SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Thursday removed ads by President Donald Trump’s campaign containing a symbol used by Nazi Germany, the latest move in a heated battle over inflammatory political content on social media.
The leading social network, which has drawn fire over its hands-off approach to political speech in recent months, said the campaign messages with an inverted red triangle and used in Nazi camps violated a policy against “organized hate” and were taken down.
“We don’t allow symbols that represent hateful organizations or hateful ideologies unless they are put up with context or condemnation,” Facebook head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher said at a House of Representatives committee hearing.
“That’s what we saw in this case with this ad, and anywhere that that symbol is used we would take the same actions.”
Facebook’s move comes as it faced intense pressure to remove incendiary comments from the president which critics said promoted violence.
Recently Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reiterated that the platform will steer away from moderating political speech but would enforce its rules barring content promoting physical harm.
In a tweet from a “Trump War Room,” the campaign contended the upside-down red triangle symbol at issue was “widely used” in reference to left-wing activist group Antifa.
Watchdog group Media Matters replied with a tweet saying that is not the case.
Since early this month, the Trump campaign has been running “fearmongering” ads about what it says is a far-left group called “antifa,” according to Media Matters.
The upside-down red triangle was apparently a new addition to the ad, according to Media Matters, which found at least 88 ads on Facebook pages with that symbol.
“Despite violating Facebook’s terms of service, the ads were approved by Facebook in the first place,” said Media Matters president Angelo Carusone.
Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesman, said that “Facebook still has an inverted red triangle emoji in use, which looks exactly the same, so it’s curious that they would target only this ad.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said the president’s campaign “needs to learn its history, as ignorance is no excuse for using Nazi-related symbols.”
Greenblatt added on Twitter: “The Nazis used red triangles to identify their political victims in concentration camps. Using it to attack political opponents is highly offensive.”
The move by Facebook is unlikely to end a raging battle between social media firms and the White House, which has claimed the Silicon Valley companies are biased against conservatives, despite Trump’s large following.
Trump has also pointed this ire at Twitter, which recently labeled some of the president’s tweets as potentially false or as violating their rules about promoting violence.
On Thursday evening the platform tagged a video tweeted by Trump as “Manipulated media” for portraying an edited version of a viral clip that showed two toddlers hugging. The version tweeted by Trump makes it appear that news outlet CNN labeled one of the children a “racist” Trump supporter.
But Facebook has steadfastly rejected calls to fact-check politicians, including a plea from Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden to clamp down on what he called rampant disinformation from the White House.
The California tech giant noted that it has removed Trump ads in the past for policy violations, including a ban on interfering with the US census.
Facebook is under pressure to clamp down on political misinformation following failures to block foreign influence campaigns in the 2016 US election, while at the same time remaining an open platform for election debate.
Earlier this week, Facebook made a new move by allowing users to turn off all political ads
The feature being rolled out in the United States and some other countries will give Facebook and Instagram users the option of blocking paid ads from candidates and political groups.
The large platform has split from Twitter, which earlier this year decided to label comments by Trump as misleading and in another case to limit the reach of the president’s comments for violating the platform’s policy on promoting violence.
Zuckerberg has maintained that “the best way to hold politicians accountable is through voting, and I believe we should trust voters to make judgments for themselves.”
Facebook pulls Donald Trump campaign ads which used Nazi symbol
https://arab.news/4f7g7
Facebook pulls Donald Trump campaign ads which used Nazi symbol
- ‘We don’t allow symbols that represent hateful organizations or hateful ideologies unless they are put up with context or condemnation’
What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?
- Bluesky said in mid-November that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and talk to others online
SAN FRANCISCO: Disgruntled X users are again flocking to Bluesky, a newer social media platform that grew out of the former Twitter before billionaire Elon Musk took it over in 2022. While it remains small compared to established online spaces such as X, it has emerged as an alternative for those looking for a different mood, lighter and friendlier and less influenced by Musk.
What is Bluesky?
Championed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Musk’s X, with a “discover” feed and a chronological feed for accounts that users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find “starter packs” that provide a curated list of people and custom feeds to follow.
Why is Bluesky growing?
Bluesky said in mid-November that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and talk to others online. The post-election uptick in users isn’t the first time Bluesky has benefited from people leaving X. The platform gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August — 85 percent of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in one day in October, when X signaled that blocked accounts would be able to see a user’s public posts.
Across the platform, new users — among them journalists, left-leaning politicians and celebrities — have posted memes and shared that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of Twitter more than a decade ago.
Despite Bluesky’s growth, X posted after the election that it had “dominated the global conversation on the US election” and had set new records.
Beyond social networking
Bluesky, though, has bigger ambitions than to supplant X. Beyond the platform itself, it is building a technical foundation — what it calls “a protocol for public conversation” — that could make social networks work across different platforms — also known as interoperability — like email, blogs or phone numbers.
Currently, you can’t cross between social platforms to leave a comment on someone’s account. Twitter users must stay on Twitter and TikTok users must stay on TikTok if they want to interact with accounts on those services. Big Tech companies have largely built moats around their online properties, which helps serve their advertising-focused business models.
Bluesky is trying to reimagine all of this and working toward interoperability.
Media group IMI and UAE Media Council sign deal to recruit and train local talent
- Collaboration is part of the Media Apprenticeship Program launched last year by the Media Council and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council
- It targets existing Emirati media professionals, as well as graduates and final-year students in media-related studies
DUBAI: IMI, a media group in the UAE formerly known as International Media Investments, has signed a cooperation agreement with the UAE Media Council to train and recruit local talent and develop media infrastructure in the country.
The initiative is part of the Media Apprenticeship Program, an initiative launched in May 2023 by the UAE Media Council and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. It targets existing Emirati media professionals, as well as graduates and final-year students in media-related studies, with the aim of developing the next generation of talent in the nation’s media sector.
The agreement was signed at IMI’s new headquarters in Abu Dhabi by Mohammed Saeed Al-Shehhi, secretary-general of the UAE Media Council, and Rani Raad, CEO of the recently rebranded IMI Group, which owns several news outlets including Sky News Arabia, The National newspaper, Al-Ain News and CNN Business Arabic.
“We are proud to be the first global media group in the UAE to partner with the UAE Media Council on this initiative,” said Raad.
IMI Group, he added, can offer “aspiring Emirati talent unique opportunities to learn about the best media assets and standards” through its network of companies and the IMI Media Academy.
Launched in September, the IMI Media Academy employs the latest learning methodologies and offers an advanced curriculum focusing on the media industry, journalism and content creation.
Al-Shehhi highlighted the need to forge stronger partnerships with private media companies, and for cohesive country-wide efforts to develop the sector.
He said the partnership with IMI demonstrates the Media Council’s “commitment to empowering the media sector to attain global leadership by investing in the development of national skills and talents and equipping them with the latest media tools and technologies.”
It also aligns with the council’s desire “to nurture a new generation of talents capable of spearheading the sector and achieving significant accomplishments in the future,” he added.
Spotify introduces ‘Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24’ residency program for emerging talent
- Initiative covers songwriting and music production, music marketing, music rights and industry knowledge, and touring and performing
- The Kingdom is an ‘incredibly exciting market’ for Spotify, says platform’s regional managing director
DUBAI: Spotify this month introduced Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24, the first iteration of a program dedicated to the promotion and development of the emerging music scene in the Kingdom.
“We’re incredibly thrilled to launch Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24 and are eager to see the impact it will have on the career growth of the selected artists,” Akshat Harbola, managing director of Spotify in the Middle East and North Africa region, told Arab News.
The program, which ran from Nov. 6 to 11, represented “a long-term investment in nurturing up-and-coming talent, starting with a residency format this year,” he added.
It brought together four local talents who feature on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Arabia playlist, a showcase of the best new music by independent artists and labels from the region: BrownMusic, known for merging Arabic and English lyrics with contemporary experimental electronic beats; hip-hop artist Grzzlee; Kali-B, a singer, songwriter and producer; and Seera, an all-female Arabic psychedelic rock band.
They were chosen by Spotify’s local editorial team as “standout talent” that had “already made an impression on our Fresh Finds Arabia playlist,” Harbola said.
Spotify seeks to showcase different musical genres through the program, he added, and so “we took special care to prioritize a diverse range of styles that highlight the new generation of creators” from Saudi Arabia. The selected artists “have proven they can connect with listeners and are ready to elevate their careers.”
The residency program provided them with support, mentorship and a host of resources aimed at accelerating their growth as artists and expanding their presence in the Saudi music industry, Spotify said.
The program’s curriculum focused on four topics: songwriting and music production; music marketing; music rights and industry knowledge; and touring and performing.
Experts such as lyricist, writer and creative director Menna El-Kiey, and musicians and producers Ntitled, El Waili, Soufiane Az and Ismail Nosrat, offered guidance to the participants on songwriting, beat-making, mixing and mastering.
Amin Kabbani, vice president of Arabic talent at entertainment company Live Nation Middle East, provided insights into planning and executing a successful tour, managing logistics and engaging with fans.
Sony Publishing MENA led the session on music rights and industry knowledge, during which the participants learned about intellectual property, and how to protect their work and navigate the business side of their art.
Spotify also worked with the artists to record new tracks at creative hub Merwas in Riyadh, and the results will be released by the end of the year. Nada Al-Tuwaijri, the CEO of Merwas, said the studio is “committed to nurturing talent and providing artists with the tools and environment they need to unlock their creative potential.”
She added: “The Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24 initiative aligns perfectly with our vision of supporting emerging talent in the Kingdom, the region and beyond.”
Harbola said that the Kingdom is “an incredibly exciting market” for Spotify and although he was “unable to share specific listenership rankings, the level of engagement in Saudi Arabia is truly remarkable.”
The company is seeing a “strong surge” in the popularity of pop music, especially Egyptian pop, and Khaleeji music, “which remains central to Saudi listeners,” he added.
The platform’s focus on the Kingdom has grown in recent months through initiatives such as “Tarab,” a campaign that celebrated Khaleeji music and spotlighted Saudi-based RADAR Arabia artist Sultan Al-Murshed in New York’s Times Square.
Harbola said that the burgeoning local music scene and audience engagement on Spotify is driving the company’s efforts to introduce initiatives such as Fresh Finds Saudi: Class 2k24 and commit to them on a long-term basis
“While we don’t have set dates for future iterations (of the residency), our focus remains on curating unique experiences tailored to artists’ needs in different markets, whether through this initiative or other Spotify Music Programs across MENA,” he added.
Lebanese journalist Soukaina Mansour Kawtharani killed in Israeli strike on Joun
- Her death brings the toll of Lebanese media workers killed to 12
LONDON: Lebanese journalist Soukaina Mansour Kawtharani was killed alongside her two children and other family members in an Israeli airstrike on a three-story residential building in Joun, near Sidon in southern Lebanon.
Kawtharani, who worked as a correspondent for Radio Al-Nour, a station seen as close to Hezbollah, was reported dead on Wednesday by the radio station.
The airstrike targeted the building, which was housing displaced families, on Tuesday.
Joseph Qosseifi, president of the Lebanese Press Editors’ Association, condemned the attack, calling it a “crime” and urging international human rights organizations, the International Criminal Court, the General Federation of Arab Journalists and UNESCO to take action.
In a statement issued through the official National News Agency, he said: “The Israeli enemy makes no distinction between civilians and combatants in its bombardments, violates every law, charter and pact, and speaks only the language of fire and blood.”
The building, reportedly owned by the Ghosn family — relatives of Carlos Ghosn, the Brazil-born French Lebanese businessman and former automotive executive — was completely destroyed in the strike, which killed 15 people, including eight women and four children, and injured 12, according to the Health Ministry.
Kawtharani’s death brings the number of Lebanese journalists and media workers killed since the beginning of the Israeli-Hamas conflict to 12, according to the Lebanese Press Editors’ Association.
Parody news website the Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars out of bankruptcy
- Families of victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting backed the Onion’s bid
NEW YORK: The parody news website the Onion bought conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars brand and website in a bankruptcy auction, according to court documents filed on Thursday.
Jones filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 after courts ordered him to pay $1.5 billion for defaming the families of 20 students and six staff members killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Jones, unable to pay those legal judgments, was forced to auction his assets, including Infowars, in bankruptcy.
The Connecticut families of eight victims of the school shooting backed the Onion’s bid, saying it would put “an end to the misinformation machine” that Jones operated.
The Onion said it aims to replace “Infowars’ relentless barrage of disinformation” with the Onion’s “relentless barrage of humor.” “The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring the site’s users with lies until they fork over their cold, hard cash,” the Onion CEO Ben Collins said in a statement. Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, said it will serve as the exclusive advertiser on the new Infowars.
The Onion will acquire Infowars’ intellectual property, including its website, customer lists and inventory, certain social media accounts and the Infowars production equipment, the families said in a statement.
“They’re shutting us down,” Jones said on social media site X. “I’m going to be here until they come in here and turn the lights off.”
