"Under the banner of diversity, we are told to bring ourselves and our perspectives. But, if we bring too much of them, we are marked and kept back." For @walrusmagazine, I wrote about my decade in journalism and the cost of being The Only One In The Room. thewalrus.ca/objectivity-is-…

What a closing paragraph

Today, I told the story of the 6 detained @matsda2sh journalists. I read their names at an international event on political prisoners in front of the Lincoln Memorial as an unprecedented crackdown on press freedom in Egypt unfolds, now also threatening @MadaMasr.

Dear friends and readers of Mada, We have been silent over the past two days, in shock at what happened in court on Tuesday but also in an attempt to organize ourselves for what looks like it will be an ongoing battle.

Thirteen Years of Harassment, and Three Minutes to Close Mada Masr An Egyptian court has ordered the closure of one of the country’s last major independent news outlets, as authorities intensify their crackdown on independent journalism. @newlinesmag newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th…

RT @safiyaaaay: the conversation about chatgpt is important but a big part of this story is immigration. She needed a new tech job to stay…

The whereabouts of Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah remain unknown, over three hours after Mada Masr paid the court-ordered fine at the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court this afternoon. Attalah was taken into the custody of security officers from the court immediately after the court issued a ruling convicting her of running a website without a license. The ruling came with a penalty fine of LE3 million and orders for the closure of Mada Masr’s website. Her defense counsel were present in the courtroom but were not informed of where she was being taken. Mada Masr paid the fine in full in the ensuing hours.

Lina Attalah has been released from custody several hours after she was convicted of operating an unlicensed website & forced to pay a EGP 3 million fine. The court also ordered the closure of Mada Masr. A pillar of independent journalism in the Arab world is in danger of closing

With a court in ordering @MadaMasr's closure today and @Linaattalah's detention, read their own words on the fight for a free press in Egypt: madamasr.com/en/2026/10/26/o…

Today’s decision represents a crushing blow to press freedom in Egypt and marks a dark day for independent journalism in the country. By imposing a 3 million EGP fine, ordering the closure of Mada Masr and the seizure of its property, and detaining Lina Atallah until payment is made, the Egyptian authorities are sending a clear and ruthless message: critical, independent reporting will not be tolerated.  amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2…

A court in Cairo has ordered the closure of the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr, striking a major blow to journalism in the region.

Following an absolute farcical trial that makes a mockery of the rule of law, an Egyptian court has fined @Linaattalah LE 3 million and ordered the closure of @MadaMasr, Egypt's leading independent media outlet, relied on by the world's diplomats, researchers, and scholars.

Benjamin Moser, author of Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History, told Rashid Khalidi that his 80-year-old mother, who had all but called him a Hamas member, apologized after reading his book: “I’m ashamed I ever said I was a Zionist.” His book traces Jewish opposition to Zionism over the past century and challenges their exclusion in discussions over Palestine. “No, you don’t get to set the rules anymore. We’re setting the rules now,” Moser said. Khalidi added that he had never seen so many people change their views so rapidly, noting that major publishers are now embracing books on Palestine that would have been virtually unpublishable just three or four years ago.

A grim snapshot of Palestinian life in the West Bank - that we witnessed over a week: - Settlers besieging a family in their own home - Israeli authorities demolishing Palestinian properties - Settlers repeatedly attacking farmers, even beating to death more than a dozen lambs - Israeli soldiers blocking the delivery of water to an isolated community Watch our full report here: piped.video/lhRXrmg4_6M?is=NgRj…

This is Fadi al-Halsa, a young dentist who only just graduated from Alexandria University's dental school this year. Instead of celebrating his bright future, Fadi's parents and two sisters are now laying him to rest. Fadi was killed in the Karak Church attack in Jordan. 🤍

“If those Palestinians hadn’t come and started throwing rocks, I probably would not have survived,” veteran Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine told Jasper Nathaniel after she was brutally beaten by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to Nathaniel. Speaking to Ben Rhodes on Pod Save the World, Nathaniel recounted the details of the October 16 attack on Palestinian olive harvesters, how Palestinian villagers risked their lives to rescue Levine, and how Israeli soldiers subsequently shot a Palestinian man and blocked paramedics. “Do Palestinians have a right to defend themselves through armed struggle, if that’s what it takes?” Nathaniel asked. “And if not, do you suggest they lay down and die and let their village get overrun and let Heidi Levine get killed and accept the fate that the settlers have in mind for them, which they will openly tell you is to wipe them off the map?” 🔗 Full interview linked in reply. @infinite_jaz | @brhodes

More great work by U of Toronto’s @citizenlab. Israeli spyware was used to infect phones at Australia’s public broadcaster, government departments, critical infrastructure, and universities. abc.net.au/news/2026-10-23/a…

At least 119 civil society organisations and media outlets issued a statement on Friday calling on Egypt to urgently release the editor-in-chief of Mada Masr and shedding light on what they describe as an unprecedented attack on press freedom in the country newarab.com/news/over-100-gr…

We spent a week in the Occupied West Bank: We saw bloody settler attacks, Palestinian homes demolished & tense interactions with Israeli soldiers Here's a short clip ⬇️ Including our attempt to reach a Palestinian family besieged by "hilltop youth" settlers - before we were violently stopped With @MillyTeasdale @MackesonPaul Ayman Abu Ramouz & Nava Mizrahi

My analysis for @pressfreedom on Egypt’s unprecedented crackdown on the press, from jailing the entire Matsdaash newsroom to putting @MadaMasr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah on trial. I look at how authorities have turned journalism itself into a crime. cpj.org/2026/10/whos-next-in…

🇪🇬 Lina Attalah, the editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, one of Egypt’s last remaining independent media outlets, was referred to trial on Thursday. The escalation comes one day after prosecutors questioned her for more than six hours. Rights groups describe her case as an unprecedented attack on press freedoms in Egypt. The Supreme State Prosecution referred Attalah to trial on a charge of establishing and managing a website without a license. She was also questioned on a charge of publishing false news, but that charge was not included in her court referral. Atallah was released Wednesday evening on bail of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1,800). She is due in court on October 27. If convicted, she faces a fine of one million to three million Egyptian pounds (roughly $18,000 to $54,000). The court may also order the closure of Mada Masr and the confiscation of its equipment. Over 100 independent media outlets and civil society organizations around the world, including Drop Site News, signed a joint statement condemning Attalah’s referral to trial, calling it “an unprecedented escalation that threatens the future of the entire independent media, knowledge production, and civil society space in Egypt.” Drop Site News and Mada Masr have co-published several articles over the past two years. Examples linked below.