A new leap into innovative technology after nearly a quarter of a century since its publication Elaph is the first Arabic-language newspaper to invest in Artificial Intelligence
- Elaph keeps pace with rapid developments in the world and reconfirms its constructive and active presence innovative technology (Artificial Intelligence), becoming the first Arabic-speaking electronic newspaper in it
- Othman Al-Omeir: “Artificial intelligence innovates unlimited ways to get to real news”
- Othman Al-Omeir: “Elaph today foresees the future of accurate news, just as it forecasted more than 20 years ago the possibility of handling news electronically, not just in print”
- Othman Al-Omeir: “We maintain the pledge of credibility, boost our familiarity with the truth, and brace our ties with accuracy”
- Chris McLaughlin, Chairman of Elaph Media plc: “We have a clear vision for the challenge and very sophisticated plans to create ways to bring together artificial intelligence and contemporary media in one news crucible”
Elaph has taken a pioneering step, relying on its long media history and an international network of writers, journalists, and editors, towards achieving its vision of becoming one of the most prominent pioneers in media content production, keeping pace with rapid developments in the world, reestablishing its constructive and effective presence in artificial intelligence (AI), reserving a well-deserved place as the first Arabic-language electronic newspaper to evolve, and carrying the banner of correct and accurate news and distinguished and independent analysis.
Othman Al-Omeir, founder and editor-in-chief of Elaph, commented: “Twenty-two years ago, Elaph foresaw the possibility of handling news in a virtual way, launching the first Arab online daily. Today, it is anticipating the future development of accurate news and finds that there is a major role to be played using AI.”
Elaph’s strategic use of AI technologies aims to transform the news experience for users by offering personalised, engaging, and in-depth content. The implementation of virtual news commentators, smart news readers, political analysis apps, trends indicators, and social impact reports will not only enhance Elaph’s news offerings but also strengthen its position as a leading news service and content provider. As AI continues to evolve, Elaph’s commitment to innovation will ensure its sustained success and relevance in an increasingly competitive media landscape, reconfirming the distinction it has maintained for more than two decades.
Elaphs purpose, to deliver comprehensive news, culture and knowledge, remains constant. But with investment in technological innovation it aspires to transform Elaph from a pioneering media outlet into an integrated media-economic-commercial platform, which consolidates its well-known position in the electronic and virtual worlds, both in media and commercial terms, through multiple activities. Elaph intends to launch a variety of conferences, festivals, exhibitions, award-distribution events in cultural, knowledge, artistic, investment, tourism, media, and other fields. This will strengthen its presence in advertising and public relations sectors through the creation of specialized outlets in these fields. It plans to join print, publishing, and distribution sectors by issuing and selling books, publications, and periodicals; designing and rolling out software, especially in artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual reality; designing and disseminating applications; exploring opportunities for linking blockchain with various Elaph outlets in order to serve the reader and the contemporary media sector together; and opening the door wide to support, circulate, and publish specialized scientific and knowledge research. These and other approaches will enhance the media role of Elaph and its economic position at the same time.
Since its launch in London on May 21, 2001, Elaph has provided readers around the world with the latest developments in politics, economy, culture, sports, sociology, women’s affairs, and entertainment. Its extensive reports, from a wide network of professional correspondents, is combined with with articles exclusively penned by Arab and international writers publishing news with in-depth analysis. In order to widen its reader base Elaph publishes local editions such as Elaph Kuwait, Elaph Lebanon and Elaph Al-Maghrib, and distributes a special daily edition for subscribers.
Since its conception, Elaph proved that it is the premier publication for independent reporting and it still adheres to that philosophy today. For this, together with its founder, it has won many awards. In 2007, Al-Omeir was honored in the United Arab Emirates with the Media Personality of the Year Award from the Board of Directors of the Journalism Award of the Dubai Press Club, the Honorary Shield from the Arab Award Forum for Islamic Creativity in Jordan, and the Media Creativity Award from the Arab Thought Foundation in Bahrain. In 2009, Elaph won the Anna Lindh Foundation’s New Media for the Future Award, and in 2012 Forbes ranked it as the 10th most visited news site, with a readership of five million readers in some years. Also, at the beginning of the last decade, independent websites ranked it among the top 5,000 global websites in terms of readership and impact. McLaughlin commented: “We see fake news and misinformation spreading in abundance today, but news in Elaph has become the benchmark against which any news is measured. Elaph does not deviate from the principles of its founder, as no news is published before checking it, verifying its sources, and verifying the credibility of its narrators.” While Al-Omeir affirms that Elaph will sustain the pledge of credibility, boost its familiarity with the truth, and brace its ties with accuracy, he says: “All this is evident in our name, Elaph, which in Arabic is synonymous with covenant, intimacy, and alliance, and it remains the same Elaph, in both worlds, electronic and virtual, and in any issue it addresses.” Al-Omeir adds: “Political news occupies a large space in Elaph, but Elaph has distanced itself from political differences and refused to take sides among parties and states. It will maintain this principle in its next step as people and their main issues remain the focus of its attention. These issues concern the reader and have become an essential part of contemporary media.”
Early on Al-Omeir how important this was and preceded this development early on. Elaph reached an agreement with the BBC to provide news connecting readers with Western content, and then went on to partner with The Financial Times to issue How To Spend It Arabic, the Arabic edition of How To Spend It and the first luxury magazine in the Arab world. HTSIA includes exclusive content prepared by Middle Eastern Elaph journalists combined with articles translated from the English magazine, hence, becoming a window for the reader on global luxury. “This approach reinforces Elaph’s ability to create journalistic tools and when integrated with virtual reality will open the door to a new world for the user,” says Al-Omeir.
And the key to this is artificial intelligence! “Because of artificial intelligence and the diminishing boundaries between right and wrong, virtual reality will create unlimited ways to report real news,” says Al-Omeir. Just as Elaph took the lead a quarter of a century ago, today it is taking the lead towards a different media adventure, with its different opportunities and challenges, inventing its own ways so that its real and objective news receives the greatest interaction, leaving the greatest impact on users. Al-Omeir concluded: “We have a clear vision of what we are facing, and we have very sophisticated plans to create ways to combine artificial intelligence and contemporary media in one promising news crucible. Our journey into tomorrow has begun.”
This tomorrow, in Elaph’s perspective, is the next stage of its growth and expansion strategy. To reach this tomorrow, Elaph is looking for investors who share its values and passion for reliable and independent news that is accessible to all, who take with it an exciting and serious journey towards a world that is gradually shaping into a picture of the future. Do you want to be on board as an investor in the future of free and honest media?
Read the original article in Arabic here.
For more information about Elaph Media plc, please visit elaphmediaplc.com/investor.