Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or

commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others.

Phishing is the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details
(and, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic
communication.
citizen journalism
noun
1. the collection, dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the general public, especially
by means of the Internet.

Power to The People?

Posted by: cmfr
Posted on: July 6, 2007, 1:25 pm
inShare

On the rise of citizen journalism

Power to The People?
By Melanie Y. Pinlac
MODERN TECHNOLOGY has brought about changes in the landscape of news media. Today, another
new journalistic form is challenging the norms of traditional journalism. This new formcitizen
journalismis challenging the notion that only trained and professional journalists can come up with
reliable news reports.
Advocates of this new form want to escape from the mainstream medias alleged monopoly over
information and to give this power to inform to ordinary citizens. Advocates say that citizen journalism
provides the public a source of news other than the mainstream media.
In MediaShift, a weblog that tracks the effects of new digital technologies on media, editor Mark Glaser
defines citizen journalists as people without professional journalism training (using) the tools of modern
technology and the global distribution of the Internet to create, augment, or fact-check media on their own
or in collaboration with others.
Citizen journalism initiators also think they could thrive without the principles that serve as the foundation
of traditional news media. One of these principles, objective reporting, is something citizen journalists
could live without, they say.

A break from tradition

In an interview published in Japan Media Review (http://www.japanmediareview.com), Oh Heon-Yo,
founder of the South Korean website OhmyNews, said citizens without journalistic practice (or citizen
journalists) should not be expected to write straight, objective articles.
We not only break the concept of who reporters are, but also the formula of reporters are supposed to
be like blah, blah, blah, he said. Articles, including both facts and opinions, are acceptable when they
are good.
Oh, a former reporter for the alternative magazine Mal, launched the pioneer citizen journalism site in
Asia, OhmyNews (http://www.ohmynews.com/) in 2000. This is in answer to the discontent that citizens
feel about conservative news media and their desire for a space where they could talk about themselves.
In his interview with Wired.com, Oh explained, We wanted to say goodbye to 20th-century journalism
where people only saw things through the eyes of the mainstream, conservative media.
The site started with only four reporters. Today, it has 53 staff members and approximately 38,000 citizen
reporters. These citizen reporters are paid according to the ranking of their storiesbasic, bonus, or
special.
Other than giving ordinary Koreans the chance to be reporters, OhmyNews was said to have opened new
ground for political reform in the country. For example, it helped then candidate Roh Moo-Hyun win in the
2002 presidential elections. According to reports, OhmyNews allegedly gave Roh the attention
conservative press denied him.
Today, other Asians like the Japanese have attempted to build their own citizen journalism-inspired
websites.
Filipino initiatives
In the Philippines, the idea of transforming ordinary Filipinos into citizen journalists is slowly gaining
acceptance. Perhaps because of the low Internet penetration rate and the high web maintenance fee,
most citizen journalism sites in the Philippines are owned by bigger or mainstream media organizations.
This is different from other countries where citizen journalism thrives in stand-alone web sites like
OhmyNews.
Some examples are the Sun.Stars Citizen Watch and GMANews.TVs YouScoop.
Sun.Star Networks Citizen Watch: The Arroyo Presidency invites ordinary readers to post analyses and
stories on develop-ments involving President Gloria Macapagal Arroyos admi-nistration. This is apart
from their regular Sun.Star website, where daily news reports are written by the newspapers pool of
professional reporters. Citizen Watch was launched after the success of the Arroyo Watch project in
2005. The Arroyo Watch weblog was formed to track the updates regarding the Hello, Garci scandal.
The YouScoop of GMANews.TV, on the other hand, tries to involve citizens in online journalism by
giving them a free hand in uploading pictures and videos that they think are newsworthy.
Not just online
Another noticeable feature of Philippine citizen journalism is that it is not limited to the online medium.
Acknowledging the success of online citizen journalism in other Asian countries, big media companies
have realized the potential of citizen-driven news media. Besides fulfilling a social responsibilitythat is,
