X drops out of global media brands ranking

X drops out of global media brands ranking
The report also found that X’s Brand Strength Index score fell by 12.7 points from last year underscoring a major reputational crisis. (AFP)
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Updated 18 September 2024
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X drops out of global media brands ranking

X drops out of global media brands ranking
  • Twitter’s brand value dropped from $5.7bn in 2022 to $673.3m in 2024   
  • Instagram is the fastest-growing media brand

DUBAI: Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has dropped out of a ranking of global media brands by UK-based brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance. 

The consultancy valued Twitter at $5.7 billion in 2022, falling to almost $3.9 billion in 2023 and further declining to $673.3 million in 2024.

Richard Haigh, managing director of Brand Finance, said the rebrand from Twitter to X was a “gamble” that had the potential to provide a “rebirth and propel it (the company) to new heights,” but now “the strategy seems to have been misguided.”

He told Arab News: “It is now evident that Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter, and abandonment of a globally recognized name, has resulted in a dramatic and abrupt decline in brand value and strength.”

Moreover, he added, Musk’s strategy to open up a free speech mandate lacked guardrails that would give advertisers confidence that their content would not appear alongside other content that did not match their brand values. 

Haigh said: “These two decisions, intended to accelerate growth, ultimately resulted in a substantial loss of advertisers with ad revenue decreasing from over $1 billion per quarter in 2022 to around $600 million per quarter in 2023 — a steep decline for a brand where ad sales represent about three-quarters of total revenue.”

The report also found that X’s Brand Strength Index score, which measures the relative strength of brands based on factors such as marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, fell by 12.7 points from last year.

This drop is a reflection of the brand’s “weaker performance in familiarity, reputation, and recommendation metrics, underscoring a major reputational crisis,” Haigh said.

Although he is not optimistic about X’s rebound as a brand, he added: “X continues to be a relevant platform relied upon by millions, thanks to the long-term benefits of a user base and the critical mass it already has.”

He believes that “with careful management and a clear strategy, there remains potential for the X brand to recover and regain its strength.”

One such strategy could be rethinking the name because Twitter had a “distinctiveness that a single letter will struggle to match,” he said.

Secondly, he advised: “X is a business that requires consumers to use it, but also requires businesses to fund it. Trust is a key issue that needs to be addressed.”

Haigh explained that if brands are not confident that bullying, harassment and abuse will not be attached to their messaging, they will not have enough trust in the site to want to advertise. 

The ranking saw Google maintain its No. 1 spot as the most valuable media brand for the fourth consecutive year, followed by TikTok in second place, Facebook and Instagram in third and fourth, and Disney in fifth place.

Instagram was the fastest-growing media brand, with an increase of nearly 50 percent in brand value, while Disney’s brand value dropped by 6 percent, compared to 2023.

Hollywood actors and screenwriters went on strike last year to protest about pay and working conditions which resulted in delays of several productions and loss of revenues for production companies.

Haigh said the strike “significantly impacted Disney’s revenue streams, contributing to its decline in brand value, but Disney+ (its streaming platform) has helped sustain its brand amid a rapidly evolving media landscape.”

The transformation of this landscape is evident in the ranking with Disney being the only traditional media company in the top 10.

The first Brand Finance ranking, which was published in 2015, was dominated by American broadcast media networks with Walt Disney ranking first, ahead of Fox, NBC, TimeWarner and CBS.

However, this year, “there has been a significant shift, with nine of the top 10 brands focusing on platforms other than traditional broadcasting, reflecting a growing trend toward media consumption through social media,” Haigh said.

He added that the media industry had evolved “from a broadcasting model to one centered around narrowcasting, where content is tailored to individual preferences.”

This has been accelerated by the rise of social media platforms that allow users to create and share content on a global scale, as well as technological advancements that enable platforms to provide “highly personalized and targeted media experiences,” he added.

Content that was once the domain of traditional TV channels — such as major sporting events and news — is now easily available online through social media or streaming.

Haigh said: “Despite widespread misinformation, more people are turning to social media for news as it provides diverse perspectives, short-form content, and allows for independent evaluation, unlike traditional media, which often offers a single, agenda-driven narrative.”

The 2023 Hollywood strike further accelerated the shift in the industry, causing a sharp decline in brand values for major US TV networks like CBS (28 percent) and Fox (26 percent), as well as UK networks Sky and ITV, he added.

Netflix, however, remained among the top 10 brands, ranking ninth, despite its brand value declining by 6 percent.

Haigh said: “To stay relevant, traditional media outlets must adapt to this new landscape, where engagement is driven by interactive and algorithm-driven content rather than broad, one-size-fits-all programming.”


Internet Archive reels from ‘catastrophic’ cyberattack, data breach

Internet Archive reels from ‘catastrophic’ cyberattack, data breach
Updated 11 October 2024
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Internet Archive reels from ‘catastrophic’ cyberattack, data breach

Internet Archive reels from ‘catastrophic’ cyberattack, data breach
  • The assault on the San Francisco-based nonprofit was claimed by a shadowy group that experts described as a pro-Palestinian “hacktivist”

WASHINGTON: The Internet Archive, an online repository of web pages, was offline Thursday after its founder confirmed a major cyberattack that exposed the data of millions of users and left the site defaced.
The assault on the San Francisco-based nonprofit, claimed by a shadowy group that experts described as a pro-Palestinian “hacktivist,” lays bare the perils of cybersecurity breaches ahead of the November 5 US presidential election.
Brewster Kahle, the Internet Archive’s founder and digital librarian, acknowledged a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks — aimed at disrupting a website or server — since Tuesday and said the organization was working to upgrade security.
The assault led to the “defacement of our website” and a breach of usernames, emails and passwords, Kahle wrote on X, formerly Twitter, late Wednesday.
In a new post early Thursday, Kahle said the attackers had returned, knocking down both the Internet Archive’s main site and its “Open Library,” an open source catalogue of digitized books.
The Internet Archive’s data “has not been corrupted,” he wrote in a subsequent post.
“We are working to restore services as quickly and safely as possible,” he added.

On Wednesday, users reported a pop-up message claiming the site had been hacked and the data of 31 million accounts breached.
“Have you ever felt like the Internet Archive runs on sticks and is constantly on the verge of suffering a catastrophic security breach?” said the pop-up, apparently posted by the hackers.
“It just happened. See 31 million of you on HIBP!“
HIBP refers to site called “Have I been Pwned,” a site that allows users to check whether their emails and passwords have been leaked in data breaches.
In another post on X, HIBP confirmed that 31 million records from the Internet Archive had been stolen, including email addresses, screen names and passwords.

Kahle did not respond to a request for comment about the scale of the data breach.
A hacker group called “SN_BLACKMETA” claimed responsibility for the attack on X.
“The Internet Archive has and is suffering from a devastating attack,” the group wrote on the platform Wednesday.
“They are under attack because the archive belongs to the USA, and as we all know, this horrendous and hypocritical government supports the genocide that is being carried out by the terrorist state of ‘Israel.’“
In a threat advisory in July, Radware, a cybersecurity solutions provider, described the group as a “pro-Palestinian hacktivist with potential ties to Sudan” and possibly operating from Russia.
Radware called the group a “rising cyber threat” with a “strong ideological stance and a strategic approach to cyber warfare.”
The Internet Archive, a nonprofit that is not known to have any ties to the US government or Israel, was founded in 1996 and advocates for a free and open Internet.
It operates a web archive called the Wayback Machine, which has captured snapshots of millions of Internet pages.
Like other archival sites, the Wayback Machine is a crucial resource for fact-checkers, who use it to trace deleted web pages and ensure that the evidence cited in articles is permanently available to readers.
It can also be used to document changes made to online content over time and helps researchers and scholars find historical collections that exist in digital formats.
 


Podcast firm Sowt rebrands, launches children’s channel Shamandar

Podcast firm Sowt rebrands, launches children’s channel Shamandar
Updated 10 October 2024
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Podcast firm Sowt rebrands, launches children’s channel Shamandar

Podcast firm Sowt rebrands, launches children’s channel Shamandar
  • Rebrand to reflect shift in content, business strategy, says CEO, co-founder Ramsey Tesdell

DUBAI: Podcast firm Sowt has announced a rebrand, which includes a new logo, color palette, and visual identity, to reflect the company’s growth and evolution.

The rebrand also marks a shift in strategy for Sowt, which is on the cusp of a transformation, said Ramsey Tesdell, its co-founder and CEO.

Sowt is known for its original podcasts centered around storytelling, but it also has an affinity toward journalism and wants to provide listeners with multiple perspectives from different sources, combined with historical and cultural context which would help them “navigate an increasingly complicated world,” Tesdell told Arab News.

Content consumption habits have changed, and so content production methods must reflect those changes in order for the content to not only reach audiences but also engage them, he added.

Therefore, as part of Sowt’s content strategy, the company will incorporate more videos, interviews, and a more diverse set of hosts and guests. It will also place more emphasis on localizing content and “rebase ourselves in (the) community,” Tesdell said.

In terms of its business strategy, Sowt will be offering more geographic insights to advertisers to help tailor their ad campaigns.

