Quds News Network: A chronicle of challenges and digital suppression

By Youssef Abu Watfa, Editor-in-Chief of QNN Arabic

Since the beginning of the Israeli war of genocide on Gaza, the Israeli occupation has targeted dozens of journalists, resulting in the murder of at least 125 journalists and reporters. Others, including journalists of Quds News Network, have been injured in direct attacks by the Israeli forces on them and their families.

The targeted journalists have faced intense harassment and targeting both in the digital space and on the ground. These young journalists operate with minimal resources, driven by personal initiative to contribute alongside their colleagues in conveying a comprehensive picture of the events unfolding.

In these impossible conditions and amid the compounded suffering due to the general disregard for the value of Palestinian lives, and considering the reluctance to grant the necessary professional recognition, we have decided to document a part of the experience of the Quds News Network team through an article by the network’s editor-in-chief, Youssef Abu Watfa.

At 6:20 am on Saturday, October 7, 2023, the coverage of the Palestinian, Arab, and international media on the Palestinian issue changed with the onset of the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle launched by the Palestinian resistance in protest of the continued Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

During the ongoing five-month-long war, Palestinian journalists faced difficult and dangerous conditions, with at least 125 journalists killed and dozens others injured. These were the challenging circumstances experienced by everyone amidst a war of annihilation, including the Quds News Network team.

Quds News Network has faced various forms of targeting recently, within a series of consecutive strikes aiming to silence the Palestinian voice and suppress media coverage of the aggression on Gaza. The digital targeting peaked on October 27, 2023, when Meta completely blocked the network’s page and other affiliated pages.

Notably, the silencing and banning of the largest and foremost Palestinian page, which has nearly 10 million followers, occurred arbitrarily and contradicted even the Community Standards adopted by the Facebook platform that the Network consistently adhered to during its journalistic work. The team was aware of the risks of suppressing Palestinian voices on such platforms and the bias against them, a phenomenon now documented and scrutinized by several articles, leaks, and testimonies.

Quds News Network has faced various forms of targeting recently, within a series of consecutive strikes aiming to silence the Palestinian voice and suppress media coverage of the aggression on Gaza.

Meta deleted both the Arabic and English versions of the network’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, over 15 million followers in total, in addition to the interactive content Arabic-language page “Share – Quds News” followed by 3.7 million accounts on Facebook.

It was evident that the American company was keen on blocking these pages without stating reasons or even considering objections to the decision, contrary to previous practices and in contradiction to the platform’s commitments to users, given that all the network’s posts were within a news context allowing their dissemination according to the community guidelines and Facebook’s usage policies.

These actions reflected the extent of digital censorship imposed on Palestinian content, in contrast to the leniency towards Israeli content on the same platforms. This trend also extended to TikTok, forcing us recently to explore alternative options.

Telegram has emerged as one of the prominent alternatives, representing a “safe haven” to social media activists in the face of targeting, blocking, and censorship, particularly concerning monitoring Israeli violations and conveying the image of the Israeli crimes committed against civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Over the past three months, between October 2023 and January 2024, the network witnessed a remarkable increase of over 1.15 million followers across Telegram, YouTube, and Twitter. The daily reach of all news platforms combined exceeded 50 million, while video views surpassed 1.1 billion during this period.

On Telegram alone, the network’s posts were seen two billion times, including 600 million video views, demonstrating the credibility and impact of Quds News Network despite persistent targeting and the availability of viable alternatives to censorship and bans imposed by other platforms.

Simultaneously, the network, born from youthful efforts in March 2011, faced defamation and incitement campaigns by pro-Israel supporters, pressured by the Zionist lobby. Allegations falsely linked Quds News Network to Palestinian factions without any evidence, despite the fact that all its staff are dedicated Palestinian youths working professionally within the network, founded and managed through volunteer efforts.

Working under impossible conditions, journalists in the Gaza Strip, including those of Quds News Network, have faced unprecedented challenges during this round of aggression. The Israeli onslaught spared no place, targeting hospitals, schools, universities, mosques, and parks, demonstrating a wanton disregard for human life.

Journalists were not exempt from this ruthless assault, experiencing direct targeting by Israeli war machinery, an unprecedented situation in recent memory. The Network’s office in Gaza was bombed, essential equipment was destroyed, and journalists had to work amid disrupted communication networks due to Israeli airstrikes, impacting coverage density and exposing colleagues to additional risks while striving to provide simple alternatives.

Similar to the hundreds of martyred Palestinian journalists, Quds Network lost colleagues during this war, including Akram Al-Baghdadi, a journalist working in the production department, and the martyrs Ali Al-Tabatibi and Nahla Moshtaha.

Journalists and activists in the West Bank faced their own challenges, dealing with continuous military incursions and settler attacks that intensified in recent months. The occupation’s pressure on Palestinians increased, making coverage more difficult and adding to the risks faced by those working in the field.

Journalist Musab Qufish and other collaborating photojournalists were arrested by the occupation, put under administrative detention, reminiscent of the “iron fist” policy during Palestinian intifadas. Additionally, several correspondents were injured by Israeli gunfire, including colleagues Mutasem Saqf Al-Heit, Abdullah Bahsh, and Mohammed Al-Abed in Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin.

Furthermore, the current war saw an escalation of direct Israeli threats to journalists in Quds News Network in the West Bank and Jerusalem. They received calls from Israeli security entities related to the essence of their journalistic work, containing threats of arrest and targeting them and their families. These Israeli actions aim to silence, suppress, and intimidate journalists, treating them as if they were criminals.

Despite these formidable challenges, journalists and activists who remain steadfast continue to document massacres and convey the escalating plight of the people with resilience and objectivity. Quds News Network, despite limited resources and the impact of war, remains committed to presenting a comprehensive image of Palestine, a mission it has upheld throughout its years in new and digital media. This commitment persists despite ongoing targeting and the difficult conditions faced by its teams in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, all under the oppressive yoke of occupation.

In conclusion, the Quds News Network team in Gaza insists on resuming work, even in a limited and partial manner, within a makeshift tent barely supplied with basic essentials such as electricity and internet.

In the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, the network has reorganized its team, drawing on the assistance of collaborating colleagues, even from outside Palestine. This strategic move enhances its ability to intensify journalistic coverage, shed light on events on the ground, and continue the work of presenting a complete picture of the truth.

Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges, Quds News Network’s dedication remains unshaken, and it continues to be a beacon of truth amidst the ongoing aggression and difficult circumstances endured by its teams in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.