Contest organizers fear for safety of Miss France over Charlie Hebdo controversy
Updated 16 January 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Miss France 2025, Angelique Angarni-Filopon, has come under fire for her apparent lack of solidarity with the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
On Jan. 7, 2015, two gunmen claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda stormed the offices of the satirical weekly, killing 12 people.
The attack, which was in retaliation to the magazine’s caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, sparked worldwide debate about the limits of free speech. It resulted in the “Je Suis Charlie” (“I Am Charlie”) slogan being used by supporters of the magazine around the world as a call for the right to freedom of expression.
In a recent radio interview, Angarni-Filopon was asked if she was “Charlie” but she declined to comment.
Her lack of a response sparked a furor online. Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon of three Islamic leaders holding up a sign that read “Je Suis Miss France” (“I Am Miss France”) and the caption “Miss France n’est pas Charlie” (“Miss France is not Charlie”).
Frederic Gilbert, chairman of Societe Miss France, said the controversy was of “unprecedented violence” and that he was “worried for the safety of Miss France.”
Winners were required to withhold any political or religious opinions during the year they held the title and Angarni-Filopon was merely following the pageant’s rules, he said.
Since winning the competition the beauty queen has faced online hate and harassment with social media users, particularly on TikTok, mocking her age and appearance.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Angarni-Filopon said: “Cyberbullying is punishable by law … so be careful what you put on the internet.
“Remember, we don’t do to people what we wouldn’t like done to us.”
CNN to expand Middle East operations with new hub in Qatar
Initiative part of network’s broader strategy
Updated 02 February 2025
Arab News
DOHA: CNN is to strengthen its presence in the Middle East with the launch of a new operation in Media City Qatar, marking a significant expansion of its regional footprint.
The initiative, which was announced on Sunday, is part of the network’s broader strategy to enhance its global and regional content creation capabilities.
The Qatar-based operation will complement CNN’s existing hubs in the region, including its Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi — home to “Connect the World with Becky Anderson” — as well as its bases in Dubai, where CNN Arabic is headquartered, and various news bureaus across the region.
Scheduled to go live in the second half of 2025, the new hub in Media City Qatar will focus on developing multi-platform content covering major global trends. A dedicated team of content creators will produce material for digital and social platforms, along with an innovative weekly program for CNN International.
At a time when the Middle East remains central to the global news agenda, CNN’s expansion aims to bolster its coverage of geopolitics, business, technology, sports, culture, and travel, the network said.
It added it will also introduce training programs in journalism and production for students and young professionals in Qatar, further investing in media talent development.
Mike McCarthy, executive vice president and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, said: “CNN has a deep commitment to editorial coverage of the Middle East.
“Whether by adding to our ability to report from the region, providing new, cutting-edge studio facilities, or allowing us to tell a wider range of stories in new ways — including via a brand-new weekly show — this new operation in Qatar both underscores and expands that commitment.”
Phil Nelson, executive vice president of CNN International Commercial, highlighted the network’s ambition to innovate.
He said: “This expansion into Qatar will bolster our regional and global operations, adding to our long-standing footprint in the Middle East.
“We look forward to launching innovative formats and content propositions from this new studio in Media City Qatar in the second half of 2025.”
Sheikh Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, chairman of Media City Qatar, welcomed CNN’s arrival and stressed Qatar’s growing role as a media and technology hub.
He said: “This expansion signals the continued growth of Qatar’s strategic role in shaping global conversations from the heart of the Middle East — because here, where next is made, we are not only witnessing progress, we are making it happen.”
Israeli-designed AI bot publishes pro-Palestinian messages
The AI-powered social media profile called Israeli soldiers ‘white colonizers in apartheid Israel’
Updated 02 February 2025
Arab News
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
Updated 02 February 2025
Zaira Lakhpatwala
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.
Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director. (Supplied)
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
Updated 02 February 2025
AP
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
Updated 01 February 2025
AFP
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.
