ISTANBUL

Sudanese film producer Amjad Al Nour managed to reach millions by finding ways to escape the censorship applied to content related to Palestine on social media.

The investigative journalist told Anadolu that “Gaza” or “Palestine” was censored on social media because of Israeli pressure.

“On social media, we faced so many challenges, because right now we even cannot say the words Gaza or Palestine. So we have to find new ways in which we can express ourselves,” he said.

Noting that social media platforms cannot detect his videos, he said he is “running away from the algorithm.”

“Luckily, I don't have this problem, because I always use and give mixed signs and try to portray myself as the bad guy. So I'm always escaping the algorithm because the algorithm doesn't know if I'm being sarcastic or if I'm being telling the truth,” he added.

Explaining that content producers have uploaded millions of content pieces despite the censorship, he said it is impossible to detect all the content about Palestine so social media platforms cannot resist it.

“I started making videos about Gaza in 2009,” he said. “The idea came to my mind because there were not so many people talking about it. I felt I have a responsibility as I can speak English to let the outer world know about what we're going through.”

As the US is trying to ban the TikTok social media platform due to pressure from Israel, he said: “Now, the US wants to ban TikTok because suddenly they think TikTok is a threat. But we know that it is because so many teenagers are speaking about the cause. And I think it's really reached the point where you cannot even control it.”

Al Nour said he works for Qatar-based television channel Al Jazeera where Israeli authorities raided its office in Palestine and seized broadcasting equipment, shortly after a government decision to shut down the network’s operations in the country.

Last month, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation, allowing the closure of Al Jazeera television.

Under the legislation, the communications minister is empowered to shut down foreign networks operating in Israel and confiscate equipment if the defense minister identifies that their broadcast poses “an actual harm to the state’s security.”

Al Jazeera has an office in Israel and a team of correspondents working year-round, including covering Israel’s onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 34,900 victims since Oct. 7.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar