Online media overview: Algeria

ESSENTIAL FACTS

> The Internet penetration level is low but is set to be gradually offset by the roll-out of 3G from late 2013.
> There is little direct censorship but pressure is placed on news websites, particularly by means of the allocation or withholding of advertising budgets.
> There is no dramatic rise in the number of pure players.
> The three principal paper-format daily newspapers in the country dominate online news, although with little editorial or technological innovation.
> The paper-format daily newspapers are largely ignored on social networks, although certain news and citizen-journalism Facebook pages are extremely popular and influential.

News websites to watch:

El Watan, Tout sur l'Algérie, Algérie-Focus, Maghreb Émergent, Les Envoyés Spéciaux Algériens.

METHODOLOGY

Each country file starts with four indicators to illustrate the environment within which the online media are evolving:

• Internet penetration level, according to the 2013 figures from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• Online advertising revenue per Internet user per annum, for 2015, according to Arab Media Outlook projections cross-referenced with the ITU statistics
• The 2015 Work Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters without Borders
• The Freedom of the Net 2014 Index, compiled by Freedom House

The above four indicators are represented graphically in the four quarters of a "sonar" screen, in which the coloured area is proportional to the absolute value (in the case of Internet penetration level) or relative value (in the case of word press and Internet freedom scores and for advertising revenue) across the sample for the eight indicator countries.

A table then lists the five principal news websites most visited in that country, in accordance with the Alexa platform ranking.

For each of these news websites we indicate the following:

• The website URL
• The number of Likes on its Facebook page
• The number of its followers on Twitter
• The type of news website: