Social Media

Leaked documents have revealed Iran’s secret research into how the Republic’s cyber capacity could be used to sink cargo ships, blow up a petrol station or other forms of cyber assault, according to a report by Sky News. The leaked documents — a set of internal files — also include information …

Israel has set up a senior inter-ministerial team to assess growing allegations that spyware sold by an Israeli cyber firm has been abused on a global scale, Israeli sources said on Wednesday. One source said the team is headed by Israel’s National Security Council, which answers to Prime Minister Naftali …

Saudi Aramco said its operations were not affected following a data breach from one of its contractors. The Dhahran-based company confirmed a limited amount of data had been leaked from the company following reports that a cyber extortionist had demanded a $50 million ransom. “Aramco recently became aware of the …

An official source in Saudi Arabia denied allegations made in some media reports claiming that an entity in the Kingdom is using a program to track phone calls. The source added that these allegations are unfounded, stressing that the country’s approach and policy are consistent and do not endorse such …

French President Emmanuel Macron has called a national security meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware after reports about its use in France emerged this week, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. “The president is following this subject closely and takes it very seriously,” Attal told France Inter …

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) released a report on Monday citing that the vast majority of anti-vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated from just 12 people. The CCDH report found that 12 online personalities, dubbed the “disinformation dozen,” have a combined 59 million followers …

An Israeli company’s spyware was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world, according to an investigation by 17 media organizations published on Sunday. One of the organizations, The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/nso-spyware-pegasus-cellphones/?itid=lk_inline_manual_14, said the Pegasus spyware licensed …

Pro-government commentators in Saudi Arabia are publicly criticising the United Arab Emirates’ role in Yemen, a rare move that reflects political and economic tensions between the two Gulf allies that also led to an open standoff over oil policy.FILE PHOTO: General view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 21 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed …

Facebook is not doing enough to stop the spread of false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday, part of a new administration pushback on misinformation in the United States. Facebook, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, needs to work harder to remove inaccurate …

Following the International High-Level Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities”, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central and South Asian States adopted a Joint Statement on the Development of Regional Connectivity. Joint Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central and South Asian …

Part-Palestinian model Gigi Hadid has narrated a new episode of the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever,” she revealed on Instagram. The catwalk star posted a teaser clip on Instagram on Thursday and wrote: “Had the best time getting to narrate a new episode of @neverhaveiever — I got your …

Global digital media investor North Base Media (NBM) has announced its investment in Abu Dhabi-based Majarra, a leading Arabic online content provider in the region. “We’re delighted to have a high-quality and specialized investor like North Base Media as a believer in our vision for a new business model that …

Facebook said on Thursday it had taken down about 200 accounts run by a group of hackers in Iran as part of a cyber-spying operation that targeted mostly US military personnel and people working at defense and aerospace companies. The social media giant said the group, dubbed ‘Tortoiseshell’ by security …

An Israeli group sold a tool for hacking Microsoft Windows, Microsoft and technology human rights group Citizen Lab announced Thursday, highlighting the growing business of finding and selling tools for hacking widely used software. Hacking tool vendor Candiru developed and sold a software exploit that can break into Windows, one …

The United States will continue nuclear talks with Iran, the White House said on Wednesday, after an Iranian plot to kidnap a US-based journalist was made public. A US Justice Department indictment unsealed on Tuesday showed prosecutors have charged four Iranians in a kidnapping plot of the journalist. The White …

In early May, the world witnessed an escalation in violence committed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against Palestinians, prompting a flood of thousands of posts on social media feeds around the globe. Throughout the month, the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media (7amleh) documented more than 700 …

 Delhi police on Saturday said they were investigating online harassment involving hundreds of Muslim women, who were put up “for sale” on a now-defunct app and website titled “Sulli Deals,” many of whom also received rape and death threats. The women, active on social media platforms such as Twitter, found …

In an effort to combat online extremism, Facebook announced on Thursday that it is testing a feature that will ask users if they are worried someone they know is becoming an extremist. As part of Facebook’s new Redirect Initiative, users may also be alerted if they have been exposed to …

The Internet is home to some extremely malevolent behavior. A range of bad actors is intent on stealing people’s money, information and identities, and on crippling essential services. Of the countless entities and individuals targeted, some of the more prominent are Saudi Aramco, Bangladesh Bank, Colonial Pipeline, the Democratic Party …

Britain’s competition regulator started a formal investigation on Friday into whether Amazon and Google may not have done enough to prevent or remove fake reviews. Along with regulators in the United Sates and the European Union, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has stepped up its scrutiny of big tech …

President Joe Biden must let Julian Assange go free if he wants the United States to become a beacon for a free press once again and put the legacy of Donald Trump behind it, the fiancée of the WikiLeaks founder told Reuters. Washington has sought the extradition of Assange over …

Facebook’s recommendation algorithm amplifies military propaganda and other material that breaches the company’s own policies in Myanmar following a military takeover in February, a new report by the rights group Global Witness says. A month after the military seized power in Myanmar and imprisoned elected leaders, Facebook’s algorithms were still …

The US Justice Department on Tuesday blocked some three dozen websites, many of them associated with Iranian disinformation activities, a US government source said, adding an official announcement was expected. The source in Washington spoke after notices appeared earlier on Tuesday on a number of Iran-affiliated websites saying they had …

