Tik Tok

Cancel Culture: A Word on Trial

The debate is still alive in 2025: Is cancel culture a tool of justice or a weapon of excess? The term resurfaces regularly, from university debates to international headlines, because it captures one of the defining tensions of our digital era: the balance between accountability and freedom of expression. And with social media platforms now ...

Brain at Risk: Toxic Effect of Short Videos

You open the app for “just two minutes.” Two hours later, you are still there, eyes glued to the screen, hypnotized by an endless stream of 15-second clips. You are not alone. TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts… these little capsules of digital dopamine, designed to flow effortlessly from one to the next, don’t just eat up your time; ...

Brain Rot: The Word That Defines Our Digital Decay

Have you ever tried to swipe a printed page like it’s a touchscreen? Then you may have had your first brain rot moment. The phrase exploded across social media in 2023 and 2024, describing what happens when online habits spill into everyday life. Whether it’s quoting TikTok slang in real conversations, interpreting real-world images like ...

How Adolescents Today Access and React to the News

At a time when global headlines are shaped by uncertainty, conflict, climate disruption, and political unrest, how are younger generations getting their news? And how do they make sense of the events shaking both their countries and the wider world? The voices of Generation Alpha and Gen Z—aged 11 to 16, living in Lebanon and abroad—offer a ...

Trump Extends Deadline for TikTok Sale by 90 Days

President Donald Trump announced Thursday he had given social media platform TikTok another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. "I've just signed the executive order extending the deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025)," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, putting off the ban for ...

#SkinnyTok: Anorexia Reflected in a Wordless Screen

Beneath TikTok’s dance videos and colorful filters lies a darker reality, a world where adolescents are drawn into a dangerous ideal. Under the hashtag #SkinnyTok, anorexia is not just present, it is glorified. The app gives young people the tools to expose themselves, compare and become captivated by an ideal of thinness that has quietly become ...

Trump Extends TikTok Deadline for Third Time

US President Donald Trump will this week give TikTok a fresh 90-day extension to find a non-Chinese buyer, the White House said Tuesday, the third time he has put off a threatened ban on the popular app. A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's January ...

Syrians Hope for Economic Recovery After West Lifts Sanctions

At a currency exchange in Damascus, Anas al-Shammaa is one of many Syrians hopeful that promised relief from Western sanctions will help revive their country's economy after years of war and isolation. "We were totally cut off from the world," said Shammaa, 45, who has been running the exchange shop since 2008. With the lifting of ...

Lebanon’s $30 Million Digital Ad Boom Bypasses Local Media

Despite a near-total freeze in ad campaigns since September 2024, triggered by the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, digital advertising emerged as a clear winner in Lebanon. According to the Lebanese chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), ad spending on platforms like Meta, TikTok and Google reached $30 ...

Far-Right Candidate Leads Romania’s Presidential Rerun

Romania's far-right candidate George Simion was leading in Sunday's first round of presidential elections according to exit polls for the rerun of last year's annulled ballot that plunged the country into political turmoil. The stakes are high for the NATO country of 19 million, which has become a key pillar of the defence alliance since Russia's ...

Trade War: China Navigates the Storm with a Steady Compass

Since Washington decided to strike hard with 145% tariffs, trade relations between China and the US have shifted from a negotiation table to a boxing ring. The blow is heavy: in 2024, the US alone accounted for nearly $500 billion in Chinese imports, making it Beijing’s largest commercial partner. In real terms, nearly one in five Chinese ...

TikTok Fined 530 Mn Euros in EU Over China Data Transfer

TikTok was hit with a massive EU fine of 530 million euros ($600 million) Friday, accused of sending personal data of Europeans to China and failing to guarantee it was shielded from access by Chinese authorities. The Chinese-owned social media giant, which is also in the crosshairs of the United States, acknowledged during a probe that it has ...