Al Jazeera Journalism Review
Who Decides the News? Inside India's Algorithm-Driven Newsrooms
For decades, editors acted as journalism's gatekeepers, deciding which stories mattered based on evidence, public interest and professional ethics. Today, many young reporters say that role has increasingly been assumed by recommendation algorithms, software designed not to identify what is important, but what is most likely to keep audiences scrolling… As news organisations compete for audience attention on digital platforms, metrics such as engagement and follower growth are increasingly influencing editorial strategy.
Latest Articles
Inside Vietnam’s Disinformation Machine and the Journalists Exposing It from Exile
Vietnam’s tightly controlled media environment relies on narrative distortion, selective omission, and propaganda to manage politically sensitive news. Exiled journalists and overseas outlets have become essential in exposing these practices, documenting forced confessions and smear campaigns, and preserving access to information that would otherwise remain hidden.
Freelancers in Kashmir Fear Losing Access as Verification Tightens
Kashmir’s new “verification drive” claims to root out impostors, yet its heavy bureaucratic demands mainly sideline the independent freelancers who still dare to report in a shrinking media landscape. But here’s the unsettling question that hangs over the Valley like fog at dawn: who really benefits when the storytellers without institutional shields are pushed out of the frame?
Journalists in Maldives Enter New Phase of Government-Controlled Media Repression
As journalists weigh the costs of their work against threats to their lives and families, the fight for press freedom in the Maldives enters a dangerous new chapter, one where the stakes have never been higher.
Reporting Under Fire: The Struggle of African Journalists Facing Intimidation
African journalists who expose corruption and power now face a brutal mix of arrests, torture, digital surveillance, and lawsuits meant to drain their resources and silence them. From Ethiopia, Nigeria, Malawi, Benin, Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya to exile in Canada, reporting the truth has become an act of personal survival as much as public service.
Shipwrecked Narratives: How to Keep Migration Stories Afloat
Migration stories don’t become real until you meet people in the journey: the carpenter carrying photos of his fantasy coffins, or the Libyan city worker burying the forgotten dead, or the Tatar woman watching her livelihood collapse at a militarised border. Following these surprising human threads is the only way journalism can cut through collective exhaustion and make readers confront a crisis they’ve been trained to ignore.
What It Means to Be an Investigative Journalist Today
A few weeks ago, Carla Bruni, wife of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, was seen removing the Mediapart logo from view. The moment became a symbol of a major victory for investigative journalism, after the platform exposed Gaddafi’s financing of Sarkozy’s election campaign, leading to his prison conviction. In this article, Edwy Plenel, founder of Mediapart and one of the most prominent figures in global investigative journalism, reflects on a central question: what does it mean to be an investigative journalist today?
Opinion
Anas al-Sharif
Anas al-Sharif: “I am the owner of a cause before I am a journalist”
From documenting the occupation's crimes on social media platforms to covering the war of genocide on Al Jazeera, journalist Anas Al-Sharif defied harsh field conditions and the lenses of snipers…
Nasser Adnan Thabet
As in Rwanda: Can the Israeli Press Be Prosecuted for Participation in Genocide?
Israeli media incitement has helped frame Palestinian journalists as security threats, weakening their legal and professional protection and legitimising attacks against them. Legal accountability…
Jean-Pierre Afadhali
Can Africa’s Media Decolonise Climate Story?
Despite efforts in combating climate change and finding climate solutions in the Africa, the continent’s climate story is still told through the lens of colonisation. The dominant stories centre…
Diaries
Anas al-Sharif: “I am the owner of a cause before I am a journalist”
From documenting the occupation's crimes on social media platforms to covering the war of genocide on Al Jazeera, journalist Anas Al-Sharif defied harsh field conditions and the lenses of snipers. He lost his father and a number of his loved ones, yet he chose to convey the "Palestinian narrative to the world." In this interview, we get to know the face and features of a Palestinian journalist stripped of protection and faithful to the belief that "coverage continues."
In Gaza… Testimonies That Have Not Been Told
Beyond the frontline dangers, reporting during the Israeli war involves enduring arrest, torture, systematic incitement, and assassination. This reality forces journalists into a relentless struggle to keep reporting from the depths of mass displacement, starvation, and a complete breakdown of daily infrastructure.
Journalism in Gaza: A Struggle for Survival
In Gaza, journalism becomes inseparable from the life it documents: reporting continues not from a distance, but from within the same fear, grief, and instability it tries to record.
Reports
Who Decides the News? Inside India's Algorithm-Driven Newsrooms
For decades, editors acted as journalism's gatekeepers, deciding which stories mattered based on evidence, public interest and professional ethics. Today, many young reporters say that role has increasingly been assumed by recommendation algorithms, software designed not to identify what is important, but what is most likely to keep audiences scrolling… As news organisations compete for audience attention on digital platforms, metrics such as engagement and follower growth are increasingly influencing editorial strategy.
As in Rwanda: Can the Israeli Press Be Prosecuted for Participation in Genocide?
Israeli media incitement has helped frame Palestinian journalists as security threats, weakening their legal and professional protection and legitimising attacks against them. Legal accountability is possible through the ICC, universal jurisdiction, and professional pressure against journalists and outlets that incite violence.
A Soldier with the Rank of Correspondent in the Israeli Army
Israeli military journalism developed through a deep fusion of media, censorship, and the army, turning correspondents into carriers of the official security narrative. This embedded model later influenced Western war reporting, where access to the battlefield often came at the cost of independence and critical distance.
The Phenomenon of “News Avoidance”: Have We Come to Know More Than We Should?
Audiences are increasingly avoiding the news as the constant flow of crises, violence, and tragic human stories creates psychological exhaustion and anxiety. Media outlets need to respond with more responsible editorial choices, stronger media literacy, and coverage that balances urgent events with constructive, humane, and less harmful storytelling.
From Srulik to Handala: Caricature as a Media Symbol
From the pro-occupation Israeli character 'Srulik' to the resilient and satirical Palestinian 'Handala', caricature emerges as another battleground for memory and the future. How did these characters come to be, what is their media symbolism, and why does caricature remain so influential?
“Sometimes You Work for Years Without Pay” – Cameroonian Journalists Demand Safety Nets
While many journalists demonstrate admirable resilience in producing quality journalism under precarious conditions, resilience should not be the only safety net. Journalism deserves protection, because democracy depends on it.
