Praguers celebrate 23rd anniversary of Velvet Revolution satirical parade. Demotix/ Radim Beznoska. All rights reserved.This fall’s conference – Populism, authoritarianism, and the media: The age of mediocracy and mediacracy – will take place in Prague, 12-14 November. The event will address the influence of authoritarianism and populism on the development of the media and communication industries in Central and Eastern Europe as well as other regions of the world. Confirmed speakers include: Peter Pomerantsev; Endre B. Bojtár, Benjamin De Cleen; Jiří Pehe, Christopher Walker, and Anna Matušková. For a full list of themes to be addressed, please see the call for papers. All other details can be found on the conference website. This gathering is part of the international conference series Prague Media Point, an annual event that addresses both global and regional issues related to the transformation of media industries and politics.
After months, if not years, of life in the shadows, Russian propaganda has hit the mainstream. No longer relegated to nasty disinformation campaigns in far-off Eastern Europe countries, we now have RT as a dominant presence on our TVs at home and on the road. We read what seem like weekly articles on the so-called troll factories, and now envision hordes of young Russians being paid to swarm social media with tweets that subtly support Kremlin positions.
One, in short, no longer has to search far to learn that the West is a moral cesspool that hypocritically advocates for respect for human rights abroad but incarcerates innocent people at home, engages in widespread police brutality, and corrupts family values.
