Category Archives: Media

Israeli media ‘completely ignored’ Gaza starvation – is that finally changing?

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A growing focus on hunger in Gaza in the global media has led some Israeli outlets to report on it for the first time

Images of Palestinian children in Gaza, emaciated by hunger under the blockade imposed by Israel, and of families grieving the more than 61,000 people killed in the territory have stirred outrage among foreign governments and much of the global public. Inside Israel, however, the reaction has been markedly different.

In a poll conducted in late July by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), more than three-quarters of Jewish Israelis – 79% – said they were either “not very troubled” or “not troubled at all” by reports of famine and suffering among Gaza’s Palestinian population.

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Israeli unit tasked with smearing Gaza journalists as Hamas fighters – report

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Israeli-Palestinian magazine says IDF ‘legitimisation cell’ set up to blunt global outrage over killing of media staff

A special unit in Israel’s military was tasked with identifying reporters it could smear as undercover Hamas fighters, to target them and to blunt international outrage over the killing of media workers, the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine reports.

The “legitimisation cell” was set up after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack to gather information that could bolster Israel’s image and shore up diplomatic and military support from key allies, the report said, citing three intelligence sources.

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Palestinian reporters killed, international reporters banned – Israel’s other Gaza war is over narrative

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Members of press and influencers covering devastation are being silenced despite protection under international law

Israel is running two Gaza campaigns: one for military control of the strip; another for narrative control of how the world understands what happens there.

In theory, Palestinian journalists and social media influencers documenting starvation, mass killing and other Israeli war crimes in Gaza are protected civilians under international law.

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‘I risked everything’: remembering six media workers killed by Israel in Gaza

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CJP says the period since 7 October 2023 has been the most deadly for journalists since it began gathering data in 1992

Journalists have been prominent among casualties since the war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s incursion into Israel in October 2023.

Some were working for well-known international media, others were employed by local news organisations. Several were high-profile veterans, but many were newcomers to the profession.

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Harry and Meghan sign new multi-year film and TV deal with Netflix

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Agreement defies media reports that contract for Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not be renewed

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed a fresh multi-year film and television deal with Netflix, contradicting reports this year that the streaming company would not renew its contract with them.

Harry and Meghan, who struck a five-year deal in 2020 reportedly worth $100m (£78m) after stepping back from their duties as senior royals, have collaborated with Netflix on a number of projects, most recently the duchess’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan.

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Pioneering Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter dies at 92

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Leicester-born producer was editor of BBC children’s show for more than 20 years and introduced Blue Peter badge

Biddy Baxter, the pioneering television producer who transformed Blue Peter into a national institution, has died at 92, according to the BBC.

As editor of the children’s programme between 1965 and 1988, she introduced viewer engagement segments including the national appeals and the famous Blue Peter badge, encouraging children to send letters, pictures and programme ideas.
The show’s former presenter Peter Duncan remembered her as “a true force of nature”.

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Anas al-Sharif, prominent Al Jazeera correspondent, among five journalists killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza

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Israel admits deliberate attack on the journalist, known for frontline coverage, in a strike on a tent outside al-Shifa hospital

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist who had previously been threatened by Israel has been killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike.

Anas al-Sharif, who was one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable faces in Gaza, was killed while inside a tent for journalists outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night. His funeral was held on Monday morning.

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Lib Dems call for urgent regulation of YouTube ads after wave of scams

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Party wants video platform to face same scrutiny as broadcasters due to deepfake and investment scams

The Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent regulation of YouTube advertising after scams including deepfakes, impersonated public figures and fraudulent investment claims were found to be spreading on the platform with little oversight.

The party said YouTube’s adverts remain largely unchecked by independent regulators, despite new data from Ofcom showing the platform has overtaken ITV in weekly UK viewership and continues to dominate children’s media consumption.

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UK pornography taskforce to propose banning ‘barely legal’ content after Channel 4 documentary airs

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Programme about performer Bonnie Blue condemned for ‘glamorising and normalising’ extreme pornography

The new pornography taskforce will propose legislation this autumn aimed at banning a type of “barely legal” content produced by the porn star Bonnie Blue, the Guardian has learned.

The proposed action by the independent pornography taskforce, launched last month by the Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, comes in response to the broadcast of the Channel 4 documentary 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story. The programme followed the performer for six months and included her claim to have had sex with 1,057 clients over the course of 12 hours.

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Logies 2025: Home and Away’s Lynne McGranger wins gold as Fisk dominates Australia’s TV awards

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Soap star wins as her 32-year run playing Irene Roberts ends, while streamers go home mostly empty-handed and Magda Szubanski gives emotional speech as she is inducted into the Hall of Fame

The Home and Away actor Lynne McGranger has won the Gold Logie award for most popular personality on Australian television as she ends her record 32-year run playing the much-loved matriarch Irene Roberts.

McGranger is the longest-serving female actor in any Australian drama, having played Irene for nearly 33 years. She announced her departure in February and her final episode will air mid-August.

