{"id":97860,"date":"2025-05-22T13:08:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T11:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97860"},"modified":"2025-05-22T13:09:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T11:09:28","slug":"media-lens-zateo-media-marks-one-year-of-disrupting-the-mainstream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/media-lens-zateo-media-marks-one-year-of-disrupting-the-mainstream\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Lens: Zateo Media Marks One Year of Disrupting the Mainstream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n4-minute read
\n22 May 2025 | 10:45 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

Media Lens: Shifting perspectives to challenge dominant narratives and spotlight silenced voices.<\/p><\/div>\n

As Israel’s military assault on Gaza escalates, with over 1 000 Palestinians killed since mid-March, questions are mounting over how global media covers crises of such magnitude. Amid growing dissatisfaction with traditional news outlets, citizen-driven platforms like Zateo Media<\/em> are gaining ground, marking a notable shift in how news is consumed and understood in South Africa and beyond.<\/p>\n

On its first anniversary, Zateo<\/em> stands as a compelling case for the power of grassroots journalism. Founded as an independent, citizen-owned outlet with a Muslim CEO at its helm, the platform\u2019s survival and growth without corporate or state funding signals a changing tide. \u201cIt\u2019s not driven by big money, but by user subscriptions,\u201d said Ibrahim Deen, a researcher at the Afro-Middle East Centre in Johannesburg, during a discussion on Radio Islam International<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWhat it shows is that the old traditional model of media is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

The emergence of platforms like Zateo<\/em> reflects a media landscape in flux\u2014one shaped by direct audience engagement and driven by public interest rather than profit or political pressure. From the United States\u2019 Midas Touch<\/em> to content creators leveraging Substack, YouTube, and Instagram, independent journalism is increasingly telling the stories that mainstream outlets often overlook or underplay.<\/p>\n

Particularly significant is how this model is covering the genocide in Gaza. \u201cThese outlets cover international affairs from a people-driven, not power-driven, lens,\u201d Deen explained. The absence of corporate ties gives them editorial freedom, and in an era where media bias is under constant scrutiny, this independence is invaluable.<\/p>\n

Still, the influence of legacy media cannot be dismissed. It continues to shape policy discourse and holds sway in corridors of power. Yet, Deen noted, \u201cTikTok and similar platforms have allowed those previously silenced to speak. The barriers to entry have lowered. There\u2019s a diversity of news and views.\u201d<\/p>\n

As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, however, new ethical and credibility challenges are surfacing. From auto-generated misinformation to deepfake visuals, the line between truth and falsehood is increasingly blurred. Deen highlighted a recent incident where X\u2019s AI chatbot, Grok, misinformed users about a so-called \u201cwhite genocide\u201d in South Africa\u2014a stark reminder of the dangers posed by unchecked AI narratives.<\/p>\n

\u201cVerification becomes a critical issue,\u201d Deen warned. In conflict zones like Gaza or Syria, distinguishing factual citizen reports from manipulated content is harder than ever. AI\u2019s \u2018hypnosis effect\u2019\u2014its confidence in wrong answers\u2014adds to the complexity.<\/p>\n

The role of platforms like Zateo<\/em> thus extends beyond mere reporting. It\u2019s about education, verification, and restoring journalistic integrity. But even here, pitfalls exist. \u201cPeople now tend to listen only to those they agree with, creating echo chambers,\u201d Deen pointed out. \u201cYou stop hearing other views and start believing factually incorrect information.\u201d<\/p>\n

To mitigate this, tools like Ground News<\/em>, which assess news sources based on bias and accuracy, have emerged. However, the demand remains for reputable journalists, researchers, and intellectuals to serve as custodians of the truth.<\/p>\n

As global crises deepen and the media ecosystem continues to evolve, platforms like Zateo<\/em> are not just disrupting the narrative\u2014they are redefining it. And for South Africa\u2019s emerging generation of media consumers, this could not be more timely.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the Media Lens on Sabaahul Muslim<\/a> with Muallimah Shakirah Hunter and Ibrahim Deen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 4-minute read 22 May 2025 | 10:45 CAT As Israel’s military assault on Gaza escalates, with over 1 000 Palestinians killed since mid-March, questions are mounting over how global media covers crises of such magnitude. Amid growing dissatisfaction with traditional news outlets, citizen-driven platforms like Zateo Media are gaining ground, marking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Media-Lens.jpg?fit=375%2C376&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pso","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 14:45:19","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}