L. Phillips
2026.1.1Arab Studies Quarterly
Abstract
This article addresses the glaring gap between mainstream pro-Israeli coverage and justification of the atrocities inflicted on Gaza since October 2023, and searing social media insights into the suffering, resilience, and transcendence of the local population. Based on the works of the postcolonial scholar Edward Said and of the Frankfurt School (1923–) – which critiqued the mass manipulation and injustice inherent in capitalist modes of cultural production – this article explores the crucial role of mobile journalism in combating the dominant dehumanizing discourse of mainstream news coverage of the current genocide. Using 103 continuous days of Instagram posts that the Gazan mobile journalist Bisan Owda uploaded since the beginning of the current onslaught, this article explores the radical role of both mass media research and mobile journalism in challenging injustice, in erasing Otherness, and in resonating with our senses, sensitivities, and political conscience. In so doing, Bisan has avoided censorship and evaded the lure of perfect victimhood and martyrdom.
Citation format
PHILLIPS, L. “Why do we sleep with the window open?” (@wizard_bisan): Using mobile journalism to combat pro-israeli propaganda against the people of gaza. Arab Studies Quarterly, 2026, 48(2).