The Moroccan daily rejects the versions of some British media based on information published by Hespress two years ago.
Hespress denounces manipulation about the Azaitar brothers
14 de mayo de 2023 (08:45 h.)
Officials of the Moroccan daily Hespress have commented on the manipulation of the Azaitar brothers and their activities in Morocco by some media outlets in the UK, two years after the Moroccan media itself addressed the issue. They point out that, with its journalistic mission, Hespress was at the forefront of exposing the "rich" criminal record of the "monster" twins, referring to some of the Azaitar brothers.
In fact, about a year ago, Hespress published an article discussing the challenges associated with their rapid transition from the hell of prisons to the bliss of palaces.
At the time, Hespress was not seeking to defame or engage in sterile polemics, but was trying to sound the alarm and draw attention to the dangers of these German brothers manipulating the Kingdom's slogans and symbols, and their excessive boasting of expensive watches and luxurious cars, at a time when Morocco was facing a social crisis marked by high cost of living, inflation, and rising prices.
Despite the fact that the debate was still in its infancy, Hespress did not hide or give in to taboos. The news outlet published articles that aligned with its conviction, stating that "Abu Azaitar has a criminal record full of legal precedents that exceeds the size of a roll of toilet paper", just as the German regional channel "WDR" had described him years ago.
Years before the British media attack
Years before the British media attack, in June 2021, nearly two years after the articles by "The Economist" and "The Times," Hespress published an article in Arabic and French describing the Azaitar brothers as "time bombs."
Hespress boldly stated that "Abu Bakr Azaitar is a boxer oscillating between the illusions of the caliphate and the greed for wealth."
Hespress showed journalistic courage by writing, "the three brothers have become time bombs planted everywhere, which will eventually explode in the faces of Moroccans, in addition to their suspicious wealth and excessive extravagance, which disgusts people."
Hespress did not wait for more than two years, like "The Economist" and "The Times," as well as some Spanish and French media outlets, to raise this issue. Instead, it contributed to creating a public debate, along with other national media outlets, based on the principles of freedom of expression, journalistic ethics, and the protection of public interest - and asked: What is Azaitar's role in the political and social arena in Morocco? Which dead end tunnel will they drag Morocco into with their demonic faces?
Before a journalist from "The Economist" relied on sources that are not "trusted in Morocco," Hespress raised questions about the source of Abu Azaitar's revolution and reviewed all of his sports fights and the value of his rewards. At that time, Hespress concluded that Abu Azaitar should carefully read the story of Rasputin, but we were unsure if he would be able to understand it and grasp its goals. This question remains open to all possibilities except for one possibility, which is understanding the story.
Despite the three brothers' actions being repulsive, the current articles by some foreign journalists who belatedly addressed this issue also produced disgust and indignation. They raised a broad question about the professionalism and credibility of these outlets that cloak themselves in the mantle of "investigative journalism."
Racial Representations
When Hespress expressed skepticism towards Azaitar brothers' attempt to deceive the public into believing that King Mohammed VI was granting them "presumed protection," Hespress explicitly stated that this notion was "greatly exaggerated and also deceptive." At that time, neither the correspondent from the Economist nor the journalists from the Times or Independent had begun to stir up this issue in their own way, which was full of confusion between politics and racist colonial views.
After Azaitar brothers' scandal had been covered extensively in the national media for nearly two years, foreign outlets such as the Economist, Times, and certain Spanish and French publications published articles that revisited the same Moroccan debate and plagiarized articles from Hespress and others, with conclusions that were steeped in politics and targeted the Moroccan king and his security institutions excessively.
What is intriguing is that these foreign media outlets, who were late to the Azaitar brothers' issue, allowed themselves to release descriptions that were at least "biased, racist, and unprofessional"!
When these foreign media outlets rehashed and distorted Hespress' articles about the three brothers, they falsely attributed the practice of "investigative journalism" to themselves, despite relying solely on a pre-existing platform and engaging in excessive political targeting due to their sources, which they chose to color with their own biases.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that the newspaper "Economist" attacked Hespress indirectly, despite relying on it as a "source and reference for its article." This is a strange and openly hypocritical deviation from its standards and positions.
When Hespress creates a heated public debate about the wealth and excesses of the Azaitar brothers, it is labeled as being close to the side of power in a condescending manner, claims the "Economist". However, when the Economist itself published an article attacking the king and Moroccan institutions, it imagined that it was practicing investigative journalism.
It is important to recognize that Hespress is not here to engage in sterile dialogue or media disputes about the attribution of journalistic professionalism and evaluations.
