''Raseef22'' () is a liberal
Arabic media network founded in 2013 based in
Beirut,
Lebanon.
It publishes content in Arabic and English from different
Arab states and describes itself as an independent media platform.
International Media Support
International Media Support (IMS) is an international NGO located in Copenhagen, Denmark, working to support local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. It works in 41 countries to improve profes ...
mentions ''Raseef22'' along with
''HuffPost Arabic'' and ''
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
'' as one of the biggest Pan-Arab online platforms.
Name
The Arabic word ''raseef'' () means platform or pavement, and the number 22 refers to the number of states in the
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
.
History
Kareem Sakka co-founded ''Raseef22'' in the aftermath of the
Arab Spring, which he cites as a source of inspiration.
In an article in
The Washington Post, he wrote that ''Raseef22'' was created as a "digital space for those eager to know what was going on around them."
''Raseef22'' was one of the 500 websites censored in
Egypt in late 2017 after it published an article on Egyptian security agencies' vies to influence the media.
After the site was blocked in Egypt, it was targeted in a cyber attack that took it offline in locations around the world.
Jamal Khashoggi wrote for ''Raseef22'' regularly. One of his notable articles was "Notes on the Freedom of the Arabs from Oslo, Norway," published June 5, 2018.
The site was blocked in
Saudi Arabia December 2018 when the Saudi
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities includes regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. T ...
ordered its censorship due to its "unprecedented response to the
assassination of Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul."
This decision might have also been related to ''Raseef22''
's coverage of
Saudi-Israeli relations and interviews with activists later imprisoned or placed under house arrest coverage
In 2019 the (AJL) in Paris gave ''Raseef22'' a golden foreign press award for its six-month series of articles on gender and sexuality issues.
[{{cite news , last1=Braidy , first1=Nour , title=Raconter les sexualités en arabe : Raseef22 remporte ''l'Out d'or de la presse étrangère'' , url=https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1175467/raconter-les-sexualites-en-arabe-raseef22-remporte-lout-dor-de-la-presse-etrangere.html , accessdate=26 June 2020 , work=L'Orient-Le Jour , date=19 June 2019]
Readership
According to its publisher in 2019, the news agency counted 12 million readers annually from 22 Arab nations.
Of the readership, he wrote that it "believes in the talent and promise of the Arab mind and sees the ugliness of tyranny, patriarchy, misogyny and the futility of proxy rulers and wars."
described ''Raseef22'' as "oriented to the youth."
References
Digital media
Arabic-language websites