How pro-Palestine digital activists in Latin America are offering an uncensored view on Gaza

Pro-Palestine activists use Spanish and Portuguese-language social media accounts like Palestina Hoy, Sou Palestina and Fepal to access news about Gaza. (AFP)
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Updated 09 February 2024
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How pro-Palestine digital activists in Latin America are offering an uncensored view on Gaza

  • The Spanish-language social media account Palestina Hoy curates and verifies news and multimedia from Gaza
  • In Brazil, Sou Palestina and Fepal have become influential Portuguese-language platforms for pro-Palestine content

SAO PAULO: Many pro-Palestinian activists in Latin America have been relying on social media to disseminate information about the war in Gaza that is generally left out by the region’s dominant press conglomerates.

Some activists have managed to attain audiences large enough to force the traditional means of communication to replicate or at least mention their content. 

The most important of such channels is Palestina Hoy (Palestine Today, @HoyPalestina on X), a Spanish-language account with over 566,000 followers. 

Created only four years ago, the profile has become one of the most visited in the world, ranking 32 on the list of top X accounts at one point since the war broke out on Oct. 7. 

It is now among the 140 most visited X profiles, according to one of Palestina Hoy’s administrators. 

“Before the attacks we had 200,000 followers, and it has grown exponentially since then. It could be even larger if it wasn’t for the censorship we suffer on the internet,” the administrator told Arab News on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns.

The administrator said the channel began with a website in 2020, conceived to provide information about Gaza and the West Bank. 

A team was established and the project began to grow. “We’ve been covering events in Palestine on a daily basis from the start,” the administrator said.




Members of the Palestinian community in Venezuela take part in a protest against Israel's military operations in Gaza and in support of the Palestinian people at Bolivar Square in Caracas on October 12, 2023. (AFP)

All content is taken from official accounts of Palestinian organizations, news agencies, and independent journalists whose work has been verified by the team. 

They take extra care to avoid publishing fake news, the administrator said, adding: “Those are sources that are available to anyone. We don’t have people in the field sending information to us.” 

Part of their effort is to translate Arabic-language content into Spanish. The group is not connected to any Palestinian organization, does “not receive even $1 from anybody to do that work” and is totally independent, the administrator said.

On Instagram and Facebook, Palestina Hoy has to deal with several restrictions. Videos showing Palestinians injured or killed are constantly blurred. Its content is not visible on users’ feeds, appearing only for followers. Live feeds are frequently interrupted. On Facebook, restrictions are even bigger, the administrator said.




People take part in a protest in support of Palestinians in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela, on October 13, 2023 amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza in reprisal for a surprise Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. (AFP)

On Instagram, Palestina Hoy has two accounts and has more than 140,000 followers. On Facebook, it has 57,000 followers.

“X doesn’t eliminate our videos. Many times we post on it things we can’t publish on Instagram or Facebook,” the administrator said.

The account’s most viewed publication is a clip of a Palestinian toddler receiving medical attention at a hospital after being rescued from the rubble of her family’s house in Shati refugee camp, which was bombed by the Israelis. It has more than 16 million views.

Palestina Hoy has attained more than 200 million monthly views on X, and has become the most important Spanish-language profile on that platform. “No individual Zionist account is bigger than us. That’s why they’re so bothered about us,” the administrator said.

Palestina Hoy’s content has been mentioned by major newspapers and TV stations in the region on different occasions and is followed by several presidents and political leaders.

In Portuguese, the largest X account is Sou Palestina (I Am Palestine, @soupalestina on X), with more than 59,000 followers. 

Its administrator is historian Sayid Tenorio, a long-time activist of the Palestinian cause in Brazil and vice president of the Brazil Palestine Institute, known as Ibraspal in Portuguese.

The account started as Tenorio’s profile on Twitter. When the Gaza war broke out, he had about 30,000 followers. 

He realized that it was time to separate his individual account from the one in which he could publish exclusive content about Palestine and reach broader audiences.

“With the depersonalization of the account and the war going on, it has experienced great growth,” Tenorio told Arab News.

The author of a book about the Palestinian issue, he has contacts in the West Bank and Gaza. Members of Palestinian movements send him exclusive videos and pictures daily. 




