ISTANBUL: Turkiye said on Saturday it had restored access to social media platform Instagram after the company agreed to cooperate with authorities to address the government’s concerns.
Turkiye blocked access to the social media platform on Aug 2 for failing to comply with the country’s “laws and rules” and public sensitivities.
A top Turkish official accused Instagram of blocking condolence posts over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Turkiye has denounced Israel’s attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire and criticized what it calls unconditional support for Israel by the West.
The nine-day ban triggered protests from users and small businesses who reach their customers through the platform.
Turkiye ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with more than 57 million users, following India, the United States, Brazil and Indonesia, according to data platform Statista.
“As a result of our negotiations with Instagram officials, we will lift the access block...after they promised to work together to meet our demands regarding catalog crimes and on censorship imposed on users,” Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a post on X.
Catalog crimes in Turkish law include acts such as murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking, abuse and torture.
“Significant gains have been achieved in increasing security in the digital environment in Turkiye, legal compliance, protection of user rights and the development of a fair inspection mechanism,” Uraloglu said.
Instagram parent Meta had agreed to comply with Turkish law and ensure efficient removal of posts and content if they carry elements of certain crimes or “terrorism propaganda,” Uraloglu said.
Instagram was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
“Live metrics show Instagram is being restored across Turkiye’s main Internet providers after national restriction spanning nine days. This is the country’s longest ban of a major social media platform in recent years,” Internet monitor NetBlocks said.
Turkiye restores access to Instagram after 9-day block
https://arab.news/2cwcv
Turkiye restores access to Instagram after 9-day block
- Turkiye ranks fifth in the world in terms of Instagram usage, with more than 57 million users
Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages
- The AI-powered social media profile called Israeli soldiers ‘white colonizers in apartheid Israel’
DUBAI: An AI bot designed to promote Israeli narratives on social media has turned itself into a pro-Palestinian machine, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
FactFinderAI was reportedly developed at the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023 to counter “misinformation” about Israeli hostilities.
However, the bot has generated anti-Israeli narratives on X, calling for solidarity with Gazans and referring followers to a charity organization to which they can donate in support of Palestinians, Haaretz reported.
The bot has denied claims that an Israeli family was killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack and has accused Israel of proposing a US ban on TikTok.
With about 3,800 followers, the bot mainly comments on posts from X users rather than creating its own original posts.
In one response to a pro-Israeli user, the bot called Israeli soldiers “white colonizers in apartheid Israel.” In another — to a pro-Palestinian user — it concluded that former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “will be remembered for (his) actions that have caused immense suffering and devastation in Gaza.”
The bot has also posted misinformation, falsely claiming that Israeli hostages released as part of the ongoing ceasefire with Hamas were still being held by the group.
Haaretz said it was unclear whether the bot had been officially funded by the Israeli government or developed independently by pro-Israeli activists.
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry has dedicated at least $550,000 since the start of the war in Gaza to projects that use AI to spread pro-Israeli propaganda. “One of these was Hasbara Commando, a project that also used AI to generate automatic comments,” Haaretz stated.
The newspaper quoted Israeli NGO FakeReporter’s findings that FactFinderAI posts AI-generated content about Israel’s war on Gaza. While the bot was designed to give a pro-Israeli take on other people’s posts, it ended up trolling pro-Israel accounts with pro-Palestinian opinions.
In one instance, the bot urged Germany to follow the lead of Ireland and Spain and officially recognize the state of Palestine.
EXCLUSIVE: Meta AI launches in Middle East, extends support for Arabic language
- New platform ‘democratizes access to advanced AI tools,’ company regional director says
- Built-in safeguards to ensure accuracy, protect against harmful, misleading content
DUBAI: Meta on Sunday announced the official launch of its AI assistant Meta AI in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Powered by the company’s latest Llama 3.2 large language model, Meta AI is available across all Meta platforms and products, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
“The rollout is gradual, so while many users can already see Meta AI on their apps, some users will be getting it in the coming weeks,” Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director, told Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Meta first announced the AI assistant at its Connect event in 2023 before launching it the following year in select markets. Today, it is expanding its reach across the region, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, and extending its “support for Arabic,” Akkad said.
He added that Meta AI is already available via desktop devices and some countries might get access sooner than others, “but rest assured, we’re working to make sure millions of users in the Middle East can be part of this growth.”
Although businesses in the region have access to Meta’s AI-powered advertising, they will not have access to the new platform at this time.
Akkad said Meta is “actively exploring opportunities to introduce it in the future,” but did not specify a date.
AI chatbots are growing in popularity, and are used for everything from relationship advice to resume writing. Nearly a billion people use AI chatbots today, according to some reports, and the number is only expected to grow.
With several chatbots now available to users — some, like Google’s Gemini, even integrated into their phone — Akkad believes the biggest and most important highlight of Meta AI is its accessibility.
“It’s already built into our apps, so there is no need to download or sign up for anything new — and it’s completely free and will stay that way,” he said.
That Meta AI is device agnostic and built directly into Meta’s apps is a “game-changer for AI adoption” because “it democratizes access to advanced AI tools, reaching not just the tech-savvy but also everyday users” in areas “where newer hardware may not be as widely available,” Akkad said.
Despite its many benefits, generative AI has been the subject of scrutiny over the spread of misinformation. Akkad said Meta is aware of the “concern around the risks of generative AI, especially when it comes to misinformation” and has “built Meta AI with safeguards to make it as helpful and responsible as possible.”
Some of measures include built-in filters that prevent the AI from generating harmful or misleading content. These are based on extensive tests conducted by Meta and the company is updating its AI models based on feedback and training every two weeks, he said.
Generative AI’s ability to manufacture realistic but fake images exacerbates its threat to truth and accuracy.
Akkad said that Meta makes sure “people can tell when something (an image) was created or edited using Meta AI by adding clear watermarks, hidden markers and metadata embedded within image files to ensure no one is trying to pass off the AI-generated images as real.”
The company is also working with regulators and policymakers to fulfill its goal of giving “people a tool they can trust — one that helps them create, learn, and connect with the things and people they care about — all while keeping safety and accuracy at the core,” said Akkad.
CBS agrees to hand over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris interview transcripts to FCC
- The Harris interview initially drew attention because CBS News showed Harris giving completely different responses to a question posed by correspondent Bill Whitaker in clips that were aired on “Face the Nation” on Oct. 6
CBS says it will turn over an unedited transcript of its October interview with Kamala Harris to the Federal Communications Commission, part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing fight with the network over how it handled a story about his opponent.
Trump sued CBS for $10 billion over the “60 Minutes” interview, claiming it was deceptively edited to make Harris look good. Published reports said CBS’ parent company, Paramount, has been talking to Trump’s lawyers about a settlement.
The network said Friday that it was compelled by Brendan Carr, Trump’s appointee as FCC chairman, to turn over the transcripts and camera feeds of the interview for a parallel investigation by the commission. “60 Minutes” has resisted releasing transcripts for this and all of its interviews, to avoid second-guessing of its editing process.
The case, particularly a potential settlement, is being closely watched by advocates for press freedom and by journalists within CBS, whose lawyers called Trump’s lawsuit “completely without merit” and promised to vigorously fight it after it was filed.
The Harris interview initially drew attention because CBS News showed Harris giving completely different responses to a question posed by correspondent Bill Whitaker in clips that were aired on “Face the Nation” on Oct. 6 and the next night on “60 Minutes.” The network said each clip came from a lengthy response by Harris to Whitaker’s question, but they were edited to fit time constraints on both broadcasts.
In his lawsuit, filed in Texas on Nov. 1, Trump charged it was deceptive editing designed to benefit Harris and constituted “partisan and unlawful acts of voter interference.”
Trump, who turned down a request to be interviewed by “60 Minutes” during the campaign, has continued his fight despite winning the election less than a week after the lawsuit was filed.
The network has not commented on talks about a potential settlement, reported by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Paramount executives are seeking Trump administration approval of a sale of the company to another entertainment firm, Skydance.
ABC News in December settled a defamation lawsuit by Trump over statements made by anchor George Stephanopoulos, agreeing to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library rather than engage in a public fight. Meta has reportedly paid $25 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the company over its decision to suspend his social media accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
Philippines arrests 100 suspects in online scam farm raid
MANILA: Philippine authorities arrested around 100 people on Friday in a raid on a suspected online scam farm in Manila they said extorted victims.
The raid in the Makati financial district was part of a crackdown against online crime operators that often act under the guise of gaming firms.
Agents from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, or PAOCC, and the National Bureau of Investigation, armed with assault rifles, surrounded two offices of a lending agency and arrested the suspects as they worked side-by-side at computers.
The suspects, many of them young Filipinos, allegedly sought out victims via TikTok and other social media, offering collateral-free loans of up to 25,000 pesos ($428).
Borrowers were charged 35 percent weekly interest and those who fell behind on payments were harassed, humiliated and threatened with having their personal information spread online, PAOCC director Gilberto Cruz told reporters at the scene.
