We post these requests from APAN – Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
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Two requests for you to write this week – both stories that we’re excited the media have covered!
1. ABC radio JJJ – Hack program
Hack is a current affairs program on JJJ – the ABC youth radio station. This week they featured a story about a woman who worked as a moderator for TikTok who raised concerns about the platform’s censoring of Palestinian perspectives.
“There’s not enough brutality”: Former TikTok moderator says workers told to leave up ‘disturbing’ violence against Palestinians.- Avani Dias, Hack Triple JJJ.
Use this online form to send praise to the program, perhaps commenting on a specific part you valued.
2. Herald Sun – reporting on Israeli surveillance in the West Bank
A breaking story this week has been how Israel is using facial recognition surveillance to create massive dossiers on Palestinians in the West Bank – in a severe violation of basic rights. Here is one story in the Washington Post about it based on Breaking the Silence testimonies.
HEBRON, West Bank — The Israeli military has been conducting a broad surveillance effort in the occupied West Bank to monitor Palestinians by integrating facial recognition with a growing network of cameras and smartphones, according to descriptions of the program by recent Israeli soldiers.
The surveillance initiative, rolled out over the past two years, involves in part a smartphone technology called Blue Wolf that captures photos of Palestinians’ faces and matches them to a database of images so extensive that one former soldier described it as the army’s secret “Facebook for Palestinians.” The phone app flashes in different colors to alert soldiers if a person is to be detained, arrested or left alone.
What a surprise that Melbourne’s Murdoch paper – the Herald Sun have just posted an article online about it! We believe it will be in the printed paper tomorrow – giving you plenty of time to write your letter in response!
Use this online form to submit letters – maybe add some more detail or reflect on how we’d never allow something like this to happen in Australia.
Jarred Sferruzzi
Media and Digital Communications Lead
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
0434 869 088