Social media platform X strips Houthi-related accounts of blue ‘Verified’ badge

In response to the removal of the blue badges, Al-Ezzi appealed to Elon Musk, the owner of X, to reinstate them or “at least return the subscription fees” paid for them. (AFP/File)
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Updated 12 March 2024
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Social media platform X strips Houthi-related accounts of blue ‘Verified’ badge

  • Yemen’s information minister welcomes decision and says it follows request by nation’s government for social media sites to limit reach of the group’s propaganda

LONDON: Social media platform X has removed the blue “Verified” badge from the accounts of some Houthi leaders and affiliated groups.

The affected accounts include those belonging to the Iran-backed group’s spokesperson, Yahya Sare’e, in English and Arabic, Hussein Al-Ezzi, the Houthi government’s deputy foreign affairs minister, and Al-Masirah Channel, the group’s media network.

The Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, welcomed the decision by X. He said it followed a request by the Yemeni government for Houthi propaganda to be blocked from social media platforms and other media channels, in an effort to “dry up the Houthi militia’s (financial, political and media) resources.”

In a message posted on X, Al-Eryani wrote: “There is no difference between them and the terrorist groups whose pages media platforms are combating as part of the global war on terrorism.”

He accused the Houthis of “spreading terrorist ideas, promoting hate speech, inciting violence, and recruiting and brainwashing children through their social media pages.”

The US redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist organization in January, two years after removing it from the list, in response to an ongoing series of attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden that have disrupted international shipping and global trade. The group claims to be acting in solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinian people.

In response to the removal of the blue badges, Al-Ezzi appealed to Elon Musk, the owner of X, to reinstate them or “at least return the subscription fees” paid for them.

In a message posted on X, Al-Ezzi threatened a “comprehensive boycott of the platform” and warned it “will be the first loser, as millions will leave it for an alternative and competitive Yemeni platform.”

In February, following the US redesignation of the Houthis as terrorists, X suspended several accounts affiliated with the group. The Houthis described the move as “a violation of all human rights conventions.”


Italian media crew attacked in Lebanon, driver dies of heart attack

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Italian media crew attacked in Lebanon, driver dies of heart attack

  • RAI TG3’s Lucia Goracci and Marco Nicois were attacked by unidentified man in Sidon, near Israeli border
  • Longtime collaborator Ahmad Akil Hamzeh was trying to explain the situation when he collapsed unexpectedly

LONDON: Italian journalist Lucia Goracci and cameraman Marco Nicois were attacked in Lebanon on Tuesday while covering the situation near the Israeli border in Sidon. Their local driver, Ahmad Akil Hamzeh, tragically died of a heart attack during the incident.

The RAI TG3 crew, from Italy’s state television, had been reporting on the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike when they were confronted by an unidentified man who attempted to seize their camera.

“We were in Jiyeh, north of Sidon, at the site of a bombing that took place two nights ago,” Goracci recounted during a live broadcast, visibly shaken by the attack.

“The fixer had reported our presence to Hezbollah. We were filming without problems, and people were talking to us,” Goracci said. “Then someone appeared and tried to snatch the camera from us. We got back in the car ready to leave quickly, but more people arrived.”

Chased and attacked by the man, who reportedly threw a stone at them, they were confronted a second time at a gas station outside town.

“He was following us, and when the driver stopped at a gas station, by then we were out of town, he came at us, snatched the keys, tried to destroy the camera while no one came to our aid,” Goracci said.

Hamzeh, the driver and longtime collaborator, tried to mediate but collapsed unexpectedly.

“He passed away, fell to the ground. We ran to the hospital, and they told us that he had died after long attempts to revive him,” the journalist continued.

Marcello Greco, deputy editor in chief of foreign affairs at TG3, expressed shock at the attack and extended condolences to Hamzeh’s family.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also voiced solidarity with the TG3 team and offered heartfelt sympathy to Hamzeh’s loved ones.

While initial reports suggested the attackers may have been Hezbollah supporters, Goracci later told Italian news agency ANSA that the incident “was an outburst without any political implications,” caused by widespread tension among the population of the areas under attack.

Goracci, mourning the loss of her friend and colleague, said, “We have no words to describe Ahmed’s human depth and great sweetness.”


Turkiye blocks instant messaging platform Discord

Updated 09 October 2024
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Turkiye blocks instant messaging platform Discord

  • Ankara decided to remove access due to sufficient suspicion that the crimes of ‘child sexual abuse and obscenity’ have been committed

ISTANBUL: Turkiye has blocked access to instant messaging platform Discord following a court decision, the country’s infotech regulator said on Wednesday.
Turkiye’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) published the access ban decision on its website.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said a court in the capital Ankara decided to remove access from Turkiye to San Francisco-based Discord due to sufficient suspicion that the crimes of “child sexual abuse and obscenity” have been committed.
“We are determined to protect our youth and children, from the harmful publications of social media and the Internet that constitute crimes. We will never allow attempts to shake the foundations of our social structure,” Tunc also said in a post on X.
The access ban decision comes after public outrage caused by the murder of two women, perpetrated by a 19-year-old man earlier this month.
Following the incident, content on social media showed some users of Discord were praising the killing which led to public outrage against certain communities on the platform.
On Tuesday, Russia’s communications regulator blocked Discord for violating Russian law, after previously fining the company for failing to remove banned content, the TASS news agency reported.


