0110, 2020

Campaign against the execution of three protesters in Iran in July 2020

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|October 1, 2020|Digital cultures, Latest news, Research, Social media, Students, The Middle East|0 comments

On 10 July 2020, the Iranian Judiciary announced that three men, namely Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohamad Rajabi, who were arrested in anti-regime protests in November 2019, were to be imminently executed as they had been denied appeal. Within three days of the announcement, the Persian hashtag #اعدام_نکنید (“Don’t_Execute”) started appearing on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. By 14 July, the hashtag was trending globally on Twitter with many inside

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2505, 2020

Can communicative practices help ‘vulnerable’ communities in times of change?

By Dounia Mahlouly|May 25, 2020|Latest news, Research, The Middle East|0 comments

Philosopher Martha Nussbaum once wrote that playful storytelling “teaches people to be capable of living with others without control; [and] connects experiences of vulnerability and surprise to curiosity and wonder, rather than to crippling anxiety” (2010, p. 101). Her work on vulnerability has helped critical communication scholars shift their focus away from the structural power of media, which has been overstudied, to organic and informal communication practices that can enable

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1503, 2020

Nine Years After the Toppling of Hosny Mubarak

By Dounia Mahlouly|March 15, 2020|Arab uprisings, Digital cultures, Social media, The Middle East|0 comments

By Hossam Fazalla and Dounia Mahlouly Nine years after the toppling of Hosny Mubarak, the 91-year-old ousted Egyptian president passed away. The news was met with emotional confusion and mixed feelings by Egyptians. It is the death of the man whose face was in every Egyptian classroom, who was considered a war hero, and yet, it is also the death of the dictator who ruled for 30 years, and whose hands

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2402, 2020

CNN theory and the humanitarian crisis in Syria? unanswered questions

By Dina Matar|February 24, 2020|Latest news, Media and Syrian conflict, The Middle East|0 comments

Dina Matar, Centre for Global Media and Communication, School of Interdisciplinary Studies The war in Syria that has now been going on for nine years has produced ‘the biggest humanitarian horror story of the 21st Century’ according to the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock. However, it is not a horror story, but a terrifying actuality, the latest chapter played out since December 2019 in Idlib, the last stronghold

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2002, 2020

A dip in popularity forces Iranian leaders to readjust rhetoric

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|February 20, 2020|Latest news, The Middle East|0 comments

Dr Massoumeh Torfeh explores the upcoming parliametary elections in Iran on TRT: Link Dr Massoumeh Torfeh, Research Associate LSE and SOAS focusing on Iran & AFG. Ex-UN Director of Communication AFG, BBC journalist. Book: BBC & Iran-UK relations. PhD Pol Science LSE. Image credit: “Iran reportage MO*” by MO* is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0  

1111, 2019

Dr. Zahera Harb discusses fake news and the Lebanese protests

By Dina Matar|November 11, 2019|Arab uprisings, Latest news, Social media, The Middle East|0 comments

Lebanon Protests and ‘fake news’ By Zahera Harb On October 17 a wave of protests erupted in Lebanon against corruption. Almost half of the Lebanese population took to the streets demanding an end to corruption, transparent economic policies, social justice and protection of the environment. Slogans, such as ‘down with the sectarian confessional regime,’ mingled with calls for the resignation of all state officials whose practices were regarded as corrupt

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