BEIJING: China’s cyberspace regulator said 1.4 million social media posts have been deleted following a two-month probe into alleged misinformation, illegal profiteering, and impersonation of state officials, among other “pronounced problems.”
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Friday it had closed 67,000 social media accounts and deleted hundreds of thousands of posts between March 10 and May 22 as part of a broader “rectification” campaign.
Since 2021, China has targeted billions of social media accounts in a bid to “clean” its cyberspace and make it easier for authorities to control.
The latest crackdown targeted accounts on popular Chinese social media apps including WeChat, Douyin, and Weibo that fall under the category of “self media,” a term that broadly refers to accounts that publish news and information but are not government-run or state-approved.
Beijing frequently arrests citizens and censors accounts for publishing or sharing factual information considered sensitive or critical of the Communist Party, the government or the military, especially when such information goes viral.
Of the 67,000 accounts that were permanently closed, almost 8,000 were taken down for “spreading fake news, rumors, and harmful information,” according to CAC.
Around 930,000 other accounts received less severe punishments, from being removed of all followers to the suspension or cancelation of profit-making privileges.
In a separate campaign, the regulator recently closed over 100,000 accounts that allegedly misrepresented news anchors and media agencies to counter the rise of online fake news coverage aided by AI technologies.
The CAC on Friday said its latest campaign had targeted almost 13,000 counterfeit military accounts, with names such as “Chinese Red Army Command,” “Chinese Anti-terrorist Force” and “Strategic Missile Force.”
Some 25,000 other accounts were targeted for impersonating public institutions, such as disease and prevention control centers and state-run research institutes.
Almost 187,000 were punished for impersonating news media businesses, while over 430,000 allegedly offered professional advice or educational services without having relevant professional qualifications.
Around 45,000 accounts were closed for “hyping hot issues, clout-chasing and illegal monetization.”
The regulator said it had “actively coordinated with public security, market supervision and other departments, to deliver a heavy blow and rectify illegal ‘self-media’.”
“At the same time, (we) also call on the majority of netizens to actively participate in monitoring and reporting (illegal ‘self-media’), provide clues ... and jointly maintain a clean cyberspace,” it added.
China deletes 1.4 million social media posts in crack down on ‘self-media’ accounts
https://arab.news/jm76g
China deletes 1.4 million social media posts in crack down on ‘self-media’ accounts
- About 67,000 social media accounts closed and hundreds of thousands of posts between March 10 and May 22 deleted
- Beijing frequently arrests citizens and censors accounts for publishing or sharing factual information considered sensitive or critical
US organization scraps Palestine issue of Journal of Architectural Education, fires executive editor
US organization scraps Palestine issue of Journal of Architectural Education, fires executive editor
- Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture cites ‘substantial risks’ at personal and editorial levels as reason for its decision
- Executive editor McLain Clutter says he was fired for opposing cancellation of the planned issue
LONDON: The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture has scrapped plans for the fall 2025 edition of its Journal of Architectural Education, which would have focused on Palestine, and dismissed the publication’s interim executive editor.
The decision followed a vote on Feb. 21 by the association’s board of directors, which cited “substantial risks” at both personal and editorial levels, The Architect’s Newspaper reported over the weekend.
“The decision followed an extended series of difficult discussions within the organization about the potential risks from publishing the issue,” the board said.
“The ACSA board decided that the risks from publishing the issue have significantly increased as a result of new actions by the US federal administration, as well as other actions at state levels.
“These substantial risks include personal threats to journal editors, authors and reviewers, as well as to ACSA volunteers and staff. They also include legal and financial risks facing the organization overall.”
The same day, the association dismissed the journal’s interim executive editor, McLain Clutter, who is also an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Clutter, whose position with the journal was supposed to continue until 2026, told The Architect’s Newspaper that he was fired because he refused to support the decision to cancel the issue, and accused the association of being “on the wrong side of history.”
He added: “I am deeply disappointed by the actions of the ACSA Board. This decision represents a blatant violation of the principles of academic freedom, intellectual integrity and ethical scholarship that the organization claims to uphold.”
Founded in 1912, ACSA is an international organization that represents academic architectural programs and faculty, primarily in the US and Canada. It publishes the Journal of Architectural Education, and Technology: Architecture + Design.
