Danya Hajjaji

Freelance journalist

Journalist w/ a proclivity for internet culture. West Tripolitania, born and raised.

Portfolio

Newsweek

Newsweek
05/05/2022
Risky herbal 'DIY' abortions circulate after Roe v. Wade leak

In anticipation of Roe v. Wade's potential demise, social media users are endorsing herbs and plants thought to induce abortion despite a critical lack of evidence clarifying their efficacy and safety. The recent leak of a Supreme Court draft majority opinion in favor of striking down Roe v.

Newsweek
04/12/2022
Violent YouTube cartoons exploit children's favorite horror characters

As fictional horror characters keep ascending to viral internet fame among children, a subset of widely-followed YouTube channels have been producing cartoons depicting these figures in even more disturbing settings. Much to the dismay of parents, educators and law enforcement, children's fondness for various characters from horror games and shows is nothing new.

Newsweek
04/01/2022
Gay conversion therapy group defies TikTok ban

As the U.K. fumbles its ban on conversion therapy, a prominent Christian group in the country that advocates for the practice is looking to promote its ideology on video-sharing app TikTok, which prohibits such content. The British government announced on Friday it would move to outlaw conversion therapy, a U-turn from scrapping these plans only hours earlier.

Newsweek
03/18/2022
On Russia's VK, anti-war messages defy Vladimir Putin's Ukraine censors

Russian social media platform VKontakte is seeing pockets of anti-war and pro-Ukraine sentiment in longstanding groups focused on common interests such as art, sports, music and celebrities, despite the Kremlin's draconian crackdown on dissent and the media. Dubbed the "Russian Facebook," VKontakte (or VK) reported having 97 million monthly users.

Newsweek
03/12/2022
iPhone stun guns, lipstick knives: The TikTok self-defense trend sold to women

TikTok's niche of independent businesses selling "self-defense keychains" for women is a trend that has self-defense experts worried and exposes some of its merchants to potential legal issues. Also dubbed "safety keychains," these colorful contraptions are sold in an oversaturated online market that taps into women's anxieties about gender-based violence.

Newsweek
03/04/2022
Stromae's new album tackles mental health, misogyny while sidestepping culture wars

Famed Belgian singer-songwriter Stromae has dropped his third album Multitude, making a long-awaited homecoming to the international music scene following an eight year hiatus. Known for hits such as "Alors on danse," "Papaoutai" and "Formidable," Stromae (real name Paul Van Haver; the stage name is a spin on "Maestro") is among the most influential contemporary francophone artists.

Newsweek
02/10/2022
Exclusive: How YouTube facilitates the persecution of TikTok women in Egypt

YouTube is facilitating the persecution of women and girls the Egyptian state deems too immodest by rewarding prominent male influencers whose inciting videos-viewed millions of times-target the very same young women in tandem with prosecutors. As these YouTubers touted claims of a symbiotic relationship with Egyptian authorities, at least a dozen women, some of them only teenagers, have faced arrest and jail.

Newsweek
12/29/2021
"War is coming"-Denver shooting suspect glorified guns and misogyny

The suspect in Monday's shooting spree in Denver, Colorado-which killed five people-left behind a Twitter feed boasting about his gun use and promoting misogyny, as well as lamenting the "suppression" of "male honor violence." Authorities identified Lyndon James McLeod, 47, as the shooter who opened fire at several locations in Denver and nearby Lakewood on Monday afternoon.

Newsweek
10/04/2021
YouTube lets parents exploit their kids for clicks

Lifestyle vlogger Jordan Cheyenne posted a tearful YouTube video from her car updating her 538,000 subscribers on Rosie, the family puppy, as her eight-year-old son sat sobbing in the passenger seat. The dog was battling canine parvovirus, a frequently fatal disease. After asking for prayers, Cheyenne signed off her September 8 video: "I love you guys.

The New Arab

The New Arab
05/19/2020
Egyptian actor's support for transgender son unveils a long road ahead for Arab trans rights

"Your son Noor? How come?" asked the interviewer. Candid with a soupçon of apprehension, Selim discussed Noor's transition, which he said was in its beginning phases. He also touched upon the difficulties his son faced when seeking to change his identification documents to reflect his gender identity, a significant issue among Egypt's trans community.

Committee To Protect Journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists
07/10/2019
AFP freelance journalist Hamza Turkia shot while covering clashes in Libya - Committee to Protect...

On June 19, 2019, an unidentified individual shot Hamza Turkia, a freelance photographer and videographer at the time working for French news agency Agence France-Presse, in the hand and leg while the journalist was covering clashes between forces allied with the internationally recognized Government of National Accord and the self-styled Libyan National Army in Tripoli,...

Committee to Protect Journalists
07/01/2019
Moroccan independent journalists describe climate of pervasive surveillance, harassment -...

In March 2015, Hicham Mansouri emailed an anti-malware company, suspicious of possible signs that someone was able to access his device remotely, without permission. He remembers exchanging a few messages with the software company, but the correspondence was interrupted after a few days, when around 10 police officers in civilian clothes arrived at his home...

Committee to Protect Journalists
06/17/2019
Two news websites inaccessible in Algeria amid protests, social media shutdowns - Committee to...

New York, June 17, 2019 -- Independent news websites Tout Sur l'Algérie and Algérie Part have been widely inaccessible within Algeria since June 12, according to local journalists and news reports. The apparently targeted disruption took place amid anti-government protests that have been ongoing for nearly four months, and began shortly before several social media...

Reuters

Reuters
07/24/2018
Toronto gunman a puzzle to his own tight-knit immigrant community

A close-knit vibrant immigrant community of Toronto's Thorncliffe Park neighborhood, where Faisal Hussain grew up and went to school, is struggling to square the image of the quiet, skinny boy they knew with the man who went on a shooting spree late on Sunday, killing two...

Reuters
07/23/2018
Toronto's safe-city tag in question after spike in gun crimes

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's largest city was once dubbed "Toronto the Good" for its squeaky-clean reputation but a mass shooting along one of its most popular restaurant strips is part of a nationwide rise in gun crimes, government data showed on Monday.

Reuters
06/29/2018
Canadian populist Doug Ford sworn in as Ontario province premier

TORONTO (Reuters) - Populist leader Doug Ford was sworn in as Ontario's new premier on Friday, ending 15 years of Liberal rule in Canada's most populous province, and he promised to drop a program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.