Project defies Gaza ‘information blockade’ with stories in five languages

Project defies Gaza ‘information blockade’ with stories in five languages
Videograb from Whispered in Gaza - "My Brother is Gone". (YouTube)
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Updated 18 January 2023

Project defies Gaza ‘information blockade’ with stories in five languages

Project defies Gaza ‘information blockade’ with stories in five languages

LONDON: A project featuring the personal accounts of 25 Gazans living under Hamas rule has attracted media coverage from around the world, all eager to share the stories of the coastal Palestinian strip, where the ruling party keeps the media under tight control.

The US-based Center for Peace Communications on Monday launched its “Whispered in Gaza” project, which sheds light on the climate of fear and repression created by the Hamas movement across the territory it controls.

To protect the speakers’ identities, CPC created a series of animated videos in place of images in the original materials, all of which Arab News has authenticated by viewing the original footage used for drawing the reproductions.

Al Arabiya, CPC’s Arabic presenting partner, said the initiative aims to “help overcome” the “informational blockade” in the Hamas-controlled strip by interviewing a diverse group of 25 individuals living there.

According to Reporters Without Borders, in July 2020, Hamas issued a ban prohibiting journalists from working for Al Arabiya news channel in response to a report about the arrest of several members of the movement for allegedly working for Israel.

Some of the accounts in the videos expressed longing for the days before Hamas seized power in 2007. One woman, Maryam, spoke about growing up singing and dancing the dabke, an Arab folk dance, and how her dreams of making a career out of her talent were hijacked by Hamas, who threatened her brothers with imprisonment if she pursued her ambition.

CPC President Joseph Braude told Al Arabiya that “Whispered in Gaza” provides a constructive challenge to the international discussion of Gazan affairs.

“On the one hand, it challenges those who justify Hamas militancy to choose between supporting Hamas and supporting the Palestinians it oppresses,” he said.

“We hope as well that governments and international bodies striving to help the Palestinian people in Gaza through direct aid to Hamas will consider the substantial evidence of Hamas financial impropriety that emerges from this testimony. At the same time, the series also challenges the many who oppose Hamas to recognize that countless Gazans want a brighter and more peaceful future, and ask what can be done to empower them.”

The Times of Israel, which has partnered with CPC to present the series in English and French, opened one of its two articles on the topic with the quote “I want Gaza to be liberated from the government of Hamas,” which features in the episode “Bring Back the Dabke.”

In reference to the video “My Brother is Gone,” the Jerusalem-based online newspaper wrote that “under Hamas rule, the line between taxation and racketeering is a blurred one,” citing a Palestinian poll which revealed that “73 percent of Palestinians believe Hamas institutions are corrupt.”

Many Gazans, according to Braude, already speak out on social media in an attempt to convey their suffering to the world, but are often pressured by Hamas to remove their posts.

The series was also covered by the London-based independent Iranian newspaper Kayhan Life, which cooperated with CPC to translate the stories into Farsi, making them available to an audience that can relate to the Gazans’ suffering.

The Spanish edition of the project has been presented by Infobae a US-based online newspaper, while the Brazilian free-to-air television network Record TV supported the Portuguese version.
 


Chalhoub Group launches Web3-native sneaker brand

Chalhoub Group launches Web3-native sneaker brand
Updated 22 March 2023

Chalhoub Group launches Web3-native sneaker brand

Chalhoub Group launches Web3-native sneaker brand
  • Designed by French designer Kacimi Latamene, new collection will launch on April 12

DUBAI: UAE-based Chalhoub Group has announced the launch of SOL3MATES, a Web3-native sneaker brand, which will produce limited-edition sneakers.

Self-described as a “community-centric sneaker brand,” SOL3MATES aims to create an immersive and engaging experience by involving its community members in all aspects of the sneaker journey, from onboarding new designers to the co-creation of upcoming sneaker drops.

To join the community, customers can buy a membership non-fungible token, or NFT, that will provide benefits such as early access, preferred pricing, virtual wearables, free merchandise, community events and access to monthly sneaker giveaways.

“We listen to our customers, notably in the shoe space where we like to think of ourselves as catalysts for innovation, and find answers to their demands,” said Michael Chalhoub, president of strategy, growth, innovation and investment and joint ventures at Chalhoub Group.

“SOL3MATES will be to the sneaker industry what the lace is to the shoe: The element that ties it all, that brings the physical and the digital together, and that links the sneaker community with the Web3 community in an original way,” he said.

SOL3MATES isn’t Chalhoub Group’s first venture in the Web3 space. Last year, the group’s Christofle entered the metaverse with its first NFT collection “925 Genesis MOOD,” which sold out in five minutes.  

