Showing posts with label TikTok. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

"The first time I heard a song by Saint Levant, only three years ago, was in a world that does not exist any more. Gaza’s buildings were intact, as were its schools and roads and markets and mosques. My home city of Khartoum in Sudan was standing, as it had for centuries. Back then, I could scroll for fun, not in dread. I could stumble, say, in late 2022, upon an arresting clip on TikTok of a song by an Arab artist with a pun for a name..." Nesrine Malik

Palestinian musician Saint Levant performing at Les Francofolies, Paris, July 2025.

Photograph: Sadaka Edmond/SIPA/Shutterstock

Saint Levant: the pop star from Gaza caught between passionate fandom and bitter disapproval

His detractors say he shouldn’t be making pop music in times of war and destruction. His millions of fans say he has given them permission to celebrate their culture and their cause

By Nesrine Malik

Tue 26 May 2026 00.00 EDT

The first time I heard a song by Saint Levant, only three years ago, was in a world that does not exist any more. Gaza’s buildings were intact, as were its schools and roads and markets and mosques. My home city of Khartoum in Sudan was standing, as it had for centuries. Back then, I could scroll for fun, not in dread. I could stumble, say, in late 2022, upon an arresting clip on TikTok of a song by an Arab artist with a pun for a name; Saint Levant, a play on Saint Laurent – the icon of western style had been Arabised in homage to the Middle East’s Levant region.

I began to see the same song all over my social media. In the video, Saint Levant, then 22, is in a white vest and brown trousers. A gold pendant chain dangles on his chest, a tattoo encircles his left arm. He starts by rapping in English, telling the woman he is wooing that “he’s not toxic, he’s broken baby”. And then, the twist, as he switches to Arabic, then French, then English again. Like a wholesome boy next door, he tells her to send his regards to her grandmother and her brother. Then says that he wants to make her forget about her ex, he wants her overthinking all her texts... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/26/saint-levant-the-pop-star-from-gaza-caught-between-passionate-fandom-and-bitter-disapproval

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Friday, January 30, 2026

"It’s not what we can or cannot say that matters; rather, it’s whether what we say can get any visibility at all, and whether it is able to move against the political climate imposed by those controlling platform algorithms."

What the US TikTok takeover is already revealing about new forms of censorship

Paolo Gerbaudo

Over recent days, US TikTok users have reported a number of suspicious malfunctions.’ The company’s headquarters in Culver City, California. Photograph: Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

It’s not what we can or cannot say that matters – rather, it’s whether what we say can get any visibility at all under the US-specific algorithm

We tend to think of censorship as the direct suppression of speech. We conjure images of mouths taped shut, courts seizing books and films, and journalists or activists thrown in jail to silence their voices. But what if, in a digital era governed by invisible yet highly consequential algorithms, censorship no longer revolved around the ability to speak, but rather around the visibility of content, its effective “reach”?

The launch of TikTok’s new US-specific algorithm underscores the urgency of this risk. This week, control over the platform’s operations has shifted to the TikTok USDS joint venture led by a consortium of investors that includes US big tech firms such as cloud-computing company Oracle, with the Chinese parent company ByteDance retaining a 19.9% stake. This arrangement is presented as a means of complying with US legislation introduced under former president Joe Biden, with the aim of protecting user data and preventing political interference from China. Yet many of TikTok’s 200 million US-based users now fear that Donald Trump and his allies may use algorithmic control to do precisely what China was accused of doing: interfering with political discussion by suppressing voices critical of Trump and his international allies.

Over recent days, US TikTok users have reported a number of suspicious malfunctions: videos covering controversial topics, such as the killing of Alex Pretti by a federal agent remaining under review; newly posted videos recording surprisingly low-view metrics; and allegations that it is impossible to post messages containing keywords such as “Epstein”. Drawing on these denunciations, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has called for a review into the TikTok algorithm to determine whether it complies with state law. Further, app store data shows that many users are cancelling the app and downloading alternatives.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/30/tiktok-us-takeover-new-type-of-censorship

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Social network UpScrolled sees surge in downloads following TikTok’s US takeover: "The app was founded last year by Issam Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist, with the aim of giving users a place to “freely express thoughts, share moments, and connect with others,” according to the app’s website. The team behind the app says they’re “building a platform that belongs to the people who use it — not to hidden algorithms or outside agendas.”"

story by

Aisha Malik

12:11 PM PST · January 26, 2026

In the wake of TikTok’s U.S. ownership change last week, some users are seeking out alternative platforms. One app gaining traction is UpScrolled, a social network that pledges to remain impartial to political agendas. The app currently ranks 12th overall in Apple’s App Store and second in the social networking category.

