Artificial intelligence should be used ‘with intelligence,’ says Arab News deputy editor-in-chief

Special Artificial intelligence should be used ‘with intelligence,’ says Arab News deputy editor-in-chief
Arab News Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noor Nugali at the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh. (AN Photo/Loai El-Kellawi)
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Updated 20 February 2025
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Artificial intelligence should be used ‘with intelligence,’ says Arab News deputy editor-in-chief

Artificial intelligence should be used ‘with intelligence,’ says Arab News deputy editor-in-chief
  • Noor Nugali: AI ‘will never replace a human journalist in writing a fully developed article backed by evidence and facts’
  • Nugali said that it was unfortunate that some children were using AI to write essays or research papers and emphasized it should never be used for actual intelligence

RIYADH: Artificial intelligence should be applied “intelligently,” Arab News Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noor Nugali told the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday.

“In this era, AI must be used wisely — after all, artificial intelligence should be applied intelligently,” he said.

“We’re currently living in the age of the AI revolution, where artificial intelligence is being used across all fields, institutions, and even education.”

In a session tackling how new technologies and AI were shaping the news industry, Nugali underlined the importance of utilizing AI in a way that supported and encouraged human learning “rather than relying on it for simple copy-pasting.”

“This also applies to media,” she said. “Many people have concerns about AI tools like ChatGPT or other programs being used to write articles.”

Nugali stressed that while AI could help by providing background information or research, “it will never replace a human journalist in writing a fully developed article backed by evidence and facts.”

In education, Nugali said it was unfortunate that some children were using AI to write essays or research papers and emphasized it should never be used for actual intelligence.

Speaking alongside Nugali were Rashid Al-Hamer, editor of Bahrain’s leading newspaper Al-Ayam, and Hatem Abu Nassif, chairman of the Radio & Television Authority.

Afterwards, Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, spoke on a panel tacking manga and Saudi-led content creation.

He said Saudis were not here to simply watch: “We are here to participate, compete, and excel with our content and culture.”

He added that some 2.88 billion people, around 36 percent of the world’s population, watched anime.

“For years, people assumed that Saudi Arabia was merely a consumer (of anime content). But that has changed,” he said. 

“We no longer see manga and anime as something imported from Japan — we see them as an art form through which we create content, share our culture and tell our own stories to the world.”

Bukhary pointed out that Saudi anime series “Future’s Folktales” was broadcast in the Arab world, Japan, North America, Europe and India on eight platforms across five continents, garnering over 85 million views in just three months. An associated mobile game reached half a million downloads in three languages.

He said Saudi Arabia was taking the lead in anime content creation by producing animations, developing video games, and creating comics that shared Saudi stories with the world.

Also speaking on the panel were Yves Blehaut, business development manager for the Middle East and North Africa region at Media-Participations, and Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the Japanese production association that produced the “Sally” series.

The fourth Saudi Media Forum has the theme “Media in an Evolving World” and brings together 200 speakers including media professionals, academics, experts and specialists from local and international arenas.

Taking place from Feb. 19-21 it will feature 80 sessions comprising 40 panel discussions and 40 knowledge exchange sessions, serving as an international platform for forecasting and developing the future of media and exploring the latest technologies.


Al Jazeera says 4 journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif. (X @AnasAlSharif0)
Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif. (X @AnasAlSharif0)
Updated 24 sec ago
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Al Jazeera says 4 journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif. (X @AnasAlSharif0)
  • “Al-Sharif, 28, was killed on Sunday after a tent for journalists outside the main gate of the hospital was hit

DOHA: Al Jazeera said two of its correspondents and two cameramen were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City on Sunday, citing the director of a local hospital.

“Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif has been killed alongside three colleagues in what appears to be a targeted Israeli attack, the director of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City has said,” the Qatar-based broadcaster said.

“Al-Sharif, 28, was killed on Sunday after a tent for journalists outside the main gate of the hospital was hit. The well-known Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent reportedly extensively from northern Gaza.”

