On the first day without X, many Brazilians say they feel disconnected from the world

On the first day without X, many Brazilians say they feel disconnected from the world
A Brazilian user of the social network X, formerly Twitter, browses posts on a cell phone in Brasilia on August 31, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 01 September 2024
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On the first day without X, many Brazilians say they feel disconnected from the world

On the first day without X, many Brazilians say they feel disconnected from the world
  • Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users

SAO PAULO: The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians on Saturday had difficulty and doubts over navigating other social media in its absence.
The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative to the country, missing a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The blockade marks an escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.
Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users.
“I’ve got the feeling that I have no idea what’s happening in the world right now. Bizarre,” entertainment writer and heavy X user Chico Barney wrote on Threads. Threads is a text-based app developed by Instagram that Barney was using as an alternative. “This Threads algorithm is like an all-you-can-eat restaurant where the waiter keeps serving things I would never order.”
Bluesky, a social media platform that was launched last year as an alternative to X and other more established sites, has seen a large influx of Brazilians in the past couple of days. The company said Friday it has seen about 200,000 new users from Brazil sign up during that time, and the number “continues to grow by the minute.” Brazilian users are also setting records for activities such as follows and likes, Bluesky said.
Previous users of other platforms welcomed Brazilians to their ranks. “Hello literally everyone in Brazil,” a user wrote on Threads. “We’re a lot nicer than Twitter here,” said another.
Platform migration isn’t new for Brazilians. They were huge adopters of Orkut and, when Orkut went kaput, they very gladly moved to other platforms.
X is not as popular in Brazil as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. However, it remains an important platform on which Brazilians engage in political debates and is highly influential among politicians, journalists and other opinion makers.
It’s also where they share their sense of humor. Many of the country’s most famous memes originate from posts on X before spreading to other social networks. Last week, for instance, Brazilians collaboratively crafted an absurd storyline for a fictional telenovela, complete with a theme song created using artificial intelligence tools.
Pop stars and their fanbases were also hit by Brazilians being left off the platform.
“Wait a lot of my fan pages are Brazilian!!! Come back hold up!!,” Cardi B said Friday on X. A fan page dedicated to Timothée Chalamet, known by the handle TimotheeUpdates, said it would temporarily cease updating as all of its administrators are Brazilian.
De Moraes said X will stay suspended until it complies with his orders, and he also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for people or companies using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access it. Some legal experts questioned the grounds for that decision and how it would be enforced. Others suggested the move was authoritarian.
The Brazilian Bar Association said Friday in a statement that it would request the Supreme Court review the fines imposed on all citizens using VPNs or other means to access X without due process. Brazil’s bar association argued that sanctions should never be imposed summarily before ensuring an adversarial process and the right to full defense.
“I’ve used VPNs a lot in authoritarian countries like China to continue accessing news sites and social networks,” Maurício Santoro, a political science professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said on the platform before its shutdown. “It never occurred to me that this type of tool would be banned in Brazil. It’s dystopian.”
A search Friday on X showed hundreds of Brazilian users inquiring about VPNs that could potentially enable them to continue using the platform by making it appear they are logging on from outside the country.
“Tyrants want to turn Brazil into another commie dictatorship but we won’t back down. I repeat: do not vote on those who don’t respect free speech. Orwell was right,” right-wing congressman Nikolas Ferreira, one of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s closest allies, published before X went off. Musk replied with an emoji suggesting agreement: “100”.
Ferreira is a 28-year-old YouTuber who received the most votes of the 513 elected federal lawmakers in the 2022 election. De Moraes ordered the block of his social media accounts after a mob of Bolsonaro supporters attacked Brazil’s Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court in January 2023 seeking to overturn the election.
Lawmaker Bia Kicis said “the consequences of Alexandre de Moraes’ attacks to Elon Musk, X and Starlink will be regrettable for Brazilians.” She also urged Rodrigo Pacheco, the president of the country’s Senate, to act. Kicis has repeatedly urged Pacheco to open impeachment proceedings against the Supreme Court justice.
“We need to leave this state of apathy and stop the worst from happening,” the pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker, whose profiles were temporarily blocked by de Moraes in 2022, also said.
The former president said Saturday on Instagram that X’s departure from Brazil was “another blow to our freedom and legal security.”
“It not only affects our freedom of expression, but also undermines the confidence of international companies in operating on Brazilian soil, with impacts ranging from national security to the quality of the information that reaches our citizens,” Bolsonaro said.
On Friday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva backed de Moraes’ decision and took aim at Musk for positioning himself as though he was above the law during an interview with Radio MaisPB.
“Any citizen, from anywhere in the world, who has investments in Brazil, is subject to the Brazilian Constitution and Brazilian laws. Therefore, if the Supreme Court has made a decision for citizens to comply with certain things, they either have to comply or take another course of action,” Lula said. “It’s not because the guy has a lot of money that he can disrespect it.”
Ana Júlia Alves de Oliveira, an 18-year-old student, shared that many young people like her no longer watch newscasts or read newspapers, relying solely on social media platforms like X for their news. Without this platform, she felt disconnected.
“I kind of lost touch with what’s going on around the world,” she said. “I saw a lot of entertainment there too, so this is a new reality for me.”


Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things

Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
Updated 14 October 2024
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Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things

Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban morality ministry pledged Monday to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, with journalists told the rule will be gradually enforced.
It comes after the Taliban government recently announced legislation formalising their strict interpretations of Islamic law that have been imposed since they swept to power in 2021.
“The law applies to all Afghanistan... and it will be implemented gradually,” the spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) Saiful Islam Khyber told AFP, adding that officials would work to persuade people that images of living things are against Islamic law.
“Coercion has no place in the implementation of the law,” he said.
“It’s only advice, and convincing people these things are really contrary to sharia (law) and must be avoided.”
The new law detailed several rules for news media, including banning the publication of images of all living things and ordering outlets not to mock or humiliate Islam, or contradict Islamic law.
Aspects of the new law have not yet been strictly enforced.
Taliban officials continue to regularly post photos of people on social media.
“Until now, regarding the articles of the law related to media, there are ongoing efforts in many provinces to implement it but that has not started in all provinces,” Khyber said.
He added “work has started” in the southern Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and the neighboring Helmand province, as well as northern Takhar.

Journalists in Kandahar told AFP on Monday they had not received any statement from the ministry or been stopped by morality police for taking photos and videos.
In central Ghazni province on Sunday, PVPV officials summoned local journalists and told them the morality police would start gradually implementing the law.
They advised visual journalists to take photos from further away and film fewer events “to get in the habit,” a journalist who did not want to give his name for fear of reprisal told AFP.
Reporters in Maidan Wardak province were also told the rules would be implemented gradually in a similar meeting.
Television and pictures of living things were banned across the country under the previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, but a similar edict has so far not been broadly imposed since their return to power.
When the Taliban authorities seized control of the country after a two-decade-long insurgency against foreign-backed governments, Afghanistan had 8,400 media employees.
Only 5,100 remain in the profession, including 560 women, according to media industry sources.
Afghanistan has also slipped from 122nd place to 178th out of 180 countries in a press freedom ranking compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).


Lebanese demand justice for journalist killed by Israeli tank fire

Lebanese demand justice for journalist killed by Israeli tank fire
Updated 14 October 2024
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Lebanese demand justice for journalist killed by Israeli tank fire

Lebanese demand justice for journalist killed by Israeli tank fire
  • CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said that “in spite of extensive evidence of a war crime, a year on from the attack, Israel has faced zero accountability for the targeting of journalists”

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanese journalists and activists Sunday demanded justice for Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed a year earlier in what probes said was Israeli tank fire while covering cross-border clashes in south Lebanon.
Two strikes in quick succession on October 13, 2023 killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah, 37, and wounded six other journalists including AFP photographer Christina Assi and video journalist Dylan Collins.
Assi later had a leg amputated and spent five months in intensive care in hospital as a result of the attack.
Two investigations have pointed to an Israeli tank being behind the attack, but Israel has denied it targets “civilians, including journalists.”
Friends and acquaintances on Sunday shared photos Abdallah had taken, or pictures of him.
Legal Agenda, a non-governmental organization, posted on social media: “A year after the killing of photographer Issam Abdullah, Israeli impunity continues.”
Lebanese rights group Maharat called on the international community to “implement treaties, resolutions and commitments to protect journalist.”
In a post on X, journalist Salman Andary demanded “justice for Issam and for all the victims of this crime.”
Economist Jad Chaaban wrote on X: “Israel killed... Abdallah, by shelling a clearly marked press spot in the South of Lebanon.”
“The Israeli army is still carrying out mass executions until today with total impunity,” he said.
After nearly a year of cross-border fire, Israel on September 23 escalated its campaign targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
More than 1,200 people have since been killed in Lebanon, according to a tally of official figures, and more than a million have been displaced.
On Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists decried a lack of accountability for Israel over the killing of Abdallah.
CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said that “in spite of extensive evidence of a war crime, a year on from the attack, Israel has faced zero accountability for the targeting of journalists.”
The journalists were working near the border village of Alma Al-Shaab in an area that has been the site of near-daily clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.
An AFP investigation in December pointed to a tank shell only used by the Israeli army being fired in the attack.
A separate Reuters probe, including initial findings from the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), found two Israeli tank rounds fired from the same position across the border were used.
TNO’s final report said an Israeli tank crew then “likely” opened fire on them with a machine gun.
An Israeli military spokesman said after the strike: “We are very sorry for the journalist’s death,” adding that Israel was “looking into” the incident, without taking responsibility.
 