Protesters rally in support of Palestinians at Camoes square in Lisbon on October 9, 2023 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel. (AFP/File)

He also redistributes material produced by news agencies and journalists from the Middle East.

“I have very little technical expertise on video production, but I have access to sources that most people don’t have,” he said.

Sou Palestina’s most viewed post over the past few weeks was about a petition signed by Brazilian celebrities and businesspeople against their government’s support for South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The Jan. 19 publication displayed part of the list of signatories, which included Fabio Coelho, CEO of Google Brazil, and Fabio Barbosa, CEO of Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura. It was viewed by 231,000 people.

Posts containing footage of Palestinian children hit by Israeli bombs also used to draw many views, but Tenorio decided to cease publishing that kind of content.

“Many people would tell me that the disturbing images of the daily tragedy in Gaza were affecting them psychologically,” he said.




Palestinian children wait to collect food at a donation point in a refugee camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP/File)

Tenorio added that many Latin Americans from other countries get in touch with him, suggest content and share his publications despite the linguistic differences.

“Many messages come from Chile, the country with the largest Palestinian community in the region,” he said.

Politicians and famous artists in Brazil frequently share his posts. That has been helping the Palestinian cause to be discussed in wider circles, Tenorio said.

“The Western media as a whole censors pro-Palestinian ideas. In Brazil, the mainstream press is clearly pro-Zionist. Social media can help us bypass that blockade,” he added.

Another Portuguese-language account that has been extremely active since Oct. 7 and has seen enormous growth in the number of followers is administered by the Arab Palestinian Federation of Brazil, known as Fepal on X (@FepalB).

With only 1,500 followers on X on Oct. 7, it now has 38,000. On Instagram, Fepal’s profile had 12,000 followers and is now followed by 58,000 people.

“As soon as Hamas launched its operation in Israel, we began posting information on human rights violations in Palestine and the apartheid. That helped us become a reference for many,” Marcos Feres, who is in charge of Fepal’s communications, told Arab News.

He said Fepal has never boosted any publication on social media, and all growth has been natural. 

With more visibility, more people began to get in touch with Fepal, including mainstream journalists.

“Our spokespeople have given interviews to many websites, newspapers and TV stations, despite the pro-Zionist stance of the Brazilian media,” Feres said.

Fepal has also been able to express its criticism of the biased coverage of the war in Brazil, including publishing an article about that in a major newspaper.

Footage and information posted on its social media accounts come from public sources, including news agencies, Palestinian organizations and independent journalists.

“The Palestinian cause has entered the digital era, with a new generation being introduced to it right now through social media,” Feres said.

“The Palestinian cause has a unifying power in the Global South. In Latin America, we’re used to the domination imposed by other nations, so it’s easier for us to identify with the plight of the Palestinians.”

 


BBC announces new West Bank documentary with journalist Louis Theroux

Updated 10 February 2025
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BBC announces new West Bank documentary with journalist Louis Theroux

  • ‘Louis Theroux: The Settlers’ examines Israeli settlements in the aftermath of Oct. 7

LONDON: The BBC announced on Monday that journalist Louis Theroux is to produce a new documentary examining Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The investigative journalist is to travel to the region to meet members of the growing ultra-nationalist settler community.

Theroux previously covered the topic in his 2010 documentary “Ultra Zionists,” which explored life in the contested territory. His new documentary, “Louis Theroux: The Settlers,” will revisit the issue in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Theroux said: “(Since 2010) those same extreme settlers are even more emboldened.

“I’m interested in ideologues and fundamentalists of all stripes. In going back to the West Bank I wanted to see settler expansionism up close, and the human cost it entails.”

The BBC said Theroux will “embed himself in the West Bank,” meeting prominent settlers and traveling through the territory in his signature style.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, yet have long been protected by the Israeli security forces.

Since the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and about 250 taken hostage, settler violence against Palestinian communities has escalated, with reports of forced expulsions and land seizures.

US President Donald Trump recently revoked an executive order issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, that sanctioned far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians.

Experts warn that the move could embolden settler aggression and further undermine prospects for Palestinian statehood.

Theroux said: “It’s a story specific to a time and a place and a region, but it’s also a universal insight into tribalism and the ways in which we can blind ourselves to the humanity of those around us.”


The Taliban suspend Afghan women’s radio station for providing content to overseas TV channel

Updated 05 February 2025
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The Taliban suspend Afghan women’s radio station for providing content to overseas TV channel

  • Since their takeover, the Taliban have excluded women from education, many kinds of work, and public spaces

KABUL: The Taliban's information and culture ministry said Tuesday it suspended an Afghan women’s radio station, citing “unauthorized provision” of content and programming to an overseas TV channel.
It’s the second time authorities have shuttered an outlet for allegedly working with foreign media.
The ministry said Radio Begum violated broadcasting policy and improperly used its license. “This decision comes after several violations, including the unauthorized provision of content and programming to a foreign-based television channel," the ministry said, adding it will review all necessary documents to determine the station’s future.
Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months before the Taliban seized power amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops.
The station’s content is produced entirely by Afghan women. Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts educational programs that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade.
Rights groups, including Reporters without Borders, condemned Tuesday’s suspension and demanded it be reversed.
Since their takeover, the Taliban have excluded women from education, many kinds of work, and public spaces. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban tighten their grip on the media landscape.
In the 2024 press freedom index from Reporters without Borders, Afghanistan ranks 178 out of 180 countries. The year before that it ranked 152.
The information ministry did not identify the foreign TV channel it said Radio Begum was working with.
Last May, the Taliban warned journalists and experts in Afghanistan to cease their collaboration with Afghanistan International TV.
It was the first time they had told people not to cooperate with a specific outlet.

 


CNN to expand Middle East operations with new hub in Qatar

Updated 02 February 2025
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CNN to expand Middle East operations with new hub in Qatar

  • Initiative part of network’s broader strategy

DOHA: CNN is to strengthen its presence in the Middle East with the launch of a new operation in Media City Qatar, marking a significant expansion of its regional footprint.

The initiative, which was announced on Sunday, is part of the network’s broader strategy to enhance its global and regional content creation capabilities.

The Qatar-based operation will complement CNN’s existing hubs in the region, including its Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi — home to “Connect the World with Becky Anderson” — as well as its bases in Dubai, where CNN Arabic is headquartered, and various news bureaus across the region.

Scheduled to go live in the second half of 2025, the new hub in Media City Qatar will focus on developing multi-platform content covering major global trends. A dedicated team of content creators will produce material for digital and social platforms, along with an innovative weekly program for CNN International.

At a time when the Middle East remains central to the global news agenda, CNN’s expansion aims to bolster its coverage of geopolitics, business, technology, sports, culture, and travel, the network said.

It added it will also introduce training programs in journalism and production for students and young professionals in Qatar, further investing in media talent development.

Mike McCarthy, executive vice president and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, said: “CNN has a deep commitment to editorial coverage of the Middle East.

“Whether by adding to our ability to report from the region, providing new, cutting-edge studio facilities, or allowing us to tell a wider range of stories in new ways — including via a brand-new weekly show — this new operation in Qatar both underscores and expands that commitment.”

Phil Nelson, executive vice president of CNN International Commercial, highlighted the network’s ambition to innovate.

He said: “This expansion into Qatar will bolster our regional and global operations, adding to our long-standing footprint in the Middle East.

“We look forward to launching innovative formats and content propositions from this new studio in Media City Qatar in the second half of 2025.”

Sheikh Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, chairman of Media City Qatar, welcomed CNN’s arrival and stressed Qatar’s growing role as a media and technology hub.

He said: “This expansion signals the continued growth of Qatar’s strategic role in shaping global conversations from the heart of the Middle East — because here, where next is made, we are not only witnessing progress, we are making it happen.”


Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages

Updated 02 February 2025
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Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages

  • The AI-powered social media profile called Israeli soldiers ‘white colonizers in apartheid Israel’

DUBAI: An AI bot designed to promote Israeli narratives on social media has turned itself into a pro-Palestinian machine, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

FactFinderAI was reportedly developed at the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023 to counter “misinformation” about Israeli hostilities.

However, the bot has generated anti-Israeli narratives on X, calling for solidarity with Gazans and referring followers to a charity organization to which they can donate in support of Palestinians, Haaretz reported.