Plans for the Fall 2025 issue of the former included a focus on the “ongoing Israeli genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza” and “urgent reflections on this historical moment’s implications for design, research and education in architecture,” according to a call for papers issued last fall.
The editors of the issue — including Palestinian scholar Nora Akawi, an assistant professor at The Cooper Union in New York — criticized the cancellation and Clutter’s dismissal as part of a broader trend of censorship in the US and Europe of topics related to Palestine.
They said they were “dismayed by the decision” but “not surprised,” given that the ACSA had sought to block the plans for the issue even before the call for papers went out in September 2024. They accused the organization of using “new actions by the US presidential administration” as a pretext for its latest actions.
The ACSA said the fall 2025 issue of the publication would proceed with a different theme, and it was “evaluating its options for the journal within a broader framework.”
The spring 2025 issue, titled “Architecture Beyond Extraction,” which explores the relationship between architecture and extractivism and resource use, will be published in the coming weeks as scheduled.
Afghan TV station reopens after closure by Taliban authorities
- The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), a press freedom group, welcomed the reopening but said in a statement it considered the closure “a flagrant violation of free media rights that should not have happened”
KABUL: An Afghan TV station resumed operations Saturday, its leadership said, after being shut down in December by the Taliban morality ministry.
Seals placed on Arezo TV’s doors in Kabul were removed in the presence of the country’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV), said station head Bassir Abid, who reported that the outlet had “resumed our operations.”
Taliban authorities shut down the TV station on December 4 after the PVPV accused the channel of being supported by exiled media and of betraying Islamic values.
Seven of Arezo TV’s employees were arrested but released later in December, while the media outlet remained shuttered.
The Taliban government has not yet indicated the reason the station was allowed to reopen.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), a press freedom group, welcomed the reopening but said in a statement it considered the closure “a flagrant violation of free media rights that should not have happened.”
The channel, founded in 2006 in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, opened an office in Kabul in 2010 to produce wildlife documentaries and dub Turkish series, according to AFJC.
Afghanistan’s media sector has dramatically shrunk under three years of the Taliban government, while international monitors have criticized Kabul’s new rulers for allegedly trampling reporters’ rights.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says the country’s Taliban authorities closed at least 12 media outlets in 2024.
Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has previously said there are no restrictions on journalists, as long as they “consider the national interest and Islamic values and avoid spreading rumors.”
In early February, Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities raided well-known women’s radio station Radio Begum in Kabul and suspended its broadcasts.
Is the BBC biased in its Gaza-Israel coverage?
- BBC’s critics say removal of documentary reflects pro-Israel biased coverage since the war’s onset
- Academics and media professionals warn that censorship amplifies Palestinian dehumanization
DUBAI: The BBC’s decision to remove its documentary on Gaza has reignited public debate over the broadcaster’s pro-Israel bias in its coverage of the latest war and sparked concerns over the influence of the pro-Israel lobby on western media’s impartiality.
Last week, the broadcaster faced backlash from pro-Israel advocates, prominent Jewish media figures, and Israeli representatives in the UK government when it emerged that Abdullah Al-Yazouri, the 14-year-old main narrator in the BBC Two documentary, “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” was the son of Ayman Al-Yazouri, a deputy agriculture minister who worked for the Hamas-run government.
After withdrawing the documentary from its iPlayer service, the BBC was once again criticized by academics, public figures and TV personalities who argued that the channel should have maintained its journalistic impartiality and independence.
The channel’s critics said the removal of the documentary, which provides the rare perspective of a child on the devastating consequences of the war on Gaza, reflected the BBC’s pro-Israel biased coverage since the war began, further deepening the dehumanization of Palestinians and marginalizing their voices.
“The BBC should not have succumbed to pressure from pro-Israeli groups and the British government, who should not have intervened,” Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab British Understanding, told Arab News.
“What is extraordinary is the vast gap between how this documentary was maliciously depicted as being Hamas propaganda and the reality of the film itself, which is a child’s eye view of life in war-torn Gaza that does not get into politics but is a very human story of how Palestinian children survived day-to-day,” noted Doyle.
The documentary, filmed over nine months in the run-up to January’s ceasefire deal, features three children among the main characters navigating their lives amid bombings and vast destruction caused by the war on Gaza.
The boy’s family connection with the Hamas-run government employee drew the interference of UK Secretary of Culture Lisa Nandy, who said she expressed “deep concerns” during a meeting with the BBC’s Director-General Tim Davie and urged the channel to report “what happened and who knew what when.”
After conducting an investigation, the BBC issued an apology on Thursday for “serious flaws” in the making of the documentary.
It said it has “no plans” to broadcast it again in its current form, despite the pleas of 500 media professionals and filmmakers, including Gary Lineker and Juliet Stevenson, for the channel to reinstate the documentary, calling it an “essential piece of journalism” that “amplifies voices so often silenced.”
Warning of “racist assumptions,” they said: “Weaponizing family associations to discredit a child’s testimony is both unethical and dangerous.”
Doyle urged the BBC to review its decision “in a very independent fashion free from external interference.”
He said the broadcaster’s action renders work that “humanizes Palestinians and treats Palestinian children as human beings with rights with aspirations, with hopes, with fears” as “illegitimate.”
It also endorses a dominant narrative that militarizes Palestinians and associates them with armed groups, according to the BBC’s critics.
Loreley Hahn-Herrera, lecturer in global media and digital cultures at SOAS University of London, said condemning the documentary as influenced by Hamas does not consider that anyone who works in the government is not necessarily a member of its armed wing.
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization in the UK, US and Europe.
“Ayman Al-Yazouri is a mid-level bureaucrat who was educated in the UK. I don’t think it is fair to make children guilty by association, which further feeds into the narrative of linking all Palestinians in Gaza to Hamas and criminalizing Palestinian men and stripping them away from their civilian status,” Hahn-Herrera told Arab News.
The first five minutes of the documentary depict Palestinians condemning Hamas and its late leader Yahya Sinwar as they run away from the bombings.
“The documentary shows kids traumatized by war and actively denouncing Hamas. This challenges the ongoing discourse coming from within Israel and its supporters in the West that associates everyone in Gaza with Hamas and, therefore, makes them targeted terrorists,” Hahn-Herrera said.
She added: “Of the very few political statements that were made throughout the documentary, they were all against Hamas.”
More seriously, Hahn-Herrera noted, the BBC succumbing to pro-Israeli pressure interferes with its credibility as the independent institution it claims to be and challenges its notion of autonomy from the government, which it wants the public to believe.
When reached out to by Arab News for comment, a BBC spokesperson pointed to the channel’s Friday statement indicating that an investigation is ongoing.
The BBC, among other Western outlets, has been facing growing accusations of predominantly featuring Israeli spokespeople and allies over Palestinian voices in its Gaza war coverage.
But the debate over the dominance of Israeli narratives in Western media during conflicts with the Palestinians is not new.
A 2011 groundbreaking study by Greg Philo and Mike Berry titled “More Bad News from Israel” showcased how the BBC’s editorial team faced constant pressure and scrutiny when reporting on Israel and Palestine, making it difficult to give a clear account of the Palestinian perspective.
“The pressures of organized public relations, lobbying and systematic criticism together with the privileging of Israeli perspectives by political and public figures, can affect the climate within which journalists operate,” the authors said.
In November, The Independent reported that more than 100 BBC employees, in a letter to Davie and CEO Deborah Turness, accused the channel of reproducing and failing to challenge the narratives of Israeli officials that have “systematically dehumanized Palestinians,” while sidelining the Palestinian perspective and failing to contextualize the war within the broader history of 76-year occupation and a tight 18-year Gaza blockade.
Among the concerns noted by staff were “dehumanizing and misleading headlines” that erased Israel’s responsibility, such as “Hind Rajab, 6, found dead in Gaza days after phone calls for help,” given to an article about a 6-year-old girl who was shot by the Israeli military in Gaza in January 2024.
Other concerns included omissions of coverage, such as the failure to live broadcast South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on Jan. 11 but choosing to live broadcast Israel’s defense the following day.
The Independent’s report was followed a month later by an article titled, “The BBC’s Civil War on Gaza,” published on Drop Site, an investigative news platform, featuring 13 BBC journalists who claimed that their objections over the biased coverage were brushed aside.
The 9,000-word article cited an analysis that revealed a “profound imbalance” in the channel’s way of reporting Palestinian and Israeli deaths, arguing that Israeli victims were more humanized.
It also detailed accounts of bias including the use of stronger terms like “massacre,” “slaughter” or “atrocities” when describing Hamas’ crimes while failing to use the same terms to describe Israel’s crackdown on Gaza that killed over 46,000 people, the majority of whom were women and children.
The BBC, at the time, denied allegations of bias and defended its coverage, insisting it “strives to live up to our responsibility to deliver the most trusted and impartial news.”
A BBC spokesperson said at the time: “We are very clear with our audiences on the limitations put on our reporting — including the lack of access into Gaza and restricted access to parts of Lebanon, and our continued efforts to get reporters into those areas.”
Ample academic research has analyzed coverage of previous Palestine-Israel wars, the majority of which revealed a disproportionate emphasis on Israeli perspectives while downplaying Palestinian suffering.
If anything, Hahn-Herrera said, the BBC’s recent documentary shared a rare perspective with Western audiences that humanized the suffering of Palestinian children.
“It shows that Palestinians even under occupation, even under constant military attacks, want to have a normal life. It demonstrated that despite all the difficulties and the challenges that Palestinians are facing, they are a resourceful population, and they continue to try to live in normalcy as much as possible,” she said.
Beyond dance trends: TikTok’s regional chief on promoting STEM education in Saudi Arabia
- ‘We aim to inspire the next generation of Saudi thinkers, innovators, and problem-solvers’ Kinda Ibrahim tells Arab News
LONDON: TikTok is often associated with viral trends and entertainment, but the platform is also fostering the next generation of talent, its regional operations chief told Arab News.
In an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Kinda Ibrahim, regional general manager of operations at TikTok Middle East, Turkiye, Africa, Pakistan, Central and South Asia, said the launch of the platform’s STEM Feed initiative in Saudi Arabia was a response to a growing demand for educational content in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“STEM-related communities on TikTok have proven to be a massive success, with almost 10 million STEM-themed videos published worldwide in the last three years,” Ibrahim said. “The idea behind launching the TikTok STEM Feed in KSA was inspired by noticing the growing need for such content from our community.”
Saudi Arabia became the first country in the MENA region to introduce the feature in December, providing a dedicated space for Arabic-language content focused on “future-critical fields.”
Ibrahim said: “We aim to inspire the next generation of Saudi thinkers, innovators, and problem-solvers by fostering deeper engagement in STEM fields, sparking curiosity, igniting passion for discovery, and encouraging critical thinking, creativity, and lifelong learning.”
Having previously held leadership roles at Twitter and MSN Arabia, Ibrahim has spent her career exploring how digital platforms shape engagement with both entertainment and educational content.
The STEM Feed functions as an optional content stream on TikTok, highlighting videos from trusted creators, educators, and STEM enthusiasts. These include figures like Abdullah Al-Alawi, a Saudi dentist who shares health-related content in a fun and lighthearted manner, and @qadrat_rawan (Rawan’s Abilities), an educational platform with over 400,000 followers and 4.2 million likes.
The content is “regionally optimized” and reviewed for accuracy and credibility in collaboration with local partners such as Majarra, a provider of Arabic-language educational content. TikTok has also partnered with Common Sense Networks and the Poynter Institute to verify the reliability of STEM-related material.
“To maintain the quality and integrity of the STEM feed, all STEM content is carefully reviewed by our teams or in collaboration with Common Sense Networks and Poynter,” Ibrahim said. “Leveraging the partnership with these organizations will ensure that all STEM content is thoroughly vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.”
Since its global rollout three years ago, the STEM Feed has seen steady growth, reflecting a strong demand for knowledge-sharing on the platform. Ibrahim said the initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which emphasizes digital transformation and education.
“We have seen an increasing interest (in) STEM content on TikTok, and we anticipate further growth as engagement continues to rise,” she said. “This initiative reflects TikTok’s dedication to empowering talent and supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals through tailored programs that nurture future generations.”
She added that launching the initiative in Saudi Arabia first underscores TikTok’s “commitment to fostering education-based communities, empowering discovery, and connecting dynamic communities through shared interests.”
Following the introduction of the STEM Feed in Saudi Arabia, TikTok now plans to expand the initiative to the UAE and Egypt later this year, Ibrahim revealed to Arab News.
The move comes at a critical time for the Chinese-owned platform, which faces a potential ban in the US. While an executive order by former President Donald Trump temporarily halted Congress’ efforts to block the app, its long-term future remains uncertain as TikTok executives and US lawmakers continue negotiations. The platform has also faced scrutiny over its impact on younger users.
A recent study by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya found that more than half of young users spend over an hour a day on TikTok, with 24 percent exceeding two hours. In December, Saudi Arabia ranked fifth globally in TikTok traffic, accounting for 3.13 percent of visits worldwide — roughly 80.6 million visits — according to analytics platform Semrush. This has raised concerns about the platform’s effect on young users’ mental health and exposure to harmful content.
Ibrahim said TikTok is addressing these issues by prioritizing user safety and creating “a platform that is a digital safe space for all.
“We implemented several tools to ensure a safer experience for younger users. For example, accounts for users aged 13-15 are automatically set to private, and features like Live and Direct Messaging are restricted for younger teens,” she said.
She added that TikTok collaborates with parents and caregivers through tools such as Family Pairing, which allows them to “filter out” videos containing specific words or hashtags they prefer their teens not to see.
To further support younger users, TikTok has introduced initiatives such as a global Youth Council, which brings together 15 teenagers from diverse backgrounds to provide insights on platform safety. The company also partners with mental health organizations to provide in-app resources.
Ibrahim emphasized that while TikTok is working to mitigate potential risks, it also aims to expand its role in the MENA region’s digital landscape.
“Our goal is to help build a sustainable creative economy where local talent can shine on a global stage,” she said.
TikTok has launched several initiatives in the region, including the TikTok Creator Summit, which connects users with established content creators, and the Creator Hub program, designed to support emerging talent. The platform has also partnered with major events such as the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and the Saudi Pro League to create digital experiences and exclusive content hubs.
Additionally, TikTok collaborated with the Red Sea International Film Festival to launch a short film competition, offering regional creatives a chance to connect with industry professionals and global audiences.
BBC apologizes over Gaza documentary narrated by son of Hamas figure
- The broadcaster said that it shared the blame for the “unacceptable” flaws with the production company
- “BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation. We apologize“
LONDON: The BBC apologized on Thursday for “serious flaws” in the making of a Gaza documentary after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of Hamas’s former deputy minister of agriculture.
The BBC removed its documentary, “Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone,” from its platform after a backlash and launched an immediate review into the “mistakes,” which it called “significant and damaging.”
The BBC said in a press release published Thursday that the review had identified “serious flaws in the making of this program,” which was produced by UK company Hoyo Films.
The broadcaster said that it shared the blame for the “unacceptable” flaws with the production company.
“BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation. We apologize,” it added.
The independent production company was asked in writing “a number of times” during the making of the documentary about any potential connections the narrator might have with Hamas.
“Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy’s father was a deputy agriculture minister in the Hamas government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact,” said the press release.
“It was then the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired.”
The production company also revealed that they paid the boy’s mother “a limited sum of money” for the narration.
The BBC is seeking additional assurance that no money was paid directly or indirectly to Hamas.
UK culture minister Lisa Nandy told parliament earlier Thursday that she had demanded “cast-iron” guarantees that Hamas did not receive any money for the documentary after the opposition Conservative party brought an urgent question and called for a public inquiry.
“I also held discussions with the BBC director general earlier this week, at my request, in order to seek urgent answers about the checks and due diligence that should have been carried out,” she added.
The revelations sparked an angry response and led to protests outside the BBC’s London headquarters.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said: “The BBC’s bias and lack of accountability have led it to a new low, where it is a mouthpiece for terrorists and their supporters.”
The Telegraph also reported Tuesday that the Arabic words for Jew or Jews were changed to Israel or Israeli forces or removed from the documentary.
The broadcaster is now working to determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted “in relation to shortcomings in the making of this program.”
“This will include issues around the use of language, translation and continuity that have also been raised with the BBC,” it said.
The decision to remove the documentary from its catch-up service also led to criticism, with more than 500 TV and film workers — including former England footballer Gary Lineker — sending an open letter calling the move “politically-motivated censorship.”
“This film is an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinian children living in unimaginable circumstances, which amplifies voices so often silenced,” said the letter.
The documentary was initially broadcast on February 17.