Since then, “we started thinking what we could launch that could generate an even bigger impact.” The result is SOL3MATES, which “aims to be the small snowball that creates an avalanche of positive disruption in the sneaker industry, together with its community and the designers we’ll collaborate with,” said Nick Vinckier, head of corporate innovation and founder of SOL3MATES.

All of SOL3MATES’ sneaker collections will be designed in collaboration with upcoming sneaker designers from around the world.

The first collection, to be revealed on April 12, is designed by up-and-coming French designer Kacimi Latamene, who has worked with several leading designers such as Vitaly and Natasha Zinko.

Latamene said: “The most important aspect of this new brand is that it allows me to get in touch directly with the sneaker community. The SOL3MATES members will be involved in the entire journey. I’ll be able to build a relationship and share the story behind my designs.”

SOL3MATES sneakers will be available for pre-order in limited quantities and community members owning an NFT will have pre-access to the sneakers at a preferred price.

After the community pre-order window closes and if any sneakers remain, others will be able to pre-order the product.

The SOL3MATES sneakers will be delivered for free to community members worldwide one month before the public. They will also feature NFC authentication, AR augmentation and a virtual counterpart, wearable in Decentraland.

Last year, Chalhoub Group unveiled “GCC State of the Metaverse and its Potential for Luxury Retail,” a report which revealed the thoughts of Gulf consumers about Web3, which includes the metaverse, cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

The report showed high levels of awareness across all facets of Web3, with consumers being most aware of crypto (77 percent), followed by NFTs (49 percent) and the metaverse (46 percent), mainly among younger, high-income males predominantly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman.  

Luxury consumers want to engage in metaverse experiences, with 89 percent saying that they would like to preview products in the metaverse and 87 percent saying they expect their favorite brands to be present in the metaverse.

Still, “we do not believe in a virtual-only future,” Vinckier told Arab News in a separate interview.

He added: “We don’t sell luxury. Luxury is the experience in the (purchase) journey and that will be the same for Web3.”


TikTok revamps community guidelines, adds new policies

TikTok revamps community guidelines, adds new policies
Updated 22 March 2023

TikTok revamps community guidelines, adds new policies

TikTok revamps community guidelines, adds new policies
  • Platform to tackle AI and climate change in new update

DUBAI: TikTok has announced a “refresh” of its community guidelines and introduced new “community principles,” the company said in a statement.  

The community principles are aimed at helping users to better understand TikTok’s decisions about safety on the platform.

The principles are based on the platform’s “commitment to uphold human rights and aligned with international legal frameworks” and guide decisions about how the platform moderates content in a way that “strikes a balance between freedom of expression and preventing harm,” TikTok said.

Some of the key changes to the guidelines include enhancing rules for treating “synthetic media,” which TikTok described as content created or modified by artificial intelligence technology, and the addition of the term “tribe” as a protected attribute in its hate speech and hateful behavior policies.

Moving forward, TikTok will provide more detail about its work to protect civic and election integrity, including its approach to government, politician and political party accounts.

TikTok has also added a new section under its misinformation policy to address climate misinformation. While discussion about the topic will be allowed, the platform will prohibit any misinformation that “undermines well-established scientific consensus.”

The company consulted more than 100 organizations around the world, including the International Association for Suicide Prevention, the Safety Advisory Council and SMEX, as well as users, to inform the refreshed guidelines.

The new guidelines will come into effect on April 21 and the platform will provide additional training to its moderators to help enforce the updated rules and standards as they start to roll out.

Based on feedback, TikTok will now host all information about its rules and standards in one place where it will be organized thematically.

For each topic, the platform provides a brief explanation of what is not allowed with more information including definitions and the range of actions the platform might take if they are violated.

Additionally, TikTok is expanding its enforcement strategy by sharing more information about the actions that the platform takes against accounts that violate their rules; explaining the considerations for enforcement of rules based on public interest, and the platform’s approach to content that critiques public figures; and including more detail about how TikTok uses informational labels, warnings and opt-in screens.

“The world is changing,” said Julie de Bailliencourt, TikTok’s global head of product policy, during a press briefing. “Our community is changing. We see new trends coming and going, and we think we need to regularly update these guidelines to meet the expectation of people who come on our service.”

The updated community guidelines come amid growing concerns about TikTok with CEO Shou Zi Chew scheduled to appear before the US congress on March 23.

In a TikTok video posted on Tuesday, Chew said that the app now has more than 150 million active monthly US users. “That’s almost half the US coming to TikTok,” Chew said.

“Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok. Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you,” he said.

A growing number of US lawmakers support a ban on TikTok, and on March 1, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines to give US President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok.


