Pro-Palestine activists spray red paint on BBC building in London protesting ‘biased’ coverage

Blood-red paint splattered over BBC New Broadcasting House in London. (X/@Pal_action)
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Updated 14 October 2023
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Pro-Palestine activists spray red paint on BBC building in London protesting ‘biased’ coverage

  • UK-based group claims vandalism is ‘message’ for broadcaster with ‘blood on its hands’

LONDON: Pro-Palestinian activists splattered the BBC New Broadcasting House in London with red paint to protest the network’s “biased” reporting on events in Israel and Gaza.

 


Journalist Victoria Derbyshire posted footage on Saturday showing the front of the Broadcasting House with its revolving doors and right wall covered in blood-red paint.
UK-based Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the damage on Twitter, saying it had “left a message overnight for the BBC.”
The group tweeted: “Spreading the occupation’s lies and manufacturing consent for Israel’s war crimes means (sic) you have Palestinian blood on your hands. #ShutBBCDown.”
Later in the day, it tweeted: “Palestine Action sprayed the BBC with blood-red paint, symbolizing their complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people through biased reporting.”
Earlier in the day, there appeared to be unsuccessful attempts to clean the paint off the building, the Telegraph reported.

 

 


The vandalism occurred before a pro-Palestine march that began in front of the building at noon. Palestine Action describes itself as a “direct action network dismantling British complicity in Israeli apartheid.” 
Members of the group have launched similar protests in the past, notably throwing red paint on offices and factories belonging to the Israel-based defense electronics company Elbit Systems.
The Metropolitan Police told the Telegraph that while they were “aware of the criminal damage” to Broadcasting House, there was “no suggestion it is linked to any protest group.”
 

 


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

  • 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

Updated 10 October 2024
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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

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

  • 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

Updated 10 October 2024
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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.”


Lebanon deports detained US-Israeli national: officials

“Joshua Samuel Tartakovsky, a journalist with Israeli, US and British passports, was detained on October 5 and then deported.
Updated 10 October 2024
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Lebanon deports detained US-Israeli national: officials

  • A security official said Hezbollah members detained Tartakovsky and handed him over to the military intelligence, but said he was not a journalist

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities detained a US-Israeli national in Beirut last week and later deported him, Lebanese security and judicial officials said on Thursday.
“Joshua Samuel Tartakovsky, a journalist with Israeli, US and British passports, was detained on October 5 and deported the following day,” a judicial official said, requesting to remain anonymous.
Israel intensified air strikes in Lebanon over two weeks ago, targeting the Hezbollah armed group.
Lebanese law prohibits any contact with Israel, punishable by imprisonment, and Lebanese citizens are barred from traveling to its southern neighbor.
A security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hezbollah members detained Tartakovsky and handed him over to the military intelligence, but said he was not a journalist.
He had gone to the southern suburbs, where Israel has pounded what they say are Hezbollah sites in recent weeks, presenting himself as a “supporter of Gaza and Hezbollah,” the security source said.
He claimed he wanted to tell Hezbollah about “Israeli army tactics,” the source said.
A spokeswoman at the US embassy told AFP: “We are aware of the arrest and due to privacy reasons have no further information to provide.”
The escalation of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since September 23 has killed more than 1,200 people and displaced over a million more from their homes, according to official figures.
Before that, Hezbollah had traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza.