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Thursday, July 22, 2021

Vibrant Information Barometer

The IREX organisation has Vibrant Information Barometer (VIBE) reports https://www.irex.org/resource/vibrant-information-barometer-vibe on 13 countries (listed below) - it is a "an annual study that tracks how information is produced, spread, consumed, and used". The reports appear to be informative reports on a discussion of panellists (plus reference to some relevant external surveys etc.) and the panellists score each country on 4 principles, which between them have 20 indicators:
Principle 1: Information Quality (e.g. Indicator 1: There is quality information on a variety of topics available; Indicator 2: The norm for information is that it is based on facts.);
Principle 2: Multiple Channels: How Information Flows (e.g. Indicator 6: People have rights to create, share, and consume information, Indicator 9: There are diverse channels for information flow);
Principle 3: Information Consumption and Engagement (e.g. Indicator 11: People can safely use the internet due to privacy protections and security tools, Indicator 12: People have the necessary skills and tools to be media literate.);
Principle 4: Transformative Action (e.g. Indicator 16: Information producers and distribution channels enable or encourage information sharing across ideological lines, Indicator 19: Government uses quality information to make public policy decisions.

There is a dashboard where the "vibrancy" scores can be explored in detail, and the methodology is explained there too. The countries are: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine. IREX was started by agencies in the USA, to support and promote a Western democratic approach, and has broadened in its scope; it is now also supported internationally by numerous other agencies and foundations in its development work, see here.

Photo by Sheila Webber: St Basil's cathedral, Moscow, Russia, December 2009.

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