Arab tradition of storytelling takes global stage

Arab tradition of storytelling takes global stage
Updated 22 March 2023

Arab tradition of storytelling takes global stage

Arab tradition of storytelling takes global stage
  • How Middle East cinema is captivating audiences across the region and beyond

DUBAI: Cinema has been a part of Arab culture for many years with the first film coming out in the 1920s. The Middle East’s exotic locations, distinctive stories and penchant for fashion make for captivating films that have enthralled regional audiences.

Increasingly, films from the Arab world are casting a wider net as they make their debut on global streaming services.

The scenic landscape of the region has made a great setting for several productions — such as the 2016 TV show “Secret of the Nile,” a remake of the 2011 Spanish drama “Gran Hotel,” which is set in the picturesque city of Aswan against the backdrop of the Old Cataract Hotel, a historic British colonial-era hotel built in 1899 overlooking the river Nile.

More recently, Saudi Arabia has attracted several international productions — including “Kandahar,” starring Gerard Butler and filmed extensively in the heritage city of AlUla; Rupert Wyatt’s historical epic “Desert Warrior,” shot in Neom, and the Russo Brothers’ crime drama “Cherry,” shot in AlUla and Riyadh.

Movies from the region have also evolved to portray multilayered characters through more authentic storytelling. Netflix’s Arabic original “Finding Ola” is a personal exploration of one woman’s journey as she reinvents her life after a divorce.

Similarly, Kuwaiti show “The Exchange” transports audiences to 1980s Kuwait, where two female protagonists carve out careers in the male-dominated world of finance, while “Cairo Class” follows a group of women who leave Kuwait to attend university in Cairo on their journey of self-discovery.

The proliferation of streaming services has increased audiences’ appetite for local quality content with streaming subscriptions forecast to reach 21.52 million across 13 Arab countries by 2027 from just 9.49 million in 2021, according to a study by Digital TV Research.

Consequently, global and regional streaming players are investing more in original content.

Last year, MBC and its flagship streaming platform Shahid launched the Arabic version of hit series “The Office” and “The Devil’s Promise,” both produced by MBC Studios.

OSN, too, has been investing heavily in original content with shows such as “A’adet Regala,” the comical food reality TV show “Yalla Neta’asha,” the Syrian war drama “No Man’s Land” in partnership with Fremantle, and the upcoming stand-up comedy show “Stand Up! Ya Arab!”

The creation of local content is accompanied by the need to develop local talent. In addition to school-based programs, organizations and governments are investing in upskilling talent to build a robust industry.

Netflix, for example, has held several training sessions in the region with the most recent one being a partnership with Studio Production Training, a Saudi-based production training studio, and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts to upskill 15 aspiring Saudi talents in the process of creating world-class scripts and developing them into outstanding TV shows.

It has also held programs such as “Below the Line KSA,” in collaboration with Studio Production Training, an initiative that aims to establish and develop an infrastructure of so-called below-the-line talent — behind-the-scenes crew members such as assistant directors, production designers and managers, art directors, prop masters and set builders; and “TV Writers’ Lab 6x6,” a six-week program in partnership with the National Creative Industries Group in Kuwait.

“Ultimately, we want to use our scale and influence to provide Arab talent and filmmakers with a platform to gain fans globally,” Nuha El-Tayeb, director of content acquisitions at Netflix MENA, told Arab News in a separate interview.

“We want to be a meaningful part of the creative communities in the region and that means developing the talent pipeline and giving new voices a chance to be heard,” she said.

In addition to talent, the region also needs to upgrade its infrastructure to include state-of-the-art film studios and technology. Several cities are working toward becoming thriving hubs for the Arab film industry.

Saudi Arabia, for example, has been launching a flurry of film-related projects that are making a global mark. Film AlUla, the Royal Commission for AlUla’s film agency, is establishing a world-class, fully-equipped studio complex covering up to 30,000 sq m.

Last month, Film AlUla hosted a ten-day workshop, in partnership with the UK-based Creative Media Skills Institute, to train 25 local trainees from AlUla to pursue careers in production, assistant directing, and the art, locations, costume, make-up and hair departments.

The Kingdom’s Red Sea Fund has also committed to funding 100 film projects, with grants reaching $14 million.

Last year, the Saudi Film Commission launched a grant scheme, the Daw funding program, dedicated to supporting local productions and talent.

“Daw is part of our continued efforts to encourage Saudi filmmakers and production companies to express their creativity and help us grow the Saudi film industry,” said Saudi Film Commission CEO Abdullah Al-Eyaf.

In May 2022, the Saudi Film Commission also announced an incentive program offering financial refunds of up to 40 percent for local and international producers shooting in the Kingdom.

The film industry in emerging markets has seen growth in recent times challenging Hollywood’s dominance. This year’s Oscars are a testament to that with “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu, winning big.