 


Qatar and Saudi Arabia strengthen media cooperation with new framework agreement

Qatar and Saudi Arabia strengthen media cooperation with new framework agreement
Updated 14 October 2024
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Qatar and Saudi Arabia strengthen media cooperation with new framework agreement

Qatar and Saudi Arabia strengthen media cooperation with new framework agreement
  • Safeguarding supply chains ‘more crucial than ever,’ Saleh Al-Jasser says in opening remarks
  • Inaugural forum will feature 130 speakers and 80 exhibitors from 30 countries

DOHA: Saudi Arabia and Qatar signed on Sunday a framework agreement for cooperation and news exchange between the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of a meeting between Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Saudi Arabia's Minister of Media in Doha.

The meeting between Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and Salman Al-Dossary, which was also attended by Chairman of Qatar Media Corporation Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al-Thani and Saudi ambassador to Qatar Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan, focused on enhancing cooperation between the two nations, particularly in the media sector.

During their discussions, both sides emphasized the importance of deepening relations and expanding joint media initiatives.

The agreement was signed by Acting President of SPA, Ali Alzaid, and Director-General of QNA, Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar signed on Sunday a framework agreement for cooperation and news exchange between the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and Qatar News Agency (QNA). (SPA)

It will aim to foster collaboration through a range of initiatives, including training programs in editing and photography, the promotion of modern technologies and artificial intelligence in news production, and the exchange of expertise, SPA reported.

The framework also seeks to strengthen ties by facilitating visits between the agencies and creating news and photographic content that highlights achievements, events, and national occasions in both countries, SPA added.


Venezuela cancels passports of dozens of activists and journalists, FT reports

Venezuela cancels passports of dozens of activists and journalists, FT reports
Updated 13 October 2024
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Venezuela cancels passports of dozens of activists and journalists, FT reports

Venezuela cancels passports of dozens of activists and journalists, FT reports
  • People have had their passports confiscated by authorities while attempting to board flights from the country’s main airport, the newspaper reported, citing the rights group

CARACAS: Venezuela has canceled the passports of dozens of journalists and activists since President Nicolas Maduro claimed a re-election victory, part of what rights groups say is an intensifying campaign of repression against the authoritarian president’s opponents, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
At least 40 people, mostly journalists and human rights activists have had their passports annulled without explanation, the newspaper reported, citing Caracas-based rights group Laboratorio de Paz.
The group warned that the number of people who have had their passports canceled is likely to be much higher due to Venezuelans’ fear of reporting cases, the FT said.
Laboratorio de Paz could not be immediately reached for the report.
People have had their passports confiscated by authorities while attempting to board flights from the country’s main airport, the newspaper reported, citing the rights group.
Unlike murder or torture, which have a higher political cost, the government has found that passport cancelation is an effective way of neutralizing and muffling critical voices with minimal effort, the newspaper reported citing Rafael Uzcátegui, co-director of the rights group.
The report comes after Maduro was proclaimed the winner of the South American nation’s disputed July vote by electoral and judicial authorities, a claim rejected as false by the opposition. 

 


Leading Lebanese daily goes pan-Arab amid ongoing war

Leading Lebanese daily goes pan-Arab amid ongoing war
Updated 15 October 2024
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Leading Lebanese daily goes pan-Arab amid ongoing war

Leading Lebanese daily goes pan-Arab amid ongoing war
  • Group CEO Nayla Tueni leads digital transformation from newspaper to ‘viewspaper’
  • We’ve transitioned from being a traditional newspaper to what we call a ‘viewspaper.’ From Monday to Thursday, we publish a compact edition, while Friday features a more in-depth weekend edition, covering culture, lifestyle, and other topics

LONDON: Amid escalating conflict in Lebanon, Annahar chief Nayla Tueni has announced the relaunch of her media group, unveiling a bold shift to become a pan-Arab media leader with a growing presence across the region.

The publisher of the iconic Arabic-language daily Annahar, which marked its 92nd anniversary this year, is embracing a “digital-first” strategy, transforming from a newspaper to a “viewspaper.”

