PARIS: Artificial intelligence tools may pose a threat to writers of thrillers and science fiction, but lack the originality and humor to challenge serious novelists, Salman Rushdie wrote in a French journal published Thursday.
In an article translated into French for literary journal La Nouvelle Revue Francaise (NRF), Rushdie said he tested ChatGPT by asking it to write 200 words in his style.
He describes the results as “a bunch of nonsense.”
“No reader who had read a single page of mine could think I was the author. Rather reassuring,” he said, according to a translation of the article by AFP.
The Booker Prize-winning author of “The Satanic Verses” and “Midnight’s Children” said that generative AI writing tools could be a threat to more formulaic writers, however.
“The trouble is that these creatures learn very quickly,” he said, adding that this could be worrying for writers of genre literature like thrillers and science fiction, where originality is less important.
The threat could be particularly acute for film and TV writers.
“Given that Hollywood is constantly creating new versions of the same film, artificial intelligence could be used to draft screenplays,” he said.
His judgment of ChatGPT’s skills was harsh, finding it had “no originality” and was seemingly “completely devoid of any sense of humor.”
Rushdie spent many years in hiding after a death threat was issued by Iran in 1989 over the “The Satanic Verses,” which was claimed to be anti-Islamic.
He lost the use of an eye after being stabbed in August 2022 during a literary conference in the New York area by an US citizen of Lebanese origin.
Salman Rushdie: AI only poses threat to unoriginal writers
https://arab.news/2ycdt
Salman Rushdie: AI only poses threat to unoriginal writers
- Technology lacks originality and humor to pose seriuous challenge, author said
India tells X to block over 8,000 accounts, mainly Pakistani
- Move appears to be part of India’s sweeping crackdown targeting social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organizations
- X said it disagreed with the demands but it had begun the process to withhold the specified accounts in India
WASHINGTON: India has ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts, the platform said Thursday, adding that it was reluctantly complying with what it described as government-imposed “censorship.”
The move appears to be part of India’s sweeping crackdown targeting social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organizations amid heightened tensions and deadly confrontations between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
The order, which X said includes demands to block international news organizations and other prominent users, comes a day after Meta banned a prominent Muslim news page on Instagram in India at New Delhi’s request.
“X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees,” the site’s global government affairs team said in a statement.
It added that in most cases, the government had not specified which posts from the accounts violated Indian laws, and in many others, it provided no evidence or justification for the blocks.
The Elon Musk-owned platform said it disagreed with the demands but it had begun the process to withhold the specified accounts in India.
“Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” the statement said.
“This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information.”
The move comes amid fierce fighting between India and Pakistan, two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing a deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-run side of the disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
Pakistan rejects the charge.
At least 48 people have been killed on both sides of the border in escalating violence since India launched air strikes on Wednesday that it said targeted “terrorist camps.”
Both countries accused each other on Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks.
X said it could not make the Indian executive orders public due to legal restrictions, but it encouraged the impacted users to seek “appropriate relief from the courts.”
It did not name the affected users, but in recent days the Indian media has reported that the country has blocked the X accounts of Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan’s former prime minister and cricket captain Imran Khan.
India has also banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content, including Pakistani news outlets.
Pakistani Bollywood movie regulars Fawad Khan and Atif Aslam were also off limits in India, as well as a wide range of cricketers — including star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan and retired players Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram.
Rising hostilities between the South Asian neighbors have unleashed an avalanche of online misinformation, with social media users circulating everything from deepfake videos to outdated images from unrelated conflicts, falsely linking them to the ongoing fighting.
Ireland’s RTE urges talks on Israel’s Eurovision participation amid growing pressure
- European Broadcasting Union ‘whitewashing’ Israeli war crimes
- EBU must ban Israel like it did with Russia in 2022, say activists
DUBAI: Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE has invited the European Broadcasting Union for talks on Israel’s participation in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, as pressure mounts from dozens of former contestants demanding the country’s exclusion.
RTE’s Director-General Kevin Bakhurst has expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the situation of Israeli hostages, emphasizing the need for RTE to remain objective in its coverage of the war.
He also pointed to political pressure on Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, from the Israeli government.
Israel, a Eurovision participant since 1973, is set to compete in this year’s contest, running from May 13 to 17, in Basel, Switzerland, with singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack at the Nova music festival.
Earlier this week, in an open letter, 72 former Eurovision contestants called on the EBU to ban Israel and its national broadcaster, KAN, from this year’s contest.
They cited the country’s war in Gaza and accused the union of “normalizing and whitewashing” alleged Israeli war crimes.
They argued that Israel’s participation would be inconsistent with the EBU’s decision to ban Russia in 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine.
The EBU previously said it acknowledges the concerns but aims to keep Eurovision a positive, inclusive event that transcends politics and unites people through music.
Israel detains Palestinian journalist amid press freedom concerns
- Ali Al-Samudi, 58, would remain in custody until October due to ‘considerations for the security of the region and public safety,’ Israeli military said
RAMALLAH: Israel’s military said on Thursday it would hold a Palestinian journalist arrested last month in administrative detention, raising fresh concerns over press freedom.