India celebrated a historic double win at the Oscars after the breakout hit “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” won best original song and “The Elephant Whisperers” was named best short documentary.

“I am sure in time to come this achievement at the Oscars will inspire more people to do good work in regional language,” Narendra Pulloor, a senior journalist based in India, told Arab News in a separate interview. “Now they know that language is not a barrier to achieve international fame.”

Just like Asia, the Arab world is now set to propel its age-old tradition of storytelling onto the global stage.


Google launches ChatGPT rival in US and UK

Google launches ChatGPT rival in US and UK
Updated 22 March 2023

Google launches ChatGPT rival in US and UK

Google launches ChatGPT rival in US and UK
  • Google CEO Sundar Pichai told staff that after testing Bard with 80,000 Google employees, the chatbot would be tested with the public in the United States and Britain as a “first step” before going out to more countries in other languages

SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Tuesday invited people in the United States and Britain to test its AI chatbot, known as Bard, as it continues on its gradual path to catch up with Microsoft-backed ChatGPT.
Bard, ChatGPT and other similar artificial intelligence apps churn out essays, poems or computing code on command and have taken the world by storm as the biggest new thing in tech since the advent of the iPhone.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai told staff that after testing Bard with 80,000 Google employees, the chatbot would be tested with the public in the United States and Britain as a “first step” before going out to more countries in other languages.
“As more people start to use Bard and test its capabilities, they’ll surprise us,” Pichai said in a memo to staff seen by AFP.
“Things will go wrong. But the user feedback is critical to improving the product and the underlying technology,” added Pichai, who had faced some criticism within the company for rushing to catch up with Microsoft.
In the launch, people wishing to play with Bard can sign up on a waiting list at bard.google.com website, distinctly separate from the tech giant’s search engine.
“We’ve learned a lot so far by testing Bard, and the next critical step in improving it is to get feedback from more people,” Google vice presidents El-Sisie Hsiao and Eli Collins said in a blog post.
As exciting as chatbots can be, they have their faults, Hsiao and Collins cautioned.

Google has so far proceeded more carefully in its rollout of generative AI to consumers, in contrast to Microsoft’s choice to swiftly make the products available despite reports of problems.
ChatGPT’s OpenAI is backed by Microsoft, which earlier this year said it would finance the research company to the tune of billions of dollars.
Asked by AFP how its product was different from ChatGPT, Bard said that unlike its Microsoft-backed rival it was “able to access and process information from the real world through Google Search and keep my response consistent with search results.”
The bot also underlined that it was still “under development, while ChatGPT has been released to the public. This means that I am constantly learning and improving, while ChatGPT is likely to remain relatively unchanged.”
OpenAI recently released a long-awaited update of its AI technology that it said would be safer and more accurate than its predecessor.
Much of the new model’s firepower, known as GPT-4, is now available to the general public via ChatGPT Plus, OpenAI’s paid subscription plan and on an AI-powered version of Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
Microsoft has said that its quick adoption of generative AI has seen usage of its Bing search engine increase in recent weeks, but it is still a clear underdog to Google, which captures about 85 percent of the global search engine market.

 


TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban

TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban
Updated 21 March 2023

TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban

TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban
  • Shou Zi Chew to testify before congress to try to address US data security concerns
  • Chew said ban would damage businesses, individuals as platform confirms it has more than 150 million active monthly US users

WASHINGTON: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the Chinese-owned short video app company faces a pivotal moment as a growing number of US lawmakers seek to ban the popular app over national security concerns.
Chew said in a video posted on TikTok early Tuesday the app now has more than 150 million active monthly US users. “That’s almost half the US coming to TikTok,” Chew said. TikTok in 2020 said it had 100 million US users.
Chew, who will testify Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said: “Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok.”
“Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you,” he said in the video that features the US Capitol in the background.
He asked TikTok users to leave comments about what they wanted US lawmakers to know about “what you love about TikTok.”
Chew also said 5 million US businesses use TikTok to reach customers.
TikTok’s critics fear its US user data could be passed on to China’s government by the app, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance. TikTok rejects the spying allegations.
TikTok also said Tuesday it had updated its community use guidelines and offered more details of its plans to secure the data of US users. The company said it had started to delete this month US user protected data in data centers in Virginia and Singapore after it started routing new US data to the Oracle Cloud last year.
Last week, TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban.
TikTok, which has said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts, said “if protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.”
A growing number of US lawmakers support a ban on TikTok. This includes Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, congressional aides told reporters on a call Monday. On Friday, six more US senators backed bipartisan legislation to give Biden new powers to ban TikTok.
On March 1, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines to give President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok.