Media Diversity Institute

20/10/2026

Chatbots are a “new and rapidly emerging threat” to women and girls, generating harmful content and fuelling violence.

Experts are calling for urgent action to challenge and monitor the systems which are compounding social harm and undermining equity for marginalised communities. They say gaps in law and policy need to close.

Read the story by Christiana Warne on our website to find out the details of their recommendations.
🔗 https://www.media-diversity.org/eliminating-ai-gender-bias-and-violence-against-women/

12/10/2026

Indigenous Peoples are still too often spoken about in the news rather than heard directly.

In Latin America, just 3% of people featured in news coverage were from Indigenous or tribal groups, according to the Global Media Monitoring Project. In Colombia, more recent monitoring found that government sources appeared considerably more often than direct Indigenous representation.

But representation is not only about who gets quoted. It is also about how stories are framed and whether journalists understand the communities they are reporting on.

Colombian journalist Vanessa Teteye Mendoza told MDI that coverage can treat the country’s many Indigenous groups as though they were one, while relying on stereotypes rather than providing the context needed to understand issues around history, colonialism, land rights and culture.

“The media doesn’t explain what the people’s relationship is with the environment, their culture, their languages.”

Teteye Mendoza argues that better coverage requires journalists to develop a deeper understanding of Indigenous communities and histories.

MDI’s Media Diversity Index South America 2026 also calls for stronger references to diversity in journalistic codes of conduct to avoid reproducing prejudices, generalisations and stereotypes, as well as more discussion of diversity at major media events.

As countries across the Americas mark 12 October, we look at how Indigenous Peoples are represented in mainstream media, whose voices shape the coverage and what needs to change.

Read the full article:

Indigenous journalists are calling for better representation in mainstream media. We examine stereotypes, missing voices and Indigenous media coverage.

11/10/2026

Our next newsletter lands on 15 October, and subscribers will be the first to hear our latest Diversity Matters podcast.

To mark Black History Month, special guest host Joy Francis (Hon) FRSL is joined by Nadine White, one of the UK’s leading Black journalists.

We’ll also be sharing how MDI and our wider network have been contributing to conversations at forums across Europe, including in Belgium, Croatia and Hungary, alongside upcoming events and opportunities to join us.

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Sign up to the MDI newsletter: https://www.media-diversity.org/

09/10/2026

With renewed fighting in Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Houthis centred on gaining control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key trading corridor with global impact, we focus on how African media is reporting the conflict.

Control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern end of the Red Sea between Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea, affects Africa’s trade and regional security.
Abdullahi Jimoh explores the role of proximity on coverage and examines who is influencing and shaping narratives on the conflict.

The article raises the question: what about the voices of Yemenis affected by the violence – how easy is it to hear their stories in African media?

You can read Whose Voice Matters? How African Media are Covering the Conflict in Yemen, on our website.

https://www.media-diversity.org/whose-voice-matters-how-african-media-are-covering-the-conflict-in-yemen/

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 By Abdullahi Jimoh  The long-standing conflict between Yemen’s Houthi movement and the Saudi-led coalition has shaped how African media frame …

08/10/2026

One day to go!

We're looking forward to the Varaždin Media Festival in Croatia, which starts tomorrow. MDI is proud to be a partner.

Our teams are hosting panel discussions during the two-day event on topics including how to appeal to audiences and reporting conflicts and war crimes:

🎤 What do we (not) know about media audiences?
The session, hosted by Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans, will explore strategies to increase audience engagement and build sustainability.

🎤 Reporting on War Crimes: Lessons Learned and New Challenges.
MDI and The Reckoning Project host this session on the ethics of war reporting.

MDI Executive Director Milica Pesic will moderate the discussion on audiences and explains more in the video.

🎟️ If you're going to the Festival please join us there. If not, you'll be able to watch recordings online later.

▶You can find more information and watch the recorded sessions here: https://vmf.hr/en/programme/

South East European Network for Professionalization of Media
Seemo
24sata

Varaždin media fest

06/10/2026

An important report by IFJ - International Federation of Journalists on the safety of journalists, showing how they're being spied on at an "unprecedented rate".

What does that mean for media inclusion and diversity?

The report highlights a couple of areas of concern:

1. Surveillance impacts the safety of those who want to share stories – especially victims and vulnerable groups. “Surveillance compromises confidentiality between journalists and their sources, especially whistleblowers, human rights defenders, and victims of abuse.”