Until now, the company created audience segments for advertisers based on personas or behaviors, regardless of geography. However, “advertisers don’t seem to really understand” that behaviorally profiled audience segments “can be a powerful target group,” he said.

And although Sowt still believes in continuing its approach, it is “adapting to understand that we have a large reach and a big audience in specific geographic communities,” he added.

Sowt is also looking at specific “verticals” or communities that are niche, which does not mean they are small, but rather very specific. The company’s research found that “there are these niche communities that we can address and create products that are specifically targeted for that community,” he said.

One such vertical is children’s content, specifically Arabic audio content for youngsters, which is currently missing in the market, he added.

Enter Shamandar, a new Arabic-language podcast channel featuring children’s stories.

Tesdell said the name was symbolic. It means beetroot in Arabic, which as a root vegetable symbolizes a grounded identity, while its sweet taste and nutritional value reflect the content, which is both entertaining and educational, so overall, it is a “pretty nice metaphor for what we're trying to create with the channel,” he explained.

The company’s research revealed that parents are incredibly busy and seeking safe, family-friendly content that can be consumed in different ways, and that the majority of children’s content is ad-supported whether on TV or YouTube, while the rest exists primarily in video formats on streaming platforms.

He said: “The other thing that we kept hearing was ‘There’s no good Arabic audio content for kids’ or ‘Where’s the content for kids from our region?’

“We stopped asking this question and said we’re going to do something about that and produce some of that content.”

Tesdell is not against video content, and added: “Obviously, it’s a very powerful medium and we all are watching and consuming a lot of video (content).

“(But a) screenless component is a very important part of the development process and we want to provide that alternative.”

Shamandar is accessible on Apple Podcasts and other platforms for a monthly fee of $3.99.

The paid model helps Sowt create high-quality content both in terms of the stories as well as the sound design and production, and keep the environment ad-free and avoid “brand creep” in which children memorize ads more than names of fruits or vegetables, Tesdell said.

In addition to original content, Sowt will collaborate with content creators such as Adam Wa Mishmish, a children’s platform that blends music and education, and Dar Al Salwa, an independent publishing house dedicated to publishing books for Arabic children and young adults.

The rebrand and the launch of Shamandar are both initiatives aligned with Sowt’s mission of creating “high-quality content that will reach a lot of people,” Tesdell said.

The quality of the content is determined by high editorial and production standards and the relevance of the content to audiences in their preferred format and on their platform of choice, he said.

For the content to be relevant, he added, it first needs to reach “a lot of people.”

He said: “We are highly focused on developing and expanding our audiences and that means producing different types of content.”

Sowt aims to generate revenue through these initiatives so that it “can grow and continue to provide a high-quality service for our audience and for those who love and consume our content,” Tesdell said.


Associated Press and German news agency launch Arabic news service

Associated Press and German news agency launch Arabic news service
Updated 10 October 2024
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Associated Press and German news agency launch Arabic news service

Associated Press and German news agency launch Arabic news service
  • The Global Arabic News Service, set to go live on Oct. 15, will file more than 200 stories a day covering the Middle East, Europe, the US and other parts of the world
  • It is ‘an important step toward serving this increasingly influential and growing region with independent, accurate and nonpartisan reporting,’ says AP chief

LONDON: The Associated Press and German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur will launch a wire service next week to distribute stories from both agencies in Arabic.

The Global Arabic News Service, which is due to go live on Oct. 15, will file more than 200 stories a day from the agencies, covering the Middle East, Europe, the US and other parts of the world.

“AP and dpa have a longstanding and important relationship grounded in a shared commitment to fact-based journalism,” said Daisy Veerasingham, AP’s president and CEO.

“This innovative service is an important step toward serving this increasingly influential and growing region with independent, accurate and nonpartisan reporting at an even greater scale.”

Peter Kropsch, the CEO of dpa, said: “The fact that we are expanding and deepening our long-standing, good cooperation with AP with this new service is an important signal for the Arab market. Two leading independent agencies are joining forces to provide a new service that underlines the strengths of both partners.”

The German agency’s editor-in-chief, Sven Gosmann, said the partnership builds on dpa’s “strong roots and extensive network of correspondents” in the region, and that “together with AP we want to further strengthen this position and expand it journalistically.”

All stories distributed through the new service will be clearly labeled to indicate the originating agency and ensure transparency.

The service is the latest expansion into the Middle East by news agencies, reflecting the growing significance of the region in global news coverage.

US platform Semafor launched a Gulf service in September to cover the increasing role the region plays in shaping global financial, business and geopolitical trends. Its regional coverage also includes cultural developments, investment opportunities, infrastructure news, climate issues and technological advances in Gulf states.


