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CARNEGIE
COUNCIL FOR ETHICS IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: THE ETHICAL BLOGGER PROJECT: 13/12/2007
UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 13 December 2007 -- For
the first time in history, blogs provide a forum where millions of people can
have a say. At their best, they can provide useful information and a fruitful
sharing of ideas from all over the virtual world. But at their worst, they can
spread outright lies and biased information to enormous audiences.
Is it possible to establish a voluntary but widely accepted blogging code of
conduct? Can we find ways to encourage bloggers to use their power for the
public good?
Rising
to this challenge, the Council teamed up with Brown University's Watson
Institute for International Studies, Demos—the
Think Tank for Everyday Democracy, and Oxford University's Reuter's
Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Together
they created the Ethical Blog Project, with its own blog, The
Ethical Blogger.
There is clearly a hunger for this kind of material. Launched on October 22,
2007, The Ethical Blogger has attracted tens of thousands of visitors in only
five weeks. What's more, on November 14, Google nominated it as one of their
"blogs of note".
The group is delighted to welcome its newest partner, New York University's Center
for Global Affairs, which joined the project on November 27.
"We are trying to encourage civility in the blogosphere because blogs have
the power to do good, giving voice to the voiceless and shining a spotlight on
corruption, human rights abuses, or environmental degradation," says Devin
Stewart, Director of Carnegie Council's Global
Policy Innovations Program and one of The Ethical Blogger's founders.
"We
recently discussed a
case in China in which a couple exposed a real estate scam using a blog.
Some of the issues we have been grappling with so far include the utility of
anonymity, privacy issues, parental responsibility, and a blog's role in
politics. We have benefited enormously and learned a great deal from the many
comments people have posted on our blog," said Stewart.
"Our
overall goal is to remind publics at large that ethics is global, not culturally
specific," continues Stewart. "We would like to find a set of norms
that can be applied to many contexts. Political or personal security situations
might change the game in terms of the relative appropriateness of anonymity, for
example.
Meanwhile, if unethical blogging gets out of hand, governments will
step in and regulate. Let's not let a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of
us. Technology guided by ethics can help create a better world."
Recent
stories include:
Check out The Ethical Blogger for yourself! Go to http://ethicalbloggerproject.blogspot.com/
Labels: United
Nations, U.N., Carnegie
Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Ethical
Blogs, Devin
Stewart,
Global Policy Innovations, Watson's Institute for International
Studies,
Reuter's Institute for the Study of Journalism.
~~~~~
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