One recent afternoon in Dubai, Anthony Permal received notification that a social media influencer he follows on Instagram was broadcasting on the company’s new Live Stories platform.
Permal, the head of digital marketing at an international pharmaceutical company, opened his smartphone and tuned in. The influencer has a six-figure following and attracts an average of 3,000-4,000 likes per static image, yet their live stream was being viewed by no more than 10 people.
“It made me think,” Permal told Arab News. “Where is the audience? Just how much influence does this person have?”
With influencers demanding anything from $130 up to $50,000 per post, there is a growing cynicism from companies regarding return on investment. Yet the recent roll-out of Instagram’s new Live platform across the Middle East has inadvertently handed local PR companies a key tool for better understanding the level of clout that influencers’ accounts have.
As Tony Lewis, founder of Dubai-based PR agency Total Communications argues: “It requires a far greater level of commitment to tune into a live video and intelligently engage than it does to double-tap a photo.”
“We are living in this age of digital hypnotism,” added Lewis. “Everyone has a smartphone and they are connected to it 24 hours a day, but how much attention do they actually give to what they are liking on Instagram or Facebook? Is it genuine? Does seeing someone’s product post really impact your own decisions?”
A study by BPG Cohn & Wolfe would suggest it does. A survey of 1,008 United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents found that 63 percent of people feel their purchasing decisions are directly impacted by influencers, while 71 percent will be more interested in buying a brand if it is endorsed by someone they follow on social media.
According to influencers.ae, there are approximately 1,385 influencers across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) who are followed by a combined 549 million users. The majority operate in niche markets, such as food, fashion, travel and automotive. The most-followed account in the region is Huda Kattan, a Dubai-based beauty blogger who posts from @HudaBeauty to 17.3 million followers and has launched her own make-up range internationally. Harrods, among others, stocks her supplies.
Yet for every Kattan there are a variety of impersonators and imposters, resulting in a sea of skepticism regarding whether the five- and six-figure follower bases of some influencer accounts are real users or paid-for bots.
“We know that a lot of influencers do buy followers and are fake,” said Taghreed Oraibi, who led the BPG Cohn & Wolfe study. “But we are finding Instagram Live very useful for separating the real from the fake. If you have a few hundred-thousand followers and only a handful of people watch your live broadcast, then that is a very big sign.”
Without regulation, the fees demanded from brands for endorsement deals vary wildly across the region, some industry executives say. Influencers in the UAE and Kuwait command far greater sums than their Omani or Jordanian counterparts, who often ask only to be invited to the next event.
Permal, who will speak about social media transparency at next week’s inaugural Influencer Marketing Summit in Dubai, said most brands pay between $130-$250 for a post or two, but has heard stories of influencers charging upward of $27,000.
One of Lewis’ clients paid an influencer $31,000 to promote an event, but with no evidence that any of her million-plus followers attended, the client was left feeling it was a waste of money.
“Proper measurement is needed to justify the spend,” Lewis said. “Ultimately, it is all about return on investment and we as an industry need to do a lot more research and thinking before pouring money over people just because they have a lot of ‘followers’.”
Since the launch of Instagram Stories last year, there are more than 150 million people using the platform every day, with the Live function operating as an extension. The Twitter equivalent, Periscope, has been available in the region since 2015, while Snapchat opened its first Middle East office in Dubai earlier this month. The prolificacy of smartphones should bode well for such developments, but whether live-video applications can help uncover hyped-up influencers remains a challenge.
“People will always find a way,” said Permal, adding it is the responsibility of brands and PR companies to utilize tools such as Followerwonk or BuzzSumo.com to carry out audit checks on influencers before engaging.
Meanwhile, the dark side of the industry is already adapting. Fake Instagram Live viewers are now available for purchase online, with the top result in a Google search, coolsouk.com, promising 20,000 live video views for $120. Registered to a UAE mobile phone, the company said all six of its packages were currently out of stock.
Why Instagram Live spells the death of phony Gulf ‘influencers’
Why Instagram Live spells the death of phony Gulf ‘influencers’
Microsoft faces wide-ranging US antitrust probe
- Competitors complain Microsoft locks customers into its cloud service
- FTC earlier set the stage for probe into Microsoft’s role in AI market
The US Federal Trade Commission has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including of its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The probe was approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan ahead of her likely departure in January. The election of Donald Trump as US president, and the expectation he will appoint a fellow Republican with a softer approach toward business, leaves the outcome of the investigation up in the air.
The FTC is examining allegations the software giant is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving their data from its Azure cloud service to other competitive platforms, sources confirmed earlier this month.
The FTC is also looking at practices related to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence products, the source said on Wednesday.
Microsoft declined to comment on Wednesday.
Competitors have criticized Microsoft’s practices they say keep customers locked into its cloud offering, Azure. The FTC fielded such complaints last year as it examined the cloud computing market.
NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents online companies including Amazon and Google, which compete with Microsoft in cloud computing, criticized Microsoft’s licensing policies, and its integration of AI tools into its Office and Outlook.
“Given that Microsoft is the world’s largest software company, dominating in productivity and operating systems software, the scale and consequences of its licensing decisions are extraordinary,” the group said.
Google in September complained to the European Commission about Microsoft’s practices, saying it made customers pay a 400 percent mark-up to keep running Windows Server on rival cloud computing operators, and gave them later and more limited security updates.
The FTC has demanded a broad range of detailed information from Microsoft, Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday.
The agency had already claimed jurisdiction over probes into Microsoft and OpenAI over competition in artificial intelligence, and started looking into Microsoft’s $650 million deal with AI startup Inflection AI.
Microsoft has been somewhat of an exception to US antitrust regulators’ recent campaign against allegedly anticompetitive practices at Big Tech companies.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon.com Inc. have all been accused by the US of unlawfully maintaining monopolies.
Alphabet’s Google is facing two lawsuits, including one where a judge found it unlawfully thwarted competition among online search engines.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified at Google’s trial, saying the search giant was using exclusive deals with publishers to lock up content used to train artificial intelligence.
It is unclear whether Trump will ease up on Big Tech, whose first administration launched several Big Tech probes. JD Vance, the incoming vice president, has expressed concern about the power the companies wield over public discourse.
Still, Microsoft has benefited from Trump policies in the past.
In 2019, the Pentagon awarded it a $10 billion cloud computing contract that Amazon had widely been expected to win. Amazon later alleged that Trump exerted improper pressure on military officials to steer the contract away from its Amazon Web Services unit.
Union chiefs urge BBC staff to wear Palestinian flag colors or keffiyeh during ‘day of action’
- Protest on Thursday is a gesture of solidarity in support of demands for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, organizers say
- Some workers voice concerns that the action violates the broadcaster’s strict guidelines on impartiality and risks upsetting colleagues
LONDON: Britain’s Trades Union Congress has urged BBC staff and workers in other sectors to participate in a “workplace day of action” on Thursday by wearing the colors of the Palestinian flag or a keffiyeh.
Organizers said their call for action is intended as a gesture of solidarity and to support demands for a permanent ceasefire and end to the violence in Gaza, and the release of all hostages.
The TUC, an umbrella organization that represents 5.5 million members of 48 trade unions, suggested that employees “wear something red, green, black, or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity” in their workplaces.
The National Union of Journalists informed its members of the protest last week and condemned the actions of the Israeli government, which it said have resulted in the deaths of at least 135 Palestinian journalists since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas last year.
“The NUJ is urging branches and chapels to show support on the day and amplify the union’s calls,” it said.
However, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that the campaign has drawn criticism, particularly from Jewish staff at the BBC who raised concerns that it violates the broadcaster’s strict guidelines on impartiality and risks upsetting colleagues.
A spokesperson for the TUC emphasized the need for sensitivity while participating in the protest.
“The day of action is focused on the TUC’s call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and political prisoners,” the organization said.
“We are advising trade union members to undertake the action respectfully and to discuss with colleagues what action is best suited to their workplace.”
Lebanon state media says Israeli fire wounds 2 journalists in south
- Video journalist Abdelkader Bay, two other visual journalists was reporting in Khiam when shots
BEIRUT: Two journalists were injured by Israeli fire on Wednesday, state media said, while reporting from a border town where Israeli troops and Hezbollah fought fierce battles before a ceasefire took effect.
The truce came into force on Wednesday morning after more than two months of full-scale war, which itself followed nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah in support of ally Hamas over the Gaza war.
Both Israel and Lebanon’s army have warned people against returning to southern areas heavily hit by war, with Israeli troops still present in some border towns and villages.
