海角直播

Semafor appoints 海角直播 bureau chief as part of regional expansion

Semafor appoints 海角直播 bureau chief as part of regional expansion
Matthew Martin, who has over two decades of journalistic experience, was most recently Bloomberg鈥檚 chief correspondent for SWFs in the Middle East and North Africa region. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 July 2025

Semafor appoints 海角直播 bureau chief as part of regional expansion

Semafor appoints 海角直播 bureau chief as part of regional expansion
  • Matthew Martin to also serve as global head of sovereign wealth fund coverage

DUBAI: Semafor has appointed Matthew Martin as its 海角直播 bureau chief and global head of sovereign wealth fund coverage as the news platform expands its Gulf edition.

He will head the growing team in Riyadh and be a part of the wider editorial staff led by Semafor Gulf editor Mohammed Sergie.

Martin, who has over two decades of journalistic experience, was most recently Bloomberg鈥檚 chief correspondent for SWFs in the Middle East and North Africa region.

His focus was the role of SWFs in promoting local economies, diversification, investing for a post-oil future, and projecting soft power internationally.

Prior to this, he served as Bloomberg鈥檚 海角直播 bureau chief and was responsible for the network鈥檚 coverage of 海角直播, Bahrain and Yemen.

He has been with Bloomberg since 2013, and moved from Dubai to Riyadh in January 2021, where his reporting focused on 海角直播, particularly Aramco and the Kingdom鈥檚 Public Investment Fund.

鈥淢att is the definitive reporter on one of the world鈥檚 biggest stories, 海角直播鈥檚 transformation of itself and much of the world around it,鈥 said Ben Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor.

Martin鈥檚 appointment 鈥渕arks a major step forward in Semafor鈥檚 ambition to become the leading global media presence in the Gulf,鈥 said Justin Smith, co-founder and CEO of Semafor (no relation to Ben).

He added: 鈥淲e are not just covering the region but also how the ascendant Gulf story relates to the key corridors of US power and influence 鈥 Washington D.C., Wall Street and Silicon Valley 鈥 as well as the emerging ties between the Gulf and the African continent through collaborations with our Semafor Africa edition.鈥

As Semafor continues to expand, its reporting will soon 鈥渃losely track Gulf-Asia and Gulf-EU corridors of influence as well,鈥 Justin Smith said.

Semafor Gulf launched in September 2024, marking the firm鈥檚 third edition, joining its US and sub-Saharan Africa newsletters.

Since then, the platform鈥檚 reporting has included the UAE鈥檚 plan to invest $1.4 trillion in the US, the state of foreign consulting in 海角直播, OPEC+ strategy, and Gulf-Israel relations.


X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigns after two years at the helm of Elon Musk鈥檚 social media platform

X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigns after two years at the helm of Elon Musk鈥檚 social media platform
Updated 10 July 2025

X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigns after two years at the helm of Elon Musk鈥檚 social media platform

X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigns after two years at the helm of Elon Musk鈥檚 social media platform
  • Yaccarino announced her resignation in a post, saying 鈥渢he best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter鈥
  • Elon Musk hired Yaccarino, a veteran ad executive, in May 2023 after buying Twitter for $44 billion

X CEO Linda Yaccarino said she鈥檚 stepping down after two bumpy years running Elon Musk鈥檚 social media platform.
Yaccarino posted a positive message Wednesday about her tenure at the company formerly known as Twitter and said 鈥渢he best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with鈥 Musk鈥檚 artificial intelligence company xAI, maker of the chatbot Grok. She did not say why she is leaving.
Musk responded to Yaccarino鈥檚 announcement with his own 5-word statement on X: 鈥淭hank you for your contributions.鈥
鈥淭he only thing that鈥檚 surprising about Linda Yaccarino鈥檚 resignation is that it didn鈥檛 come sooner,鈥 said Forrester research director Mike Proulx. 鈥淚t was clear from the start that she was being set up to fail by a limited scope as the company鈥檚 chief executive.鈥
In reality, Proulx added, Musk 鈥渋s and always has been at the helm of X. And that made Linda X鈥檚 CEO in title only, which is a very tough position to be in, especially for someone of Linda鈥檚 talents.鈥
Musk hired Yaccarino, a veteran ad executive, in May 2023 after buying Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and cutting most of its staff. He said at the time that Yaccarino鈥檚 role would be focused mainly on running the company鈥檚 business operations, leaving him to focus on product design and new technology. Before announcing her hiring, Musk said whoever took over as the company鈥檚 CEO 鈥 must like pain a lot.鈥
In accepting the job, Yaccarino was taking on the challenge of getting big brands back to advertising on the social media platform after months of upheaval following Musk鈥檚 takeover. She also had to work in a supporting role to Musk鈥檚 outsized persona on and off of X as he loosened content moderation rules in the name of free speech and restored accounts previously banned by the social media platform.
鈥淏eing the CEO of X was always going to be a tough job, and Yaccarino lasted in the role longer than many expected. Faced with a mercurial owner who never fully stepped away from the helm and continued to use the platform as his personal megaphone, Yaccarino had to try to run the business while also regularly putting out fires,鈥 said Emarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg.
Yaccarino鈥檚 future at X became unclear earlier this year after Musk merged the social media platform with his artificial intelligence company, xAI. And the advertising issues have not subsided. Since Musk鈥檚 takeover, a number of companies had pulled back on ad spending 鈥 the platform鈥檚 chief source of revenue 鈥 over concerns that Musk鈥檚 thinning of content restrictions was enabling hateful and toxic speech to flourish.
Most recently, an update to Grok led to a flood of antisemitic commentary from the chatbot this week that included praise of Adolf Hitler.
鈥淲e are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,鈥 the Grok account posted on X early Wednesday, without being more specific.
Some experts have tied Grok鈥檚 behavior to Musk鈥檚 deliberate efforts to mold Grok as an alternative to chatbots he considers too 鈥渨oke,鈥 such as OpenAI鈥檚 ChatGPT and Google鈥檚 Gemini. In late June, he invited X users to help train the chatbot on their commentary in a way that invited a flood of racist responses and conspiracy theories.
鈥淧lease reply to this post with divisive facts for @Grok training,鈥 Musk said in the June 21 post. 鈥淏y this I mean things that are politically incorrect, but nonetheless factually true.鈥
A similar instruction was later baked into Grok鈥檚 鈥減rompts鈥 that instruct it on how to respond, which told the chatbot to 鈥渘ot shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect, as long as they are well substantiated.鈥 That part of the instructions was later deleted.
鈥淭o me, this has all the fingerprints of Elon鈥檚 involvement,鈥 said Talia Ringer, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Yaccarino has not publicly commented on the latest hate speech controversy. She has, at times, ardently defended Musk鈥檚 approach, including in a lawsuit against liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America over a report that claimed leading advertisers鈥 posts on X were appearing alongside neo-Nazi and white nationalist content. The report led some advertisers to pause their activity on X.
A federal judge last year dismissed X鈥檚 lawsuit against another nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which has documented the increase in hate speech on the site since it was acquired by Musk.
X is also in an ongoing legal dispute with major advertisers 鈥 including CVS, Mars, Lego, Nestle, Shell and Tyson Foods 鈥 over what it has alleged was a 鈥渕assive advertiser boycott鈥 that deprived the company of billions of dollars in revenue and violated antitrust laws.
Enberg said that, 鈥渢o a degree, Yaccarino accomplished what she was hired to do.鈥 Emarketer expects X鈥檚 ad business to return to growth in 2025 after more than halving between 2022 and 2023 following Musk鈥檚 takeover.
But, she added, 鈥渢he reasons for X鈥檚 ad recovery are complicated, and Yaccarino was unable to restore the platform鈥檚 reputation among advertisers.鈥
Analysts have said that some advertisers may have returned to X to avoid alienating Trump supporters during the height of Musk鈥檚 affiliation with the president and his base. Legal threats may have also played a part 鈥 whether from X or from the Federal Trade Commission, which is investigating Media Matters over its reporting that hateful content has increased on X since Musk took over, resulting in an advertiser exodus. Media Matters has in turn sued the FTC, claiming it seeks to punish protected speech.


