News

Blinx Brings Fresh Storytelling & News To Middle Eastern Youth

The digital media hub aims to connect and empower Gen Z and Millennial viewers across a range of platforms.

Published

3 years ago

September 17, 2023

Nour Nasir

Blinx

Blinx, the Middle East’s new digital media hub, aims to empower Gen Z and Millennial viewers using digital storytelling and news stories across a range of platforms and devices.

Since being announced in March 2023, Blinx has been on a mission to deliver the most authentic narratives and culturally relevant content to young Middle Easterners.

nakhle elhage blinx dubai

Nakhle Elhage, General Manager of Blinx, explained: “We’ve made remarkable strides since our brand name announcement. The launch of Blinx is not just about compelling content creation. It’s a digital media powerhouse that promotes storytelling excellence in a myriad of genres like entertainment, infotainment, news, business, lifestyle, sports, self-development, climate change, and more. Our Smart TV App also offers exclusive long-form content such as investigative journalism, talk shows, and live broadcasts”.

The MENA region currently has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, at over 26%. Blinx already employs around 150 young professionals, helping to buck the negative trend while simultaneously offering a voice to the disaffected youth. “Content creators and creative storytellers are on a mission to shift perspectives,” Elhage said. “Not only are they talented and bold, but they also embody the youth’s energy, dynamism, and resourcefulness that is Blinx”.

blinx dubai media city

Blinx is headquartered in Dubai’s Media City. The company has already doubled in size since its launch and now boasts a wealth of cutting-edge technology in its production facility. Alongside state-of-the-art VR technology, Blinx also has the capability to create Metaverse and extended reality content and is also trialing AI tools alongside advanced analytics.

Also Read: Mitgo Launches MENA Publisher Investments Program

“Technology is designed to transport audiences beyond traditional storytelling, pushing the limits of innovation, news, information, data, and others,” said Fadi Radi, Blinx’s Chief Creative Officer. “Our featured stories cater to tech-savvy youth, offering a blend of entertainment and insightful inspiration. End-users can effortlessly swipe through stories, engaging with content creators and peers”.

News

Meta’s New AI Tool Builds Images From Public Instagram Photos

Muse Image lets anyone generate AI visuals from your public posts, unless you find the opt-out that’s buried in your account settings.

Published

13 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Nour Nasir

Meta

Meta has a new AI image generator, and it comes with a feature that has privacy advocates alarmed. Muse Image, launched Tuesday by the company’s Superintelligence Labs division, lets users generate AI images by @ mentioning any public Instagram account — pulling that person’s photos into the creation without their knowledge.

The tool is available through the Meta AI app, WhatsApp, and Instagram Stories. Meta says it “uses advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere”. The tagging is the flashpoint: “Tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that’s ready to post,” the company says. Every public Instagram profile can be used unless its owner has explicitly opted out.

That default has drawn sharp criticism. Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy nonprofit, called the feature “an egregious invasion of user privacy”. “Meta has once again chosen the creepiest possible path,” said J.B. Branch, the group’s director of federal AI governance and technology policy. “People should not wake up to discover their face has become raw material for someone else’s AI experiment”. “Instead of asking for meaningful consent, Meta quietly defaults users into the system and buries the opt-out in account settings,” Branch added. “It’s a playbook we’ve come to expect from a company with a long history of putting its business interests ahead of the public”.

Also Read: WhatsApp Usernames Are Coming: Here’s How To Claim Yours

Despite the concerns, it’s worth noting that private accounts are already protected. Muse Image requires access to public photos, and anyone trying to tag a private profile will be told the account can’t be used. Public accounts, on the other hand, must opt out manually. To do that, users will need to go to their profile, tap the menu in the top-right corner, then Sharing and Reuse. Under “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta,” you’ll find separate toggles for Posts and Reels — switch both off to keep your images and videos out of other people’s AI creations.