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A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran holds - but the information war intensifies. At the centre: the Strait of Hormuz, where competing US and Iranian narratives have collided. During any truce, even when the bombs stop falling, the information war goes on.  Moments like this test journalism. Because the job is not just to report on the messaging coming from all sides - but to decode and debunk it if necessary. Contributors: Abeer Al Najjar – Professor of Media & Journalism, American University of Sharjah Andrew Arsan – Professor of Arab & Global History, University of Cambridge Alireza Doostdar – Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Chicago Nazila Fathi – Former Tehran Correspondent, New York Times On our radar Israel’s relations with its European allies are fraying, with increasingly sharp rhetoric from both sides playing out across political and media platforms. Meenakshi Ravi reports. The Iranian diaspora in the media: Interview with Narges Bajoghli The Iranian diaspora contains a wide range of often conflicting views. But judging by its representation in mainstream Western media, one might assume the dominant position is support for the war. We speak to Narges Bajoghli about how diaspora voices are weaponised in coverage of Iran. Featuring: Narges Bajoghli – Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

The war on Iran has entered a much more damaging phase with more assassinations of the leadership in Tehran, the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and major strikes on energy infrastructure across the region. As the war has escalated, pressure on news organisations in the United States, Israel and Iran is increasing. Contributors:  Branko Marcetic – Writer, Jacobin Arta Moeini – Institute for Peace and Diplomacy Mouin Rabbani – Co-editor, Jadaliyya Mairav Zonszein – Senior Analyst, International Crisis Group On our radar This week, three more senior Iranian political leaders were killed by Israel. Coverage followed a familiar pattern - awe at the Israeli intelligence operation’s "sophistication", and little scrutiny of the legality of the actions. Meenakshi Ravi reports on how these killings have been reported in Israeli and Western media. War in Lebanon: Interview with Jean Kassir Millions of people in Lebanon are enduring the consequences of the Iran war with little media attention. Israel has now begun ground operations there and is openly boasting it will turn the country into a new Gaza. The cofounder and managing editor of Lebanese news website Megaphone spoke to us about the toll this war is having on his country. Featuring: Jean Kassir – Managing Editor, Megaphone

One week into the United States and Israel’s war on Iran, and the messaging coming from the White House is consistently chaotic and contradictory. From regime change and nuclear threat to preemptive attack - the Trump administration is struggling to juggle its narrative. And while the mainstream media is working overtime to legitimise the Trump-Netanyahu war at home, Americans remain unconvinced. Contributors:  Negar Mortazavi – Host, The Iran Podcast Samira Mohyeddin – Host, On the Line Media Antony Loewenstein – Author, The Palestine Laboratory Borzou Daragahi – Writer, badlands, Substack On our radar Voices within the Iranian diaspora that support the US-Israeli bombing campaign are being given a disproportionate amount of airtime across Western mainstream media. One of the most prominent figures is Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, who has presented himself as someone who could “lead the transition” to a new government in Tehran. Meenakshi Ravi looks at how the one-sided coverage lends credibility to the war. Reporting under fire in the West Bank With the eyes of the world focused on Gaza and now Iran, far too little attention has been paid to another territory where Israel exercises near-total control: the occupied West Bank. Israel has intensified its policy of fragmenting the territory, carving it up and expanding control over the land. Journalists in the occupied West Bank have seen their movement severely restricted by hundreds of new checkpoints and barriers. And they face the constant threat of soldiers who are more aggressive and settlers who - protected by the army - are more emboldened and violent than ever. One of those journalists is Ameed Shehade, a correspondent for Al Araby TV, whose unflinching reporting frequently places him directly in harm’s way. Featuring: Ameed Shehade – West Bank correspondent, Al Araby TV

As Washington escalates threats of military action against Iran, negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme continue behind the scenes. But while the Trump administration insists that the standoff is about security, Iran’s state media are pushing a very different narrative: that the crisis is a deliberate distraction from the Epstein scandal that continues to implicate the US president. Contributors: Dina Esfandiary – Middle East Lead, Bloomberg Economics Fereshteh Sadeghi – Iranian journalist Jamal Abdi – President, National Iranian American Council Sina Toossi – Senior Fellow, Centre for International Policy On our radar: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Israel this past week in a carefully choreographed display of solidarity. While Modi’s trip was celebrated in the Israeli media, criticism by Indian journalists was blocked back home. Leaving the two leaders to sign arms deals that will boost an already significant military partnership. The Rise of Digital Micro-Bolsonaros Nearly two years after Jair Bolsonaro’s fall from power in Brazil, the movement he built is searching for a new figurehead. A rising generation of young, evangelical, and hyper-online politicians is stepping in. They are leveraging a sophisticated, decades-old religious media machine that evolved from radio and television into a powerful force on social media. Brazil’s political right is being reshaped for the digital age. Featuring: Anna Virginia Balloussier – Journalist, Folha de Sao Paulo Caro Evangelista – Executive Director, ISER Magali Cunha – Editor-in-Chief, Berreia Project

