The One Mistake That Lost Huffington Post Arabi Its Credibility
The Arabic version of The Huffington Post has launched in July amidst wide support and excitement of the Arab-speaking social web. Shortly afterwards, it received a lot of heat from the very same audience. The controversy was raised based on featured pieces that contain Hate Speech, Homophobia, and Anti-Semitism. BuzzFeed’s Tom Gara has detailed the controversy.
For me, the issue is deeper than an offshoot article, there’s the Selfie as a threat to Islam article, the Egyptian population of dogs (in humiliation) article, the incomprehensible You can’t criticize HuffPost Arabi article, and the “Journey into the Egyptian Secular Mind” article among others.
It’s about the editorial policy. Wrong me not, I’m not talking about The Huffington Post’s, I’m talking about Wadah Khanfar’s.
A Hopeful Launch
Khanfar used to be Diretor General for Al-Jazeera Arabic, a state-owned media outlet that is dedicated to propagate on agency for the Qatari administration. Al-Jazeera has been a safe haven for the Muslim Brotherhood to communicate their hate speech, incitement of violence and unipolar reporting.
Arianna Huffington has partnered with Khanfar’s firm, Integral Media Strategies, to create HuffPost Arabi, for which he appointed Anas Fouda, a Chief Editor from the same academy (a publicly Muslim Brotherhood-sympathizer). However, seldom criticism has been directed to the platform on this premise. In contrast, the platform launched with articles from diverse Arab figures that include Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Amr Khaled, Nader Bakar, Amr Salama and Abdel Monem Said.
Responses To Criticism
Wadah Khanfar made it clear that
The accusations of favoring the Muslim Brotherhood, or having close ties with the Americans, are not new, they have been a result of official Arab propaganda, many governments in the region do not want to see balanced reporting or an outlet that allows all opinions.
The Huffington Post’s response to the controversy was the following:
In a region where the media landscape is polarized, we are trying to create a space where a diversity of perspectives can co-exist. Given the upheaval the region is experiencing, it is likely that articles which have a strong perspective or opinion may upset one group or another. But we want HuffPost Arabi to provide diversity and balance as a site.
Interestingly, they took down the article “Journey Into The Egyptian Secular Mind”, which broke the controversy, with a notice that says it shouldn’t have been released in allegiance with its guidelines.
Interestingly, aside from statements of Khanfar and the company itself, Arianna Huffington made her judgement on the case
Let me tell you where Arianna got it wrong:
1- It’s not about censorship, it’s about quality.
Apparently, There’s a difference between opinion pieces, analysis arguments and hate speech. One difference, people who write opinion/arguments actually know what they’re talking about. Hate speech is based on a series of logical fallacies that a university sophomore isn’t tolerated to commit, let alone a published author.
Now this offers 2 scenarios: There’s no proper reviewing process for submitted articles, or that the reviewing team believes that these are actual good reads.
2- There is way more voices that guarantee editorial diversity other than Jihadists in suits.
These kind of narratives has contributed to the division of nations and the killing of thousands of real people. Some research in Middle East Politics can tell how these ideas contribute in real-life miseries. Some market research could have offered a better outlook of what the Arab Internet audiences need.
I’d love to hear from a Syrian young woman who made her way to a European nation and what she misses about Home. I’d love to read from Moroccan youth that are relatively departed from the Arab-speaking world. I’d love to know how Tunisians present a model of coexistence amidst a region of war, maybe it influences a movement of reconciliation in our region-wide mass civil war. I’d love to read about a Yemeni filmmaker and how he pursues his passion. I’d like to read from frustrated young fellows who find no representatives or economic powers backing their narrative.
3- This is the Internet, bullshit doesn’t work here.
Employing a hierarchy of Islamist propagandists in a hyper-sensitive region makes the results less surprising for me. The game of acting defensive and hiding behind vague expressions like “Government Propaganda”, and “Secular Censorship” in response to grave professional mistakes has grown old on me, I’ve seen it from Al-Jazeera in years, I’ve seen it from the Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers for years. It’s really getting lame.
4- Like it or hate it, this is not The Huffington Post.
We can play ball all day long about side topics. The harm has already been done to the brand, which will haunt it until the mother brand takes a serious measurement to recover itself. Denial will only spread the tumor.
If Arianna Huffington knew what she signed up for, that would be a mistake. If she didn’t see this coming, then it’s a disaster.
Nevertheless,
Digital Strategist Ibrahim Gamal Eldin fuses a background in media production and political science with expertise in digital marketing to build full-fledged digital marketing strategies, Arabic and English online content, and creative direction for digital advertising. His portfolio includes 30+ clients including: Google, Sony Music, USAID, Kevin Spacey Foundation, Amr Khaled and Carole Samaha.