US considers breakup of Google in landmark search case

Updated 09 October 2024
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US considers breakup of Google in landmark search case

  • In a landmark case, a US judge found in August that Google had built an illegal monopoly
  • Justice Department’s proposed remedies have the potential to reshape how Americans find information on the Internet

NEW YORK: The US said on Tuesday it may ask a judge to force Alphabet’s Google to divest parts of its business, such as its Chrome browser and Android operating system, that it says are used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online search.
In a landmark case, a judge found in August that Google, which processes 90 percent of US Internet searches, had built an illegal monopoly. The Justice Department’s proposed remedies have the potential to reshape how Americans find information on the Internet, while shrinking Google’s revenues and giving its competitors more room to grow.
“Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google’s control of distribution today, but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow,” the Justice Department said.
The proposed fixes will also aim to keep Google’s past dominance from extending to the burgeoning business of artificial intelligence, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department is also considering asking for an order that would require Google to make available to rivals the indexes, data and models it uses for Google search and AI-assisted search features.
It might also ask the court to end Google’s payments to have its search engine pre-installed or set as the default on new devices.
Google has made annual payments — $26.3 billion in 2021 — to companies including Apple and other device manufacturers to ensure that its search engine remained the default on smartphones and browsers, keeping its market share strong.
Google called the proposals “radical” and said they “go far beyond the specific legal issues in this case.”
Some of the ideas in the proposal had previously garnered support from Google’s smaller competitors such as reviews site Yelp and rival search engine company DuckDuckGo.
Yelp, which sued Google over search in August, says spinning off Google’s Chrome browser and AI services should be on the table. Yelp also wants Google to be prohibited from giving preference to Google’s local business pages in search results.
The Justice Department is expected to file a more detailed proposal with the court by Nov. 20. Google will have a chance to propose its own remedies by Dec. 20.
US District Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling in Washington was a major win for antitrust enforcers who have brought an ambitious set of cases against Big Tech companies over the past four years.
Google has said it plans to appeal, and that its search engine has won users with its quality. It adds that it faces robust competition from Amazon and other sites where users go directly to search for goods or services, and that users can choose other search engines as their default.


Brazil Supreme Court lifts ban on Musk’s X

Updated 09 October 2024
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Brazil Supreme Court lifts ban on Musk’s X

  • X was blocked in Brazil for over a month amid a row over disinformation
  • The social network settled millions of dollars in fines for failing to comply with a series of court orders

BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court said Tuesday it was lifting a ban on Elon Musk’s social network X, which was blocked in its biggest Latin American market for over a month amid a row over disinformation.
“I authorize the immediate return of the activities” of the social platform, Judge Alexandre de Moraes said in his ruling, after X settled millions of dollars in fines for failing to comply with a series of court orders.
He gave Brazil’s communications regulator 24 hours to make X accessible again to its millions of Brazilian users.
Moraes has for months been embroiled in a standoff with Musk, the world’s richest man, over a flood of online disinformation related to Brazil’s 2022 election campaign.
In August, the tensions came to a head when Moraes dramatically blocked X for failing to comply with his demands to remove dozens of right-wing accounts accused of spreading disinformation, and to name a new legal representative in Brazil.
The row, which pitted freedom of expression against corporate responsibility, was closely watched worldwide.
A furious Musk lashed out at Moraes by calling him an “evil dictator,” but X eventually complied with all of Moraes’s demands in order to have the suspension lifted.
Last week, Moraes confirmed that the company had also settled around $5.2 million in fines


French journalist associations call ‘once again’ for unrestricted Gaza access

Updated 08 October 2024
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French journalist associations call ‘once again’ for unrestricted Gaza access

  • Open letter in French, Hebrew, and Arabic marks latest ignored call for Gaza access

LONDON: Nearly 30 journalist societies, mostly based in France, have renewed their call for unrestricted media access to Gaza while urging Israeli authorities to guarantee the safety of media workers “trapped” in the enclave reporting under “unprecedented circumstances.”

In a column published on Tuesday in Le Monde, the group, including journalist associations from France24, Arte, and Reporters Without Borders, pressed for Israel to allow international media into Gaza.

“Already condemned a year ago, this situation is unprecedented. As in every armed conflict, it is up to newsrooms to weigh up the risks of sending their journalists to war zones, as they do throughout the world,” read the article which was written in French, Hebrew and Arabic.

The group argued that preventing journalists from operating freely has allowed disinformation to spread unchecked, with falsehoods becoming “weapons of war used by all sides.”

Theodora column continued: “The right to inform and be informed is the cornerstone of our democracies. It is a fundamental freedom, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

It added: “We therefore call on the Israeli authorities to protect the safety of the journalists currently trying to work in Gaza, and to open this territory to the international press so that it can do its job: Inform without hindrance and bear witness to the progress of this war, one of the most deadly and violent of the early 21st century.”

Despite international pressure, Israel has barred foreign media from entering Gaza, forcing outlets to rely on stained local journalists operating in a war zone.

German media outlets made a similar request to Israel in mid-September, calling the exclusion of international media “unprecedented in recent history.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded the deaths of at least 128 media workers, almost all Palestinian, since the start of the conflict, marking it as the deadliest war for journalists since records began in 1992.