A series of warnings from artificial intelligence (AI) industry insiders shows how the debate around AI drives extreme news cycles, swinging between hype and alarm. The result is media coverage that overlooks the intricacies of this technology and its impact on everyday life. We examine the real risks, what’s being overstated, and what major tech companies stand to gain from all the fearmongering. Contributors: Rumman Chowdhury – Founder, Humane Intelligence Mutale Nkonde – Founder, AI for the People Chris Stokel-Walker – Author of the book How AI Ate the World On our radar Francesca Albanese, the United Nations' special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, has found herself in the middle of a political firestorm, all because of comments she never actually made. After a manipulated video of Albanese calling Israel the “enemy of humanity” went viral,  there were calls for her resignation across Europe. The UN has labelled these allegations part of a wider smear campaign to discredit Albanese and the UN itself. A curated view of Israel for African journalists For decades, the Israeli government and pro-Israel organisations have sponsored trips for politicians, celebrities and journalists, inviting them to visit and, as they put it, tell the “real story” about Israel. In the past, those invitations largely targeted figures from Western countries. But since October 7th, there has been a noticeable shift towards African journalists and social media influencers. The objective is clear: to shape coverage in African media and influence audiences across the continent. The Listening Post’s Nic Muirhead reports on the African journalists taking part in these fully funded, tightly managed visits to Israel. Featuring: Hassen Lorgat – Media critic and activist Makhudu Sefara – Editor, Sunday Times Timnit Gebru – Founder, the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) Njahira Gitahi – Reporter, The Standard

The latest tranche of the Epstein files contains more than three million documents - the largest release of its kind. In what appears to be a clumsy attempt at a cover-up by the US Department of Justice, the sloppily redacted names of high-profile perpetrators have failed to conceal the intricate web of global elites spanning politics, royalty, Hollywood and tech. The fallout in Europe has resulted in a string of resignations, but in the US, there has been limited accountability for the politicians named in the files, including Donald Trump. Contributors: Mehdi Hasan - Editor-in-chief and CEO, Zeteo News Chris Hedges - Host, The Chris Hedges Report Nikki McCann Ramirez - Politics reporter at Rolling Stone Danielle Moodie - Host, The Danielle Moodie Show On our radar: It’s been a month since Iranian authorities imposed a total internet blackout during a violent crackdown on antigovernment protesters. Since then, the state has ramped up the targeted repression of journalists and progressive politicians in Iran. The limited information that has managed to make it out of the country, via Elon Musk’s Starlink, is now struggling against what experts say are internet filtering technologies from Chinese companies. Tariq Nafi reports on Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown. How the US military took over American football From choreographed flyovers to flags stretching the length of the field, no other sports league has marketed patriotism as aggressively or successfully as the United States’ National Football League, the NFL. Militarism is embedded in sports and entertainment in the US, but, under the Trump administration, more state institutions are trying to get in on the act. Ryan Kohls reports on the power and the spectacle of the Super Bowl. Featuring: Howard Bryant - Sports journalist and author Kavitha Davidson - Podcast host, Sportly Gregory Daddis - Professor of history, Texas A&M University; retired colonel, US Army

The Epstein files dump has led to days of intense media coverage, revealing how powerful elites around the world engaged in either illegal or morally reprehensible behaviour. But even as journalists sift through millions of documents, one of the most significant stories remains largely missing from the mainstream narrative. Contributor: Murtaza Hussain - National security and foreign affairs reporter, Drop Site News The farce of the ‘ceasefire’ coverage in Gaza More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since a US-brokered "ceasefire" was signed, which begs the question: Should journalists, in contextualising the story, really be calling this a “ceasefire”? As Israel signals it’s preparing to resume full-scale war, we examine how media silence, selective framing and restricted access help keep Gaza off the world’s screens. Featuring: Shaiel Ben-Ephraim - Senior analyst, Atlas Global Strategies Diana Buttu - Palestinian lawyer Muhammad Shehada - Visiting fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations Daniel Levy - President, U.S./Middle East Project

