BEIRUT: Pointing to a green screen as if presenting a weather forecast, Bilal Abdul Kareem analyzes the Turkish-Russian deal over Syria’s Idlib, broadcasting in his native English from inside the war-torn country’s last opposition stronghold.
The 47-year-old American is a long way from where he grew up near the Bronx, watching reruns of “Rocky” and eating at Italian restaurants.
Dressed in a charcoal suit jacket, the broad-shouldered and bearded Abdul Kareem stares into the camera and insists: “In this deal, this specific deal, nobody can say the rebels were not winners.”
For the past six years, he has reported from shrinking opposition territory in Syria’s north, filming the aftermath of airstrikes, interviewing hard-line fighters, even meeting Al-Qaeda members.
His contacts, including in Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), have granted him extensive access at a time when the risk of abduction makes much of Syria too dangerous for journalists from mainstream news outlets.
But it has also prompted allegations that Abdul Kareem is an extremist “propagandist” and would not have survived in the area had he been an impartial journalist — particularly given HTS’ history of harsh crackdowns against perceived foes.
Speaking to AFP from Idlib over Skype, WhatsApp, and Facebook, Abdul Kareem denied the claims and directed accusations of his own: He is suing the US government for allegedly trying to kill him in Syria.
As the case drags through US courts, the self-described “bald-headed black guy in the middle of Syria” has remained in Idlib despite fears of a looming regime offensive, continuing to file dispatches for his media upstart, On the Ground News.
Born Darrell Lamont Phelps, Abdul Kareem embraced Islam before moving to the Middle East in 2002. He married and had children in Egypt, but declined to disclose their location for security reasons.
He arrived in Syria in 2012 from Libya, curious about the fighters battling President Bashar Assad’s forces in a conflict which at that point was just a year old.
Working first with major broadcasters including CNN, he founded OGN in 2015 as editors started to express “doubts” about his political stances, he said.
The channel now publishes on YouTube, Twitter, and a Facebook page with more than 86,000 followers.
“I have a good working relationship with every group, which doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with everything they do or they agree with everything I do,” he said.
A normal day begins with dawn prayers at 4:30 a.m., followed by a routine search of his car for bombs. The rest is up to the news cycle.
He could find himself on a motorcycle zipping toward a frontline, lapel mic in hand but without protective gear, or sipping tea with hardcore fighters most Americans would consider unsavory.
“I remember I had these very, very in-depth conversations with different Al-Qaeda members about America, Americans and the democratic system,” Abdul Kareem said.
He offered unsuccessfully to facilitate a dialogue between Western powers and Idlib’s militants, whom he insisted don’t have “blood dripping from their fangs and want to eat American children.”
The US has designated Al-Qaeda and HTS “terrorist organizations.” Around 3 million people live in Idlib and surrounding rebel territory, including foreigners who have joined the war against the Assad regime. “There are quite a few Americans here. All fighters,” Abdul Kareem said. Asked about his future, he recalled escaping second city Aleppo as it fell to the regime in 2016. If the same fate awaits Idlib, he said, “I would be one of the last people to leave.” Abdul Kareem’s 16-year absence from the US has made him miss simple things: speaking English, sugary cereals. But he fears the 2016 election of President Donald Trump has changed the country too much.
“It sounds like America is not the same America that I grew up in,” he said. His remaining links are with his sister, and a lawsuit he filed last year against Trump and a coterie of US officials, accusing the government of attempting to kill him five times. Once was on a reporting trip. “My car was hit with a drone strike. The car flipped up into the air and landed on its side facing the opposite direction,” he said. Abdul Kareem is demanding the government stop targeting him, remove him from any so-called “kill list” and disclose the names of other citizens who may be on it. In the meantime, OGN’s cameras keep rolling.
“I’m not in America because being here in Syria doing the work that I’m doing and covering the things I’m covering, in my estimation, is the right thing to do,” Abdul Kareem said.
