Research Interests

 Hamas’s Communication Strategies during the 2023-2024 Gaza War

o Host institution: Hands Bredow Institute & GIGA institute – Hamburg, Germany

o Region: Middle East

o Theme: Political Communication, Language and Conflicts

o Methodology: Communication Strategies, discourse analysis and online ethnography

This is an empirical and exploratory research that aims to deconstruct digital dynamics and online discourses of Hamas amid the ongoing 2023-2024 Gaza War. Specifically, this project aims:

1) to present an overall description of Hamas’s communication outlets and accounts on social media. 2) to examine Hamas’s discourses on the current ongoing war, and how they are overlapped or developed over time since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. 3) to explore the recontextualization and perception of Hamas by its targets on social media. 4) to demonstrate the causes, multiple trajectories and effects of Hamas’s discourses on local constituencies in Palestine, the neighboring countries, e.g., Egypt and Jourdan and possibly worldwide, e.g., the USA and Germany.5) to contribute to theoretical and methodological concerns related to critical discourse studies on Palestinian studies specifically and in the Middle East studies.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, selective tools intersect together and form an innovative framework that responds to the various ‘new’ types of data produced and distributed on social media. The project proposes a combined analysis to identify, quantify, interpret and explain digital discursive processes, digital discourses and social media communication patterns. This framework combines and gathers tools from: 

a. Traditions of (critical) discourse studies

b. Online Ethnography  

c. Social Networks Analysis

This project examines the rapid transformation occurring in Hamas's media landscape, moving away from traditional journalism that emphasizes fact-checking towards a more self-contained, inward-looking model that prioritizes ideological coherence over meticulous factual accuracy. This change is evident in Hamas's approach to social media communication.

Israeli politicians’ Discourse on the 2023-2024 Gaza War:

o Host institution: Self-Project

o Region: Middle East - Israel

o Theme: Political Communication, Language & Conflicts

o Methodology: Linguistic & Discourse Analysis 

The study employs discourse analysis as a crucial interpretive method for deconstructing Israeli discourse and understanding how to address it. This research relies on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and its approaches as a general framework, aiming to elucidate the relationship between media discourse and the broader social and political context in Israel. The study is designed to integrate the discursive functions of linguistic choices and to explore the dialectical relationship between language, discourse, and society to uncover the embedded ideologies.

Hamas in Cyberspace: Social Media & New Forms of Political Expression

o Host institution: Center for the Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University

o Region: Middle East - Palestine

o Theme: Political Communication, Language and Conflicts

o Methodology: Communication Strategies, discourse analysis and online ethnography

This project explores the digital dynamics and online radicalization discourses of Hamas, focusing on its use of social media for recruitment and ideological propagation.

Objectives:

1. Social Media Use: Examine how Hamas uses Twitter and Facebook to reinforce ideologies, mobilize individuals, and propagate its agenda.
2. Digital Discourses: Analyze Hamas’s online discourses, including identity construction and legitimization strategies,  to understand their impact on mobilizing support.
3. Radicalization Factors: Investigate the processes, causes, and effects of radicalization within Hamas, influenced by national and transnational factors.
4. Impact on Communities: Assess the consequences of digital radicalization on Middle Eastern communities.

The project highlights that social media communication and radicalization dynamics vary across movements, countries, and regions.

Public event about the project at Harvard:

https://cmes.fas.harvard.edu/event/hamas-cyberspace-social-media-and-new-forms-political-expression

The Islamic State’s Social Media Practices for Mobilizing Young People Online

o Host institution: Newcastle University

o Region:Middle East – Arab countries

o Theme:Language and Conflicts, Radicalization

o Methodology: Social Media Analysis and social media discourse analysis

In the context of Arab Spring revolutions, one of the most salient and unfortunate aspects has been the growing power of Islamist movements and ideologies such as the Islamic State (IS), the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and El-Nahda in Tunisia. This project seeks to investigate the links between micro-strategies of communication in language, images, videos, and testimonials and the macro-structures of discourse and myths used by IS. The project aims to provide a detailed and nuanced picture of the micro-macro legitimatory practices of IS within a critical and sound political contextualization of the data. This will help to better understand how Islamist movements use Social Media and to what extent media and technology arguments hold valid in the context of the persuasive power of IS. 

