UK-based Syrian comedian and journalist Malath Alzoubi faced a wave of online threats after a July 2025 stand-up clip satirising Syria’s new leader Ahmad Al‑Sharaa and HTS’s history of dismantling infrastructure. Weeks after the video, a coordinated harassment campaign across Instagram, X and Facebook used homophobic slurs and location-based threats, exposing how Syrian artists in exile remain vulnerable to transnational digital intimidation.
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I work carefully and imperceptibly below the surface when it comes to freedom of artistic expression. Deep down I stand by those who want to break it but remind them of realities above the surface. At the same time, the water becomes shallower. This is my duty as a producer.
(Faisal Kiwewa, Bayimba, Uganda.)
