Summary
Le Desk (Arabic: لوديسك) is an independent Moroccan digital news outlet that publishes in French and Arabic.[1][2][3] It was founded in 2014-2015 by Ali Amar as well as two other co-founders, Fatima-Zahra Lqadiri and Aziz Aouadi.[1][4][5][6] Its headquarters are in the Mers Sultan neighborhood of Casablanca.[6]
 Logo of le Desk | |
| Country of origin | Morocco |
|---|---|
| Official website | ledesk |
History edit
Ali Amar established Le Desk after having created La Vie Éco, which he says paved the way for independent media in Morocco.[6]
In 2015, Le Desk worked with the media NGO Reporters Without Borders to create the Media Ownership Monitor, a database identifying major players in Morocco's media landscape and their interests outside the media.[7] It was the first time the Moroccan media landscape was scrutinized in this way.[7]
In 2018, Le Desk revealed that the lobbyist Richard Smotkin, who was later hired by the Moroccan government, played a role in the visit of Scott Pruitt, head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (2017-2018), to Morocco.[8]
The investigative journalist Omar Radi was working for Le Desk when he was arrested for a tweet and when Amnesty International discovered NSO Group's Pegasus spyware on his personal cellphone.[9][10][11]
Le Desk is affiliated with Mediapart as well as the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which has been recognized for its work on the Panama Papers.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b "Qui sommes nous ?". Le Desk. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ^ Oliveira, Nelson. "Jailed for a tweet: Journalist could face year in prison for 'insulting' judge on social media". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ^ Lipton, Eric; Friedman, Lisa; Vogel, Kenneth P. (2018-05-01). "A Lobbyist Helped Scott Pruitt Plan a Morocco Trip. Then Morocco Hired the Lobbyist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ^ "" Le pluralisme est factice au Maroc, malgré un millier de sites d'information "". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ^ "Media Ownership Monitor Morocco".
- ^ a b c d "Le Desk takes a gamble on investigative journalism in Morocco". CFI. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ a b "Pluralism is more than figures - RSF and Le Desk release Media Ownership Monitor Morocco findings | Reporters without borders". RSF. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ Lipton, Eric; Friedman, Lisa; Vogel, Kenneth P. (2018-05-01). "A Lobbyist Helped Scott Pruitt Plan a Morocco Trip. Then Morocco Hired the Lobbyist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ "Meet Omar Radi, the Moroccan Journalist Who Was Jailed for a Single Tweet & Faces Trial on March 5". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ "Moroccan independent journalists describe climate of pervasive surveillance, harassment". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (2020-06-21). "Israeli spyware used to target Moroccan journalist, Amnesty claims". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-03.