LONDON: US social media giant Facebook launched a campaign in Britain on Friday to counter the spread of online extremism following warnings from Prime Minister Theresa May after four terror attacks in three months.
Facebook said it would seek to educate charities and other organizations on how to fight hate speech, in the wake of recent terror attacks in Belgium, Britain and France.
The Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI) will act as a forum for charities and other nonprofit organizations to share their experiences of extremism and develop “best practices” to tackle the issue, both on and offline.
There are already OCCI schemes in France and Germany.
Earlier this year, Group of Seven (G7) leaders had urged online giants like Facebook and Google to do more to curb extremist content online.
“The fight is moving from the battlefield to the Internet,” May said at the time.
Partners in the new initiative include the Jo Cox Foundation, which was established in memory of the British member of parliament who was assassinated last year by a man with links to neo-Nazi organizations.
Other partner organizations include anti-hate groups from the Jewish and Muslim communities.
“There is no place for hate or violence on Facebook,” the company’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said Friday.
“We use technology like AI (artificial intelligence) to find and remove terrorist propaganda, and we have teams of counterterrorism experts and reviewers around the world working to keep extremist content off our platform.
“Partnerships with others — including tech companies, civil society, researchers and governments — are also a crucial piece of the puzzle.”
“We know we have more to do, but through our platform, our partners and our community we will continue to learn to keep violence and extremism off Facebook.”
The announcement Friday comes a week after Facebook launched a series of counter-terrorism measures in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.
In a separate announcement Friday, the British government rolled out new rules to crack down on terrorist and criminal financing.
Businesses like banks, estate agents and accounting and payment firms will have to carry out “stringent and targeted checks” to make sure that money “is from a legitimate source and will not be used to fund terror acts,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Facebook launches plan to combat online extremism
Facebook launches plan to combat online extremism
Gems of Arabia magazine launched to spotlight talents shaping Saudi Arabia’s evolving cultural landscape
- The publication features established and emerging talents elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media
- Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel seeks to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences
DUBAI: When Saudi fashion designer Hatem Alakeel interviewed Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud before her appointment as Saudi ambassador to the US, the longtime advocate of women’s empowerment made a powerful prediction: “I look forward to the day that the Saudi woman is no longer the story but rather a phenomenal achievement.”
That moment would become the foundation for Gems of Arabia, an arts and culture audio-visual podcast that spotlights the creative talents shaping the landscape of Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
Over six years, Gems of Arabia has documented the sweeping transformation of the Kingdom’s art and culture scene, and is now evolving into a full-fledged magazine.
“It started off as a column I used to write, and from there, it turned into a podcast. Now it is growing into a magazine,” Dubai-based Alakeel, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief, told Arab News ahead of the launch of the digital publication on Thursday.
Besides spotlighting celebrated regional artists, Alakeel said Gems of Arabia is in search of the “hidden gems” elevating the region across design, fashion, art, tech, music, architecture and media.
The magazine serves as a platform for talented, authentic creatives and tech entrepreneurs unable to articulate their work “because they don’t have the public relations or capacity to promote themselves even through social media.”
Alakeel added: “Our job is to identify all these authentic people; you don’t have to be famous, you just have to be authentic, and have a great story to tell.”
The digital publication offers a dynamic blend of short-form podcasts, coverage of regional cultural events, in-depth features and editorials, long-form interviews and artist profiles — spotlighting both celebrated and emerging talents. This is complemented by social media vox pops and bite-sized coverage of art events across the region.
Alakeel, who also runs Authenticite, a consulting and creative production agency connecting creators and brands who want to understand Saudi culture, said the magazine content is “carefully curated” to feature topics and personalities that resonate in the region.
Growing up in France, Alakeel said his mission started early on when he felt the need to represent his Saudi culture “in a way where it can hold its own internationally.”
Through his first brand, Toby, he sought to bring the traditional thobe into modern designs and introduce it to the luxury fashion world. This mission was accomplished when his thobe designs were placed alongside global labels such as Harvey Nichols, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.
What began as a personal design mission would soon expand into a broader platform to champion Saudi talent.
“I was articulating my culture through fashion and it just felt natural to do that through the incredible people that the region has,” Alakeel said, adding that the magazine aims to highlight the richness of the Kingdom, and wider modern Arab culture to global audiences.
“Art is such a great way of learning about a culture and a country,” he said.
What differentiates Gems of Arabia, Alakeel said, is its story of continuity and substance amassed over the years that has captured the evolution of the wider regional landscape.
“The website represents an archive of nearly 150 articles compiled through years of podcasts and long-form conversations that show continuity and depth changes,” he added.
“So, it’s an evolution and it’s another home for all our content and our community.”
On the ground in Saudi Arabia, the publication hosts GEMS Forum, a series of live cultural gatherings that bring together prominent artistic figures for in-depth conversations later transformed into podcast episodes recorded with a live audience.
Alakeel said the print edition of Gems of Arabia will debut in March, designed as a collectible coffee-table quarterly distributed across the Gulf.
He envisions the platform growing into a long-term cultural record.
“It's a Saudi-centric magazine, but the idea is to make it inclusive to the region and everyone authentic has a seat at the table,” said Alakeel.