2. Surveillance doesn’t affect all journalists equally, with research showing that women journalists, LGBTQ+ media workers and those from marginalised racial or ethnic groups often face amplified harms, like harassment, doxxing and stigmatisation.

⚡️ A new report 'Hacked Silence: Journalists and surveillance – addressing legal and regulatory challenges' has been launched today!

Journalists around the world are being subjected to on an unprecedented scale. Every intercepted message, monitored call or compromised device can put journalists, their sources and their safety at risk, and undermine the public’s right to know.

🔴 The report examines how existing laws and regulatory frameworks protect, or fail to protect, journalists from surveillance. Drawing on legislation, regulations, resolutions and landmark legal cases, it provides a global analysis of the legal environment in which journalists and media operate.

The publication also looks in depth at 10 countries: India, Pakistan, Kenya, Italy, Serbia, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, Lebanon and Jordan.

📢 President Zuliana Lainez said: “This study is a wake up call for journalists, media, citizens and governments. It clearly shows how surveillance of the press has become a serious threat to journalists’ safety worldwide. We need a global response to eradicate the surveillance of those who risk their life to inform the public. We urgently need stronger laws defining clearly what tools can be used, when, and by whom.“

The study was commissioned by the IFJ as part of its contribution to the BBC Media Action-led project, Brave Media.

🔗 Link to the report in the comments!

IFJ Asia-Pacific Federación Internacional de Periodistas - Oficina Regional América Latina European Federation of Journalists - EFJ IFJ Africa Office الإتحاد الدولي للصحفيين فدراسیون بین المللی روزنامه نگاران National Union of Journalists NewsGuild-CWA National Writers Union Unifor Canada CWA Canada Asociación Nacional de Periodistas del Perú (ANP) SNJ Snj-cgt FNSI - Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije Federación de Periodistas de América Latina y el Caribe Fatpren FAJ, IFJ Afrique Fenaj MEAA

05/10/2026

Powering the growth of AI has become a major flashpoint for communities across the world. The construction of data centres has attracted protests over electricity and water usage and costs, pollution and the impact on vulnerable groups.

In our latest article we explore how the media has covered the issue over recent years and whose voices have dominated the story.

Will the controversy over data centres lead to more inclusion, with those most affected gaining more attention?

Read the story on our website: https://www.media-diversity.org/ai-data-centres-is-media-coverage-inclusive/

29/09/2026

Both sides in the escalating conflict between Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen are fighting to gain more territory and control of important waterways and infrastructure. They’re also battling for control of the narrative to win public support.

Some of that support is coming from influencers based in Western countries.

In our latest article, Santiago Bracho asks why influencers are backing the Houthi rebels, even comparing their leaders to “fictional heroes fighting an imperial force”.

He examines the impact that one-sided view on Yemen is having on perceptions and questions why those who claim to promote egalitarianism and social justice are ignoring the voices of activists and those suffering in the country.

Read the article: https://www.media-diversity.org/why-are-so-many-alternative-online-media-figures-supporting-houthi-rebels-in-yemen/

24/09/2026

Gender quality in the creatives is slowing or even stalling in some areas. One of the main challenges female industry leaders face is accessing financing.

In the film industry, women-led movies can bring in better returns than their male colleagues, yet they access a fraction of the funding.

Recent research is revealing the obstacles women face and raising questions about sound investment strategies. It has found that cognitive gender bias shapes every stage of the finance process, with women’s expertise underestimated and projections doubted. Racial bias compounds this for founders of colour.

Read our story to see what's being recommended to tackle the problem.
🔗https://www.media-diversity.org/undercovering-gender-bias-in-the-screen-industry/

23/09/2026

Young people have led movements and pushed for political and social change across the world. But having a voice does not necessarily mean being heard.

At the YOU(th) Care For Change Rethinking Youth Work and Activism Seminar in Brussels last week, participants from 12 countries discussed what needs to change. A big part of that conversation was about space.

Young people are increasingly organising outside traditional structures, building their own networks and communities around the issues they care about. But those spaces need recognition, resources and the freedom to evolve.

As Panagiotis Chatzimichail from OBESSU said: “Youth don’t need help, they need recognition.”

The seminar also explored how youth can engage with institutions, build alliances and use both online and offline spaces to strengthen their collective voice.

Read more about what we heard in Brussels: https://www.media-diversity.org/reclaiming-spaces-for-youth-activism/