Sean Ash

While avoiding accusations, this opinion piece examines inconsistencies at the reported blast site, drawing on AI-assisted image review to highlight unusual civilian presence, and close ties between the deceased reporter and Hamas leadership . In recent years I have become increasingly aware of how footage and photographs from conflict zones can be selectively presented or even staged to shape a particular narrative. This is not limited to one side of a conflict, but in Gaza there has been a well-documented history of staged or choreographed scenes, often referred to online as “Pallywood” or “ Gazawood .”  These productions have sometimes been exposed when behind-the-scenes footage leaks or when inconsistencies are spotted by viewers. This has sharpened my own eye, making me more cautious and critical when I see certain stories and images. I am not claiming that every event is fabricated, nor that every journalist is dishonest, but my past exposure to misleading or manipulated med...

Over the past couple of months, I have made it a point to explore the other side of the story. I can’t help it; it is how I have always approached big political moments. When the EU referendum came around, most media outlets seemed to lean pro- Brexit . It would have been easy for me, like many from a similar background, to be swept along in that tide. Instead, I dug deeper. I researched, I questioned, I listened to voices beyond the headlines, and I began to see that much of the rhetoric from UKIP was built on misinformation and spin. In the end, I believe I stood on the right side of history. Then came another issue dominating the headlines: the Israel–Palestine conflict . Western media outlets overwhelmingly portrayed Israel as the villain, accusing it of genocide , apartheid , and every conceivable war crime . My instinct, as before, was to hear from the people themselves. I listened to Palestinians . I listened to Jews . I listened to Israelis . What I discovered was that, on...

Judaism’s holiest site is controlled by those who deny Jews the right to pray, while demanding full religious freedom elsewhere. Can you imagine the reaction if Muslims in Britain were refused access to their mosques, not just barred from entering, but told they could not even pray quietly on the property? What if police officers were stationed outside, watching for anyone moving their lips or bowing their heads in prayer, and escorting them out for doing so? It would spark national outrage, and rightly so. Now consider this. On the Temple Mount in Jerusalem , the holiest site in Judaism, Jews are not allowed to pray. They may visit, but cannot recite a Psalm, whisper a prayer, or wear visible religious items. If they do, they are often removed by the police, acting under pressure from the Islamic Waqf , the Muslim religious authority that controls the site. Despite having a connection to this land that predates Islam by thousands of years, Jews are denied the most basic right to wor...

Amid the noise of outrage, blame, and destruction, the quiet voices of Israelis and Palestinians who long for peace are being drowned out. It’s time we start listening to them. We are living in a time where it feels as though empathy is being buried beneath rubble, where the loudest voices are often the most extreme, and where outrage overshadows humanity. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a global theatre of blame and bloodshed, with each side locked in a cycle of accusation, grief and rage. Both claim the mantle of victimhood, both shout of genocide, of terrorism, of existential threat. Both carry centuries of trauma in their bones. And both, heartbreakingly, are now mirroring each other’s hatred. I watched a video today. An IDF soldier, standing in uniform, was asked what he thinks should happen to Gaza. Without hesitation, he said it should be flattened. The Palestinian influencer behind the camera looked visibly shaken, yet satisfied. This was the clip he came to colle...

I  came across an article in The New Arab written by Dr. Shadee Elmasry expecting to read another perspective, but I was genuinely shocked by what I found. The article presents itself as a moral and theological critique of Muslim scholars who engage with Israel, yet what it really does is shut down dissenting voices, distort Islamic principles, and apply logic selectively depending on who is being discussed. One of the main claims made by Dr. Elmasry is that Muslims and the global community must rally around the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights: to exist, to return home, and to live free from occupation. That statement stood out to me because it mirrors the very same reasoning behind the Jewish return to their ancestral land. Jews too have inalienable rights to exist, to return to their homeland, and to live free from persecution. If those rights are valid for Palestinians, then they must also be valid for Jews. The article, however, promotes these rights for one group wh...