I was glad to speak to the BBC World Service about how Facebook has failed to apply its ban on LGBT+ conversion therapy content to Arabic-language posts.
Kenyan worker’s arrest shows power, and peril, of online advocacy
[Published here June 3, 2021]
BEIRUT, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – With perfect prose, sizzling sarcasm and a host of anonymous accounts, Malcolm Bidali has waged a one-man social media campaign to improve working conditions for migrant labourers in Qatar for nearly a year.
“It kind of makes me feel like Batman or Superman. You can say the things you want to say, with your own voice and your own style,” said Bidali, 28, speaking to the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Doha.
Continue readingLGBT+ conversion therapy: banned on Facebook, but thriving in Arabic
[Produced alongside Thomson Reuters Foundation’s digital correspondent Avi Asher-Schapiro and published here on June 3, 2021]
When he was growing up in a small Egyptian town outside Cairo, Omar began feeling sexually attracted to other men. Too afraid to talk to family or friends, he turned to Facebook for help, shielding his identity with a false name.
Scouring social media for information and advice is a common recourse for young men and women who think they may be gay and live in socially conservative Arab societies.
But it can lead them to therapists, spiritual leaders and influencers promising to “cure the affliction” of homosexuality through so-called conversion therapy – practices that aim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Continue readingInvestigating corruption between lockdowns & explosions | Marie Colvin Journalist Network
[Published here June 1, 2021]
“Money makes the world go round” is a well-known saying. In Iraq, however, it is “dirty money”. Even after more than a year living in Baghdad, I still got surprised by how much of public life in the war-weary country relied on the circulation of illicit funds – and how formalised this corruption had become.
Continue reading‘I never got my second dose:’ Gaza conflict derails COVID response
[Published here on May 28, 2021]
BEIRUT, May 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – With a first COVID-19 jab under his belt and the second a few weeks away, Imad Agha was overwhelmed with relief. But his hopes of immunity were dashed when violence erupted in Gaza.
Continue readingContent moderation in conflict zones: What role for big tech?
[Published here May 21, 2021]
May 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Conflict broke out this month between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip – and big tech has not been spared.
Instagram and Twitter have blamed technical errors for deleting posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, but data rights groups fear “discriminatory” algorithms are at work and want greater transparency.
Continue readingBBC World Service: Interview on Palestine content moderation
I was honored to speak to the BBC World Service about rising criticism of the way Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms moderate their content, particularly when it comes to Palestine.
Here’s the full interview, with my comments at 19:50.
Instagram, Twitter blame glitches for deleting Palestine posts
[Published here on May 10, 2021]
BEIRUT, May 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Instagram and Twitter have blamed technical errors for deleting posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, but data rights groups fear “discriminatory” algorithms are at work and want greater transparency.
Continue reading‘Worse than a jungle’: the cartel controlling Iraqi borders | AFP
[Published here March 29, 2021]
Along Iraq’s borders, a corrupt customs-evasion cartel is diverting billions of dollars away from state coffers to line the pockets of armed groups, political parties and crooked officials.
The prime beneficiaries are Iran-linked Shiite paramilitaries that intimidate federal officials who dare obstruct them, sometimes through chillingly specific death threats, a six-month AFP investigation has found.
Continue reading‘Pyramid’ of corruption pushes Iraq family to emigrate | AFP
[Published here March 29, 2021]
Hassanein Mohsen spent months protesting against corruption in Iraq. He also lodged complaints against officials. But now he is shunned as a whistleblower and sees only one way out: emigration.
Continue reading