“Israeli enemy forces in the town of Khiam opened fire on a group of journalists while they were covering the return of the residents and the Israeli withdrawal from the town, wounding two,” the National News Agency said.
Video journalist Abdelkader Bay told AFP he was reporting in Khiam with two other visual journalists when shots were fired and he was injured along with his colleague.
“We saw people checking on their homes and, at the same time, we were hearing the sounds of tanks withdrawing,” Bay said, adding the other wounded journalist was hospitalized.
“While we were filming, we realized there were Israeli soldiers in a building and suddenly they shot at us,” he said.
“It was clear that we were journalists,” he added.
Photographer Ali Hachicho was with Bay in Khiam when the incident happened but was not injured. They both said they saw a drone above the town before shots were fired.
“We saw military fatigues on the ground,” Hachicho told AFP, then he spotted Israeli soldiers nearby.
“When I put the camera to my eye to film them, I started hearing the sound of bullets between our feet,” he said.
Later on Wednesday, the Israel army set limits on nighttime movement in south Lebanon.
Watchdog calls for international probe into alleged war crimes targeting journalists in Lebanon
- Committee to Protect Journalists urges actions to ‘ensure journalist murders do not go unpunished’
- Investigations found Israel ‘deliberately targeted’ compound that killed 3 journalists in southern Lebanon in October
LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an international investigation into “possible war crimes” after separate investigations by The Guardian and Human Rights Watch concluded that Israel deliberately targeted and killed three journalists in southern Lebanon.
“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Israel must be held accountable for its actions and the international community must act to ensure that journalist murders are not allowed to go unpunished.”
HRW and The Guardian revealed on Monday that the Oct. 25 airstrike in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, was carried out using a US-supplied bomb guidance kit.
The attack killed Ghassan Najjar, Mohammed Reda, and Wissam Kassem — journalists and media workers affiliated with Hezbollah-linked outlets — and injured three others.
The strike targeted a chalet in a Druze-majority area, which had been used as a press hub for over 20 days by more than a dozen journalists.
The Israeli military initially claimed the attack targeted a “Hezbollah military structure” harboring “terrorists” but later stated the incident was under review after discovering journalists were among the victims.
Investigations found no evidence of military presence or activity at the site. Analysis of shrapnel, video footage, satellite images, and interviews with survivors suggested the attack was a deliberate strike on civilians, constituting an apparent war crime.
HRW noted: “Information reviewed indicates that the Israeli military knew or should have known that journalists were staying in the area and in the targeted building.”
Legal experts also pointed to potential US complicity due to its provision of the weaponry used in the strike.
The incident follows the Oct. 13 killing of Lebanese journalist Issam Abdallah in an Israeli tank strike, which also wounded six other journalists.
Independent investigations by Reuters, AFP, HRW, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders concluded the attack deliberately targeted journalists who were clearly identifiable.
Since the outbreak of hostilities in October, CPJ has confirmed the deaths of six Lebanese journalists.
In its Deadly Pattern report published before the war, CPJ found that Israel had failed to hold its military accountable for the killings of at least 20 journalists over the past 22 years.
Tuesday’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has brought a pause to hostilities, but media watchdogs will likely continue to demand accountability for attacks on journalists and press freedom violations.
Saudi, UN bodies sign deal on media training
- Saudi Media Forum Chairman Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the partnership is the forum’s first strategic initiative and will positively impact Saudi media
RIYADH: The Saudi Media Forum has signed a cooperation agreement with the UN Institute for Training and Research to promote sustainable development and empower individuals as well as media organizations.
It aims to advance media and training efforts in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and global sustainable development trends, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The agreement focuses on creating lasting impact through innovative training programs that combine academic knowledge with practical applications.
These programs will empower journalists and organizations, enhance professional awareness in both public and private sectors, and promote media literacy and innovative education.
The partnership will also support media organizations in achieving sustainable development goals through professional training, remote learning and educational resources.
Saudi Media Forum Chairman Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the partnership is the forum’s first strategic initiative and will positively impact Saudi media.
He added that Saudi Arabia, a nation of continuous renewal, must stay ahead of transformations to advance its development.
The forum continues to forge strategic partnerships with local and international entities to elevate Saudi media’s global standing while providing media professionals and organizations with the tools to create world-class content, the SPA reported.
