Tag Archives: Racism

Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. secretary of state and top military officer, died on Monday at the age of 84 due to complications from COVID-19. He was fully vaccinated, his family said in a statement on Facebook. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a …

For a platform with at least 2.91 billion “friends,” Facebook has been creating a lot of enemies of late, even among its own ranks. Just this week, former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before members of the US Senate, delivering a scathing overview of how the world’s largest …

Hollywood actor-turned-producer Bo Svenson has had enough of the US entertainment industry’s one-dimensional depiction of characters from the Middle East. He is working on films he hopes will shake up the industry and position Arabs and Muslims to be the stars of their own stories. Svenson, who was born in …

Iran’s Arab population has been on the frontline of water-shortage protests across cities in Khuzestan province this week. Protesters, rights groups and activists say the water demand by Ahwazi Arabs is part of wider discontent over historic and systematic racial discrimination.  “The reasons for the protests are many. In fact, …

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 …

The US Senate on Wednesday passed a law banning the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region, the latest effort in Washington to punish Beijing for what US officials say is an ongoing genocide against Uighurs and other Muslim groups. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would create a “reprehensible …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Tuesday it was important to Turkey that Uyghur Muslims live in peace as “equal citizens of China” but said Turkey respects China’s national sovereignty. Erdogan made the comments during a phone call with Xi in which the two leaders …

After a number of Black English football players faced a torrent of racist abuse online following the team’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, part-Arab models have taken to social media to show their support for the young players.  On Tuesday, part-Palestinian model Bella Hadid re-shared …

 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 …

Israel’s new government faced its first big defeat in parliament on Tuesday, failing to renew a controversial law that prevents Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who marry Israeli citizens from gaining citizenship themselves. It was the first major political test for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who …

 Israel’s parliament is set to vote Monday on whether to renew a temporary law first enacted in 2003 that bars Arab citizens of Israel from extending citizenship or even residency to spouses from the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Critics, including many left-wing and Arab lawmakers, say it’s a racist …

An indigenous group in Canada’s Saskatchewan province on Thursday said it had found the unmarked graves of 751 people at a now-defunct Catholic residential school, just weeks after a similar discovery rocked the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “terribly saddened” by the new discovery at Marieval Indian …

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 …

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that New Zealand’s Muslim community should be the focus of any film about the Christchurch mosque attacks after some people raised objections to a movie focusing on her response to the bloodshed. A film called “They Are Us” is being planned about the …

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 …

Israeli far-right nationalists began a flag-waving march through East Jerusalem on Tuesday that risks reigniting tensions with Palestinians and poses an early challenge for Israel’s new government. Last month, Israeli-Palestinian tensions and violence in contested Jerusalem helped trigger 11 days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant …

Tentative plans for a movie that recounts the response of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to a gunman’s slaughter of Muslim worshippers drew criticism in New Zealand on Friday for not focusing on the victims of the attacks. Hollywood news outlet Deadline reported that Australian actor Rose Byrne was set to …

Several hundred people gathered in London, Ontario on Saturday to pay homage to a Muslim family deliberately mowed down by the driver of a pick-up truck, in an attack that has shocked Canadians and which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced as “terrorist.” Four members of the Afzaal family — a …

British actor Riz Ahmed on Thursday launched an effort to improve the way Muslims are depicted in movies after a study showed that they are barely seen and shown in a negative light when they do appear. Ahmed, the “Sound of Metal” star and the first Muslim to get a …

A man accused of killing four members of a Canadian Muslim family after running them over in his pick-up truck, targeted them in an attack motivated by hate, police said on Monday. Police in London, Ontario, citing witnesses, said that 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman jumped the curb in his vehicle on Sunday, struck five …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A young German army officer went on trial on Thursday accused of planning to attack one or more politicians while posing as an Syrian asylum seeker to try to whip up anger against migrants. In a case that rattled the government in Berlin when it first came to light, the …

French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were to hold talks Friday by video conference to advance their two-year-old campaign to curb online extremism. The talks will mark two years since the leaders launched the Christchurch Call, an initiative named after the New Zealand city where …

