Rolling news formats, comments sections and “like” buttons to click – these features have all become the norm when it comes to digesting the news in the digital age. How is the increasing popularity of social media affecting how we read the news?

Clashes between white supremacists and anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia in mid-August highlighted the blurry lines between freedom of speech and hate speech in the public sphere. But how does the media industry differentiate between the two, as the rise of social media makes expressing oneself online easier than ever – but harder and harder to control?

WAN-IFRA and the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) have written to US Vice President Joseph Biden urging him, on his upcoming visit to Ankara, Turkey on 24 August, to raise with the Turkish government issues of journalists becoming targets for state repression and to request the immediate release of those who have been sent to jail or who are awaiting trial simply for carrying out their professional duties.

WAN-IFRA and global freedom of expression organizations have submitted a joint written statement to the Human Rights Council highlighting the deterioration of the human rights situation in Turkey. Read the full submission here.