empo-wering the people through newsthey are also able to cover areas where media companies do not
have regular reporters.
Today, the Philippine traditional mediaprint and broadcasthave used citizen journalism in short
messaging and multimedia messaging systems.
In the 2007 elections, ABS-CBN launched a project which was supposedly patterned after the idea of
citizen journalism. Boto Mo, i-Patrol Mo gave ordinary voters the power to report unusual and suspicious
activities in their neighborhoods through their mobile phones. ABS-CBN then flashed the reports on air.
In an interview with PJR Reports, Maria Ressa, ABS-CBNs head of News and Public Affairs, said, the
overarching idea for this Boto Mo, i-Patrol Mo was empowerment using technology and mass media in
order to ensure the credibility of the elections. She added that through this initiative, voters were also
given the capability to hold officials accountable.
Beyond writing letters to the editor and contributing to reader-driven columns, some Philippine dailies
want their readers to venture into citizen journalism.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, for example, calls on its readers to share the good news where you are
and the bad. In its Metro Citizens Call section, the Inquirer features text and photos sent by concerned
readers which range from personal appeals and criticisms about local governance to alleged illegal
activities in their neighborhoods.
Redefining journalism
Still, the idea of having a press dominated by those who do not have any idea of journalism is absurd for
some journalists. They believe that citizen journalism should follow the basic principles observed by
traditional news media.
According to Vergel Santos, chair of BusinessWorlds editorial board, the idea that anybody can be a
journalist poses a danger to the profession. He also says such thinking cheapens the profession.
Journalism calls, not only for the understanding of certain skills, but the acquisition of certain skills at
certain levels. So, being able to build a site and disseminate whatever information you wish to
disseminate to audiences does not constitute journalism, Santos stressed.
He compares journalism to carpentry. Having the tools for carpentry does not make one a carpenter,
unless one has learned the proper skills needed in the craft, he said.
Im not saying that citizens cannot be journalists. If they train, they might be able to do it, Santos said.
But to be able to practice journalism without training, I dont understand how they will do it.
Danilo Arao, a University of the Philippines journalism professor, says giving readers the chance to have
their comments and stories see print or be uploaded are good initiatives. But, he adds, citizens must be
given the necessary skills and knowledge to become journalists.
For example, according to Arao, Boto Mo, i-Patrol Mo may have manifested the power of the citizens
text messages in helping the network in gathering data but it is not enough to call this citizen journalism.
Arao says what may qualify as citizen journalism in the Philippines is the concept called peryodismong
yapak or barefoot journalism. This is where ordinary citizens are taught how to write stories and
produce community papers.
And some advocates of citizen journalism seem to agree with Santos and Arao.
Back to tradition
Recently, there had been noticeable efforts by citizen journalism sites to enforce rules normally
associated with traditional journalism. Legal as well as ethical problems caused by unverified and
inaccurate reports that appeared in their sites could have caused this change among advocates of citizen
journalism.
OhmyNews, for example, has been a victim of hoaxes such as a report on the supposed assassination of
Microsoft founder Bill Gates from a fake CNN site. Now, OhmyNews enforces strict registration rules for
citizen journalists and has asked its reporters to disclose details concerning their bank accounts to the
editorial board.
Some websites have also required their contributors to abide by certain ethical rules. Sun.Stars Citizen
Watch asks writers to take into consi-deration the CyberJournalist.nets Bloggers Code of Ethics, a
modified form of the US Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. One provision states that
bloggers, like journalists, should be honest and fair in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.
Meanwhile, some online citizen journalism sites, especially in the United States, have realized the
importance of news values and other basic journalistic standards. They have already started offering
Journalism 101 classes to interested citizen journalists under their management.
But a single class in journalism cannot provide all the needed skills in becoming a journalist. One must
have constant practice and training.
After all, there is no such thing as an overnight journalist.