Turkey criticised Israel and accused it of unleashing “terror” on Palestinians after Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque late on Friday. The clashes at Islam’s third holiest site and around East Jerusalem, which injured 205 Palestinians and 17 police officers, …

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland on Sunday over violent clashes in Jerusalem. Anti-Arab Israeli extremists, emboldened by the election of their allies to parliament, began a march over the weekend calling for violence against Arabs. …

Palestinians gathered in celebration outside Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate on Sunday night after barriers put up by Israeli police were removed, allowing them access to a square that became the focus of nightly Ramadan clashes. Thousands filled the East Jerusalem plaza late on Sunday, some waving Palestinian flags, after police permitted …

Over 100 Palestinians and 20 Israeli police were wounded in overnight clashes in annexed east Jerusalem, authorities said Friday, as tensions mount over a ban on gatherings and videos of attacks on youths. The violence flared outside one of the entrances to the walled Old City, after police had barred …

During the formation of Israel in the late 1940s, hundreds of Jewish women were branded as enemies for marrying Arab men, resulting in exclusion, isolation, and in some cases murder, according to stories buried in the country’s archives.  The histories of the “lost” Jewish women — those who married and …

A Florida nurse was arrested this week for threatening to kill Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Niviane Petit Phelps, a 39-year-old mother from Miami, is accused of recording and sending several videos to her …

DUBAI: If asked, most people would likely admit that they would have struggled to survive the mental toll of isolation brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic without access to social media, online shopping, and video conferencing to make up for the loss of human contact. And yet, these …

Gigi Hadid is showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement by matching the donations made through her coffee table book, titled Gigi Journal Part II, to various BLM organizations.  Back in July, Hadid helped curate a coffee table style book filled with art submissions and writing from around …

Tareq Alaows, a refugee who fled military conscription in Syria, is withdrawing his bid to win a seat in Germany’s parliament due to security concerns after his candidacy prompted a wave of racist insults, his Greens party said on Tuesday. “The high level of threat to me, and especially to …

Twitter said it permanently suspended Donald Trump’s account after the January 6 Capitol riot because there was a risk of further incitement of violence, following months of tweets disputing Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. False and misleading claims about American politics have since plummeted, a trend Twitter and Facebook — …

A federal grand jury charged four leaders of the far-right Proud Boys with conspiring to block Congress from certifying U.S. President Joe Biden’s election on the day of a deadly assault on the Capitol, according to court papers unsealed on Friday. The indictment alleges that Ethan Nordean of Washington, Joseph …

British columnist Julie Burchill has apologized to activist and journalist Ash Sarkar — and agreed to pay her “substantial damages” — for offensive social media posts in December. Following the settlement of a libel and harassment case, Burchill said on Twitter and Facebook that her social media activity had “included …

At Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Circle, buzzing on a Saturday afternoon, around a dozen young people suddenly began to collapse slowly and theatrically to the ground, to the shock and confusion of Israelis out shopping or enjoying a coffee. “Did it scare you?”, flash mob organiser Mohamd Jabarin asked those watching, …

Staff members have criticized the BBC for ignoring its own diversity regulations just a month after the sacking of board member Kamal Ahmed, The Independent reported on Saturday. The BBC culled its news board while following through with an £80 million ($111 million) savings proposal. Several key positions, including editorial …

Fast-food chain Burger King found itself on the griddle and getting burnt over an offensive tongue-in-cheek tweet on International Women’s Day that backfired massively on the burger brand. “Women belong in the kitchen,” the now-deleted tweet by Burger King UK read on Monday. While the thread was meant to reference …

A U.S. agency investigating Facebook Inc for racial bias in hiring and promotions has designated the probe as “systemic,” attorneys for three job applicants and a manager who claim the company discriminated against them told Reuters on Friday. A “systemic” probe means the agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, suspects …

The proposed ban on face veils in Switzerland is discriminatory and “violates women’s rights,” the head of women’s rights at Amnesty International’s Swiss section said. “The proposed face veil ban cannot in any way be viewed as measure for the liberation of women. Rather, it is a dangerous policy that …