This past week, Iranian protesters were labelled “terrorists” and “saboteurs” by the state. That rhetoric was accompanied by an internet blackout and a surge in violence, with the death toll still unclear. Simultaneously, tensions between the United States and Iran escalated, raising the stakes in what has become one of the most serious political upheavals in the country in years.

Contributors:
Tohid Asadi – Correspondent, Al Jazeera English
Narges Bajoghli – Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Roxane Farmanfarmaian – Lecturer, University Of Cambridge
Farzan Sabet – Managing Researcher, Global Governance Centre

On our radar

In the US, the shooting - in public - of a woman two weeks ago by immigration officers has spiralled into a case of outright lying that is remarkable even by the standards of the Trump administration. Ryan Kohls reports on how official accounts, allied media and even AI-generated spokespeople were deployed to defend the shooting.

Cory Doctorow: The AI hype machine

Artificial intelligence is routinely framed as unstoppable - a technology the world must adapt to, not question. But as companies invest hundreds of billions and the hype accelerates, scrutiny has fallen away. Cory Doctorow on who controls the story around AI and why past tech “revolutions” offer a warning.

Featuring:
Cory Doctorow – Author and activist

A weekly programme that examines and dissects the world's media, how they operate and the stories they cover.

The Listening Post

Iran: The protests, the blackout and the narrative war

The horrific Bondi Beach attack in Australia was pulled into Israel’s global information war this past week.

As blame was directed towards pro-Palestine politics, media narratives blurred Jewish identity and Israeli state policy - raising urgent questions about who is put at risk when Israel’s anti-Palestinian messaging travels beyond its borders.

Contributors:
Naama Blatman – Executive member, Jewish Council of Australia
Ori Goldberg – Academic and political commentator
Antony Loewenstein – Author, The Palestine Laboratory
Ramia Sultan – Palestinian Australian lawyer

On our radar

The outspoken and irreverent Hong Kong media mogul - Jimmy Lai - was convicted this week of conspiring with foreign forces.

Tariq Nafi reports on how the Chinese Communist Party is tightening its grip on Hong Kong through its media.

The pervasiveness of Hindutva pop

In India, Hindu nationalism, or "Hindutva", has spread into a variety of media platforms. Meenakshi Ravi explores its musical subgenre, Hindutva pop, and speaks to one of its biggest names.

Featuring:
Kanhiya Mittal – Musician
Kunal Purohit – Author, The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars
Samriddhi Sakunia – Journalist and current affairs Instagrammer

The spin and misinformation around Bondi was inevitable | The Listening Post

For more than a century, Warner Bros has been one of Hollywood’s biggest players, a legacy studio that helped define the Golden Age of cinema with iconic blockbuster movies. Now, it’s at the centre of a contentious, billion-dollar bidding war between Netflix, the world's leading streaming platform, and Paramount Skydance, owned by the powerful Ellison family, which has close ties to President Trump.

Whichever way this goes, the outcome isn’t looking great.

Contributors:
Matt Craig - Reporter, Forbes
Daheli Hall - Writer and director
Lee Hepner - Antitrust lawyer
Dominic Patten - Executive editor, Deadline

On our radar

This week, Australia became the first country in the world to impose a social media ban for children less than the age of 16. The Australian government says it is taking on Big Tech and safeguarding children, but some young people were able to quickly bypass the new rules. Ryan Kohls reports.

The Imran Khan rumour mill

Despite being in jail for more than two years, Imran Khan continues to occupy airtime in Pakistan. After the army restricted access to Khan, rumours of his death ricocheted across social media.  Pressure from his supporters and family forced the military to lift the restrictions and grant Khan’s sisters access to speak to him. Meenakshi Ravi reports on the showdown between Imran Khan and powerful Field Marshal Asim Munir, and what it reveals about power, politics and narrative control in Pakistan.

Featuring: 
Amber Rahim Shamsi - Pakistan Editor, Nukta
Moeed Pirzada - Political YouTuber
Mohammed Hanif - Author and journalist

Why the huge bidding war over Warner Bros? | The Listening Post

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking for a pardon over a range of corruption charges laid against him after repeatedly telling Israeli journalists that he would clear his name in court.

The prime minister has long described the case against him as a witch-hunt led by the media and the judiciary. If he succeeds in sidestepping the courts, Israeli journalists and judges will wonder what he might have in store for them.

Contributors:
Daniel Levy – President, US/Middle East Project
Dana Mills – Writer, Local Call & +972 Magazine
Jonathan Ofir – Writer, Mondoweiss
Dan Perry – Author, "Ask Questions Later" Substack

On our radar:

This week, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted Israel’s PR problems have more to do with TikTok than with the genocide Israeli forces have inflicted on Gaza. Ryan Kohls looks at a persistent myth still making the rounds in American political circles.

The phenomenon of Kim Ou-Joon

Kim Ou-Joon is part journalist, part activist, part political performer. An outspoken and sometimes controversial voice who leans to the left ideologically, Kim leads South Korea’s biggest YouTube-based news network, primarily through a political podcast. The Listening Post’s Meenakshi Ravi reports on what Kim Ou-Joon - and others like him - reveal about the world of politics and media in South Korea.

Featuring:
Kim Ou-Joon – Founder and host, News Factory
Jane Yeahin Pyo – Assistant professor, Tulane University
Shreyas Reddy - Lead correspondent, NK News

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Iran: The protests, the blackout and the narrative war

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