Old Twitter vs X: Israel-Gaza war spotlights ‘information crisis’

Twitter’s original logo (left) and the rebranded one. (AFP file photos)
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Updated 20 October 2023
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Old Twitter vs X: Israel-Gaza war spotlights ‘information crisis’

  • Twitter’s greatest strength was as a tool for gathering and disseminating life-saving information and its old-school verification system meant sources and news were widely trusted
  • Renamed X by new owner Musk, the platform has gutted content moderation and, for many experts, the changes have made it a challenge to discern truth from fiction

WASHINGTON: Twitter won fame in the Arab uprisings nearly a decade ago as a pivotal source for real-time crisis information, but that reputation has withered after the platform’s transformation into a magnet for hate speech and disinformation under Elon Musk.
Historically, Twitter’s greatest strength was as a tool for gathering and disseminating life-saving information and coordinating emergency relief during times of crisis. Its old-school verification system meant sources and news were widely trusted.
Now the platform, renamed X by new owner Musk, has gutted content moderation, restored accounts of previously banned extremists, and allowed users simply to purchase account verification, helping them profit from viral — but often inaccurate — posts.
The fast-evolving Israel-Gaza conflict has been widely seen as the first real test of Musk’s version of the platform during a major crisis. For many experts, the results confirm their worst fears: that changes have made it a challenge to discern truth from fiction.
“It is sobering, though not surprising, to see Musk’s reckless decisions exacerbate the information crisis on Twitter surrounding the already tragic Israel-Hamas conflict,” Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at the watchdog Free Press, told AFP.
The platform is flooded with violent videos and images — some real but many fake and mislabeled from entirely different years and places.
Nearly three-fourths of the most viral posts promoting falsehoods about the conflict are being pushed by accounts with verified checkmarks, according to a new study by the watchdog NewsGuard.
In the absence of guardrails, that has made it “very difficult for the public to separate fact from fiction,” while escalating “tension and division,” Benavidez added.

Confusion over fake accounts

That was evident on Tuesday after a deadly strike on a hospital in war-ravaged Gaza, as ordinary users scrambling for real-time information vented frustration that the site had become unusable.
Confusion reigned as fake accounts with verified checkmarks shared images of past conflicts while peddling hasty conclusions of unverified videos, illustrating how the platform had handed the megaphone to paying subscribers, irrespective of accuracy.
Accounts masquerading as official sources or news media stoked passions with inflammatory content.
Misinformation researchers warned that many users were treating an account of an activist group called “Israel war room,” stamped with a gold checkmark — indicating “an official organization account,” according to X — as a supposedly official Israeli source.
India-based bot accounts known for anti-Muslim rhetoric further muddied the waters by pushing false anti-Palestinian narratives, researchers said.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera warned that it had “no ties” to a Qatar-based account that falsely claimed affiliation to the Middle East broadcaster as it urged its followers to “exercise caution.”
“It has become incredibly challenging to navigate the fire hose of information — there is a relentless news cycle, push for clicks, and amplification of noise,” Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, head of the National Association for Media Literacy Education, told AFP.
“Now it’s clear Musk sees X not as a reliable information source but just another of his business ventures.”
The chaos stands in sharp contrast to the 2011 Arab uprisings that prompted a surge of optimism in the Middle East about the potential of the platform to spread authentic information, mobilize communities and elevate democratic ideals.

Flood of misinformation

The breakdown of the site’s basic functionality threatens to impede or disrupt the humanitarian response, experts warn.
Humanitarian organizations have typically relied on such platforms to assess needs, prepare logistical plans and assess whether an area was safe to dispatch first responders. And human rights researchers use social media data to conduct investigations into possible war crimes, said Alessandro Accorsi, a senior analyst at the Crisis Group.
“The flood of misinformation and the limitations that X put in place for access to their API,” which allow third-party developers to gather the social platform’s data, had complicated those efforts, Accorsi told AFP.
X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
The company’s chief executive Linda Yaccarino has signaled that the platform was still serious about trust and safety, insisting that users were free to adjust their account settings to enable real-time sharing of information.
But researchers voiced pessimism, saying the site has abandoned efforts to elevate top news sources. Instead, a new ad revenue sharing program with content creators incentivizes extreme content designed to boost engagement, critics say.
Pat de Brun, head of Big Tech Accountability at Amnesty International said X should use every tool available, including deploying so-called “break the glass measures” aimed at dampening the spread of falsehoods and hate-speech.
“Platforms have clear responsibilities under international human rights standards,” he told AFP.
“These responsibilities are heightened in times of crisis and conflict.”
 


Social media platform X outage appears to ease, Downdetector shows

Updated 10 March 2025
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Social media platform X outage appears to ease, Downdetector shows

Social media platform X is down for thousands of users in the US and the UK, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.
There were more than 16,000 incidents of people reporting issues with the platform as of 6:02 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources.

X did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Downdetector's numbers are based on user-submitted reports. The actual number of affected users may vary.


Journalist quits broadcaster after comparing French actions in Algeria to Nazi massacre

Updated 10 March 2025
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Journalist quits broadcaster after comparing French actions in Algeria to Nazi massacre

  • Historians from both sides have over the last years documented numerous violations including arbitrary killings and detention carried out by French forces and the history still burdens French-Algerian relations to this day

PARIS: A prominent French journalist on Sunday announced he was stepping down from his role as an expert analyst for broadcaster RTL after provoking an uproar by comparing French actions during colonial rule in Algeria to a World War II massacre committed by Nazi forces in France.
Jean-Michel Aphatie, a veteran reporter and broadcaster, insisted that while he would not be returning to RTL he wholly stood by his comments made on the radio station in late February equating atrocities committed by France in Algeria with those of Nazi Germany in occupied France.
“I will not return to RTL. It is my decision,” the journalist wrote on the X, after he was suspended from air for a week by the radio station.
On February 25 he said on air: “Every year in France, we commemorate what happened in Oradour-sur-Glane — the massacre of an entire village. But we have committed hundreds of these, in Algeria. Are we aware of this?“
He was referring to the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, where an SS unit returning to the front in Normandy massacred 642 residents on June 10, 1944. Leaving a chilling memorial for future generations, the village was never rebuilt.
Challenged by the anchor over whether “we (the French) behaved like the Nazis,” Aphatie replied: “The Nazis behaved like us.”
On X, he acknowledged his comments had created a “debate” but said it was of great importance to understand the full story over France’s 1830-1962 presence in Algeria, saying he was “horrified” by what he had read in history books.
After being suspended for a week by the channel it means that “if I come back to RTL I validate this and admit to making a mistake. This is a line that cannot be crossed.”
His comments had prompted a flurry of complaints to audio-visual regulator Arcom which has opened an investigation.
France’s conduct in Algeria during the 1954-1962 war that led to independence and previous decades remain the subject of often painful debate in both countries.
Historians from both sides have over the last years documented numerous violations including arbitrary killings and detention carried out by French forces and the history still burdens French-Algerian relations to this day.
The far-right in France has long defended French policies in those years with Algeria War veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen, who co-founded the National Front (FN) party and died earlier this year, drawing much support from French settlers who had to return after independence.

 


Apple adds new Syrian flag emoji

Updated 08 March 2025
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Apple adds new Syrian flag emoji

  • New flag is part of latest iOS, macOS updates

DUBAI: Apple has added the new flag of the Syrian Arab Republic to its emoji keyboard in the latest beta update to its operating system, replacing the one used by former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

The new flag emoji is part of Apple’s iOS and macOS 18.4 beta 2 update and is therefore unavailable to those who have not signed up for beta updates.

Apple will roll out the new updates to users in April, according to a company statement.

The old flag featured three stripes: red at the top, black at the bottom and white in the middle with two green stars.

The new flag features green at the top, black at the bottom and white in the middle with three red stars.

For many Syrians the new flag represents freedom and independence from Assad’s dictatorial regime.

The country has a long history with the current flag, which was first adopted when Syria gained independence from France in 1946.

It was replaced in 1958 by the flag of the United Arab Republic to represent the political union between Egypt and Syria.

It was adopted again for a short time when Syria left the United Arab Republic in 1961, only to be replaced in 1963 when the Baath Party took control of the country.


Newspaper in Syrian Arab Republic resumes circulation in Damascus after fall of Assad regime

Updated 07 March 2025
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Newspaper in Syrian Arab Republic resumes circulation in Damascus after fall of Assad regime

  • Media organization hails ‘victory for free journalism’

DUBAI: The Syrian newspaper Enab Baladi has resumed distribution in the streets of Damascus and its suburbs after more than a decade-long ban under Bashar Assad’s regime.

The newspaper, which dubs itself as “an independent Syrian media organization,” documented the Syrian regime’s violations during the revolution when it launched in 2012.

The newspaper’s distribution was limited to opposition-controlled northern areas until 2020 after Assad’s brutal crackdown on dissent.

Its editorial stance led to the arrest of many staff members, while others were tortured to death in prisons or killed by shelling and military operations in Daraya.

The media organization said: “The first copies were printed through self-funding and the efforts of its founding staff using a home printer, distributed secretly by volunteers in the neighborhoods of Daraya and Damascus.”

The organization relied on expanding its digital and visual content to reach audiences online, or through printed copies that were smuggled within Syria.

With the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8 last year after a 12-day blistering campaign led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, Enab Baladi resumed distribution in Damascus after a newsroom was established in the capital.

It said the move was aimed at “ensuring freedom of expression during an ambiguous transitional phase.”

The media organization added: “The return of printing inside Syria represents a victory for free journalism and an opportunity to reconnect with the audience inside Syria.”


Israeli military creating ChatGPT-like AI tool targeting Palestinians, says investigation

Updated 07 March 2025
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Israeli military creating ChatGPT-like AI tool targeting Palestinians, says investigation

  • Tool being built by Israeli army’s secretive cyber warfare unit 

DUBAI: Israel’s military is developing an advanced artificial intelligence tool, similar to ChatGPT, by training it on Arabic conversations obtained through the surveillance of Palestinians living under occupation.

These are the findings of a joint investigation by The Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call.

The tool is being built by the Israeli army’s secretive cyber warfare Unit 8200. The division is programming the AI tool to understand colloquial Arabic by feeding it vast amounts of phone calls and text messages between Palestinians, obtained through surveillance.

Three Israeli security sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed the existence of the AI tool to the outlets conducting the investigation.

The model was still undergoing training last year and it is unclear if it has been deployed and to what end. However, sources said that the tool’s ability to rapidly process large quantities of surveillance material in order to “answer questions” about specific individuals would be a huge benefit to the Israeli army.

During the investigation, several sources highlighted that Unit 8200 had used smaller-scale machine learning models in recent years.

One source said: “AI amplifies power; it’s not just about preventing shooting attacks. I can track human rights activists, monitor Palestinian construction in Area C (of the West Bank). I have more tools to know what every person in the West Bank is doing. When you hold so much data, you can direct it toward any purpose you choose.”

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson declined to respond to The Guardian’s question about the new AI tool, but said the military “deploys various intelligence methods to identify and thwart terrorist activity by hostile organizations in the Middle East.”

Unit 8200’s previous AI tools, such as The Gospel and Lavender, were among those used during the war on Hamas. These tools played a key role in identifying potential targets for strikes and bombardments.

Moreover, for nearly a decade, the unit has used AI to analyze the communications it intercepts and stores, sort information into categories, learn to recognize patterns and make predictions.

When ChatGPT’s large language model was made available to the public in November 2022, the Israeli army set up a dedicated intelligence team to explore how generative AI could be adapted for military purposes, according to former intelligence officer Chaked Roger Joseph Sayedoff.

However, ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI rejected Unit 8200’s request for direct access to its LLM and refused to allow its integration into the unit’s system.

Sayedoff highlighted another problem: existing language models could only process standard Arabic, not spoken Arabic in different dialects, resulting in Unit 8200 needing to develop its own program.

One source said: “There are no transcripts of calls or WhatsApp conversations on the internet. It doesn’t exist in the quantity needed to train such a model.”

Unit 8200 started recruiting experts from private tech companies in October 2023 as reservists. Ori Goshen, co-CEO and co-founder of the Israeli tech company AI21 Labs, confirmed that his employees participated in the project during their reserve duty.

The challenge for Unit 8200 was to “collect all the (spoken Arabic) text the unit has ever had and put it into a centralized place,” a source said, adding that the model’s training data eventually consisted of about 100 billion words.

Another source familiar with the project said the communications analyzed and fed to the training model included conversations in Lebanese and Palestinian dialects.

Goshen explained the benefits of LLMs for intelligence agencies but added that “these are probabilistic models — you give them a prompt or a question, and they generate something that looks like magic, but often the answer makes no sense.”

Zach Campbell, a senior surveillance researcher at Human Rights Watch, called such AI tools “guessing machines.”

He said: “Ultimately, these guesses can end up being used to incriminate people.”

Campbell and Nadim Nashif, director and founder of the Palestinian digital rights and advocacy group 7amleh, also raised concerns about the collection of data and its use in training the AI tool.

Campbell said: “We are talking about highly personal information, taken from people who are not suspected of any crime, to train a tool that could later help establish suspicion.”

Nashif said: “Palestinians have become subjects in Israel’s laboratory to develop these techniques and weaponize AI, all for the purpose of maintaining (an) apartheid and occupation regime where these technologies are being used to dominate a people, to control their lives.

“This is a grave and continuous violation of Palestinian digital rights, which are human rights.”