 


Netanyahu announces plan to allow foreign reporters into Gaza

Netanyahu announces plan to allow foreign reporters into Gaza
Updated 10 August 2025
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Netanyahu announces plan to allow foreign reporters into Gaza

Netanyahu announces plan to allow foreign reporters into Gaza
  • Access to Gaza has been tightly controlled over the course of 22 months of war against Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday a plan to allow more foreign journalists to report inside Gaza with the military, as he laid out his vision for victory in the territory during a rare press conference.

Access to Gaza has been tightly controlled over the course of 22 months of war against Hamas.

Israel has blocked most foreign correspondents from independently accessing the territory since it launched its campaign there following the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack, with officials often citing security as a reason.

The Israeli military has taken journalists on occasional embeds that are tightly controlled by security officials.

“We have decided and have ordered, directed the military to bring in foreign journalists, more foreign journalists, a lot,” Netanyahu said during Sunday’s press conference.

“There’s a problem with assuring security, but I think it can be done in a way that is responsible and careful to preserve your own safety.”

The premier, however, did not provide specifics on the plan.

Global press outlets have long relied on local journalists on the ground in Gaza to provide reporting and footage from the war.


‘I don’t create suffering, I document it:’ Gaza photographer hits back at Bild over accusation of staging scenes

‘I don’t create suffering, I document it:’ Gaza photographer hits back at Bild over accusation of staging scenes
Updated 08 August 2025
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‘I don’t create suffering, I document it:’ Gaza photographer hits back at Bild over accusation of staging scenes

‘I don’t create suffering, I document it:’ Gaza photographer hits back at Bild over accusation of staging scenes
  • Photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha came under fire after Bild published an article alleging his photos were manipulated to amplify narratives of Israeli-inflicted suffering
  • Episode fueled broader debate on the challenges of reporting from conflict zones such as Gaza, with expert saying “guiding” photos does not invalidate the reality being portrayed

LONDON: Gaza-based photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha has rejected accusations by the German tabloid Bild that some of his widely circulated images — depicting hunger and humanitarian suffering — were staged rather than taken at aid distribution sites.

Fteiha, who works with Turkiye’s Anadolu Agency, described the claims as “false” and “a desperate attempt to distort the truth.”

“The siege, starvation, bombing, and destruction that the people of Gaza live through do not need to be fabricated or acted out,” Fteiha said in a statement published on social media. “My photos reflect the bitter reality that more than two million people live through, most of whom are women and children.”

The controversy erupted after Bild published an article on Tuesday alleging that Fteiha’s photos were manipulated to amplify narratives of Israeli-inflicted suffering — particularly hunger — and citing content from his personal social media accounts to suggest political bias.

The German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung also questioned the authenticity of certain images from Gaza, though without naming Fteiha directly.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Anas Fteiha (@anas.fteiha)

Bild claimed the emotionally charged imagery served as “Hamas propaganda,” a charge Fteiha rejected as “ridiculous” and a “criminalization of journalism itself.”

“It is easy to write your reports based on your ideologies, but it is difficult to obscure the truth conveyed by the lens of a photographer who lived the suffering among the people, heard the children’s cries, photographed the rubble, and carried the pain of mothers,” Fteiha said.

Fteiha also accused Bild of repeated breaches of journalistic ethics, citing previous criticism and formal complaints against the paper for publishing misinformation.

The episode has fueled a broader debate on the challenges of reporting from conflict zones such as Gaza, where foreign press access is restricted and local journalists are often the only source of visual documentation.

Following Bild’s allegations, several news agencies, including AFP and the German Press Agency, severed ties with Fteiha. However, Reuters declined to do so, stating that his images met the agency’s standards for “accuracy, independence, and impartiality.”

“These aren’t outright fakes, but they do tap into visual memory and change how people see things,” said photography scholar Gerhard Paul in an interview with Israeli media.

Christopher Resch, of Reporters Without Borders, said that while photographers sometimes “guide” subjects to tell a visual story, that does not invalidate the reality being portrayed.