The other aspect is to examine how the discursive politics of self-representation and identity in general play a role in such movement. 

My research proposal aims at achieving the following overall objectives and follows actions for each objective: 

1.)To map the general politics of ethnicity, language, and culture in the context of Islamist movements; this will be addressed by reviewing literature across disciplines, e.g. political science, communication, media studies security studies, etc. 

2) To examine language representation, i.e. the specific perspectives from which Islamist movements are constructed and the language used in their texts or talks to assign meanings to them and their social practices. This focuses on actual analysis of data in analytical parts. 

3) To critically examine the power relations between the discourse of Islamist movements and their self-representation. This will be discussed mainly in the discussion parts and conclusion of the research. 

My scholarly investigations, professional endeavors, and analysis of media coverage and reporting enable me to observe how the media can either escalate or de-escalate conflicts. I firmly adhere to the belief that "violence can only breed further violence," acknowledging the existence of a concurrent media battle alongside physical warfare. Apart from comprehending the media's role, I have developed an appreciation for the importance of hope and the value of education, particularly higher education and research. Driven by these realizations, I am committed to evolving into a distinguished professor specializing in digital media and discourse studies, aspiring to contribute to global educational and research contexts. Over the past two decades, I have garnered extensive expertise in digital media, mass communication, and linguistics through my academic pursuits and professional engagements in Palestine, the UK, the US, and Germany. 

Principal Investigator (PI) overseeing research projects at globally renowned institutions   

My research centers on exploring the intricate connections between mass communication, digital media, geopolitics, and the Middle East region. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, I leverage diverse methodologies to meticulously scrutinize discourse, content, visual frames, and media productions. This comprehensive examination contributes to a nuanced understanding of the subject matter. The methodological framework encompasses various techniques, including but not limited to critical discourse analysis (CDA), digital ethnography, visual content analysis, and multimodal analysis. Additionally, I utilize research-related software and programs, such as NodeXL, NVivo, among others.

Since December 2023, I have taken on the role of a researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research, Hans-Bredow-Institute, based in Germany. During this tenure, I will be involved in research projects aimed at examining digital media and its impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a significant focus on the events surrounding the war of 2023. Additionally, my work and research have been recognized, and I have been granted the status of a research fellow at the American Research Foundation in the USA. This acknowledgment reflects the appreciation for my contributions to the field.

In 2022, I became a researcher and Fulbright scholar at Harvard University's Centre for Middle Eastern Studies. This opportunity allowed me to enhance my research and educational skills, particularly in applying critical discourse analysis to social media studies. My research projects at Harvard focused on exploring and deconstructing the digital dynamics and online discourses of the Hamas movement. The objective of this project is to investigate the digital dynamics and discourses, along with their various trajectories and impacts on the radicalization of a socio-political and Islamist movement in Palestine within the socio-techno/digital-politico contexts.

The focus of my research expertise took shape during my post-doctoral tenure at Newcastle University in the U.K. from 2017 to 2019. The project centered on analyzing the discourse, content, and visual frames employed by the Islamic State on social media. The aim was to enhance our understanding of how the Islamist movement ISIS utilizes social media to reinforce its discourses, ideologies, and thoughts, particularly during times of conflict and ideological struggles. In essence, this study aimed to unravel the patterns of rhetorical propaganda employed by the Islamic State (IS) and how the movement attracts individuals globally, impacting security in Europe and around the world. 

My academic journey encompasses the successful completion of a Ph.D. in media and communication studies from Hamburg, Germany. My doctoral research focused on analyzing the representation of social actors in reports pertaining to the Gaza war of 2008-09. Furthermore, I hold a Master's degree from Anglia Ruskin University, where my research involved analyzing the discourse utilized in the British press's coverage of the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip.