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Palestine Action ban coupled with Online Safety Act ‘a threat to public debate’

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Rights bodies say new law and proscription of direct action group create risk of censorship of Gaza-related content

The Online Safety Act together with the proscription of Palestine Action could result in platforms censoring Palestinian-related content, human rights organisations have warned.

Open Rights Group, Index on Censorship and others have written to Ofcom calling on it to provide clear guidance to platforms on distinguishing lawful expression from content deemed to be in support of terrorism.

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UK Online Safety Act risks ‘seriously infringing’ free speech, says X

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Elon Musk’s social media platform says lawmakers made a ‘conscientious decision’ to increase censorship

Elon Musk’s X platform has said the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) is at risk of “seriously infringing” free speech as a row deepens over measures for protecting children from harmful content.

The social media company said the act’s “laudable” intentions were being overshadowed by its aggressive implementation by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.

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US placed on rights watchlist over health of its civil society under Trump

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International non-profit Civicus says ‘sustained attacks on civic freedoms’ put US on par with El Salvador and Kenya

A group of global civil society organizations have placed the US on a watchlist for urgent concern over the health of its civic society, alongside Turkey, Serbia, El Salvador, Indonesia and Kenya.

On Wednesday, a new report released by the non-profit Civicus placed the US on its watchlist following “sustained attacks on civic freedoms” across the country, according to the group.

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Mary Kostakidis tells court Zionist federation racial discrimination case is ‘embarrassing’ and too vague

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Exclusive: Federation head says in response that former SBS newsreader’s attempt to strike out case is ‘without foundation and should be rejected’

Mary Kostakidis has asked the federal court to strike out an “embarrassing” Zionist Federation of Australia racial discrimination claim on the grounds it fails to identify which race, ethnicity or nationality was offended by her social media posts about Israel.

The journalist’s interlocutory application said the claim is “embarrassing” because it is so ambiguous it could include ethnic Arabs who follow the Jewish faith or “a Jewish person who is ethnically Swedish”.

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Angela Rayner: No 10 officials guilty of ‘self-harm’ by briefing against ministers

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Exclusive: Deputy PM hits out at targeting of herself and others – often women – with negative headlines

Angela Rayner has hit back at anonymous No 10 officials who have briefed against senior cabinet ministers in recent months, warning them they are committing “self-harm”.

The deputy prime minister launched an outspoken defence of herself and other colleagues – often women – who have found themselves the subject of negative headlines in recent months, with several being tipped for the sack at a future reshuffle.

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Beware the blizzard of lies: US advice on how to handle Farage’s Trump tactics

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Pro-democracy campaigners suggest ‘pre-buttal’ is more powerful than factchecking in fighting falsehoods

Truth, the progressive California politician Hiram Johnson once said, is the first casualty of war. His oft-cited remark was supposedly made in 1918 in reference to the first world war, which had by then caused millions of human casualties.

More than a century later, truth is again caught in the crossfire, this time as a casualty of 21st-century culture wars.

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Ex-Sun editor David Dinsmore to take up government communications role

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Dinsmore will join Whitehall as civil servant in top communications role after reportedly impressing Starmer during interview

A former editor of the Sun will take up a senior communications role at the heart of government.

David Dinsmore, editor of the tabloid from 2013 to 2015, will be a civil service appointment rather than a political adviser, tasked with improving the government’s communications operation. The role is separate to the No 10 director of communications.

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Bill Clinton reportedly sent Jeffrey Epstein note for birthday album

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Wall Street Journal reports ex-president’s letter, while New York Times reports Trump called Epstein ‘the greatest’

Donald Trump apparently isn’t the only president that sent a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. “The biggest name in the album” was Bill Clinton, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The ex-president’s letter appeared alongside nearly 50 others, including other prominent celebrities and executives.

Last week, the Journal reported that Trump had authored a “bawdy” letter to Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 after he was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. The letter was included in an album Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell compiled on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 2003. Trump has sued Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal newspaper reporters and the newspaper’s publisher Dow Jones for libel and slander over the reporting.

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UK should act to stop children getting hooked on social media ‘dopamine loops’

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Beeban Kidron says it is not ‘nanny state’ to prevent firms investing billions on making platforms addictive from targeting under-18s

A leading online safety campaigner has urged the UK government to “detoxify the dopamine loops” of addictive social media platforms as tech companies prepare to implement significant child protection measures.

Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer, asked the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, to use the Online Safety Act to bring forward new codes of conduct on disinformation and on tech features that can lead to children becoming addicted to online content.

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Newsman or businessman? Murdoch walks tightrope in battle with Trump

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Longstanding relationship between media mogul and US president is being tested amid Trump’s lawsuit over a WSJ story about his ties to Epstein

Rupert Murdoch had made up his mind. “We want to make Trump a nonperson,” he assured one of his former executives in a 2021 email, two days after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Over seven decades, Murdoch has sought to charm, challenge and change prime ministers and presidents as he built one of the world’s most powerful media empires. In this particular endeavor, however, he failed.

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