Despite securing unprecedented funding, establishment candidate Haley Stevens is on course to lose Michigan’s Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed. @alexbkane.bsky.social and @sarahleah1.bsky.social spoke with us about the Israel factor in this election. Full report ▶️ youtu.be/U8MY9dJEyt0
The Listening Post
@ajlisteningpost.bsky.social
The political media programme on Al Jazeera English.
The Cockroach Janta Party’s protests have forced a senior Indian government minister out of office for the first time under Narendra Modi. Now the BJP is trying to win back young Indians online… and it isn’t going very well. Richard Gizbert reports.
On the show this week: • How Michigan’s primary became a proxy battle for Israeli influence in the US • Israel is gaming AI to shape what's read about the country online • Many of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist monks are now preaching nationalism - but one of them is pushing back ▶️ youtu.be/U8MY9dJEyt0
The squeeze on journalists trying to report on the war on Iran is getting tighter. The Pentagon has been skipping briefings, blocking access and just announced a task force targeting alleged leakers - raising fresh concerns about the future of war reporting. @meenakshirv.bsky.social reports.
On the show this week: • The rise of India's CJP and the battle over its message • How the Pentagon is making reporting on the war with Iran harder than ever • Europe has been baking under record temperatures - why do the pictures still look like summer holidays? Watch now ▶️ youtu.be/epebcA2XM7g
On the show this week: • How Ro Khanna’s visit to the occupied West Bank turned into a battle over who and what to believe • The reporting vacuum around Sudan’s looming catastrophe in El Obeid • How Kim Ou-joon became one of South Korea’s most influential political voices ▶️ youtu.be/0QK1OQZOYOM
As Sudan’s war pushes El Obeid towards catastrophe, international media coverage remains scarce. Hiba Morgan - One of the few journalists reporting from inside the city, spoke with Nicholas Muirhead about what happens when a humanitarian disaster unfolds largely unseen.
“This has nothing whatsoever to do with science and has everything to do with marketing.” – Marion Nestle on how ultraprocessed food manufacturers are taking PR tips from Big Tobacco's playbook. Watch the full report by Nicholas Muirhead ⤵️ youtu.be/793DfZVxVLA
Donald Trump and Recep Erdoğan used the NATO summit this past week to project an image of strength and unity between Ankara and Washington. But how long will that last? Elettra Scrivo reports.
“This is not an organic movement. It is inauthentic behaviour online…coordinated and amplified by people with a political agenda.” — Herman Wasserman Watch our full report on how xenophobia went viral in South Africa ▶️ youtu.be/EFYO-JmbN_k
Twin earthquakes that have killed more than two thousand people in Venezuela have exposed the state’s failures and officials have imposed tight controls on journalists trying to cover the story. Tariq Nafi reports.
This week: • South Africa’s anti-migrant movement - built online, amplified by mainstream media • Post-earthquake in Venezuela, officials are tightening their grip on information • Govts say social media bans will protect children - critics say they solve the wrong problem ▶️ youtu.be/EFYO-JmbN_k
A controversial luxury resort backed by the Trump’s family has sparked weeks of protests in Albania and with much of the country’s media is looking away, protesters have become their own reporters – using independent journalism and social media to shape their own narrative. Ryan Kohls reports.
On the show this week: • Can Andy Burnham survive a media landscape that keeps drifting to the right? • Albania’s Flamingo Revolution and scant domestic media coverage it’s getting • Javier Milei’s attempts to rewrite the history of Argentina’s military dictatorship ▶️ Watch now youtu.be/nwlYzh-2PcI
“I have since paid for the ad-free version of every streaming service just to be spared from all of the Ozempic and Wegovy ads.” Aubrey Gordon and Stephanie Yeboah spoke with us about GLP-1 drugs and the effect of their prevalence in media. Full report ▶️ youtu.be/j17UWvpcjm4
The UK government’s plans to ban under 16s from social media are driving ahead and many other countries including France, Canada and Spain are considering similar policies. But are they targeting the wrong age group? Richard Gizbert reports.
Trump says it’s a breakthrough; Israeli media call it a disaster. Richard Gizbert and @meenakshirv.bsky.social unpack the narrative battle around the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. Full discussion ▶️ youtu.be/xyQ_056Css0
On the show this week: • Don’t call it a peace deal: The precarious memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran • Infantino, Trump and how far FIFA is willing to go to sell the sport • How Ozempic’s rise is rewriting narratives about health, bodies and beauty Watch ▶️ youtu.be/xyQ_056Css0
The number killed is almost beyond comprehension.” — Sharif Abdel Kouddous on the continued targeted killing of journalists in Gaza throughout the ‘ceasefire’. Watch the full interview by @meenakshirv.bsky.social ▶️ youtu.be/yWFZc66wdIs
This week: · Trump's Meet the Press walkout and what his backing of the Ellisons' CNN bid says about his media doctrine · Belfast burns: how a stabbing video became fuel for far-right mobilisation · As Gaza disappears from headlines, journalists who remain are still working ▶️ youtu.be/dTwUMzgYkVo
The biggest ever World Cup kicked off across the US, Mexico, and Canada this past week, but it’s sharing headlines with controversy as US immigration policy collides with football’s global spirit. @meenakshirv.bsky.social reports.
While much of the reporting on Cuba comes from abroad, an outlet called Belly of the Beast reports from within the country itself. Liz Oliva Fernández spoke with us about they manage to report during blackouts, resource shortages and an escalating US pressure campaign. ▶️ youtu.be/ZRanxLboBNA
More than 920 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire was announced last October. The media’s disinterest in a slow but steadily rising death toll is allowing the violence in Gaza to continue with far less scrutiny. Richard Gizbert reports.
“There is literally nothing you get out of the legacy media anymore…They just want drama.” Meghnad S and Manisha Pande spoke with us about why the Cockroach Janta Party is taking aim at India’s mainstream media. Watch the full report ▶️ youtu.be/UNiqvlp9sWE
Photographer, activist and chair of the London Southbank Centre has become the target of an intense media offensive after speaking about Gaza and the rise of the political right. The backlash says a lot about the state of public debate in Britain. @meenakshirv.bsky.social reports.
A wave of xenophobic violence has spread across South Africa, fuelled by a toxic mix of anger, disinformation and inflammatory mobilisation online. At its centre is Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma - who has emerged as the face of the new anti-immigration group March and March. Nicholas Muirhead reports.
This week: • The Cockroach Janta Party - the viral movement in India asking questions of govt • Anti-migrant protests and rising violence in South Africa • Belly of the Beast - Reporting on Cuba, from Cuba • How the ‘ceasefire’ has failed to halt Israel’s killing in Gaza ▶️ youtu.be/UNiqvlp9sWE
With around 50 million subscribers, Safaricom dominates Kenya’s mobile phone market - but its close relationship with the Ruto government is turning that user base into a key component of the state’s surveillance programme…illegally. Nicholas Muirhead reports. ▶️ youtu.be/agM2ZkGz1J4
On the show this week: • Trump’s claims of victory over Iran get questioned by a sceptical media • Narendra Modi’s Norway visit runs into an unscripted moment • The dark side of Kenya’s digital age • Israel’s government in crisis control mode after another damaging video ▶️ youtu.be/LYA2s2gM4Qo
A video of pro-Palestinian activists in Israeli custody being taunted by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked immediate outrage this week — including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who moved to distance himself from his own minister. Richard Gizbert reports.