The bot has denied claims that an Israeli family was killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack and has accused Israel of proposing a US ban on TikTok.

With about 3,800 followers, the bot mainly comments on posts from X users rather than creating its own original posts.

In one response to a pro-Israeli user, the bot called Israeli soldiers “white colonizers in apartheid Israel.” In another — to a pro-Palestinian user — it concluded that former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “will be remembered for (his) actions that have caused immense suffering and devastation in Gaza.”

The bot has also posted misinformation, falsely claiming that Israeli hostages released as part of the ongoing ceasefire with Hamas were still being held by the group.

Haaretz said it was unclear whether the bot had been officially funded by the Israeli government or developed independently by pro-Israeli activists.

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry has dedicated at least $550,000 since the start of the war in Gaza to projects that use AI to spread pro-Israeli propaganda. “One of these was Hasbara Commando, a project that also used AI to generate automatic comments,” Haaretz stated.

The newspaper quoted Israeli NGO FakeReporter’s findings that FactFinderAI posts AI-generated content about Israel’s war on Gaza. While the bot was designed to give a pro-Israeli take on other people’s posts, it ended up trolling pro-Israel accounts with pro-Palestinian opinions.

In one instance, the bot urged Germany to follow the lead of Ireland and Spain and officially recognize the state of Palestine.


EXCLUSIVE: Meta AI launches in Middle East, extends support for Arabic language

Updated 02 February 2025
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EXCLUSIVE: Meta AI launches in Middle East, extends support for Arabic language

  • New platform ‘democratizes access to advanced AI tools,’ company regional director says
  • Built-in safeguards to ensure accuracy, protect against harmful, misleading content

DUBAI: Meta on Sunday announced the official launch of its AI assistant Meta AI in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Powered by the company’s latest Llama 3.2 large language model, Meta AI is available across all Meta platforms and products, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

“The rollout is gradual, so while many users can already see Meta AI on their apps, some users will be getting it in the coming weeks,” Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director, told Arab News in an exclusive interview.

Meta first announced the AI assistant at its Connect event in 2023 before launching it the following year in select markets. Today, it is expanding its reach across the region, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, and extending its “support for Arabic,” Akkad said.

He added that Meta AI is already available via desktop devices and some countries might get access sooner than others, “but rest assured, we’re working to make sure millions of users in the Middle East can be part of this growth.”

Although businesses in the region have access to Meta’s AI-powered advertising, they will not have access to the new platform at this time.

Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director. (Supplied)

Akkad said Meta is “actively exploring opportunities to introduce it in the future,” but did not specify a date.

AI chatbots are growing in popularity, and are used for everything from relationship advice to resume writing. Nearly a billion people use AI chatbots today, according to some reports, and the number is only expected to grow.

With several chatbots now available to users — some, like Google’s Gemini, even integrated into their phone — Akkad believes the biggest and most important highlight of Meta AI is its accessibility.

“It’s already built into our apps, so there is no need to download or sign up for anything new — and it’s completely free and will stay that way,” he said.

That Meta AI is device agnostic and built directly into Meta’s apps is a “game-changer for AI adoption” because “it democratizes access to advanced AI tools, reaching not just the tech-savvy but also everyday users” in areas “where newer hardware may not be as widely available,” Akkad said.

Despite its many benefits, generative AI has been the subject of scrutiny over the spread of misinformation. Akkad said Meta is aware of the “concern around the risks of generative AI, especially when it comes to misinformation” and has “built Meta AI with safeguards to make it as helpful and responsible as possible.”

Some of measures include built-in filters that prevent the AI from generating harmful or misleading content. These are based on extensive tests conducted by Meta and the company is updating its AI models based on feedback and training every two weeks, he said.

Generative AI’s ability to manufacture realistic but fake images exacerbates its threat to truth and accuracy.

Akkad said that Meta makes sure “people can tell when something (an image) was created or edited using Meta AI by adding clear watermarks, hidden markers and metadata embedded within image files to ensure no one is trying to pass off the AI-generated images as real.”

The company is also working with regulators and policymakers to fulfill its goal of giving “people a tool they can trust — one that helps them create, learn, and connect with the things and people they care about — all while keeping safety and accuracy at the core,” said Akkad.