A provocative installation by Lebanese graphic designer Wael Kodeih aims to challenge cyber censorship. Part of the fifth annual Exposure exhibition now at the Beirut Art Center (BAC), is it art or gimmick?
Kuwait didn’t earn a mention in the “worst countries for journalism” published by online ‘zine Foreign Policy, even though three of its Middle Eastern neighbors made the cut. But it should be named and shamed for the recent prosecution of a young microblogger.
How can change occur if we’re not free to write about sensitive issues like human rights and the environment? According to the 2012 census by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), there are 232 journalists in prisons worldwide, over half being held in the Middle East, the most of them surprisingly in Turkey. The online […]
The Harlem Shake is a cringe-worthy global phenom that’s spawned a thousand Epic Fails: the YouTube dance craze’s been done underwater, on commercial air flights over the Grand Canyon, and now, by soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force. “It’s just a sign of the times when you see soldiers dancing and reacting to internet sensations […]
Within 24 hours Jordan may become the latest Arab nation to muzzle media freedom if Parliament passes a bill to censor internet access in Kingdom. New amendments to the Press and Publications Law would require online news sites to register with the government, obtain costly operating licenses from the Ministry of Information, become members of […]
Alexandria’s newly-appointed governor, Mohamed Atta Abbas, ordered security forces to dismantle book kiosks in Egypt last week. A mainstay of local culture, al-Nabi Daniel street booksellers posted images of ransacked kiosks on their Facebook page. The Minister of Culture has vowed to investigate the incident, according to Egypt Independent, but activists and writers are duly alarmed. […]
US sanctions are putting such a strain on Iran’s poor that the government wants to censor films depicting hearty chicken meals, The Telegraph reports. Worried that the image of their favorite dish (like this mouth-watering Maklubah) will be so incendiary that people who can’t afford to buy it will be inclined to attack the rich, Mr […]