“People are dying by the droves, and if I can do something to help people see what the real realities are, then what business do I have going back to America right now?“
Live from Idlib, an American broadcasts from Syria’s last rebel zone
Live from Idlib, an American broadcasts from Syria’s last rebel zone
- Around 3 million people live in Idlib and surrounding rebel territory, including foreigners who have joined the war against the Assad regime
Saudi who swapped ejection seats for tech reviews — and topped KSA charts
- In an exclusive interview with Arab News, the host of ‘2You’ and ‘Up To Date KSA’ talks about digital wellness, AI’s future, and his plans to fill the gap in Arabic tech content
- Top Arab content creator in Saudi Arabia’s 2025 top 10 most-viewed YouTube channels describes milestone as ‘shockingly’ positive
LONDON: Speaking to Faisal Al-Saif, a self-described tech lover, one of the least likely things you expect to hear is advice on disconnecting from technology.
Yet the idea of a “tech diet” — more commonly known as digital wellbeing — takes on added weight when it comes from someone whose work revolves around gadgets and who relies on social media as their primary platform.
Beyond this seemingly analytical, Web 1.0-style perspective, Al-Saif draws on more than two decades of experience as a tech expert — or, in today’s terms, a content creator.
“I’m an early believer that technology is here to connect us more, to make the world even smaller than what it is, and make us just more active, more productive, and have more time for our religion, for our families and for our actual lives,” Al-Saif told Arab News.
Al-Saif trained as an aircraft engineer at BAE Systems, where he specialized in ejection seats for Royal Saudi Air Force jets, before entering broadcasting in 2004, hosting and producing KSA2’s English-language “2You” and, later, the technology show “Up To Date KSA.”
In 2009, he pivoted to YouTube — a platform with more limited reach and no monetization at the time — to help fill the gap in Arabic tech content.
“Back then, if you searched about a device or a system or a piece of information, the main language you would find the result in was English. So, I just started creating a channel and putting some good content in (both) Arabic and in English,” he said.
This approach required filming videos twice. Initially, videos in English drew more views, while Arabic lagged, but that shifted month by month as Arabic content gained traction.
“To put it in perspective, back then, it wasn’t a source of income — not a main, not a minor, not a partial.”
Today, Al-Saif’s channel delivers straightforward reviews that guide viewers on whether to buy or avoid products based on their needs, not brand pressure.
“I love creating content that gives value to the people. I love simplifying information. I love tech in a crazy way,” he said. “I like to see new tech, test it, be an early adopter of it. Tell people, ‘This is good because of this, and (that) could have been better with those implemented.’ Tell people to buy or not to buy based on their preferences, not based on companies and what they want to push.”
Creators typically earn through ad revenue, fan funding, product placement, and sponsorships, though Al-Saif distances himself from the “influencer” label.
“Part of it is that struggle we went through throughout the years, of trying to create valuable business propositions for everybody who works with us, being very fair and honest about what I present, and trying to help companies, just to help companies. Not seeking business.”
Earlier this month, almost two decades after starting his channel, Al-Saif was named top Arab content creator — and the only regional entry — in Saudi Arabia’s 2025 top 10 most-viewed YouTube channels, a milestone he described as “shocking” in a positive sense.
“Being on that top 10 list gives me a cool push after 16 years,” he said of his UTD Saudi channel, which has 8.92 million subscribers.
“(When) I go into a hospital, I find a lot of Saudis that know me. But also, I find some Filipino nurses coming to me (telling me), ‘I watch your videos.’ I like that kind of diversity (which) is only possible on YouTube and educational content.”
Al-Saif views YouTube as a modern visual library to help informed decisions. While social media shifts toward short-form videos, he believes the platform is resisting this trend.
“If it’s all short-term content, it’s us supporting that short attention span (which) is being developed with people.”
He champions long-form reviews, beginning with a brief story, then details, to encourage informed decisions. By contrast, he argued, three-second or ultra-short videos may be excellent at grabbing attention, but are largely useless for serious decisions, “unless (perhaps) it’s a cooking video.”
