Global Media News

Lebanese Journalists Killed on the Job

We all go to work with expectations on returning home. But this wasn't the case for three Lebanese journalists on this particular day. According to BBC News Hamza Hajj Hassan (reporter), Mohhamed Mantash (camera man) & Halim Alaws (technician) all were assassinated on the job for their lead on a operation led by Syrian soldiers.

This country has been known for killing journalists prior to this incident. From the media's perspective there have been reports that the army units of Syria had restored security and stability in Maaloula where the journalist were hailed with gunfire, after leaving ancient Christian town north of the Capital. "Assassinating journalists is a cowardly act" Michel Suleiman Lebanese President had stated on twitter. Since the vicious killings the media has really been circling this story; this applies to all sources of media news because they all put their lives on the line for their story.

The Times mentioned that; tv said "armed gunmen" opened fire on the crew using the term often employed by Syrian authorities to refer to rebels fighting to topple President Bashir Asad. So you can see that the media is reporting the story but with a twist of spite. This shows how all forms media are impacted as well, also from the stories they risked their lives to get.

Global Media News Webcast #10: Thursday, April 18, 2013

 Media News from the Middle East!

Global Media News for April 18, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media News from the Middle East"

• Israeli Soldiers Using Social Media
• Israeli Apps Securing Life on the Homefront
• Media in the Syrian Civil War
• China Investing in Lebanese TV
• Lebanese Social Media Awards
• Creating Yemeni FaceBook Identities
• Palestine Social Media Crackdown
• Social Media Censorship in Saudi Arabia

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Syrian Electronic Army Hacking of Twitter and Websites

In March 2013, according to the Washington Post, people from the Syrian Electronic Army - a group which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - hacked the Human Rights Watch (HRW) website and Twitter feed. The hackers did not take over the entire site, but made posts announcing they were there and condemning the HRW: "'All Your reports are FALSE !! Stop lying!!!' one message read. The messages on the HRW site redirect to the homepage of the Syrian Electronic Army."

The HRW "has conducted a number of searing investigations into the human rights abuses of Assad’s regime since fighting began in Syria." The Syrian Electronic Army used underhanded tactics in an attempt to fight back and defend their president from these reports. On Twitter, they merely posted a triumphant tweet linking back to their posts on the HRW website.

A few days later, according to The Guardian, the same group hacked the BBC weather Twitter feed and claimed to have also hacked @BBCarabicOnline and @bbcradioulster, but those hacks were not confirmed. Much like with the hacking of the HRW feed, the fake tweets held little content; the first tweet: "Syrian Electronic Army Was Here via @Official_SEA #SEA #Syria." and the second: "Long Live #Syria Al-Assad #SEA."

 The hacks were short-lived and apparently superficial. Things could have been much worse because, according to the Washington Post, "the NGO [non-governmental organization, in this case HRW] works with many activists and civilians on the ground in Syria and other countries, whom they are careful to keep anonymous. So far, there’s no evidence to suggest that the information has been compromised."

The Syrian Electronic Army has been around for a few years and, according to The Atlantic, in 2011 they were "operating with at least tacit support from the regime" and using "DDoS attacks, phishing scams, and other tricks to fight opposition activists where they're strongest -- online." In the recent attacks, the group had some success but did not do significant damage to their so-called enemies. In the future, security should be tighter on the previously-hacked pages to prevent this from happening again. The Syrian Electronic Army will not stop trying to get their message out, but they will not stop groups like the Human Rights Watch from reporting on the terrible things happening in Syria.

Italian Journalist Kidnapped in Sryia

Italian journalists were held hostage in Syria. According to Reuters, Italian media reported that four Italian reporters were kidnapped in the north of Syria. Syria is said to be the world’s most dangerous place for journalist according to The Malasyian Insider.

One of the kidnapped victims works for RAI news channel while the other three journalists are freelancers. Amedeo Ricucci, Elio Colavolpe, Andrea Vignali, and Susan Dabous were identified as the abducted journalist by Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The Union of Syrian Journalist estimates that 153 journalist and media activist have been killed since 2011 including The Sunday Times’ correspondent Marie Colvin, New York Times' correspondent Anthony Shadid, and freelance French photographer Remi Ochlik.