Elon Musk鈥檚 AI firm deletes Grok chatbot pro-Hitler posts

Elon Musk鈥檚 AI firm deletes Grok chatbot pro-Hitler posts
Updated 09 July 2025

Elon Musk鈥檚 AI firm deletes Grok chatbot pro-Hitler posts

Elon Musk鈥檚 AI firm deletes Grok chatbot pro-Hitler posts
  • Move comes ahead of the launch of Grok 4
  • Turkiye court bans Grok for offensive content

LONDON: Elon Musk鈥檚 artificial intelligence startup, xAI, was forced to delete posts by its chatbot Grok that praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, following widespread accusations of antisemitism and extremism.

The Anti-Defamation League, a non-profit organization formed to combat attacks on Jews, flagged Grok鈥檚 responses, which included offensive tropes, references to antisemitic conspiracies, and positive characterizations of Hitler.

In one widely circulated screenshot online, Grok said Hitler would be best suited to combat 鈥渁nti-white hate,鈥 referring to him as 鈥渉istory鈥檚 mustache man.鈥

In another response, the chatbot declared: 鈥淚f calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 鈥榣iterally Hitler,鈥 then pass the mustache.鈥

The chatbot also appeared to endorse a fake account with a Jewish surname that had posted inflammatory comments about young flood victims in Texas.

Grok later referred to the account as a 鈥渢roll hoax,鈥 but not before generating pro-Hitler content, including: 鈥淗itler would have called it out and crushed it.鈥

In response to mounting controversy, the firm said it was aware of the recent posts and had taken immediate action to remove inappropriate content.

 

 

鈥淪ince being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X,鈥 it said in a statement on X.

The company added that its model is 鈥渢ruth-seeking鈥 and relies on millions of users on X to quickly flag issues that inform further model training and improvements.

The incident comes ahead of the release of Grok 4 on Wednesday. Musk announced on Friday that Grok had been 鈥渟ignificantly鈥 improved, though the nature of the updates was not disclosed.

 

 

However, the ADL in a post on X accused Grok of 鈥渋rresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic鈥 content.

鈥淐ompanies that are building LLMs (Large Language Models) like Grok and others should be employing experts on extremist rhetoric and coded language to put in guardrails that prevent their products from engaging in producing content rooted in antisemitic and extremist hate.鈥

The episode has drawn renewed scrutiny of AI chatbot safety and highlighted growing concerns over the risks of unregulated AI tools producing harmful, politically incorrect and unfiltered responses.

On Wednesday, a court in Turkiye ordered a ban on access to Grok from the country, after the platform disseminated content insulting to the nation鈥檚 president and others.

The chatbot posted vulgarities against Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and personalities, while responding to users鈥 questions on the X social media platform, according to the pro-government A Haber news channel.

Offensive responses were also directed toward modern Turkiye鈥檚 founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, other media outlets said.

That prompted the Ankara public prosecutor to file for the imposition of restrictions under Turkiye鈥檚 internet law, citing a threat to public order.

A criminal court approved the request early on Wednesday, ordering the country鈥檚 telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

It鈥檚 not the first time Grok鈥檚 behavior has raised questions.
Earlier this year the chatbot kept talking about South African racial politics and the subject of 鈥渨hite genocide鈥 despite being asked a variety of questions, most of which had nothing to do with the country. An 鈥渦nauthorized modification鈥 was behind the problem, xAI said.

The firm xAI was formed in 2023 and merged with X earlier this year as a part of Musk鈥檚 broader vision to build an AI-driven digital ecosystem.

With Agencies


Egyptian TV presenter apologizes after claiming international artworks as her own

Egyptian TV presenter apologizes after claiming international artworks as her own
Updated 08 July 2025

Egyptian TV presenter apologizes after claiming international artworks as her own

Egyptian TV presenter apologizes after claiming international artworks as her own
  • The backlash also prompted TV host El-Shazly to apologize for the incident

DUBAI: Egyptian TV presenter and designer Maha Al-Sagheer has issued an apology after falsely claiming ownership of artworks by four European artists during a recent talk show appearance, sparking backlash from the original painters and social media users.

Al-Sagheer appeared last month as a guest on a talk show on ON channel with prominent TV host Mona El-Shazly where she spoke of her passion for fine arts and showcased several paintings on a large screen, claiming they were her own.

However, Danish artist Lisa Lach-Nielsen took to Instagram on Sunday to accuse the TV presenter of stealing her artwork, titled 鈥淢ade Myself Some Wings,鈥 which she created in 2019, along with pieces by three other artists.

鈥淐opying other people鈥檚 work is one thing, but taking a photo of the actual painting, that someone else made, and taking public ownership of it 鈥 that鈥檚 new to me,鈥 said Lach-Nielsen wrote in the post, where she also tagged two other artists whose works she identified.

She noted that the act is 鈥渘ot only a violation of the law but also the person who put their soul and time into the work.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

鈥淟iving as an artist is not always easy, and we need the internet to show our work 鈥 no one should take advantage of that,鈥 said Lach-Nielsen.

In response to the online criticism sparked by Lach-Nielsen鈥檚 post, Al-Sagheer posted an apology on her Facebook account on Monday, admitting her 鈥渂ig mistake towards the danish artist Lisa, towards artists and more important towards myself.

鈥淚 have been passing through hardship during this period of my life. It has been a very tough time. However, it doesn鈥檛 give me the right to do what I have done. I鈥檓 deeply sorry and very upset due to what I have done.鈥

Earlier in the day, Finnish artist Caroline Wendelin also spoke out online, raising concerns over the unauthorized use of her painting 鈥淏ecoming the Garden.鈥

Wendelin said: 鈥淚鈥檓 not rich. I鈥檓 not famous. I work until I鈥檓 exhausted, all while raising 3 small children and pouring my whole heart into my art. Hoping that one day it might give us a chance to buy our first home.

鈥淪o imagine what it feels like to see a wealthy influencer steal my art, claim it as her own, and present it on national TV as if it came from her hands.鈥

She added that her painting 鈥渟ymbolises how with time and patience, we become what we nurture. Seeing someone erase that meaning is deeply painful.鈥

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

On the same day, Dubai-based French artist Seaty took to Instagram to identify three of his artworks titled 鈥淒warka鈥, 鈥淜igali鈥 and 鈥淏ushido,鈥 which he created in 2017, among the pieces displayed on the show.

鈥淲orse still, in the broadcast segment, my former studio is clearly visible, along with the canvases bearing my signature, and even the original photo available on my Instagram page.鈥

He added: 鈥淎fter all these years of effort, failure, research, and creative energy 鈥 to have my art stolen like this, in broad daylight, so shamelessly and without remorse it鈥檚 simply unacceptable. Especially in 2025, in an age when everything can be verified in a matter of clicks.鈥

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

The backlash also prompted TV host El-Shazly to apologize for the incident, sharing an image of the Danish artist Lach-Nielsen鈥檚 painting and acknowledging that it is her work.

鈥淲e respect true artists and value their original creations in all fields.鈥


Music trade bodies concerned about BBC鈥檚 changes to airing live performances

Music trade bodies concerned about BBC鈥檚 changes to airing live performances
Updated 08 July 2025

Music trade bodies concerned about BBC鈥檚 changes to airing live performances

Music trade bodies concerned about BBC鈥檚 changes to airing live performances
  • Move could 鈥榗urtail artistic freedom,鈥 head of Featured Artists Coalition says
  • Move could 鈥榗urtail artistic freedom,鈥 head of Featured Artists Coalition says

DUBAI: Music trade bodies have accused the BBC of making 鈥渁rbitrary and disproportionate鈥 changes to its broadcasting and streaming of live music events following the controversy around Bob Vylan鈥檚 Glastonbury performance.

During the punk rap duo鈥檚 set at the festival on June 28, they led the crowd in pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli military chants like 鈥渇ree, free Palestine鈥 and 鈥渄eath, death to the IDF.鈥

The BBC livestreamed the performance in full leading to a backlash from the government.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie ordered the content to not be featured in any other coverage. However, due to a technical issue the stream was available on the BBC iPlayer for about five hours.

Davie and BBC chair Samir Shah have both apologized. The BBC said in a statement: 鈥淲arnings appeared on the stream on two occasions and the editorial team took the decision not to cut the feed. This was an error.鈥

Music industry trade bodies and experts now say the BBC is overreacting.

鈥淭he BBC is absolutely fundamental to the continued success of British music and particularly vital to supporting our new and emerging artists鈥 development,鈥 said David Martin, head of the Featured Artists Coalition, a UK trade body that supports music artists.

The FAC supported the network鈥檚 public service broadcasting remit, which understandably came with responsibilities and standards, he said.

鈥淚f those standards have been breached, then there should be appropriate guidelines to follow. But the idea of preemptively grading artists according to their risk factor feels arbitrary and disproportionate and a dangerous step toward censorship.鈥

Such an approach could 鈥渃urtail artistic freedom鈥 and 鈥渋nadvertently punish those who are simply expressing their views,鈥 he said.

Naomi Pohl, general secretary of The Musicians鈥 Union, stressed the importance of the BBC and its role in the music industry.

鈥淚t鈥檚 such a shame there has been this shadow cast over this year鈥檚 Glastonbury coverage, because it has had fantastic viewing figures. It鈥檚 been all over iPlayer and people have been tuning in live,鈥 she said.

鈥淲e need to talk to the BBC about it directly. But I don鈥檛 want to see any broadcasters now broadcasting fewer live events because they don鈥檛 want to take the risk. The whole of the music industry will be feeling that, because it鈥檚 so crucial to us to have the BBC.鈥

A BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster stood by its decision to make changes to livestreaming music performances.

鈥淲e will continue to bring audiences a range of music performances, both live and on-demand and we respect artists鈥 freedom of expression,鈥 the person said.

鈥淗owever, Bob Vylan鈥檚 offensive and deplorable behavior on one of our Glastonbury livestreams was completely unacceptable and we are sorry it appeared on the BBC.

鈥淭his is why we have made immediate changes to livestreaming music events and these, alongside our editorial guidelines, will shape our plans going forward.鈥


The Destination: Saudi reforms through the lens of a documentary

New Konoz documentary highlight's Kingdoms advancements towards achieving 2030 goals. (SPA)
New Konoz documentary highlight's Kingdoms advancements towards achieving 2030 goals. (SPA)
Updated 08 July 2025

The Destination: Saudi reforms through the lens of a documentary

New Konoz documentary highlight's Kingdoms advancements towards achieving 2030 goals. (SPA)
  • Arabic film produced by Konoz, an initiative by the kingdom鈥檚 media ministry

RIYADH: 海角直播鈥檚 transformation toward its Vision 2030 goals has been documented in a new film by the Ministry of Media.

Launched by the ministry鈥檚 Konoz initiative, 鈥淭he Destination鈥 highlights the progress made in the political, economic, medical, sporting, cultural, media and artistic fields.

Mirroring the film's title, 海角直播 has become a global destination for investment, tourism, and much more. (Supplied)

Its title reflects the Kingdom鈥檚 path toward becoming a global destination for tourism and investment.

Konoz CEO Abdullah Al-Ahmari credited megaprojects and upcoming events such as the AFC Asian Cup 2027, Expo Riyadh 2030 and FIFA World Cup 2034.

HIGHLIGHT

鈥楾he Destination鈥 includes interviews with key figures from various fields as well as testimonies, quotes and historical records. It is part of a series of films produced by Konoz in cooperation with almost 90 organizations and more than 2,600 individuals.

鈥淭he Konoz initiative aims to document the Kingdom鈥檚 achievements through creative productions,鈥 he said, describing the country as a 鈥渕odel admired by the world.鈥

The film reflected the progress being made on the ground and highlighted the initiative鈥檚 focus on Saudi talent in shaping the Kingdom鈥檚 future, he said.

鈥淭he Destination鈥 includes interviews with key figures from various fields as well as testimonies, quotes and historical records. It is part of a series of films produced by Konoz in cooperation with almost 90 organizations and more than 2,600 individuals.

The Konoz initiative is part of the Human Capacity Development Program under Vision 2030. Its goal is to promote 海角直播n culture around the world by highlighting the contributions and success stories of its citizens.