In 2012, after seeing an opening, Al-Saif left BAE Systems — “initially only for two years” — to launch Tech Pills Productions, helping companies such as Intel, Microsoft, and HP create content, a move that boosted his career. He later diversified into tech startups, though he shuns the “investor” label.
“I don’t see myself as an entrepreneur or an investor. I just see myself as a tech lover,” he said. “I try to push myself into diversifying the business and creating other pillars. So, I went into other types of investments, working and developing applications with different partners, and all of that went well. That part made me more comfortable creating content for the joy of it instead for the business side of it.”
In 2021, Al-Saif backed Karaz (Arabic for “cherries”), an EHR platform using IoT, AI, and real-time data for healthcare, originally a gamified app for diabetic children. “(I’m drawn to a project) if there’s a human touch,” he said. “It’s relating data to human change in a positive way that made me not hesitate and go for it.”
While AI pitches flood in, past flops have left him with a degree of “marketing resistance.”
“I find that AI does add value if you have those (proper) steps into getting into AGI (artificial general intelligence) and the later steps that will come. It’s the proper development. But the hype about relating everything to AI, that part, I’m definitely against,” he said.
AI has dominated headlines for three years, fueling an economic boom, and sparking debate over job losses and ethical risks. Al-Saif acknowledges the technology’s “endless opportunities,” but doubts the hype will last and that AI will ultimately drive the world. “They will find something else; either it’s diverted from AI or from another field in technology to create that marketing sense.”
Asked what people should be more aware of, he urged greater public education on AI’s dual nature.
“It’s a knife that you can cook with, or it’s a knife that can stab someone. There’s a seriousness about AI, and sadly, the world does not do enough regarding the sense of awareness,” he said.
Without greater understanding, unchecked AI could create generations shaped entirely by whatever information they are fed, regardless of truth, he said, adding that the technology already enables bad behavior excused as “AI-generated” and blurs fact and fiction, making regulations essential.
Saudi Arabia is leading responsibly through its Data and AI Authority, he said. “I think they’re going very well within multiple sides: the regulatory part, the governance side, as well as when it comes to investing heavily with the infrastructure and AI companies.”
Through the authority, the Kingdom has launched an ambitious plan to position itself at the forefront of AI technology. Al-Saif has contributed directly and indirectly, including advising on public strategies such as the Riyadh Charter on AI Ethics in the Islamic World.
“It’s a very interesting place to be (at a) very interesting time. I’ve sat with the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman). He talked about AI, his vision, and how AI will create this next wave of businesses and next wave of economy.”
Asked whether our society is obsessed with technological progress, Al-Saif replies that “we are adopting (technologies) for what we need,” but adds that limits, such as Australia’s recent social media ban for youth, are needed. “But the thing is, they don’t ban stuff in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They try to create a system.”
At home, he supervises his children’s screen time or watches content together. “YouTube is still, I find, the safest platform (out) there because of its nature of long videos and vlogs. It is much more mature than any other platform when it comes to how to censor, how to control, how to do things.”
However, he agreed that younger generations, as tech natives, perceive tech interaction differently, specifically when it comes to privacy.
“Privacy is kind of a stretchy thing. I define privacy different than my kids when they grow up, and that made me think of privacy different. It’s not that we’re letting go of information. It’s the environment that we live in that creates that sense of privacy.”
Al-Saif believes privacy has already been reshaped — not as a value we hold dear, but as an illusion where true personal boundaries have been eroded. What remains is a mere reflection of our actions online, not tied to our names, but reduced to anonymous data points or numbers in the digital ether.
For Al-Saif, part of the answer lies in the power of disconnection, an approach that he has strongly advocated.
“I give myself an hour or two a day maximum (online) to know about certain other stuff. My advice for anybody who wants to live 12 hours of cool life is: Try to experience or to learn something unrelated to tech.”
Pointing to a beehive he keeps in the office, Al-Saif added: “There are other fields that I like to, let’s say, learn about. It’s a clear state of mind that you reach with it. And I just try to do as normal, natural things as possible; try to work with gadgets and appliances that don’t have batteries.”