UpScrolled blends familiar features from Instagram and X, letting users share photos, videos, and text posts, discover new content, and send direct messages.

The app was founded last year by Issam Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist, with the aim of giving users a place to “freely express thoughts, share moments, and connect with others,” according to the app’s website. The team behind the app says they’re “building a platform that belongs to the people who use it — not to hidden algorithms or outside agendas.”

“UpScrolled is the foundation for a digital ecosystem that puts power back into the hands of the people — not the corporations,” Hijazi said in a statement on UpScrolled’s website. “It’s more than just an alternative to Meta, X, or TikTok — it’s a reimagining of what social media should be: a space where creators, communities, and businesses thrive independently, with real control, transparency, and accountability.”

The app, available on both iOS and Android, is grappling with a surge of new users but says it’s scaling to keep up with the demand.

According to data... READ MORE https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/26/social-network-upscrolled-sees-surge-in-downloads-following-tiktoks-us-takeover/

Emmy winning Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda with 1.4m followers reports TikTok ban [2026] ... According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 207 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, with the “vast majority” killed by Israeli forces.

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda shared daily videos recounting her experiences in Gaza during Israel's genocidal war [File: Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]

[28 Jan 2026] Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda with 1.4m followers reports TikTok ban

Story by Lyndal Rowlands

Award-winning Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda has said she has been permanently banned from TikTok, days after the social media platform was acquired by new investors in the United States.

Owda, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and contributor to Al Jazeera’s AJ+ from Gaza, shared a video on her Instagram and X accounts on Wednesday, telling her followers that her TikTok account had been banned.

“TikTok deleted my account. I had 1.4 million followers there, and I have been building that platform for four years,” Owda said in the video filmed from Gaza.

“I expected that it will be restricted, like every time, not banned forever,” she added.

Al Jazeera sent a query to TikTok inquiring about Owda’s account and is waiting for a reply... READ MORE https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/palestinian-journalist-bisan-owda-with-14m-followers-reports-tiktok-ban/ar-AA1Vddl3

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/29/palestinian-journalist-bisan-owda-with-1-4m-followers-reports-tiktok-ban

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda with 1.4m followers reports TikTok ban

Emmy-winning Owda points to changes in TikTok’s US ownership, remarks from Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to explain ban.

Award-winning Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda has said she has been permanently banned from TikTok, days after the social media platform was acquired by new investors in the United States.

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda and AJ+ win Emmy for Gaza war documentary

The award comes after a pro-Israel nonprofit organisation criticised the nomination of the short film documenting the initial days of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda and Al Jazeera’s AJ+ have won an Emmy in the Outstanding Hard News Feature Story category for their documentary, It’s Bisan From Gaza – and I’m Still Alive.

Owda has been at the forefront of reporting from Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the territory last October, bringing the stories of Palestinians to a global audience amidst 11 months of war and devastation.

“This award is a testament to young Palestinian journalists and their professionalism. Bisan’s reporting has humanised the Palestinian story after decades of mainstream media’s systematic dehumanisation of Palestinians. Winning this Emmy is a win for humanity. We feel extremely proud of this bright moment amidst ongoing genocide, and ... READ MORE https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/26/palestinian-journalist-bisan-owda-and-aj-win-emmy-for-gaza-war-documentary

Bisan Owda, a renowned journalist and influencer, has significantly contributed to bringing news from Gaza to the world with her unique style. Bisan embodies the spirit of resilience and the power of storytelling.

Her captivating storytelling ability has captured the attention of both global audiences and other media institutions. Her work has been cited extensively by international media, and she has worked with international institutions such as the European Union and the United Nations.

These baseless allegations are an attempt to silence Bisan, and present a real threat to her safety on the ground. The call for the Emmy nomination to be rescinded is nothing more than an attempt to deny an important perspective to the global audience on the war and its devastating impact on innocent civilians.

Since October 7, 2023, Bisan has been propelled onto the global stage. Amidst 11 months of war and carnage, she continues to tell the stories of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who have endured untold suffering, death, and destruction. The Emmy nomination is a testament to her fearless journalism and her ability to narrate the struggles of her people.

