West Asia & North Africa

Learn more about Global Voices switch away from “Middle East & North Africa”.

Digital erasure: How social media platforms are silencing Palestinians in 2024

Written by Walid El Houri

12 May 2025

Digital censorship and political repression: The blocking of the X account of Istanbul's jailed mayor

Written by Arzu Geybullayeva

9 May 2025

Journalism in exile: Muwatin’s fight for independent media in the Gulf

Written by Walid El Houri

3 May 2025

Silenced witnesses: Israel is killing journalists in Gaza at historic rates

Written by Walid El Houri

2 May 2025

Stories about West Asia & North Africa

Ahead of municipal elections, Lebanese voter data is at risk

Outdated laws and weak cybersecurity leave Lebanese voter data vulnerable to breaches, with no clear privacy policy in place.

Written by SMEX

22 April 2025

What does decolonising AI really mean? An interview with artist Ameera Kawash

Conceiving the digital as quintessentially scalable makes it colonial, commercial, and commodified by default.

Written by UntoldMag

18 April 2025

Civil society’s data in north and east Syria is not secure

Continuing operations without any solid strategies for digital security could lead to a digital disaster in Syria

Written by SMEX

9 April 2025

In Turkey a controversial law on cybersecurity is widely seen as yet another censorship tool

Turkish experts, civil society groups, and international observers saw the law as a potential tool to restrict independent reporting and stifle dissent.

Written by Arzu Geybullayeva

27 March 2025

Starlink in Yemen: A digital revolution or a security threat?

Elon Musk's Starlink is sparking fears of data privacy breaches, government crackdowns, and foreign influence

Written by Saoussen Ben Cheikh

21 March 2025

The crackdown on academic freedom in Europe: More than just a right-wing phenomenon

Academia is not a neutral space. It has always been a site of struggle throughout history

Written by Walid El Houri

8 March 2025

ToTok, Baz and others: The UAE and KSA promote unsafe communication apps

Some states in the region preferred to invest in spyware rather than communications while seeking out data collection rather than innovation.

Written by SMEX

27 January 2025

Pressure vs. principles: Lebanon's extradition of Abdel-Rahman al-Qaradawi to UAE sparks outrage

Lebanon extradites Abdel-Rahman al-Qaradawi to UAE despite human rights warnings

Written by Walid El Houri

11 January 2025

Data Narratives Civic Media Observatory: Country Reports

For the past year, the Civic Media Observatory — through its Data Narratives project — conducted research in Brazil, El Salvador, India, Turkey, and Sudan

Written by Civic Media Observatory

31 December 2024

How the UN Cybercrime Convention 2023 can pose a threat to human rights defenders and exiled journalists

Without adequate safeguards, the treaty could legitimize and facilitate the persecution of human rights defenders and journalists beyond national borders

Written by Guest Contributor

30 December 2024

Artificial Intelligence Narratives: A Global Voices Report

By situating AI in the context of data, we analyzed their narrative relationship, shared incentives, and strategies necessary to protect the public interest

Written by Civic Media Observatory

23 December 2024

Israel is using surveillance technology to subjugate and target Palestinians

AI supercharges human rights violations against civilians

Written by Safa

11 October 2024

Alaa Abdel Fattah, a symbol of resistance, must be released on time

For many in Egypt and elsewhere in the region, Abdel Fattah has become a symbol of resistance against authoritarianism

Written by Walid El Houri

27 September 2024

Mass pager attack in Lebanon raises concerns over cyber warfare and terrorism

The attack raises fears about the weaponization of personal technology and its impact on civilians.

Written by Walid El Houri

18 September 2024

Ahead of its controversial elections, Tunisia bans magazine Jeune Afrique for criticizing the president

The banning of Jeune Afrique is another step in Kais Saied’s clampdown on independent media, further undoing the democratic gains of the 2011 revolution

Written by Walid El Houri

6 September 2024