Quds News Network
Quds News Network (Arabic: شبكة قدس الإخبارية) (QNN) is a Palestinian news agency with alleged affiliations to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.[1]
![]() | |
Abbreviation | QNN |
---|---|
Official language | Arabic, English |
Website | qudsnen |
QNN is popular among young Palestinian Internet users given its strong social media presence.[2] QNN combines breaking news reporting by freelancers and volunteers with rapid distribution of often graphic video content. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the site's vast social media footprint and sharing of attack footage "has raised allegations from Israelis that Palestinian social media is helping to fuel a repeating cycle of violence."[3]
According to QNN journalist Ahmed Yousef, "the ultimate mission of Quds News is not about business or journalism but to promote the Palestinian fight against Israel."[3]
Blocks
In October 2019, QNN was one of more than 40 websites in the West Bank blocked by the Palestinian Authority as part of a crackdown of opposition voices and those critical of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The move became widely known after Palestinians protested the blocks on social media and in the streets.[2] In the same week, the block led to protests in the Gaza Strip, accusing Fatah of censorship.
Twitter subsequently suspended QNN's accounts in November 2019, as part of a broader suspension of accounts for their affiliation with Hamas or Hezbollah.[4][5][6] On 26 January 2021, QNN tweeted that its original Twitter accounts had been restored.[7]
In January 2021, TikTok banned QNN, stating that it was a move related to the account's content.[8]
References
- Patel, Yumna (23 October 2019). "Palestinian Authority blocks dozens of websites critical of Abbas government". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
Among the sites ordered to be blocked were the website and social media accounts of the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network
<ref>"Human Rights Reports: West Bank and Gaza". U.S. State Department. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
PA police at a checkpoint stopped, assaulted, and arrested Anas Hawari, a journalist for Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network, according to media reports and rights groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Estrin, Daniel (24 October 2015). "For Palestinians, social media is source of news — and anger". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
The site says it is independent, but has a reputation for being affiliated with Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad
- patel, Yumna (23 October 2019). "Palestinian Authority blocks dozens of websites critical of Abbas government". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- Mitnick, Joshua (26 October 2015). "Palestinian uprising: Upstart website feeds youth the news they want". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- "Leading Palestinian news site accounts suspended by Twitter: Three accounts belonging to the Quds News Network were suspended on Saturday". Middle East Eye. 2 November 2019.
- "Twitter suspends accounts of Palestinian Quds News Network". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- Tweh, Sarah E. Needleman and Bowdeya. "Twitter Suspends Accounts Linked to Hamas, Hezbollah". WSJ. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- @Qudsn_en (26 January 2021). "Our esteemed followers, Please be advised that QNN will stop publishing on its spare Twitter accounts and will return to the original accounts after about one and a half years of strenuous efforts that succeeded in restoring the accounts after being blocked by Twitter.[twitter.com/QudsNen @QudsNen]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Palestinian news platform QNN banned by TikTok". Middle East Eye. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
External links
- Official website (in English)
- Official website (in Arabic)