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the fatal shooting of a protester by border control agents triggered mass demonstrations and presented the Trump administration with an unexpected test of its immigration strategy. Footage captured by onlookers has undercut official statements and intensified questions about the level of force and use of high-tech tools being used to crack down on dissent. Contributors: Julie Millican – Vice president, Media Matters Qasim Rashid – Human Rights lawyer and founder, Let's Address This Naureen Shah – Director of government affairs, ACLU Prem Thakkar – Reporter, Zeteo News On our radar Just days after ownership of TikTok in the US changed hands, with several of the investors linked to President Trump, users reported widespread censorship of content critical of the administration and its allies. Tariq Nafi reports on the allegations, the tech backlash and the rise of rival platforms. Bangladesh’s election and the media under threat Bangladesh’s first post-Hasina elections are approaching amid deep political turbulence and growing fear within the country. After major newsrooms were attacked and journalists targeted by disinformation-driven violence, the country’s media finds itself on the front line of a volatile transition. Mahfuz Anam, the editor of a large English daily, tells us what that’s like. Featuring: Mahfuz Anam – Editor, Daily Star

Donald Trump’s latest attempt to seize Greenland shows that the president is willing to use US force to determine international borders, even at the expense of sovereignty. Western allies - NATO countries included -  publicly formed a united front, but private messages have revealed a more deferential approach to dealing with Trump. This latest crisis may have been averted, but the question remains: Does the so-called rules-based international order apply to Trump? Contributors:  Louise Bokkenheuser - Writer and editor Branko Marcetic - Staff writer, Jacobin Anchal Vohra - Columnist, Foreign Policy Ulrich Bruckner - Professor for European studies, Stanford University On our radar: Donald Trump launched his highly-publicised "Board of Peace" initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. The signing ceremony followed a familiar pattern for this White House - a carefully staged event centred on Trump, his overblown claims of peacemaking, and speeches in praise of him. But the turnout appears to have fallen short of the hype. A conversation with Ellie Leonard Trump’s Justice Department was ordered to publish documents from the Epstein files more than a month ago. Only 1% of the heavily redacted material has been made public. While the Trump administration floods the zone with news that mainstream outlets have been chasing, an unconventional team of investigators is digging into the Epstein files to see what’s there. They are led by online investigator Ellie Leonard in New York City. Featuring:  Ellie Leonard - Contributing editor, Blue Amp Media

This past week, Iranian protesters were labelled “terrorists” and “saboteurs” by the state. That rhetoric was accompanied by an internet blackout and a surge in violence, with the death toll still unclear. Simultaneously, tensions between the United States and Iran escalated, raising the stakes in what has become one of the most serious political upheavals in the country in years. Contributors: Tohid Asadi – Correspondent, Al Jazeera English Narges Bajoghli – Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University Roxane Farmanfarmaian – Lecturer, University Of Cambridge Farzan Sabet – Managing Researcher, Global Governance Centre On our radar In the US, the shooting - in public - of a woman two weeks ago by immigration officers has spiralled into a case of outright lying that is remarkable even by the standards of the Trump administration. Ryan Kohls reports on how official accounts, allied media and even AI-generated spokespeople were deployed to defend the shooting. Cory Doctorow: The AI hype machine Artificial intelligence is routinely framed as unstoppable - a technology the world must adapt to, not question. But as companies invest hundreds of billions and the hype accelerates, scrutiny has fallen away. Cory Doctorow on who controls the story around AI and why past tech “revolutions” offer a warning. Featuring: Cory Doctorow – Author and activist

The horrific Bondi Beach attack in Australia was pulled into Israel’s global information war this past week. As blame was directed towards pro-Palestine politics, media narratives blurred Jewish identity and Israeli state policy - raising urgent questions about who is put at risk when Israel’s anti-Palestinian messaging travels beyond its borders. Contributors: Naama Blatman – Executive member, Jewish Council of Australia Ori Goldberg – Academic and political commentator Antony Loewenstein – Author, The Palestine Laboratory Ramia Sultan – Palestinian Australian lawyer On our radar The outspoken and irreverent Hong Kong media mogul - Jimmy Lai - was convicted this week of conspiring with foreign forces. Tariq Nafi reports on how the Chinese Communist Party is tightening its grip on Hong Kong through its media. The pervasiveness of Hindutva pop In India, Hindu nationalism, or "Hindutva", has spread into a variety of media platforms. Meenakshi Ravi explores its musical subgenre, Hindutva pop, and speaks to one of its biggest names. Featuring: Kanhiya Mittal – Musician Kunal Purohit – Author, The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars Samriddhi Sakunia – Journalist and current affairs Instagrammer

For more than a century, Warner Bros has been one of Hollywood’s biggest players, a legacy studio that helped define the Golden Age of cinema with iconic blockbuster movies. Now, it’s at the centre of a contentious, billion-dollar bidding war between Netflix, the world's leading streaming platform, and Paramount Skydance, owned by the powerful Ellison family, which has close ties to President Trump. Whichever way this goes, the outcome isn’t looking great. Contributors: Matt Craig - Reporter, Forbes Daheli Hall - Writer and director Lee Hepner - Antitrust lawyer Dominic Patten - Executive editor, Deadline On our radar This week, Australia became the first country in the world to impose a social media ban for children less than the age of 16. The Australian government says it is taking on Big Tech and safeguarding children, but some young people were able to quickly bypass the new rules. Ryan Kohls reports. The Imran Khan rumour mill Despite being in jail for more than two years, Imran Khan continues to occupy airtime in Pakistan. After the army restricted access to Khan, rumours of his death ricocheted across social media.  Pressure from his supporters and family forced the military to lift the restrictions and grant Khan’s sisters access to speak to him. Meenakshi Ravi reports on the showdown between Imran Khan and powerful Field Marshal Asim Munir, and what it reveals about power, politics and narrative control in Pakistan. Featuring:  Amber Rahim Shamsi - Pakistan Editor, Nukta Moeed Pirzada - Political YouTuber Mohammed Hanif - Author and journalist

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking for a pardon over a range of corruption charges laid against him after repeatedly telling Israeli journalists that he would clear his name in court. The prime minister has long described the case against him as a witch-hunt led by the media and the judiciary. If he succeeds in sidestepping the courts, Israeli journalists and judges will wonder what he might have in store for them. Contributors: Daniel Levy – President, US/Middle East Project Dana Mills – Writer, Local Call & +972 Magazine Jonathan Ofir – Writer, Mondoweiss Dan Perry – Author, "Ask Questions Later" Substack On our radar: This week, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted Israel’s PR problems have more to do with TikTok than with the genocide Israeli forces have inflicted on Gaza. Ryan Kohls looks at a persistent myth still making the rounds in American political circles. The phenomenon of Kim Ou-Joon Kim Ou-Joon is part journalist, part activist, part political performer. An outspoken and sometimes controversial voice who leans to the left ideologically, Kim leads South Korea’s biggest YouTube-based news network, primarily through a political podcast. The Listening Post’s Meenakshi Ravi reports on what Kim Ou-Joon - and others like him - reveal about the world of politics and media in South Korea. Featuring: Kim Ou-Joon – Founder and host, News Factory Jane Yeahin Pyo – Assistant professor, Tulane University Shreyas Reddy - Lead correspondent, NK News Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

The United States’ deadly “counter-narcotics mission” off Venezuela’s coast hinges on an unproven drug-smuggling narrative - a familiar pretext for regime change, and one the mainstream media have been quick to echo. Meanwhile, Venezuelans face escalating repression at home. Contributors: Spencer Ackerman - Author, Reign of Terror and Waller vs Wildstorm Abby Martin - Journalist, The Empire Files Miguel Tinker Salas - Professor, Latin American history, Pomona College "Pablo" - Anonymous Venezuelan Journalist On our radar: New leaks, from a disputed 28-point peace proposal to a secretly recorded call between Trump’s envoy and a Russian official, have upended the delicate Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Meenakshi Ravi explores what these revelations mean for any future deal. Israel’s settlers: From margin to mainstream Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has surged to unprecedented levels, driven by a fringe movement whose far-right ideology has been amplified and normalised across Israeli news outlets. The Listening Post’s Nic Muirhead reports on the movement’s growing power and the media ecosystem enabling its rise. Featuring: Hilla Dayan - Sociologist, University of Amsterdam Nimrod Nir - Political psychologist, Hebrew University of Jerusalem / Director, AGAM Labs Oren Ziv - Photojournalist, +972 Magazine

In the West Bank, record levels of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians are unfolding with little mainstream coverage. The few journalists who try to report on it often face attacks themselves. When the violence is covered, the settlers are often framed as fringe actors, despite clear backing from the Israeli state. A de facto annexation is under way in the West Bank, and yet much of the international media continues to look away. Contributors: Ben Reiff – Senior editor, +972 Magazine Jasper Nathaniel – Journalist Leila Warah – Bethlehem-based journalist Mariam Barghouti – Ramallah-based journalist On our radar As the rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration calling for the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro intensifies, much of the United States media is echoing that language. And with journalists branding Venezuela a “narco-state,” critics warn that the news media - much like in the lead-up to the Iraq War - is making the case for US military intervention. Defossilising the truth: Fighting fossil fuel disinformation As the COP30 climate summit in Belem wrapped up this week, we spoke with UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights Elisa Morgera about a major barrier to real climate action: disinformation. Her latest report lays out how climate justice activists and policymakers are battling decades of coordinated greenwashing by some of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies - efforts that continue to delay and undermine meaningful progress at this critical moment. Featuring: Elisa Morgera – UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights