Turkish authorities arrest more than 80 social media users, journalists over quake ‘disinformation’

Turkish authorities arrest more than 80 social media users, journalists over quake ‘disinformation’
At least four journalists have been arrested in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of Feb. 6. (AFP/File)
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Updated 15 February 2023
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Turkish authorities arrest more than 80 social media users, journalists over quake ‘disinformation’

Turkish authorities arrest more than 80 social media users, journalists over quake ‘disinformation’
  • Turkish authorities placesd 20 people in pre-trial detention for 'sharing provocative posts'
  • Media watchdog CPJ urged Turkiye to allow journalists to cover the quake's aftermath safely and freely

LONDON: Turkish authorities on Wednesday arrested 78 people, placing 20 of them in pre-trial detention, over allegations of creating fear and panic by “sharing provocative posts” about the recent earthquake on social media.

Of 613 people accused by Turkiye’s General Directorate of Security of creating provocative posts, 293 have had legal proceedings initiated against them, with 78 arrested, Reuters reported.

In a statement on Tuesday, media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists said that reporters in Turkiye must be allowed to cover the aftermath of the devastating quake freely and safely.

The committee also urged Turkish authorities to, “drop investigations into any members of the press.”

Following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria on Feb. 6, Turkish authorities had arrested at least four journalists, hindered the work of six other press workers, and started criminal investigations into two reporters and one commentator, according to the CPJ.

The Turkish security directorate also said 46 websites were shut down for containing “phishing scams” to steal donations and 15 social media accounts were closed for posing as official institutions.

Following the quake, Turkiye blocked access to Twitter for about 12 hours from Wednesday afternoon to early Thursday citing attempts to curb the spread of disinformation.

In a tweet on Monday, Turkish communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said that his country was experiencing “serious information pollution,” adding that authorities would share a daily bulletin correcting false information.

About 6,200 items of false information and news were reported to the government within a week of the earthquake, Altun said.

Gulnoza Said, the CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York, on Monday said: “Turkish authorities should not interfere with the journalists reporting on the terrible earthquake that recently hit the southern parts of the country and should allow them to inform the Turkish people and the world on the magnitude of this disaster.

“Authorities should drop all investigations into members of the press, allow reporters to work freely, and ensure that journalists can work without fear of harassment.”

Turkiye’s parliament ratified last October a law that would see journalists and social media users jailed for up to three years for spreading disinformation.

The death toll in Turkiye and Syria from the earthquake had on Wednesday exceeded 41,000, and millions of people need urgent humanitarian aid, Reuters said.


What did you Google in 2023? ‘Barbie,’ Israel-Hamas war are among the year’s top Internet searches

What did you Google in 2023? ‘Barbie,’ Israel-Hamas war are among the year’s top Internet searches
Updated 11 December 2023
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What did you Google in 2023? ‘Barbie,’ Israel-Hamas war are among the year’s top Internet searches

What did you Google in 2023? ‘Barbie,’ Israel-Hamas war are among the year’s top Internet searches
  • Ongoing Israel-Hamas war topped news trends in 2023, per Google’s global data

NEW YORK: Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived.
Well, actually, the world’s. On Monday, the California-based tech giant released its “Year in Search,” a roundup of 2023’s top global queries, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer), to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news carrying worldwide repercussions.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas war topped news trends in 2023, per Google’s global data, followed by queries related to the Titanic-bound submersible that imploded in June, as well as February’s devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria.
Damar Hamlin was Google’s top trending person on search this year. A safety with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, Hamlin experienced a near-death cardiac arrest on the field during a January game, but has since completed a celebrated comeback. Actor Jeremy Renner, who survived a serious snowplow accident at the start of 2023, followed. Meanwhile, the late Matthew Perry and Tina Turner led search trends among notable individuals who passed away.
In the world of entertainment, “Barbie” dominated Google search’s movie trends this year — followed by Barbenheimer co-pilot “Oppenheimer” and Indian thriller “Jawan.” In TV, “The Last of Us,” “Wednesday” and “Ginny and Georgia” were the top three trending shows in 2023.
Yoasobi’s “アイドル (Idol)” was Google’s top trending song on search. Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” — which soared in the charts after controversy this summer — and Shakira and Bizarrap’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” followed.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Google’s 2023 global search trends. Bibimbap was the top trending recipe. Inter Miami CF, the new home of Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi, led Google’s sports teams trends. And in the US specifically, many consumers spent 2023 asking why eggs, Taylor Swift tickets and sriracha bottles were so expensive — while “rizz” (recently named Oxford’s word of the year) was a frontrunner for trending slang definition inquires.
You can find more data, including country-specific lists and trends from years past, on Google’s “Year in Search” archive. The company says it collected its 2023 search results from Jan. 1 through Nov. 27 of this year.
Google isn’t the only one to publish annual data as 2023 draws to a close — and from dictionary lookups to music streams, chances are, you’ve probably seen other lists recapping online activity this year. Last week, for example, Wikipedia released its year-end list of most-viewed entries — with its article about ChatGPT leading the pack.
To mark the search engine’s 25th birthday, Google also released top search data “of all time” across various specific categories. Since 2004 (when the company’s trends data first became available globally), the most-Googled Grammy winner of all time has been Beyoncé, for example, while Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-searched athlete, and the most-searched movie or TV cast is “Harry Potter.”