Tourism in Southern Cebu gets

digital boost from Talk N Text,
Internet.org
FOUR eco-tourism groups in Aloguinsan, Cebu are now ready to move to the digital space after attending the
Panalo Community Training sponsored by Talk N Text (TNT), the value brand of Smart Communications, Inc.
(Smart), and organized by Grassroots Travel, a local company working with communities to help promote
responsible and sustainable travel.
During the four-day training, the participants were able to create a demo website for their community groups. They
also learned about travel trends, branding and packaging, blogging, photography, videography, social media
marketing and analytics, online and digital marketing tools, and responsible use of the Internet.
We are happy to support Aloguinsan peoples organizations (POs) because we see their commitment to promote
their town through eco-tourism. The goal of the Panalo Community trainings is to help them provide better tourism
experience by going digital, said Smart Public Affairs-VisMin Senior Manager Atty. Maria Jane C. Paredes.

Eco-tourism associations
Aloguinsan Mayor Cynthia Moreno, during the closing remarks, also thanked the communities for taking the lead in
promoting Aloguinsan. Kamo, ang mga local community dinhi saAloguinsan, ang nagdala sa pangalan sa atong
lungsod nga mailhan sa tibuok probinsya sa Sugbo, sa tibuok nasud ug sa kalibutan. Diba, nindot kaayo
palandungon? (You (the local communities) made Aloguinsan known in the province of Cebu, in the country, and in
the world. Thats really wonderful.), said Mayor Moreno.
The participants of the training are members of four associations managing four different eco-tourism activities in
Aloguinsan: Baetas or Bojo Aloguinsan Ecotourism Association (Bojo River cruise), Kea or Kantabogon Ecotourism
Association (The Hermits Cove), Chat or Cultural Heritage for Aloguinsan Tourism (organic farm and culinary), and
Arra or Aloguinsan Reef Rangers Association (snorkeling and dolphin-watching).

Internet.org initiative
The Panalo Community trainings are part of TNTs campaign to promote Internet.org to empower communities by
providing free access to 30 websites using mobile devices.
A Facebook-led initiative, Internet.org aims to make mobile Internet services available to two-thirds of the world who
are not yet connected. Currently, over 4.5 million Filipinos use Internet.org.
Some of the sites that can be accessed without data charges are Accuweather and Rain Check for weather
updates; Ask.com, Bing Search, WikiHow and Wikipedia for general information; BabyCenter and MAMA for
pregnancy and childcare; Interaksyon.com, Inquirer.net, PhilStar.com, GMA News Online, Rappler and Sun.Star for
news updates;
ESPN and Spin.ph for sports updates; PEP.ph for entertainment news; Facts for Life for health and hygiene;
iMoney.ph and Your Money for personal finances, JobStreet.com for job search; Facebook and Messenger; OLX for
online shopping; Sakay.ph for bus and train directions; TESDA for free programs and training; Wattpad for books
and stories; and Dictionary.com.

The Panalo Community training in Aloguinsan is the first of three modules designed by TNT and Grassroots Travel
to help POs maximize the use of online and digital technologies in promoting eco-tourism in their town. The other
two modules will cover resilient and sustainable tourism; and effective customer service as well as online mobile
payments, respectively.
The same set of trainings will be held in three other towns in Southern Cebu namely Boljoon, Samboan, and
Santander. (Press Release

Inside job? Senior citizen loses P159,000 via

unauthorized online transfer
David Dizon, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at Sep 19 2015 12:24 AM | Updated as of Sep 19 2015 11:31 AM

MANILA - A senior citizen lost P159,000 in savings from a local bank via unauthorized
online fund transfer despite never using his account to transfer funds.
In an interview, businessman Carlos D. Malibiran said Akinto Marketing Corporation
opened a payroll account in his name at Union Bank Aurora-Balete Drive branch in July
2013.
Malibiran, 72, said he worked as a consultant for Akinto, earning P30,000 a month as
consultancy fee, which was deposited regularly to his account.
He said he used the original PIN supplied by the bank to check on his balance online via
the Union Bank website but never made a withdrawal, saying he usually withdrew his
money over the counter.
During the second quarter of 2014, the Union Bank website rejected the PIN code that
Malibiran used to check on his account.
Malibiran said he asked his secretary to call the branch manager, identified as Christian
Dumlao, who said that the Union Bank website usually asked for additional information
online as an added security measure.

"Ganyan talaga po for your additional protection," he recalled the manager as saying.
Malibiran then continued to use his account for one to two months.
He last made a P20,000 over-the-counter withdrawal from his account at Union Bank on
June 5, 2014 and then decided he wanted to let the money accumulate for a while so that
he would have cash before Christmas.
Without his knowledge, the monthly consultancy fees that were being deposited to his
account twice a month were being withdrawn via online fund transfer.
As a result, a total of P159,000 were withdrawn from his account without his knowledge
from July to October 2014.
"When I asked my secretary to call the manager about the balance, the manager said:
'Bakit, may ine-expect ba kayo na papasok na pera?' Sabi niya wala kasi ine-expect
namin may P159,000 na diyan. Ang sabi ng manager: 'Hindi ho, mam. 53 pesos na lang,"
Malibiran said.
A check on his transaction records showed that the online withdrawals were being done
every start of the month on July and August 2014.
The withdrawals then increased in frequency and were being done on the same day that
funds were being deposited to the account.