The Emmy nomination comes on the heels of other notable recognition, including the Peabody Award and RTDNA’s Edward R. Murrow Award, for her fearless journalistic work with AJ+ in the Gaza Strip.

At Al Jazeera, we stand in solidarity with Bisan and all our journalists who consistently uphold the highest standards of journalistic ethics and professionalism. Despite facing relentless targeting and numerous challenges that with direct threat to their lives, they remain committed to reporting on some of the most devastating situations of modern times.

In the past 11 months, more than 160 journalists, including three from Al Jazeera, have been killed by Israeli forces. We urge the international journalistic community to support Bisan and other media professionals, ensuring they can carry out their essential work without fear of being targeted, intimidated or killed... READ MORE https://network.aljazeera.net/en/press-releases/al-jazeera-stands-bisan-owda-face-efforts-silence-her-reporting-gaza

Bisan Owda

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/23/who-controls-tiktoks-us-platform-under-new-deal

Who owns TikTok US now?

There isn’t one single owner as the company has been created under a joint venture with multiple investors.

ByteDance will retain a 19.9 percent stake in the venture, despite the fact that the 2024 Biden-era law specified that TikTok US cut ties with the company.

Three investor companies each hold a 15 percent stake:

Silver Lake – A US private equity firm focused on tech investments and with branches in London, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is chaired by Kenneth Hao. Egon Durban, a co-executive, is on the TikTok US board.
Oracle – The cloud computing company that has been storing TikTok US data since 2022. It is chaired by billionaire Larry Ellison, a longtime ally of Trump.
MGX – The UAE-owned investment firm specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which is chaired by the country’s national security adviser, Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan

There are eight other investors, including:

Dell Family Office, owned by Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies and a Trump ally
Vastmere Strategic Investments, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group, founded by Trump ally Jeff Yass
Alpha Wave, a global investment company
Revolution, owned by Steve Case, founder of AOL
Merritt Way, managed and controlled by San Francisco-based investment firm Dragoneer
Via Nova
Virgo Li Inc
NJJ Capital

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Israel is banning Al Jazeera, America is banning TikTok. We know why: What the two laws have in common is desire to silence Israel-Gaza war critics.

‘The TikTok law, like the Al Jazeera one, isn’t limited to its initial target.’ Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

Seth Stern

The White House rightly said it was “concerning” when Israel’s parliament laid the groundwork to shut down Al Jazeera within its borders in April. On Sunday, Israel made its move. The Foreign Press Association called it a “dark day for democracy”.

If the White House remains concerned, it has a strange way of showing it. Joe Biden and his administration have supported and encouraged recent censorial laws and court cases that virtually ensure that “dark days” are ahead at home as well.

The best-known example is the bill Biden signed into law last month to ban or force a sale of TikTok. Like Israel’s Al Jazeera ban, that law relies on unsubstantiated assertions of national security concerns, ignoring Justice Hugo Black’s prescient warning in the Pentagon papers case that “the word ‘security’ is a broad, vague generality whose contours should not be invoked to abrogate the fundamental law embodied in the first amendment”.

Another thing the two laws have in common is that it’s an open secret that those concerns are pretexts for silencing the growing backlash against the Israel-Gaza war. Senator Mitt Romney essentially acknowledged as much in a recent conversation with Antony Blinken, the secretary of state. He wasn’t the first to say the quiet part out loud.

The TikTok law, like the Al Jazeera one, isn’t limited to its initial target. It opens the door for future bans of other platforms – including foreign-controlled online news outlets... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/07/israel-al-jazeera-us-tiktok-ban

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Friday, April 26, 2024

Arresting students and banning Tiktok will not stifle the truth about Israeli crimes against humanity.

Dear Bide ...etc...

Concerned college students are raising U.S. awareness about the very real plight and suffering of Palestinian men, women, and children.

In response, billionaire businessmen on broadcast TV news here in America boast that they won't hire college students who protest for Palestine. Arrests are made, students are suspended... But even that is not stopping or silencing the passion for Palestine that has awakened in many young people today.

Arresting students and banning Tiktok will not stifle the truth about Israeli crimes against humanity.

Foolishly our mainstream media, religious leaders, and politicians protect Jews-preferred Israel, empowering blatant bigotry and genocide: FYI only reading echo chamber pro-Israel distractions and fabrications serves Israeli interests- not America.

American money should not be funding Israel in any way, shape or form. But we should be fully funding UNWRA which was created in 1949 to help feed and educate the Palestine refugees https://www.unrwa.org/who-we-are

Israel has failed to provide evidence of UNWRA staff terrorist links

UNWRA is a worthy institution worth investing in. War and more weapons for Israel is not. Please stop misusing American tax payers' hard earned money to fund rampant Israeli injustice, religious craziness, home demolitions, and escalating war in the Middle East.

Use our money to help feed starving people, help nourish hungry minds, help fair and just laws & policies flourish here and there.... for everyone's sake.

Building a pier in Gaza for American aid for Palestinians is an expensive distraction, and not a good use of funds. UNWRA is already in place- already built thanks in a large part to American efforts after WWII. Use the right tool for the job to get the job done.

NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

FYI the Israel/Palestine conflict did not start on Oct 7th 2023. To be fair and honest you must go back to 1917 when the British Empire and Occupation promoted the Balfour Declaration to create a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. At the time Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire and there was a small Arab Jewish population living there, living in peace along with Muslims and Christians.

Fast forward to 1948 when following the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust, modern man made Israel was created. Israel was not created peacefully or by consensus with the Arab residents who had lived there for eons. Israel was created by invading Zionist terrorists who murdered many indigenous Arabs- fragmenting families, and pushing millions of Palestinians into forced exile.

Israel has failed to provide evidence of Unrwa staff terrorist links: report

The Colonna report, which was commissioned by the UN in the wake of Israeli allegations, found that Unrwa had regularly supplied Israel with lists of its employees for vetting, and that “the Israeli government has not informed Unrwa of any concerns relating to any Unrwa staff based on these staff lists since 2011”.

The Nation: “The Bulldozer Kept Coming”: A Girl Stares Down Death in Gaza- The extraordinary story of a 14-year-old, her mother, and what happened when the Israeli military came to destroy their house.

CSM: Ken Makin Commentary on Columbia: History, protests, and humanity- After arrests at Columbia University and other schools, our commentator considers the legacy of civil disobedience. How and why does society’s lens on protests change over time?

Hundreds of Israeli extremists, under the protection of Israeli police, stormed occupied East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Wednesday: Israeli authorities and settlers seek to strip East Jerusalem of its Palestinian Muslim and Christian character and turn it into a Jewish-Israeli area.

This Passover, we don’t need or want the false idol of Zionism. We want freedom from the project that commits genocide in our name. We need an exodus from Zionism- Naomi Klein

Israel has dropped almost 75,000 bombs and shells on Gaza in 200 days, twenty times more than the US aimed at Iraq in six years of war. It’s not war. It’s genocide.

UN NEWS 23 April 2024 Mass graves in Gaza show victims’ hands were tied, says UN rights office...200 days of horror... “Every 10 minutes a child is killed or wounded. They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are ones who are disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war,” said the High Commissioner.

Colleges should not be using students' tuition money to invest in companies supporting Israel's war in Gaza... "I Am a Jewish Student at Columbia. Don’t Believe What You’re Being Told About ‘Campus Antisemitism’. Smears from the press and pro-Israel influencers are a dangerous distraction from real threats to our safety."

Student activists have been calling for universities to "divest from genocide".

Colleges should not be using students' tuition money to invest in companies supporting Israel's war in Gaza.

Mosab Abu Toha: "If you want to learn about the truth about our lives, at least for the past 30 years, not only for the past 200 days as many want others to understand, read these poems..."

A Dream of Palestine ... A children's book written by Wafa Shami illustrated by Christina Qahoush: Noor, a young school-aged girl, is curious to learn about what happened to her Palestinian grandmother (Teta) during the infamous 1948 Nakba (The Catastrophe) that befell the Palestinian people, and why her family was forced to leave their home in al-Quds (Jerusalem). Why were they pushed out of their homeland? Where did they go? And how did they become refugees?

Disinformation Warfare: Journalistic Cover for Israel’s Genocide- For decades, Israel has recognized the importance of information warfare in justifying the everyday violence of occupation, apartheid, and settler colonialism. Now they are using the same tactics in overdrive to justify and facilitate genocide. In just six months, Israeli forces have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians and left most of Gaza uninhabitable.