The civil war in Syria began in March 2011 and has taken the lives of more than 70,000 people, according to The UN. The Committee to Protect Journalists claims that Syria is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists in 2012.

The parents of the abducted journalist have been notified and the Syrian government offered kidnappers a deal, offering them 15 days to hand over victims or face sentences ranging from life in prison to execution, if their victims were murdered or sexually abused, AFP reports.

Threats Against Al Jazeera Journalists in Syria

According to The Telegraph, a Syrian businessman, Fahim Saqr, has issued threats against Al Jazeera reporters working in Syria and offered a bounty of 10 million liras (about $95,000) to any citizen who brought those journalists to the Syrian authorities. Saqr was quoted as saying, "These people mislead Syrian citizens inside and outside the country, mislead the Arab world and mislead the whole world with their false reporting, which aims to fragment the country and Syria's social fabric."

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned these threats and Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said, "Our Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya colleagues face enormous risk in their coverage of the Syrian conflict, and this reckless announcement can further raise the danger"

The Al Jazeera Media Network has also denounced the threats. The director of news for Al Jazeera Arabic, Ibrahim Helal, said,  “Al Jazeera prides itself on honest and objective reporting, people who feel Al Jazeera does not reflect their point of view have no basis for any argument when they use threats of intimidation and violence through social media portals like Facebook and Twitter."

The danger is very real for journalists working in turbulent countries like Syria. They are at risk simply for being where they are and threats for simply doing their jobs make things that much harder. Al Jazeera is a powerful media presence in the Middle East - if even its reporters aren't safe from threats, can any really be?

Anonymously Hacked

       

Since 2006, a hacker group going by the name of Anonymous, has been fighting in the name of free access to information and free speech on the internet. The group, who consists of people spread across the globe, came into prominence by openly supporting the release of classified documents through Wikileaks.  It wasn't until they hacked the Sony Play Station system that they became noticed.

The group, according to Reuters, has attacked several government and financial websites from all over the world such as the United States, China and the U.K.

In recent news, China is currently trying to fix many governmental websites that Anonymous claimed to have attacked.  Chinese government officials said that while some sites were unable to be accessed, others were never even touched.  Previously to the hacking, on the group's twitter account, AnonymousChina, they publicized the forthcoming attack in a post saying,"first we want to alert the Chinese government that we aren't afraid, and we are going to show the truth and fight for justice".

After the hacking in China, the WashingtonPost reports that, Anoymous left a message on one of the Chinese business websites, cdcbd.gov.cn, stating their feelings toward China's internet restrictions:

“Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall,” the English-language message read. “What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you. With no mercy.”

 While there havent been any successful attempts by countries affected by Anonymous to bring them down, Syria has managed to make a step in the right direction.  After the hacking of the Syrian's defense minsitry's webpage, they struck back.  According to the online site Geekosystem, the "Syrian Electronic Army", a hacking force,  hacked Anonymous's website, AnonPlus, defacing the homepage with this message:

"In response to your hacking to the website of the Syrian Ministry of Defence, the Syrian people have decided to purify the internet of your pathetic website.  Your website has been hacked..."

 Although Anonymous is fighting for a logical and well-known cause, how they are going about it should definately be called into question.  I do not believe they are as dangerous as the media portrys them to be, but if they don't find the changes they are seeking, it is possible they could take their cause to another level.

Global Media News Webcast #5: March 1, 2012

Listen! Global Media News #5: March 1, 2012

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  This webcast is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.

This week on GMN:

• Murdered Reporters:  Violent news from Syria
• Censorship in Russia:  Same as it ever was?
• An Internet Bill of Rights?
• New Media Braille:  Tech for the Blind
• Saving Endangered Languages with New Technologies 
• Girl Talk:  Female patterns superior?
• Selling Electric Cigarettes to Kids
• Google Goggles:  The latest data in your face

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Our Second Webcast! Digital Revolutions Around the World

Digital Revolutions around the World

How are the new media transforming the world of politics?  How  important are the new media in global politics? What part did the Internet play in the Jasmine Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa?   Can a government keep the Internet from the people? 

Here's the rundown of our webcast:

• New Media in Egypt & Tunisia
• The Syrian Electronic Army:  The Syrian government's defense against the Internet.
• The Digital Divide in India
• Internet Censorship in China

Next Week:  Fact: The Digital Revolution in Information

 

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