“The picture should have had more context, but that doesn’t mean the suffering isn’t real,” he said, cautioning media outlets against labeling photojournalists as “propaganda agents,” which he warned could endanger their safety.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also weighed in, using his official X account to describe one of the accused images — used on the cover of Time magazine — as an example of “Pallywood” — a portmanteau of “Palestine” and “Hollywood” — to sway global opinion.

However, the credibility of Bild’s report has itself come under scrutiny. Israeli fact-checking group Fake Reporter posted a series of rebuttals on X, disputing several claims.

The group pointed out that the Time magazine cover image often linked to Fteiha was taken by a different photographer, and argued that claims the children in the photograph were not at an aid site were “inaccurate.”

“From our examination, one can see, in the same place, an abundance of documentation of food being distributed and prepared,” the group wrote.


Deaf Palestinian uses social media to highlight Gaza’s struggles through sign language

Deaf Palestinian uses social media to highlight Gaza’s struggles through sign language
Updated 08 August 2025
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Deaf Palestinian uses social media to highlight Gaza’s struggles through sign language

Deaf Palestinian uses social media to highlight Gaza’s struggles through sign language
  • Basem Alhabel describes himself as a ‘deaf journalist in Gaza’ on his Instagram account
  • He wants to raise more awareness of the conflict by informing Palestinians and people abroad with special needs

GAZA: Basem Alhabel stood among the ruins of Gaza, with people flat on the floor all around him as bullets flew, and filmed himself using sign language to explain the dangers of the war to fellow deaf Palestinians and his followers on social media.

Alhabel, 30, who describes himself as a “deaf journalist in Gaza” on his Instagram account, says he wants to raise more awareness of the conflict – from devastating Israeli air strikes to the starvation now affecting most of the population – by informing Palestinians and people abroad with special needs.

Bombarded by Israel for nearly two years, many Gazans complain the world does not hear their voices despite mass suffering with a death toll that exceeds 60,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities in the demolished enclave.

“I wished to get my voice out to the world and the voices of the deaf people who cannot speak or hear, to get their voice out there, so that someone can help us,” he said through his friend and interpreter Mohammed Moshtaha, who he met during the war.

“I tried to help, to film and do a video from here and there, and publish them so that we can make our voices heard in the world.”

Alhabel has an Instagram following of 141,000. His page, which shows him in a flak jacket and helmet, features images of starving, emaciated children and other suffering.

He films a video then returns to a tent to edit – one of the many where Palestinians have sought shelter and safety during the war, which erupted when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel in October 2023, drawing massive retaliation. Alhabel produced images of people collecting flour from the ground while he used sign language to explain the plight of Gazans, reinforcing the view of a global hunger monitor that has warned a famine scenario is unfolding.

“As you can see, people are collecting flour mixed with sand,” he communicated.

Alhabel and his family were displaced when the war started. They stayed in a school with tents.

“There was no space for a person to even rest a little. I stayed in that school for a year and a half,” he explained.

Alhabel is likely to be busy for some time. There are no signs of a ceasefire on the horizon despite mediation efforts.

Israel’s political security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, as the country expands its military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the war.

“We want this situation to be resolved so that we can all be happy, so I can feed my children, and life can be beautiful,” said Alhabel.


MBC CEO granted Saudi premium residency

MBC CEO granted Saudi premium residency
Updated 07 August 2025
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MBC CEO granted Saudi premium residency

MBC CEO granted Saudi premium residency
  • Sneesby said in a post on X that he feels immense pride in obtaining the premium residency in this country I have come to love
  • Executive took the helm at the Saudi media group earlier this year after serving as CEO of Nine Entertainment

RIYADH: The CEO of Riyadh-headquartered broadcaster MBC Group Mike Sneesby has been granted premium residency in Saudi Arabia.

Sneesby said in a post on X that he feels “immense pride in obtaining the premium residency in this country I have come to love, and have chosen to make my home since moving from Australia.”

The executive took the helm at the Saudi media group earlier this year after serving as CEO of Nine Entertainment.

The premium residency was launched in 2019 and allows eligible foreigners to live in the Kingdom and receive benefits such as exemption from paying expat and dependents fees, visa-free international travel, and the right to own real estate and run a business without requiring a sponsor.