Saudi Etidal and Telegram Remove 129 Million Extremist Content

The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Etidal and Telegram Remove 129 Million Extremist Content

The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The joint efforts between the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) and the Telegram platform in the field of combatting extremist content have achieved new results. The two teams were able to remove 129,634,467 million extremist content and close 14,516 extremist channels on the platform since February 2022 until the end of the third quarter of 2024.
During the third quarter of 2024, the two teams monitored the propaganda activity of three terrorist organizations: ISIS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Al-Qaeda. They removed 35,634,916 million extremist content and closed 323 extremist channels.
ISIS topped the list of removed posts with 34,602,606 extremist content and the closure of 189 extremist channels, followed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham with the removal of 768,821 extremist content and the closure of 87 extremist channels, while Al-Qaeda came at the bottom of the list with 263,489 extremist content and the closure of 47 extremist channels.
The two teams noted an increase in the propaganda activity of ISIS, with a peak on September 13, 2024, when the terrorist organization broadcasted 1,283,141 million extremist content.
The partnership between Etidal and the Telegram platform is based on enhancing joint cooperation and expanding coordination between them regarding the prevention and combating of terrorism and violent extremism (PCVE), by monitoring and removing terrorist propaganda content published in Arabic via the platform.

 



Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.