Europe’s top court on Tuesday endorsed the power of national data watchdogs to pursue big tech firms even if they are not their lead regulators, in a setback for Silicon Valley companies such as Facebook. The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling could encourage national agencies to act against US …

Violent speech directed against Arabs and Palestinians on social media increased 15-fold during the recent hostilities in Gaza, a report has found.  Between May 6 and May 21 when clashes with Israel were most severe, hate speech against Palestinians rose dramatically in comparison with the same period in 2020, according …

British pop sensation Dua Lipa and part-Palestinian model Anwar Hadid are celebrating their two-year anniversary together as a couple.  Taking to her Instagram Stories to pay tribute to her partner, the “New Rules” hitmaker wrote: “I love you @anwarspc happiii happiiii 2 years!! (sic).” Hadid also took it upon himself to …

Netflix has announced a new hardship fund in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (AFAC) to support those most affected by the pandemic in the Arab region’s film and TV community. The fund, valued at $500,000, will provide financial support in the form of individual grants ($2000 …

Pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera said it was subjected to continual hacking attempts over recent days but the cyber attack on Qatar’s flagship broadcaster had been fended off. Al Jazeera’s websites and platforms experienced “continued electronic attacks aimed at accessing, disrupting and controlling some of the news platforms” from last …

French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face on Tuesday by a man in a crowd of onlookers while on a walkabout in southern France, video of the incident showed. Macron’s security entourage quickly intervened to pull the man to the ground and move Macron away from him. Two …

Google said it would make changes to its global advertising business to ensure it did not abuse its dominance, bowing to antitrust pressure for the first time in a landmark settlement with French authorities. The deal with the French competition watchdog could help rebalance the power over advertising in favor …

The US and the European Union voiced concern over Nigeria’s decision to indefinitely ban Twitter after the US social media giant deleted a tweet from the president’s account for violating its rules. International human rights groups have also condemned the move, which followed previous attempts by the government of Africa’s …

Microsoft Corp. on Friday blamed “accidental human error” for its Bing search engine not showing results for the query “tank man” in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary. Users, including in Germany and Singapore, reported Friday that when …

Around 200 Facebook employees signed an open letter last week urging the platform to address mounting criticism that it was censoring Palestinian content and suppressing pro-Palestinian voices. The letter demanded that Facebook take measures to guarantee the equal treatment of pro-Palestinian content and ensure that such posts are not unfairly …

Instagram announced on Monday that the platform would be making changes to the way it displays content after receiving accusations of censoring Palestine-related content during the latest wave of violence in Gaza. The “stories” feature on Instagram was built according to an algorithm that favors original content as opposed to …

Saudis have expressed their disapproval of the practices of some social media influencers who have exploited their accounts to collect more followers and win more advertisements while flouting social ethics and governing regulations. These violations go against the Saudi Anti-Cyber Crime Law and have also gained the attention of the Saudi …

Facebook was slammed on Sunday with a coordinated social media campaign launched by pro-Palestine activists in an attempt to push down the Facebook app’s ranking on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play. The campaign was launched in solidarity with Palestinians and in response to Facebook’s censorship of content supporting …

Singer Dua Lipa is blasting an organization that paid for a full-page ad in The New York Times that called her antisemitic for her support of Palestinians, saying it used her name “shamelessly” to “advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentations.” In the rambling ad which appeared in …

This week, The New York Times ran a full page ad that condemned part-Palestinian models Gigi and Bella Hadid and British-Albanian popstar Dua Lipa for showing solidarity with the people of Palestine. “Bella, Gigi and Dua, Hamas calls for a second holocaust. Condemn them now (sic),” read the headline of …

Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera clashed with pro-Israeli host Sean Hannity on Wednesday over Israel’s attacks on Gaza.  Rivera is a 77-year-old correspondent and commentator who has previously reported from Israeli-occupied territories. Talking to Hannity, he declared that Rashida Tlaib — the only Palestinian-American member of the US Congress and …

A BBC journalist used deceit to win a sensational 1995 interview with Princess Diana in which she disclosed intimate details of her failed marriage to Prince Charles and the broadcaster covered up the deception, an inquiry found on Thursday. The BBC set up the investigation, headed by former senior judge …

When the fighting halted, the celebrations began. Unable last week to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the joyous Muslim feast marking the end of the Ramadan fasting month, many Gazans took to the street at 2 a.m. on Friday to extol the start of a Hamas truce with Israel that ended 11 …

Ultranationalist Israelis in recent days have created secret online groups to hide their activities and to organize and spread hate against Arab Israelis.  News sites, including Sky News, have been monitoring the activities of Israeli ultranationalist social media accounts and have reported that the accounts are breeding grounds for hate …

Hundreds of Kuwaitis demonstrated on Wednesday in support of Palestinians and burned an Israeli flag to protest at the bombardment of Gaza after authorities allowed the rally to proceed despite coronavirus restrictions. Protesters, who were only granted access to a main square on foot to limit numbers, chanted “Death to …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said he has not seen any Israeli evidence that Hamas was operating from a tower block housing foreign media that was destroyed in a targeted airstrike. The Associated Press and other media companies, as well as various international businesses including consultancy Ernst …