Happening now at @smex.org's Bread&Net: panel on the contest over information and narrative amid conflict and violence, featuring moderator @michatobia.bsky.social, and current and former @timep.bsky.social fellows @justinsalhani.bsky.social, @monashtaya.bsky.social, and @kassemmnejja.bsky.social.
On Thursday, October 30, TIMEP Advocacy Manager Douglas Christensen will come together with digital rights advocate @monashtaya.bsky.social to lead a practical workshop on how to inform and influence government policy and to create a space where participants can share advocacy best practices.
Join our panel on Wednesday, Oct 29, examining the fight over narrative in armed conflict. @monashtaya.bsky.social, @justinsalhani.bsky.social & @kassemmnejja.bsky.social, moderated by @michatobia.bsky.social, will delve into key trends from content moderation to disinformation & internet shutdowns.
It's extremely difficult 4 people to access life-saving updates on the ground, & hard for those outside the region to obtain reliable insights into what is happening. It also affects journalists & fact-checkers who are trying to cover the region during this complex time
www.wired.com/story/iran-i...
While Iran restricts internet access for its citizens amid ongoing escalations, Israeli authorities have also tightened regulations around documenting the Iranian missile attacks. This conflict is, in many ways, a war of information.
www.wired.com/story/iran-i...
Jordana Cutler has been widely criticized for her role in pushing Israeli policies that censor voices critical of Israeli war crimes within the company.
Meta continues its censorship—this time, once again, targeting Michael Schirtzer, a well-known anti-Zionist Jewish comedian. Prior to his suspension, he noted that Jordana Cutler, Meta's Policy Chief for Israel & the Jewish Diaspora, had been viewing his stories
mikeybon.substack.com/p/i-was-cens...
As a nonresident fellow, @monashtaya.bsky.social worked to hold tech corporations accountable for silencing important voices through shadow banning and content moderation.
Your support to TIMEP's fellowships help support the work of rising leaders like Mona: givebutter.com/supportTIMEP...
🚨 Don’t miss this @migrationtechmonitor.com interview with our 2024/2025 Fellow @monashtaya.bsky.social on her life and work in the West Bank under high-tech occupation!
The wall in Bethlehem, West Bank at sunset, with shadow of surveillance tower. Credit: Florian Schmitz
Israel is using state-of-the-art technology against Palestinians not only in Gaza, but also against residents in the West Bank.
2024/25 MTM fellow and Palestinian researcher @monashtaya.bsky.social talks with us about life under high tech occupation
➡️ www.migrationtechmonitor.com/blog/monas-b...
"Facebook's parent company had not listened to explicit user requests to opt out of data collection and targeted advertisements."
www.reuters.com/technology/d...
[272103-bright-spring-morning].
We're honored to have co-hosted a joint session with @arabifactshub.bsky.social on tech-driven solutions to combat information disorder, with @alsayyad.bsky.social , @monashtaya.bsky.social, Alexei Abrahams & @michatobia.bsky.social, moderated by Abdelrahman Mansour at this year's @rightscon.org.
🚨Mark Zuckerberg & other Big Tech CEOs have fully aligned with the new Trump administration, dismantling safeguards for human rights & democracy. The GCTJ’s statement exposes their dangerous agenda and calls for urgent global action.
📢 Take action now: www.globaltechjustice.org
#TechAccountability
So, Meta is terminating its DEI programs too!
This is just the cherry on top of the company’s policy changes, sealing its unholy marrige with the new U.S. administration!
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The termination of Meta’s fact-checking program came at the direct request of Brendan Carr, President Trump's pick for FCC chair. In mid-November 2023, he sent a series of threatening letters targeting the fact-checking program of Meta, Apple, Google, & Microsoft.
www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/243...
Meta frames regulation efforts as 'censorship' and claims to champion free expression, but in reality, this is a tactic to prioritize profits over safety.
The entire paid ads system on Meta's platforms is concerning, with numerous reports over the past few years highlighting its failures and its tendency to accept xenophobic, GBV-related, Islamophobic, and other harmful content.
Additionally, Meta’s push for “personalized” political content will trap users in the already existing echo chambers, limiting exposure to diverse viewpoints, which will lead to more extermisim on the longer term.
Working on the MENA region, these changes are terrifying and threaten to exacerbate the weaponization of disinformation by oppressive regimes, targeting political dissidents, journalists, and human rights defenders.
One crucial point to consider: by removing restrictions on content related to immigration, gender identity, and gender, Meta risks amplifying hate speech and incitement to violence, further endangering marginalized and vulnerable communities.
Meta’s shift to unvetted “community notes” (#Muskisim) and reduced content moderation confirm the civil society and human rights groups arguement that Big Tech are unable to regulate themselves and address tech harms cause by their platforms.
These actions must be viewed in context, especially following the other profit-driven measures (layoffs over the past few years), revealing a clear pattern of putting profit before safety.
Meta’s latest measures prioritize profit over user safety, dismantling critical fact-checking systems & allowing unchecked disinformation to fuel the platform. This not only threatens people's safety but also erodes democracy worldwide.
about.fb.com/news/2025/01...
Israel has announced a dramatic expansion of its "hasbara" (propaganda) efforts in its 2025 budget, with the foreign ministry set to receive an additional $150m.
www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/li...
photo of Mona Shtaya
Nick Clegg: ‘Too often, harmless content gets taken down, or restricted, and too many people get penalized unfairly,’
Palestinians: WE TOLD YOU 🤭
www.theverge.com/2024/12/3/24...
A picture of rubble and destroyed buildings. The text "Gaza Genocide and the New International Disorder".
Gaza Genocide and the New International Disorder
13 December at 13:00
Gamla polikliniken, Lund
Join us for a research seminar with Mona Shtaya, Independent Researcher at Digital Rights Defender, and Robert Knox, Senior Lecturer in Law at University of Liverpool.
More details on www.luap.se
