use of twitter bots is now pretty common the times report quick to destigmatize putting the percentage of fake twitter accounts as high as fifteen percent and that giving itself a sold more than two hundred million followers in total by the companys founder does deny his company has actually sold any fake photos among giving his customers named in the investigation are a c. N. N. Contributor hilary rosen and an editor at the Chinese State run news agency to walk us through whats being done about what the hopes are is not very much although twitters terms of use clearly state that uses 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 particularly vigilant in dealing with these fake accounts ok thanks from cambodia is another country with an election coming up the vote is five months away and it was conceivable that the government of one send 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 the journalist say have been manufactured the 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. Meets. 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 photo 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 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 had their licenses suspended for carrying programs produced by Us Government funded broadcasters are they radio free asia and v. O. A. Voice of america radio especially. In and radio a country significantly to the results of the elections in cambodia we are truth and a 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 the children nephews nieces the Government Official and that really make the government really really unhappy with us they saw them as a media that support. The Opposition Party they. Are. Bringing a lot of things the problem is the gun his gun has been for us and of course the broadcast a lot to you know leave us today and soul to least come back those people from the radio. Is a significant thing. And its not just radio in september they can both be our 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 come border lee all right rule free asia. They not the by why dont all the sovereign states but not high tech and if you live in this nation tech 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 the 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 to the. Contrary. Its evident that there is some degree of selfcensorship being practiced at the moment because the prime time post of course you know starts is full of 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 that situation the most rational thing to do is to be very cautious people at the moment are just sort of holding their breath if you they are too pretty side to come in there to speak to truths you have to leave the country for fear of. 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 can bodi as one of six countries to participate in an experiment in which content from news publishers was pushed away from peoples news feeds into a separate explorer section unless they were prepared to pay to promote it the effect was tangible when facebook rolled out its explorer experiment in october people were very concerned the fear was that you would have a very biased situation where most independent me there would be pushed on to explore and that other media perhaps where the Financial Resources would still be able to put the contents on the news feed the facebook explorer feed really a fake show a figure of a reach to come boudin audion anything you post on of a page it doesnt show to regular we have seen decrease in the number of people following over news. The facebook experiment played right into the hands of the Prime Minister who seemed set on taking down all u. S. Funded Media Outlets from the outset ever since the two thousand and thirteen election his party has accused these outlets of being part of an american conspiracy to topple the government the irony is the c. P. P. Has long been dependent on the us for aid but those funds come with Strings Attached preserving media freedoms for example not freedoms and send has been particularly happy to embrace but that. And there were you know why are you the democracy there why are you freedom of media in place which is why you have so. Democracy just on the again to attract. Is not a real commitment to democracy. A commitment to democracy the Prime Minister and send no longer needs to comply with thanks to a willing new partner china when they close down. And so that the media keep raising the relationship with china for the government tried to send a message to the u. S. Government that im not afraid of you know you are not my boss. This is my country i think the message very clear they come running government has broken with the west basically theyve broken with two decades so western efforts to bring democracy in the country turn away from the west has been enabled by chinas full political and economic support i think. You dont want to play with me if. I just want to clarify on this because a lot of people they missed on this. If you. Country like i said you want to friend with the u. S. You also want her good friend with china. But if chinas own record on press freedom is anything to go by the new relationship between north and beijing does not bode well for the journalists silenced and the media outlet shut down. And voters in the run up to a crucial election are getting less and less news and information just the way you sound like so. Finally last years president ial election in kenya was not exactly a textbook exercise in democracy the incumbent who kenyatta one the august election which his main rival rylan odinga said was rigged the courts agreed with that ordered another vote in october which would then go then boycotted saying it was never going to be a fair fight so kenyatta was eventually sworn in but i didnt hasnt gone away this past week he held his own swearing in ceremony declaring himself the peoples president now katie and was one of three Kenyan Television networks that plan to cover that event the authorities ordered all three of them off the air so katie and provided live coverage online were leaving you now with some images from both swearing in ceremonies kenyatta and odinga us note the similarities and the k. T. An actor struggling to characterize this latest swearing in ceremony that really wasnt well see you next time here at the listening post. As president of the republic of it was. This. Year and i thought it. Was. Right. That it was kind of a david kenyans have been waiting we did bated breath because maybe doubting whether it really will get down to business it is come to pass a rhino dingan nasa need it has just to take an oath of office as a president off the peoples as president people. From Satellite Technology to three d. Printing i agree cycled waste to solar powered classrooms africa is transforming young innovators are propelling change Building Communities creating employment and solving problems challenging systems and shaping you want. Creative thinkers shaping continents future innovate africa. On aljazeera. To. Paint the scene for us where theyre online what is american sign in yemen that peace is always possible but it never happens not because the situation is complicated but because no one cares or if you join us on set there are people there are choosing between buying medication eating this is a dialogue i want to get in one more comment because this is someone who is an activist and has posted a story join a global conversation at this time on aljazeera. I know im Maryam Namazie and london has a round up of your top stories on aljazeera. Is claiming it was behind the downing of a russian jet over italy province in syria