Supervision

In my role as a research supervisor, I have actively guided MA dissertations and graduation projects, ensuring the high quality and academic rigor of students' work. My combined experience in journalism and academic research provides a well-rounded perspective that contributes to both academia and the industry. Currently, at Gaza University, I am supervising an ongoing MA dissertation titled 'A Critical Discourse Analysis of International Media Coverage: The Case of the Assassination of Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.' Additionally, during my tenure at Newcastle University, I supervised several MA dissertations, covering diverse topics that include, but are not limited to:

- A study of how companies use social media on brand management and its impact

- An investigation of how supervision is used on social media by public opinions

- The Development Tendency of Media in China-New Media

- The role of paid media on Sina microblog (Weibo)

- Exploring Media use: Overseas Chinese master students and their parents on WeChat

Research Funds

Throughout my research pursuits and applications, I have successfully secured substantial funding from various fellowships and awards in the first round. The details of these funds are outlined in the following list of fellowships and awards: 

· Fulbright: research at Harvard University, (USA)

· EU-Marie Curie Fellowship: Post doctorate Fellowship, Newcastle University (U.K.)

· Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, Post doctorate Fellowship, Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.

· DAAD scholarship, PhD Study, University of Hamburg

· Right Livelihood Campus, grant through DAAD, University of Bonn, Centre for Development Research (ZEF)

· MA Grant, MA Study in Linguistics Anglia Ruskin University-Cambridge

Research Agenda

To enhance my research skills and acquire comprehensive insights into research outcomes, I integrate my academic pursuits with practical experiences and direct engagement in journalism, particularly in the realm of digital media news. This approach allows me to bring a well-rounded perspective to my work, contributing effectively to both academic endeavors and the industry. My expertise is grounded not only in my training and experience as a journalist in Gaza, Palestine but also in my active involvement in significant journalistic initiatives. For example, I have played an active role in media and press interviews related to Gaza wars, dating back to 2008, with a specific emphasis on the most recent conflict and the unfolding events of October 7th, 2023. This hands-on participation provides me with firsthand knowledge and a practical understanding of the dynamic landscape in which my research is situated.

I am eager to continue my research in new/digital media analysis and actively contribute to major Scopus-indexed journals. Exploring collaboration possibilities, I am interested in co-authoring publications with esteemed colleagues, including Prof. Jairo Alfonso Lugo-Ocando, with whom I share overlapping research interests.

Furthermore, I am considering the Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies as a potential venue for publication, possibly exploring the writing of a special issue focusing on digital media news and the recent events surrounding the Gaza war in 2023. This initiative aligns with my commitment to disseminating valuable insights and contributing to the scholarly discourse in the field.

Continuing my research agenda, I plan to advance a research project proposal that will be presented to the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts in collaboration with Prof. Ethan Zuckerman and other colleagues from Harvard university. In essence, this project aims to scrutinize and explore Hamas's communication strategies and narratives disseminated through mainstream and social media amid the ongoing Gaza war in 2023, which commenced on October 7th, 2023.

Additionally, I am deeply interested in developing research projects that explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital media. I have already contributed to two publications in this domain. One example is 'The Future of Employing Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Developing the Work of Arab Media Institutions: A Field Study of a Sample of Communicators and Academic Elites in Libya and Palestine.' 

Another paper, currently under review, is titled 'Future Foresight for Employing Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Arab Media Institutions from the Point of View of Academics Specializing in Media: A Predictive Study.' Notably, this paper is a collaborative effort with colleagues and experts in AI and media from Palestine, Libya, and Egypt. 

The aforementioned projects have paved the way for numerous research avenues, significantly enriching my understanding of the role played by media, language, and rhetoric in political discourse, particularly in the context of new/digital media during times of wars and conflicts. The manner in which digital and mainstream media language is employed in political conflicts holds the power to shape people's perceptions of the conflict. While I am in the process of applying for promotion with the aim of becoming a full professor of media studies, the unfortunate eruption of conflict in Gaza has added complexity to this endeavor. Despite these challenges, I remain committed to giving my best efforts to achieve my goals. I am a motivated individual with the potential to succeed in the face of adversity.