20-year-old comic book on Gaza rushing back to print

20-year-old comic book on Gaza rushing back to print
Updated 10 December 2023
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20-year-old comic book on Gaza rushing back to print

20-year-old comic book on Gaza rushing back to print
  • Comic, written by Maltese-American journalist Joe Sacco, pioneered what was dubbed “comic journalism”

LONDON: A graphic novel looking into Gaza that was published in 2003 has rushed back into print after the conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas in October.

The comic, written by Maltese-American journalist Joe Sacco, pioneered what was dubbed “comic journalism” and tells the tales of his own work on the ground in the enclave in 1991.

It even drew praise from renowned Palestinian-American academic Edward Said, who said: “With the exception of one or two novelists and poets, no one has ever rendered this terrible state of affairs better than Joe Sacco.”

Since the outbreak of the conflict, the comic’s publisher said that demand for the novel soared.

Fantagraphics co-founder Gary Groth said: “We blew out of our inventory of several thousand copies quickly and are reprinting now. Retailers and wholesalers began ordering the book in far greater quantities than in the recent past, which indicates that every element down the chain — consumers and retailers — are expressing demand for it.”

Sacco, a cartoonist from Portland, told the UK’s Observer: “Things had seemed very bad when I was visiting in the early 1990s, at the end of the first intifada, but things were very much worse 10 years later.

“That the book itself still has relevance is a sorry testament to the enduring tragedy of the Palestinians — though, in some ways, it’s also a tribute to their fortitude, their unwillingness to give in.

“I would go back, if I could get in. Thankfully, many brave Palestinian journalists are doing exemplary work despite the appalling conditions and the very real danger to themselves and their families. But the main reason I would like to go back to Gaza is to see my friends there. I hope they will make it through this.”


Clip emerges of Israeli troops burning aid in Gaza

Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show IDF troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Screenshot
Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show IDF troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Screenshot
Updated 10 December 2023
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Clip emerges of Israeli troops burning aid in Gaza

Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show IDF troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Screenshot
  • In the footage, men in IDF uniforms smile as they set food and water in the back of a truck alight

LONDON: Footage has emerged on social media appearing to show Israel Defense Forces troops setting fire to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

In the footage, shared by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, men in IDF uniforms smile as they set food and water in the back of a truck alight.

The incident reportedly took place in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, where IDF forces are engaged in fighting against suspected Hamas militants.

Muhammad Shehada, chief of communications at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said of the footage on X: “Note the immense satisfaction & smile from ear to ear on one of the soldiers’ faces! They were the ones to film & post this b/c there will be ZERO consequences to this depravity.”

Reporting on the footage, Gergana Katseva, a news reporter for Britain’s Metro newspaper, described it as “sickening.”


Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online

Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online
Updated 10 December 2023
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Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online

Social media users call for Zara boycott after ‘Gaza destruction-inspired’ ad campaign sparks uproar online

LONDON: Spanish fashion retailer Zara is facing an online backlash for its latest advertising campaign, which social media users have criticized for its alleged similarities with destruction in Gaza.

The campaign, named “The Jacket” and part of the brand’s Atelier series, features model Kristen McMenamy carrying a mannequin covered in white cloth, while other mannequins appear with limbs missing. She is surrounded by rubble in the images.

Social media users are comparing the depiction with images of the bodies of those killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

One eagle-eyed critic also alleged one of the pieces of plasterboard in the background of the images is shaped like a map of Palestine.

 

 

As the campaign images went viral over the weekend, many on social media were calling for people to boycott Zara. The firm has since deleted posts containing the images but is yet to issue a statement.

“Using death and destruction as a backdrop for fashion is beyond sinister, it’s complicity and should outrage us as consumers, boycott Zara,” Palestinian artist Hazem Harb wrote on Instagram.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Hazem Harb (@hazemharb)

 

Influencers Noor Amra and Hina Cheema also posted on Instagram, with the message: “We have all seen the devastating images of shrouded bodies coming out of Gaza ... It’s clearly a deliberate mock to Palestinians. They know exactly what they are doing.”

Responding to the post, the president of Huda Beauty, Mona Kattan, wrote: “Sick.”

Twitter user @AKoleWorld added: “My favorite brand until now. Whole closet was Zara. Sending to a homeless shelter and never buying again.”


Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes

Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes
Updated 09 December 2023
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Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes

Haaretz analysis reveals civilians account for 61% of Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes
  • The Haaretz study corroborates an investigation conducted by two other Israeli news websites, suggesting Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks

LONDON: Civilians in Gaza constituted a staggering 61 percent of the total death toll in the first three weeks of Israel’s assault on the Palestinian enclave, a study published on Saturday by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz found.

The Israeli military’s operation in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack, killed more than 9,000 people, including at least 3,600 children, in the first three weeks alone.

As the offensive expands into southern Gaza, where civilians were previously ordered by the Israeli Defense Forces to relocate, the death toll has passed 21,731, including more than 8,697 children, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

The Haaretz analysis found that in three of Israel’s previous assaults on Gaza between 2012 and 2022, about 40 percent of the total deaths were civilians.  

The newspaper’s findings confirm an investigation conducted 10 days ago by two other Israeli news websites, +972 Magazine and Local Call, which concluded that Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks.

These studies come as the US administration faces global criticism, as well as allegations of supporting war crimes, for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said that the US “risks complicity in war crimes” by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover.