On 3 May 2018, to celebrate World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations will launch the UNESCO study on World Trends of Freedom of Expression and Media Development, led for Wits by Dr Iginio Gagliardone, and produced in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, in consultation with research teams across five continents. The study was a major undertaking, charting recent trends in global media and communications, including the rise in algorithmic pluralism, the increasing polarization of the public sphere, and the role played by private spaces for expression (e.g. social media) in shaping public debates.
The event will be opened by the UN Secretary-General and followed by a panel including Professor Nicole Stremlau, as lead researcher of the publication. The final report can be accessed here.