Nayla Tueni, Annahar chief. (Supplied)

Despite the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which began as cross-border clashes on Oct. 8, 2023, and intensified into a widespread Israeli offensive starting Sept. 23, the Beirut-headquartered Annahar remains committed to its plan to relaunch its services against all odds.

Tueni, Annahar’s editor-in-chief and group CEO, told Arab News that the idea for the transformation and relaunch was conceived in January, with implementation efforts beginning in April.

FASTFACTS

• In addition to its daily print newspaper, Annahar Media runs two websites – Annahar and Annahar Al-Arabi – while also managing a video platform and active social media channels.

• Annahar’s teams are diligently working to produce more podcasts, audios, and videos that resonate with a broader audience – talking to people from different places around the Arab world.

“The goal of Annahar’s refoundation is to reach a wider audience,” she said. “We’ve enhanced the website to offer a seamless, unified experience across all platforms — whether you’re reading the newspaper, following us on social media, or watching videos on our platform, we want you to enjoy the same cohesive experience throughout.”

In addition to its daily print newspaper, Annahar Media runs two websites, Annahar and Annahar Al-Arabi, while also managing a video platform and active social media channels.  

Tueni highlighted that her company worked with Innovation Media Consulting, a global consultancy firm, to revamp Annahar’s digital products, rebuild the newsroom using cutting-edge AI tools and workflows, and design a new commercial strategy.

Other renovation partners include the marketing communications group Impact BBDO, the engineering company Obermeyer Middle East, and the digital agency Born Interactive.

“In addition,” Tueni said, “we put significant effort into refining the content, reorganizing the structure, and rethinking how teams collaborate — even how to think in a different way to be from Lebanon to the Arab world, present in the whole Arab world.

“We’ve transitioned from being a traditional newspaper to what we call a ‘viewspaper.’ From Monday to Thursday, we publish a compact edition, while Friday features a more in-depth weekend edition, covering culture, lifestyle, and other topics.

“We provide deeper insights — the why, the what, and the what’s next — whether it’s politics, health, lifestyle, culture, technology, climate change, or any other issue,” she said.

The renovation and relaunch of Annahar have brought many challenges, largely caused by the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.

Describing the relaunch as “the bridge between the past and the future,” Tueni said that working toward this milestone “has been incredibly difficult because, first, we are in Lebanon and facing a lot of challenges.

“During the war, it has been tough to cover global events on little to no sleep, while also hearing the bombs, to check in on all colleagues who may have fled their homes, all while continuing to work on the content and the relaunch.”

Renovation efforts also involved transforming the offices in Martyr’s Square, a large portion of which was devastated by the Beirut Port blast on Aug. 4, 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in one of the port’s warehouses.

“We worked on our offices to have an AI-powered newsroom, studios, and a news cafe,” Tueni said.  

Elaborating on the news cafe, she said that it offers a platform and space for people to meet, hold conferences and talks, and maybe even organize fashion shows.

She added that Annahar is also planning to enhance its subscription model “to generate revenues on our archive — we’ve been working on documentaries, short documentaries, and content from the archives.”

Annahar’s teams are diligently working to produce “more podcasts, audios, and videos that resonate with a broader audience — talking to people from different places around the Arab world,” Tueni said.

“We’re also working to include content in foreign languages, including French and English.”

She added that “Annahar Media has a big role to play as a fact-checking hub to combat the spread of fake news,” which has been rampant in recent years.

The group is also developing a media training academy aimed at not only equipping journalism students with essential skills, but also offering courses to the wider public. These will cover topics such as public image, leadership, speaking on television, conducting interviews, and other communication skills.

On being resolute about relaunching despite the turmoil in Lebanon, Tueni highlighted Annahar’s unwavering commitment to its mission and vision “through the turbulence of war and uncertainty” since its founding in 1933 by Gebran Andraos Tueni.

She said: “Believing in Annahar, and in the mission and vision established by my grandfather and carried on by my father is incredibly important to me. Continuing this legacy is a vital endeavor.

“After 92 years of Annahar, we are embarking on a new chapter today, carrying forward the values instilled by the founder Gebran.

“Today, we’re translating this into a modern, forward-thinking approach, remaining committed to our mission of upholding the truth, delivering in-depth content, and maintaining a clear vision.”

Nayla Tueni was a member of the Lebanese parliament for a decade, from 2009 to 2018, representing the district of Achrafieh. In September 2011, she took on the role of editor-in-chief of both Annahar newspaper and its digital platform.