Human trafficking in Asia going online

3 May 2014

Authors: Alistair D. B. Cook and Caitrona H. Heinl, RSIS

Human traffickers have an increasing number of targets online in Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN region has a growing population of over 600 million and internet
users have doubled. Technology-facilitated trafficking is more diffuse and
adaptive than initially thought, but online tools can also be creatively employed to
counter cross-border trafficking.
The explosion in mobile phone usage in the region facilitates real-time
communication and coordination by traffickers to recruit, harbour, transport, and
provide higher numbers of victims for commercial sexual activity or forced labour.
This in turn broadens their horizon and increases their reach. The sharp incline in
mobile broadband subscribers is also driving the explosion in global connectivity
according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Levels of
cybercrime are increasing as individual and organised criminal groups exploit new
opportunities without the need for complex skills. For instance, online social
media allows for new ways to facilitate people trafficking, distribution of child
abuse material, and new avenues for recruiting victims.
Although ASEAN signed the Declaration Against Trafficking in Persons, Particularly
Women and Children, no significant progress on implementing the Declaration
has been made. In particular, this is because East Asian countries are a major
source for long-distance, transregional trafficking. In the most recent UNODC
Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, East Asia and the Pacific account for
nearly 40 per cent of detected child victims. Also, victims from this region are the
most geographically dispersed found in more than 60 countries.
Trafficking networks seek children for illegal adoption, commercial sexual
exploitation, drug trafficking and child labour. Children under 18 using social
media platforms often fall victim to traffickers. In the first instance, a young
person might receive a friend notification from an unknown person but still accept
the request. They increase exchanges, agree to meet and after continued social
media interaction they meet again. The child subsequently gets trafficked and this
is how an estimated one quarter of children reported missing in Indonesia are
thought to have met their captors on social media platforms like Facebook.
In February 2014, Chinese authorities rescued 382 babies and arrested more
than 1000 people suspected of buying and selling young children online. This
followed a six-month operation in which authorities were made aware of a
website promoting private adoptions. Law enforcement authorities subsequently
uncovered an online black market that connected buyers and sellers over four
websites, online forums and some 30 groups on a popular Chinese messaging
platform.
Law enforcement is increasingly improving and developing methods such as
victim-identification databases and data mining/analytics to improve forensic
processes. However, governments in the ASEAN region need a multi-pronged
strategy that focuses on prosecutions, raises awareness, and involves the private
sector. Singapore developed the National Plan of Action for 201215 which
identifies a 4P strategy of prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership.
Along with the exponential increase in people accessing the internet throughout
Asia, digital activism will develop and grow. There have been several advances in
anti-human trafficking responses, such as the US governments pro-active policy
of combatting human trafficking and corporate social responsibility schemes.
While most innovation in this field emanates from the United States and Europe,
many realise the need to adapt these technological advances to the needs of
people in Asia.
The Virtual Global Taskforce brings law enforcement agencies, NGOs and industry
partners together to protect children from online child abuse. In 2012 Operation
Endeavour an Australian, UK, US and Filipino law enforcement effort through
the Virtual Global Taskforce used online tools such as data mapping to identify
areas in the Philippines where child abuse material was transmitted. Operation
Endeavour led to 29 international arrests, 11 of which were in the Philippines
dismantling an organised crime group that had coordinated the live streaming of
on-demand child sexual abuse.
In October 2013, the Taken Campaign launched the first anti-trafficking mobile
phone application to mark Anti-Slavery Day in London. In 2013, an anti-
trafficking mobile phone application was developed by RedLight Traffic in the US.
Along with the Polaris Project (a US-based NGO), the app provides users with
potential trafficking indicators and red flags to identify victims, a 20-minute
training exercise to recognise trafficking, an anonymous way to report suspected
cases to local authorities, and a sharing tool to establish a local community
network against human trafficking.
Also, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), UNODC and UNESCO joined
forces in March 2014 to promote a global campaign, Your Actions Count Be a
Responsible Traveller. The campaign was launched with private sector support
from Marriott International and Sabre Holdings who will promote it to customers
through their websites (Travelocity and lastminute.com), online booking tools,
their TripCase mobile app and GetThere booking tool.
These types of multi-stakeholder initiatives are sustainable and raise awareness
so are particularly significant for the Asia-Pacific which is regarded as a source
and destination area for trafficked persons.
Several multi-stakeholder approaches in the US and Europe are using ICT to
tackle human trafficking through the use of online petitions, data mapping and
awareness-raising activities. It is difficult for law enforcement authorities and
governments to tackle this threat alone. Therefore, meaningful collaboration
between a range of stakeholders and public-private cooperation are essential to
fight trafficking, and counter criminals increasing use of ICT in Southeast Asia.
Alistair D. B. Cook and Caitrona H. Heinl are Research Fellows with the Centre for
Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies and Centre of Excellence for National
Security (CENS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS),
Nanyang Technological University.