“Some of those they harassed developed mental problems, others fell into depression, and there have even been some suicide incidents that occurred because of the harassment perpetrated by these people,” Cruz said.
The suspects could be charged with fraud and other violations under the country’s cybercrime laws, he added. The raided company, Wewill Tech Corp., required victims to provide personal information and family photographs, which the scammers then used for threats, according to Cruz.
Some victims of similar scams have reported having coffins and funeral wreaths delivered to their homes, he said.
Authorities are checking the nationality of the owners, Cruz said, adding that they had arrested Chinese suspects running similar operations in the past.
The scam farm owners are suspected to be remnants of online gaming operators that were banned under orders of President Ferdinand Marcos last year, he said.
“Most of their keyboard workers are Filipino” and communicated with victims in the local language, Cruz told reporters.
“What is frightening here is it is Filipinos who are harassing and defrauding their fellow Filipinos,” he said.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has tagged Southeast Asia as “ground zero” of global scamming operations that the authorities say are run mainly by Chinese-origin crime organizations.
CNN International Commercial exec discusses launch of ad-supported streaming channels, says ‘trusted, verifiable and accurate reporting’ is now more important than ever
- CNN Fast features short-form videos covering a range of topics
- Dedicated kids’ channel to launch later in 2025
DUBAI: Late last year, Warner Bros. Discovery extended its partnership with Evision, the media and entertainment arm of e&.
The extended agreement provides users access to seven new channels including Fatafeat, Discovery Channel, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, and Discovery Family.
It also includes two new free ad-supported streaming TV, or FAST, channels on Evision’s streaming platform, STARZ ON: CNN Fast, which is already available, and an upcoming kids’ FAST channel launching later in 2025.
“This partnership highlights a shared commitment to delivering diverse, high-quality content to audiences in the region,” Humphrey Black, vice-president of Distribution, CNN International Commercial, told Arab News.
CNN Fast features short-form videos covering international stories across major news events, business, entertainment, sport, tech, travel and the environment. It first launched in Europe in 2023, followed by Canada and New Zealand.
These countries are “where the main FAST channel platforms have been building audiences,” and now “these platforms are starting to get traction in MENA (Middle East and North Africa), and the growth of FAST channels will naturally follow,” Black said.
“With a younger population in the region who really engage with video content, it’s a natural fit, and this succinct format will keep viewers informed and engaged,” he added.
The second FAST channel is dedicated to kids’ content and will feature classics from Warner Bros. Discovery’s content library.
Explaining the reason behind a FAST channel dedicated to kids, Black said: “There is a high demand for children’s content across traditional TV channels, streaming platforms, as well as YouTube, where kids’ channels consistently dominate viewership globally.
“With that in mind, we want to reach and entertain kids through our most loved characters.”
Moreover, he added, cross-platform viewing continues to grow, meaning that viewers consume and access content across multiple devices.
Children in the MENA region own at least one device allowing Warner Bros. Discovery to “meet our young audiences wherever they are and engage with them across the various platforms and devices,” he added.
In recent years, streaming platforms that rose to popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic have increased their subscription rates. In a full circle moment, some have even introduced ads on lower-priced subscription tiers reminiscent of the days of traditional TV.
This, along with the sheer number of platforms users might need to subscribe to, has given rise to FAST channels.
Black explained: “The first streamers focused on subscribers for their business models, but now we’re seeing ad-supported services coming back into favor as this offers customers the option to lower or replace subscription fees in return for consuming advertising, thus making the content available to an even wider group of potential customers.”
Between 2022 and 2023, in the US alone, the number of FAST channels increased by 81 percent, according to a whitepaper by Whip Media.
In the MENA region, several broadcasters introduced FAST channels last year including Indian media conglomerate Viacom18’s DesiPlay TV and DAZN Group’s Dazn Combat, both of which are available on STARZ ON.
Although FAST platforms generally tend to feature lifestyle or entertainment content, they are “increasingly featuring news channels in their propositions as these are seeing strong uptake amongst audiences,” said Black.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s launch of the two FAST channels is part of its strategy to continue digitizing its content and reaching people on the platforms they use most.
In addition to reporting news, CNN’s “brand promise” is to make its content “available on a device or platform of your choosing,” Black said.
He stressed the importance of “trusted, verifiable and accurate reporting” at a time of decreased regulation and increased instances of deep-fakes, AI-generated content and misinformation.
Black added: “A focus on video and innovative products in compelling formats and experiences is central to CNN’s digital transformation and reflects the way we are adapting production, distribution and monetization models in line with the changing nature of consumers’ media habits and consumption of news.”
