DUBAI: Google will train 4,000 journalists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by the end of next year, a senior executive said at the Arab Media Forum in Dubai.
The news comes as US technology giants come under increasing pressure over their impact on traditional media, the spread of “fake news,” and their wider impact on society.
Carlo Biondo, the regional president of strategic partnerships at Google, told Arab News that it was not too late for Google to help improve its relationship with the media.
“We continuously look at, on each and every product, what we can do to collaborate better with the press,” he said. “It’s never too late if we do the right things together.”
He said that the Google News Initiative will providing training for thousands of journalists in the region.
“Journalists that understand technology better and what technology can do are able to do their jobs better. There’s less costs in doing your work, more effectiveness, more creativity.”
According to a Google blog, the training will be held in partnership with the International Center For Journalists’ local team, IJNET Arabic, and held across six countries in the Middle East.
“In the coming weeks, hundreds of journalists will take part in the first virtual session live from Dubai, from then training workshops will be held in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and UAE,” the blog specified.
Many have claimed that Google has thrived at the expensive of the traditional media. Worldwide newspaper industry revenue fell by 30 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to Magna Global, during which time Google’s advertising revenue more than doubled.
The likes of Facebook and Google, which is owned by parent company Alphabet, have also faced a barrage of criticism over their wider impact on society and impact of “fake news” on democracies.
In January, the billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros told the World Economic Forum in Davos that Facebook and Google have become “powerful monopolies” and are a “menace” to society whose “days are numbered.”
“Mining and oil companies exploit the physical environment; social media companies exploit the social environment,” Soros said, according to a transcript of his speech.
“This is particularly nefarious because social media companies influence how people think and behave without them even being aware of it. This has far-reaching adverse consequences on the functioning of democracy, particularly on the integrity of elections.”
Google to train 4,000 Mideast journalists amid mounting criticism of tech giants
Google to train 4,000 Mideast journalists amid mounting criticism of tech giants
Israeli court overturns conviction of officer who assaulted Palestinian journalist, citing ‘Oct. 7 PTSD’
- Judge sentenced Yitzhak Sofer to 300 hours of community service, saying officer “devoted his life to Israel’s security” and conviction was “disproportionate to severity of his actions”
- Footage shows Sofer throwing photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf to the ground, and repeatedly beating and kicking him while he covered Palestinian gatherings near Al-Aqsa Mosque
LONDON: An Israeli court overturned the conviction of a border police officer who assaulted a Palestinian journalist, ruling his actions were influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder from serving during the Oct. 7 2023 attacks.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced officer Yitzhak Sofer to 300 hours of community service for assaulting Anadolu Agency photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf in occupied East Jerusalem in December 2023.
Footage shows Sofer and other officers drawing weapons, throwing Alkharouf to the ground, and repeatedly beating and kicking him while he covered Palestinian gatherings near Al-Aqsa Mosque amid heavy restrictions.
Alkharouf was hospitalized with facial and body injuries. His cameraman, Faiz Abu Ramila, was also attacked.
Anadolu photojournalist Mustafa Alkharouf violently attacked by Israeli army in occupied East Jerusalem while covering Palestinian prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 15, 2023
Incident highlights ongoing restrictions on Friday prayers and press freedom in region https://t.co/exT6XqjEaA pic.twitter.com/pqugK9HnOt
Sofer had been convicted in September 2024 of assault causing bodily harm (acquitted of threats) and initially faced six months’ community service, as recommended by Mahash, the Justice Ministry’s police misconduct unit.
Judge Amir Shaked accepted the defense request to cancel the conviction, replacing it with community service.
He cited Sofer’s PTSD from responding to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, noting the officer had “no prior criminal record” and had “devoted his life to Israel’s security.”
“The court cannot ignore this when considering whether the defendant’s conviction should stand,” he said, adding that while the incident is “serious and does cross the criminal threshold,” the conviction in place could cause Sofer harm “disproportionate to the severity of his actions.”
The ruling comes amid surging attacks on journalists in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since Israel’s war on Gaza began.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported Israel responsible for two-thirds of the 129 media workers killed worldwide in 2025, the deadliest year on record, citing a “persistent culture of impunity” and lack of transparent probes.
Reporters Without Borders called the Israeli army the “worst enemy of journalists” in its 2025 report, with nearly half of global reporter deaths in Gaza.
Foreign journalists face raids, arrests and intimidation. In late January 2026, Israel’s Supreme Court granted a delay on ruling a ban on foreign media access to Gaza.
