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  

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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Centre for Global Media and Communications scholar on Al Jazeera

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|October 14, 2019|Latest news, The Middle East|0 comments

The Listening Post on Al Jazeera English is a weekly programme that examines and dissects the world’s media, how they operate and the stories they cover. This week it takes a look at the recent protests in Iraq which resulted in the loss of over 150 lives, a shutdown by the government of the internet and attacks on media outlets by unknown forces. Aida Al-Kaisy joins this weeks programme to

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The promise of Chinese investment brings Iran in from the cold

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|September 16, 2019|Latest news, The Middle East|0 comments

Dr Massoumeh Torfeh, Research Associate at Centre for Global Media and Communications, explores a major new development in Iran-China relationship in a new article. She writes, “A Chinese investment pledge to the tune of a whopping $400 billion puts a wrench in American plans to isolate Iran – but what will it cost Iran? While the United States Administration wrestles with exerting “maximum pressure” on Iran, and the European signatories

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Birthright, Birthwrong: Representations of Jewish Diaspora in Online Media

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|September 6, 2019|Digital cultures, The Middle East|0 comments

Emma Jacobs explores competing discourses of identity on two Jewish websites. Emma did a module on Transnational Communities and Diasporic media in 2018/19 academic year. Image credit: “Birthright Israel: Bus 423” by HRYMX is licensed under CC BY 2.0  As a genre of travel, Birthright Israel—a free ten-day trip to Israel for Jewish young adults, funded by the Israeli government, Zionist organizations, and private donors—sits at a strange point of

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Are US-Iran tensions inching towards a resolution?

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|August 13, 2019|Latest news, The Middle East|0 comments

Dr Massoumeh Torfeh, Research Associate at the Centre for Global Media and Communications, explores the question Trump’s strategy in relation to Iran in the article linked below for TRT World: TRT Article link Featured image credit: “Kerman, bazaar” by hermien_amsterdam is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Where next for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood after death of Mohamed Morsi

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|July 4, 2019|Arab uprisings, Latest news, The Middle East|0 comments

Mohamed Taha, SOAS PhD candidate, discusses future prospects of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt after Morsi. “The death of Egypt’s former president, Mohamed Morsi, in a Cairo court on June 17, on the same day he was elected six years previously, closed a chapter in Egyptian history. Morsi was the first president of Egypt to be elected in popular, representative and multiparty elections. But his burial in a graveyard alongside previous

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A Fragmented Landscape: Barriers to Independent Media in Iraq

By Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad|June 7, 2019|Latest news, The Middle East|0 comments

Tuesday 11 June 2019 6:00pm to 7:30pm Hosted by the Middle East Centre   Research Centres Meeting Suite, 9th Floor, Pankhurst House, Clement’s Inn, WC2A 2AZ   The Iraqi media landscape has been characterised by partisan ownership, in the main based on political and religious affiliations. Comparative ethnographic research has revealed highly irregular practices and the struggles of Iraqi journalists to adhere to the norms of professionalism, suggesting that these

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