Mona Chalabi: Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank – visualized... International attention is on Gaza, but attacks by Israelis who live on Palestinian land have been increasing

Falastine Saleh: By weaponising settlers, the Israeli government not only perpetuates violence, but also lays the groundwork for further domination, displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

April is Arab American Heritage Month!✨ ... GOOD BOOKS!

CSM In West Bank, wave of settler violence creating feel of a war zone

There are enough weapons of war and destruction already on planet earth.

Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

The UN Mediator for Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, believed that the Palestinians displaced had a right to return to their homes and wrote several UN reports to that effect.

"It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries."

Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the group Lehi, a Zionist terrorist organization, commonly known in the West as the Stern Gang

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world

PALESTINE REMEMBERED

Thursday, March 14, 2024

TikTok... Freedom, justice and equality are not empty words.

Lessons not learned

Dear Elected Leaders,

So all this fuss and bother about TiKToK because TiKToK was created by the very foreign country called China... but our Congress has no condemnation for another very foreign country called Israel while Israel has spent decades interfering with our elections using AIPAC $$$ and pressure, plus many a propaganda campaign to pollute and undermine our Fourth Estate, and the very essence of our democratic ideals.

There is a very good reason why American tax payers' money should not be funding religion here or there. There being Israel, a very foreign country that wants our money and weaponry so it can continue to persecute, impoverish and displace the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine.

Freedom, justice and equality are not empty words. These ideals helped end slavery and Jim Crow laws. These ideals helped build a more real democracy and helped give women the right to vote. These ideals helped shape international law after the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. But freedom, justice and equality have not shaped Israel's "democracy" or its political and religious leaders' choices.

Israel is actually using starvation as a weapon of war right this minute. And America's Congress is empowering Israel's cruel starvation and intentional torture of the native non-Jewish Palestinians trapped in Gaza by Israel's Apartheid laws and walls.

Defunding UNWRA is a horrible idea, and so is saying that Israel is our friend. As many a mother has said through the years: "With friends like that you don't need enemies."

TicToc the clock is ticking on American hypocrisy and racist Israeli crimes.

Say yes to compassion and decency... Say yes to Palestine... and say NO to Israel.

As for TiKToK, fix the Israel problem first. Pegasus is not just a pretty horse.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

"Think of Others" Mahmoud Darwish of Palestine

Palestinian Poet Marwan Makhoul: "In order to write poetry that isn't politcal, I must listen to the birds; and in order to listen to the birds, the warplanes must be silent."

Susan Sarandon: "You don't have to be Palestinian to care about what's happening in Gaza. I stand with Palestine. No one is free until everyone is free."

Bloody Extremists

What Was Palestine Before the Nakba?

We must regard all people as we regard ourselves | Patriot News PennLive letters Mar. 10, 2024

Pamela Olson's "Fast Times in Palestine" is a primer on the realities in Palestine for newbies... & It's free to download from her website

Huwaida Arraf: "May this holy month of Ramadan bring comfort to those in need; sanity and compassion to those lacking it, particularly world leaders; and may it strengthen our determination and resolve to keep fighting for true liberation, justice and peace. Ramadan Mubarak."

A Glimpse of Palestine's Beauty shared by Mazin Qumsiyeh of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability

Rima Isam Anabtawi: "Ramadan Kareem, to those who observe. May it be as serene and peaceful as "this very old Anatolian prayer rug, and may the beauty of your month endure as long."

"We may not be born in Palestine but our hearts are" Hibah Musthafa

Susan Muaddi Darraj explains a crucial point about Israel, Palestine, & America... #LandTheft

150 Days- Gaza Municipality Damages thanks to Israel's War on Palestine

UNWRA: 17,000 children orphaned in Gaza

October 7 - March 6 Human Beings killed & injured by Israel's War On Gaza

Displaced Palestinian families prepare for Ramadan in Rafah, Gaza.❤ photo by Fares Abulebda

Israeli Restrictions on Palestinian Food Sovereignty

WARNING: “Children in the Gaza Strip are dying slowly [of starvation] before the eyes of the world.”

America The Absurd

In 1948 Israel could have chosen to include all indigenous Arabs- Christian and Muslim- as part of the process to make a real democracy for all human beings, but Zionists did the opposite by creating a huge refugee crisis.