LONDON: Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said on Tuesday it has a long held policy of not allowing accounts believed to be operated by the Taliban on its site, as social media companies faced questions about how they would handle the group that fast gained control of Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s return to power for the first time in 20 years has raised fears of a crackdown on freedom of speech and human rights, especially women’s rights, and concerns that the country could again become a hotspot for global terrorism.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp messaging service has shut down a complaints helpline for Afghans to contact the Taliban, set up by the group after it took control of Kabul on Sunday.
A WhatsApp spokesperson declined to comment on the action, but said the service was obligated by US sanctions laws to ban accounts that appear to represent themselves as official accounts of the Taliban.
The complaints number that was an emergency hotline for civilians to report violence, looting or other problems was blocked by Facebook on Tuesday, along with other official Taliban channels, the report said.
Facebook had on Monday said it designates the Taliban a terrorist group and bans it and content supporting it from its platforms.
A Taliban spokesman accused Facebook of censorship at a news conference on Tuesday, according to a translation of his remarks in a video clip.
YouTube, when asked if it banned the Taliban on Monday, declined to comment. But it said on Tuesday that its prohibition of the group was a long-standing approach.
The Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan poses challenges for multiple major social media and messaging platforms on what and who should be allowed on their platforms.
Asked if it would allow the Taliban to operate official Afghan government Facebook pages or accounts, Facebook pointed to a statement in which it said it respects the authority of the international community in making determinations on recognized governments.
Twitter Inc, which is reviewing its rules for world leaders on the platform, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the same question.
Taliban spokesmen with hundreds of thousands of followers have tweeted updates during the country’s takeover. A Twitter spokesperson said in a statement that the network would review content that may violate its rules, specifically against the glorification of violence or platform manipulation, but did not answer questions on whether it has any particular restrictions on the Taliban as a group or how it classifies violent organizations.
YouTube says it does not allow Taliban-affiliated accounts
https://arab.news/2he9r
YouTube says it does not allow Taliban-affiliated accounts
- YouTube said accounts believed to be linked to the Taliban have not been allowed on the platform as per the company's policy
- Facebook also announced a ban on all Taliban-related content on its platform, and extended the policy to its subsidiaries, Instagram and WhatsApp
Miami Beach mayor threatens cinema closure over screening of Oscar-winning film ‘No Other Land’
- Documentary is propaganda, attack on Jews, says Steven Meiner
- Cinema’s CEO Vivian Marthell stands by decision to screen film
LONDON: The mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, has threatened to shutter a cinema that screened “No Other Land,” the Oscar-winning film that tells the story of Palestinian displacement in the West Bank.
Steven Meiner has proposed terminating O Cinema’s lease and withdrawing $40,000 in promised grant funding, following a series of requests to cancel the documentary screening.
Meiner’s proposal to terminate the cinema’s lease is scheduled for a city commission vote next Wednesday.
Critics of the film claim it unfairly criticizes Israeli and German officials and contains antisemitic content.
“The City of Miami Beach has one of the highest concentrations of Jewish residents in the United States,” Meiner said in a newsletter sent to residents on Tuesday.
He described the documentary as “a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our City and residents.”
Meiner also claimed that O Cinema’s CEO, Vivian Marthell, initially agreed to cancel the screening but later reversed her decision and added additional dates after the film sold out.
Marthell said she stood by her decision.
“We understand the power of cinema to tell stories that matter, and we recognize that some stories — especially those rooted in real-world conflicts — can evoke strong feelings and passionate reactions. As they should.
“Our decision to screen ‘No Other Land’ is not a declaration of political alignment. It is, however, a bold reaffirmation of our fundamental belief that every voice deserves to be heard.”
When this mayor uses the word antisemitism to silence us, Palestinians and Israelis who proudly oppose occupation and apartheid together, fighting for justice and equality for all, he is dangerously emptying it out of meaning. Once you witness Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Masafer… pic.twitter.com/B50Mb6ymeO
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) March 13, 2025
The production, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature this month, was filmed between 2019 and 2023 by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers.
It follows the destruction of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank by Israeli military forces and chronicles the unlikely friendship between Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, who co-directed the film.
Abraham said in a statement: “When the mayor uses the word antisemitism to silence Palestinians and Israelis who proudly oppose occupation and apartheid together, fighting for justice and equality, he is emptying it out of meaning.
“I find that to be very dangerous.”
While the film has received critical acclaim, it has also sparked controversy, highlighting ongoing tensions over free speech and Palestinian activism both in the US and internationally.
“Freedom of expression is an important value, but defamation of Israel into a tool for international promotion is not art,” Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar said in a social media post after the Oscars.
Despite its success, “No Other Land” has struggled to secure US distribution, with the filmmakers self-releasing the film through mTuckman Media.
The directors — particularly Abraham and Adra — have blamed political backlash fears as the reason for US distributors’ reluctance to acquire the rights.
The Oscar win for the film "No Other Land" is a sad moment for the world of cinema. Instead of presenting the complexity of Israeli reality, the filmmakers chose to amplify narratives that distort Israel’s image vis-à-vis international audiences. Freedom of expression is an…
— Miki Zohar מיקי זוהר (@zoharm7) March 3, 2025
The controversy comes amid heightened tensions over Palestinian activism in the US.
Earlier this week, Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student activist and green-card holder who led the Palestinian solidarity movement during campus protests last year, was detained by immigration authorities.
President Donald Trump has alleged, without evidence, that Khalil has links to “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity.”
The incident has sparked an international outcry, with rights groups and media condemning Khalil’s detention as “a dangerous moment” and “a flagrant assault on free speech” that violates the First Amendment.
Trump adviser seeks to cut AFP, other news agency contracts
- “We should not be paying outside news companies to tell us what the news is,” Kari Lake said on X
WASHINGTON: A senior adviser to President Donald Trump said Thursday she was moving to cancel long-established contracts between three international news agencies and the federal body that oversees US government-funded news organizations.
In a post on X announcing the move to cut the contracts with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters and The Associated Press, former journalist-turned-politician and staunch Trump loyalist Kari Lake said: “We should not be paying outside news companies to tell us what the news is.”
I moved today to cancel expensive and unnecessary newswire contracts for US Agency for Global Media, including tens-of-millions of dollars in contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) March 13, 2025
USAGM is an American taxpayer funded News Organization with an…
Lake joined the US Agency for Global Media as a special adviser last month. The agency oversees a handful of media entities dedicated to reporting news and combatting censorship abroad, such as the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia.
“I moved today to cancel expensive and unnecessary newswire contracts for US Agency for Global Media, including tens of millions of dollars in contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse,” Lake said
“We should be producing news ourselves. And if that’s not possible, the American taxpayer should know why,” she added.
AFP has a number of long-running contracts to provide text, photo and video services to USAGM outlets.
Trump has made the federal-funded agencies overseen by the USAGM a particular target of his media reforms, and close adviser Elon Musk has called for VOA and Radio Free Europe to be shut down entirely for “torching” taxpayer money.
He tapped Lake in December to become the head of VOA, but she has yet to be confirmed.
LIV Golf signs multi-year broadcast deal with DAZN
- Deal with streaming site DAZN will bring its golf events to more than 200 countries
- LIV has also already agreed a deal with Fox Sports to show its 2025 season in the US
LONDON: LIV Golf announced on Friday it had secured a multi-year exclusive broadcast deal with streaming site DAZN to show its events outside the United States.
The Saudi-backed breakaway circuit had initially struggled for TV deals during its inaugural season in 2022, briefly showing tournaments for free on YouTube.
But LIV had also already agreed a deal with Fox Sports to show its 2025 season in the US.
DAZN will broadcast the LIV tour live in “more than 200 markets,” including Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan.
“DAZN’s cutting-edge technology and unparalleled scale give LIV Golf a significant platform to engage a truly global audience,” said LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil.
British streaming service DAZN was also recently awarded the exclusive global rights for FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup to be held in the US in June and July.
LIV Golf has been in talks with the PGA Tour over a possible deal to reunite the game since 2023.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said earlier this week that US President Donald Trump’s intervention in negotiations had “significantly bolstered” hopes of an agreement, but admitted some hurdles remain.
Turkiye’s independent news websites face closure risk after Google changes
- Google implemented algorithm changes that led to reduction in reader traffic, outlets say
- Spokesperson for the tech giant argues that the changes do not target individual websites and that they are designed to improve its search facility overall
ISTANBUL: Several independent media outlets in Turkiye face a potential risk of closure after algorithm changes made by Google led to a significant reduction in reader traffic, a joint statement from the outlets said on Thursday.
They said Google’s algorithm changes since the end of January had wiped out the vast majority of reader traffic to their websites, previously directed through Google’s “Discover” and “News” tools, and had harmed their finances.
Independent news websites including T24, Medyascope, Diken, and Birgun said that Google’s changes also blocked the public’s access to news, adding that they would take legal action.
“As independent media organizations operating in Turkiye, we announce that we will stand up for our corporate rights, our employees’ work and the support of our readers, which have been stolen by Google’s actions, on every platform,” they said.
They said they would apply to local and international legal bodies, notably Turkiye’s Competition Authority.
A Google spokesperson, requesting anonymity, said its changes do not target individual websites and that they are designed to improve its search facility overall.
“We don’t and would never manipulate search results, modify our products, or enforce our policies to promote or disadvantage any particular viewpoint,” the spokesperson said.
In 2024, Turkiye ranked 158th out of 180 countries in the press freedom index of the free speech advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Its report said that with some 90 percent of Turkiye’s media under government influence, Turks recently turned to critical or independent media outlets for domestic news.
Independent media outlets in Turkiye are highly dependent on Google revenues as private companies are reluctant to advertise on independent websites.
On Wednesday, independent news outlet Gazete Duvar announced its closure, citing revenue losses triggered by Google’s algorithm changes alongside inflationary economic conditions.
Israeli authorities raid East Jerusalem bookstore for second time in a month, arrest owner
- Police said raid followed a complaint from a man who visited the bookstore, claiming to have seen books containing inciting content
- Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem was raided in February amid similar accusation, sparking international outcry
LONDON: Israeli police have raided a prominent Palestinian bookstore in East Jerusalem for the second time in a month, seizing dozens of books and arresting one of the owners.
Local reports said 61-year-old co-owner Imad Muna was detained for several hours after Israeli officers arrived at the Educational Bookshop on Tuesday morning without a warrant. During the raid, they confiscated about 50 books after searching the stock using Google Translate.
“At 11:15 a.m., the police arrived at the store, and my parents were there at the time,” Muna’s son, Ahmad, said. “The police asked for the business licenses and reviewed the account books. I arrived, but they wouldn’t let me in. They went through the books, stacked a pile of books that they took.”
In February, police arrested Ahmad and Muna’s brother, Mahmoud, holding them for several days without the State Attorney’s office approval to launch an investigation. They were later placed under house arrest for five days but have not been charged.
During the first raid, police cited a children’s coloring book as evidence of incitement to terrorism.
Similar to the latest incident, authorities confiscated books based on titles, appearance, and authors, including works by British artist Banksy, Israeli historian Ilan Pappé, and US academic Noam Chomsky. Books containing visual elements associated with Palestine were also seized.
“They chose books by the cover, taking books that had a Palestinian flag, or just the word Palestine in the title,” another one of Muna’s brothers, Morad, said. “They were using Google Translate and took photos to send to their bosses.”
Police said the second raid followed a complaint from a man who visited the bookstore earlier that day, claiming to have seen books containing inciting content. Officers detained Muna “to verify his identity and details of the store,” police said, adding that they are reviewing three books seized during the operation.
“Based on the findings, a determination will be made on whether to refer the matter to the State Attorney’s office for further investigation into the suspected sale of inciting materials,” the statement said.
After Muna was released on Tuesday afternoon, most of the books were returned and the shop reopened.
However, the bookstore’s owners said the raids are part of an escalating effort by Israeli authorities to suppress Palestinian culture and should not be seen as isolated incidents.
Rights groups and intellectuals condemned the first raid as an attempt to create a “culture of fear” among Palestinians and an attack on freedom of expression.