Former US adviser suspended from X after urging Israel to ‘drop Napalm’ on Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon

Former US adviser suspended from X after urging Israel to ‘drop Napalm’ on Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon
Updated 10 October 2024
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Former US adviser suspended from X after urging Israel to ‘drop Napalm’ on Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon

Former US adviser suspended from X after urging Israel to ‘drop Napalm’ on Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon
  • Matthew Brodsky sparked outrage for his inflammatory remarks, raising concerns about promotion of extremist views in US political circles
  • Irish PM Simon Harris says that Brodsky’s attack is ‘disgusting’

LONDON: Former White House adviser Matthew Brodsky has been suspended from X (formerly Twitter) after posting a tweet suggesting that Israel should “drop napalm” on Irish peacekeeping forces stationed in Lebanon.

Brodsky, a senior fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy and former director of policy at the Jewish Policy Center, sparked outrage with his inflammatory remark: “Israel should carpet bomb the Irish area and then drop napalm over it.”

The tweet, which has since been removed, included a map showing the location of Irish peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon, who recently refused to comply with Israeli Defense Forces evacuation orders.

The former adviser to the Trump administration’s Middle East peace team and the White House’s Israeli-Palestinian peace team has been widely criticized for the comments, raising concerns about the influence of hard-line Zionist ideologues on US foreign policy.

Brodsky, who has lived and studied in Israel, has previously suggested the use of napalm, a firebomb mixture notoriously used by US forces during the Vietnam War, against both Lebanese forces and the Houthis.

His repeated advocacy for the use of such weapons has been condemned as promoting extreme views and fostering further polarization within US political circles.

Critics argue that his statements are an attempt to promote Jewish supremacism, with fears they could inflame tensions and undermine American diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.

Brodsky is currently working with two Republican candidates running for US Congress in Minnesota — Dalia Al-Aqidi and John Nagel. While Al-Aqidi has distanced herself from Brodsky’s comments, Nagel has yet to issue a statement.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who was in Washington DC, meeting US President Joe Biden, condemned Brodsky’s remarks as “the most disgusting thing” and “entirely inappropriate.”

He described the comments as “despicable,” particularly in light of the recent escalation in violence near the peacekeepers’ base.

“Our peacekeepers are doing an extraordinary job, and have been for many decades. I think everybody in Ireland is very proud of them,” Harris said.

On Thursday, the UN issued a statement confirming that two UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured after an IDF tank fired at an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqura, southern Lebanon.

The statement also noted that other areas were targeted and that IDF soldiers deliberately disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras.


Oversight Board urges Meta to strengthen rules on child marriage-related content

Oversight Board urges Meta to strengthen rules on child marriage-related content
Updated 10 October 2024
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Oversight Board urges Meta to strengthen rules on child marriage-related content

Oversight Board urges Meta to strengthen rules on child marriage-related content
  • Board agrees with Meta to take down Instagram post of 14-year-old girl getting ready for her wedding

DUBAI: The Meta Oversight Board announced on Thursday that it agreed with Meta’s decision to take down an Instagram post showing a beautician in Iran preparing a 14-year-old girl for her wedding.

However, the board disagreed with Meta’s reason for removal, which was “a spirit of the policy allowance under the human exploitation policy,” according to a statement.

In January, a video was posted on Instagram showing a beautician offering make-up advice to a 14-year-old girl in preparation for her wedding. The young girl confirmed her age in the video and the text said that she was the youngest bride of the year, while the caption provided information about the salon and its beauty services.

The post was viewed about 10.9 million times and reported by 203 users over a month.

The board said that Meta’s human exploitation policy does not specifically prohibit support for child marriage; instead, its goal is to remove all forms of “exploitation of humans,” which Meta believed should include “support” for child marriage.

However, the board disagrees with Meta’s reasoning because it believes “the beautician’s actions were a form of facilitation” and therefore, the content clearly violates the human exploitation community standard rule “for facilitation of child marriage by materially aiding this harmful practice.”

In Iran, child marriage is allowed, with legal ages set at 13 for girls and 15 for boys, although in some cases marriage is permitted even before children reach the set ages.

The UN defines child marriage as “any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age” and it is considered a form of forced marriage, both of which are human rights violations.

The Oversight Board, therefore, recommended that Meta modify the human exploitation policy to explicitly state that forced marriages include child marriage, and to define child marriage in line with international human rights standards.

It also advised Meta to expand the “definition of ‘facilitation’ in internal guidelines to include the provision of any type of material aid (which includes ‘services’) to enable exploitation.”