Ali Al-Samudi, 58, would remain in custody until October due to “considerations for the security of the region and public safety,” the military said in a newly published decree.
The Palestinian Commission for Detainees and the Palestinian Prisoners Club denounced the decision and Samudi’s treatment since his arrest on April 29.
His detention, they said in a joint statement, was part of Israel’s increasing use of administrative detention against journalists since the Gaza war began.
They said the practice had “intensified dramatically.”
Samudi is a freelance journalist who works with several outlets, including Al Jazeera.
He was with Shireen Abu Akleh when she was killed by gunfire in Jenin on May 11, 2022. He was shot and wounded in the shoulder.
The Prisoners Club says Israel has detained 50 Palestinian journalists since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, with 20 held under administrative detention.
The practice, a legacy of the British Mandate, allows Israel to detain people without charge, with detentions renewable indefinitely.
The commission and the club held Israel responsible for Samudi’s life and fate, saying he “suffers from several health issues and previous injuries.”
The Journalists’ Syndicate and Palestinian human rights organizations have reported the killing of more than 200 journalists in the Gaza Strip.
Other journalists have gone missing during the ongoing war, while Israel continues to prevent foreign journalists from entering Gaza.
In a statement published last week, the Jerusalem-based Foreign Press Association noted that “never in Israel’s history has the government imposed sweeping restrictions on the media for such an extended period.”
Between 2024 and 2025, Israel went down 11 places on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, from 101 to 112 respectively.
Israel attacks kill 2 Gaza journalists in separate operations
- Yahya Subaih died hours after posting photo of newborn daughter
- Another local journalist, Nour Abdu, was killed in separate attack
LONDON: Palestinian journalist Yahya Subaih was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Wednesday, just hours after celebrating the birth of his daughter.
Subaih was among at least 11 people killed when Israeli warplanes struck a restaurant in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City. Dozens more were injured in the attack, according to local media reports.
Another local journalist, Nour Abdu, was reportedly killed while covering an attack early on Wednesday morning at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City.
That strike killed 16 people, according to officials at Al-Ahli Hospital, while strikes in other areas killed at least 16 others.
The Government Media Office in Gaza condemned what it described as the “systematic targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists,” and called on the international community to act.
In a statement, the office urged global powers “to put serious and effective pressure to stop the crime of genocide, protect journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip, and stop the crime of killing and assassinating them.”
Subaih, who worked with multiple media outlets, had shared a photo on social media just hours before his death, cradling his newborn daughter. “A little princess has brightened our world,” he wrote.
Footage circulating online shows Subaih wearing the same clothes he wore in the photo with his daughter.
Palestinian journalist Yahya Subaih was blessed today with a beautiful baby girl who was waiting to see the light in her parents' arms. However, Zionist criminality overtook her father and killed him a short while ago in the new Gaza massacre.
— Abdul Aziz Khadra (@EabdaieazizK) May 7, 2025
Journalist Yahya Subaih is a… pic.twitter.com/b8juYBfYJh
His death adds to the growing number of media professionals killed in Gaza, which has become the most dangerous place in the world for journalists since Israel’s war on the enclave began on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to the Costs of War project by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the current conflict is the deadliest ever recorded for journalists.
More than 170 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began, with some estimates placing the figure as high as 214.
The overall death toll from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has surpassed 52,000 people, most of them women and children, with more than 118,000 injured, according to the territory’s health authorities.
Renowned journalists receive prestigious MCF Awards in Dubai
- Recipients include Asharq’s Nabeel Alkhatib, MBC’s Ali Jaber, The National’s Mina Al-Oraibi and social program presenter Sarah Dundarawy
- The MCF recognizes the work of Arab, international media figures
DUBAI: Renowned media figures Dr. Nabeel Alkhatib and Ali Jaber were among the recipients of the prestigious May Chidiac Foundation Media Awards during a ceremony held in Dubai’s Al-Habtoor City on Wednesday.
Alkhatib, general manager of Asharq News, received the Antoine Choueiri’s Special Tribute for Lifetime Achievement Award, while Jaber, chief content officer of MBC and Shahid, took the MCF Special Recognition for Pioneering Leadership in the Media Industry Award.
Mina Al-Oraibi, editor-in-chief of The National, took the Excellence in Media Award.
Sarah Dundarawy, Saudi Arabia journalist and presenter at Al Arabiya’s social program “tafa3olcom”, received the Outstanding Media Performance award.
In its third edition in Dubai, the MCF recognized the work of distinguished Arab and international media figures.
The Exceptional Courage in Journalism Award for Life Sacrifices went to the late Marie Colvin, an American war correspondent for the Sunday Times, who was killed while covering the siege of Homs in Syria in 2012.
Pascale Bourgaux, a war reporter, author and filmmaker, received the Engaged Journalist Award.
The Vision in Content Development Award went to the Dubai-based BLINX, the first digital-native storytelling hub in the Middle East and North Africa.
Founded by journalist and former Lebanese Minister for Administrative Development May Chidiac, the foundation is a nonprofit organization.
It is dedicated to research and development in various media fields, including international affairs, women’s rights, democracy and social welfare.
It is also aimed at establishing Lebanon as a proactive player in the Middle East and global economy.
