Internet access

In a speech to mark World Press Freedom Day (03.05.2011), Deutsche Welle Director-General Erik Bettermann pointed out the ambivalent nature of the Internet.

He told an event in Brussels that the "free exchange of information and opinions for Internet bloggers and people using social networks can be dangerous." Technical aids make it possible to trace the origin of even anonymous expressions of opinion and to take action against different-minded people.

"The Internet is no longer an instrument for dissidents and activists, but also for dictators," said Bettermann.

He added that state institutions in Arab countries and in China use it to "keep [dissidents] in line and cut off from the outside world."

China's Intranet

In China, the digital wall has downgraded the Internet to a national Intranet, Bettermann said. It's being used to nip opposition in the bud. Such measures also make it more difficult for people abroad to obtain information about China. Internet searches conducted from foreign countries are censored in China or don't lead anywhere.

This is influencing the way China is viewed in the West. There is a lot of evidence of an exchange of "censorship know-how" between China and other authoritarian regimes, Bettermann said.

The Director-General added that the Chinese government has thousands of bloggers on the payroll in its "Five-Cent Party." These people make entries into Internet forums reflecting the government's line, either because it is their conviction or because they are being paid to do so. It's almost impossible to discern whether an opinion expressed is actually that of the person who posted it or if he or she was paid to do so.

Foreign media need to be very careful when assessing or using such sources. Due to the tighter controls imposed upon opponents of the regime in Beijing, DW's Chinese service sees its list of interview partners getting shorter by the day, Bettermann said.

Challenge for journalists

The increasing manipulation of the Internet poses a major challenge for journalists. This needs to be taken into account in the training of journalists.

"Web 2.0 along with its risks and opportunities are core components of the curriculum offered by the DW Academy," Bettermann said. The Academy is Deutsche Welle's international center for media development, media consulting and journalistic training.

Bettermann said that Deutsche Welle's journalistic output had been repeatedly blocked in important target regions. At the beginning of April, radio broadcasts in Amharic to Ethiopia were jammed and satellite broadcasts to Iran have been repeatedly deliberately jammed.

Author: Berthold Stevens / pfd
Editor: Rob Turner