Instead, we need to understand the hidden motives and underlying agendas of these foreign media outlets whenever they publish articles addressing Moroccan issues. Whenever British, French, or Spanish media publish an article about Morocco, we must carefully search within the depths of the article for the interests of those countries first, and for the ambitions and desires of those who deal with them internally.
National Discussion, Foreign Targeting
When Hespress devoted several articles to the issue of the Azaitar brothers, the goal was not to target the king or the political system in general, as is currently being done exclusively by the Spanish, French, and British press.
At that time, our intention was not to target Azaitar brothers themselves. Rather, the desired objective was to dispel the "artificial aura" that the three brothers were cloaking themselves with to jump over the law and undermine the symbols and slogans of the Kingdom.
Despite this general discussion that has been excessively consumed for more than two years in Morocco, the Economist, the Times, and other Spanish and French publications have decided to jump on this topic, even riding on the backs of the Azaitar brothers, to score "political and defamatory" goals against the country's king and security institutions.
Some who present themselves as "informed sources on Moroccan affairs" have found a golden opportunity to convey their political messages against the ruling system through the conduit of these foreign journalists.
And everyone imagines behind this "collaboration" that they have benefited and achieved their goals and objectives: these "unknown Moroccan sources" believe that they are discrediting the royal system and security institutions through the tactic of "undermining from under the jellaba", while foreign journalists are selling remotely controlled and manipulated articles to the West.
Just as Hespress requested from the Azaitar brothers about two years ago to draw lessons from the Rasputin story, Hespress warned Moroccans at the time about what we described as "time bombs."
Once again, Hespress calls on "guardians of the press and self-proclaimed human rights activists" to roll up their sleeves and show the required courage to speak about things in their timely context, instead of riding on them belatedly and imagining that they are in the midst of a "great journalistic breakthrough!"
In fact, about a year ago, Hespress published an article discussing the challenges associated with their rapid transition from the hell of prisons to the bliss of palaces.
At the time, Hespress was not seeking to defame or engage in sterile polemics, but was trying to sound the alarm and draw attention to the dangers of these German brothers manipulating the Kingdom's slogans and symbols, and their excessive boasting of expensive watches and luxurious cars, at a time when Morocco was facing a social crisis marked by high cost of living, inflation, and rising prices.
Despite the fact that the debate was still in its infancy, Hespress did not hide or give in to taboos. The news outlet published articles that aligned with its conviction, stating that "Abu Azaitar has a criminal record full of legal precedents that exceeds the size of a roll of toilet paper", just as the German regional channel "WDR" had described him years ago.
Years before the British media attack
Years before the British media attack, in June 2021, nearly two years after the articles by "The Economist" and "The Times," Hespress published an article in Arabic and French describing the Azaitar brothers as "time bombs."
Hespress boldly stated that "Abu Bakr Azaitar is a boxer oscillating between the illusions of the caliphate and the greed for wealth."
Hespress showed journalistic courage by writing, "the three brothers have become time bombs planted everywhere, which will eventually explode in the faces of Moroccans, in addition to their suspicious wealth and excessive extravagance, which disgusts people."
Hespress did not wait for more than two years, like "The Economist" and "The Times," as well as some Spanish and French media outlets, to raise this issue. Instead, it contributed to creating a public debate, along with other national media outlets, based on the principles of freedom of expression, journalistic ethics, and the protection of public interest - and asked: What is Azaitar's role in the political and social arena in Morocco? Which dead end tunnel will they drag Morocco into with their demonic faces?
Before a journalist from "The Economist" relied on sources that are not "trusted in Morocco," Hespress raised questions about the source of Abu Azaitar's revolution and reviewed all of his sports fights and the value of his rewards. At that time, Hespress concluded that Abu Azaitar should carefully read the story of Rasputin, but we were unsure if he would be able to understand it and grasp its goals. This question remains open to all possibilities except for one possibility, which is understanding the story.
Despite the three brothers' actions being repulsive, the current articles by some foreign journalists who belatedly addressed this issue also produced disgust and indignation. They raised a broad question about the professionalism and credibility of these outlets that cloak themselves in the mantle of "investigative journalism."
Racial Representations
When Hespress expressed skepticism towards Azaitar brothers' attempt to deceive the public into believing that King Mohammed VI was granting them "presumed protection," Hespress explicitly stated that this notion was "greatly exaggerated and also deceptive." At that time, neither the correspondent from the Economist nor the journalists from the Times or Independent had begun to stir up this issue in their own way, which was full of confusion between politics and racist colonial views.
After Azaitar brothers' scandal had been covered extensively in the national media for nearly two years, foreign outlets such as the Economist, Times, and certain Spanish and French publications published articles that revisited the same Moroccan debate and plagiarized articles from Hespress and others, with conclusions that were steeped in politics and targeted the Moroccan king and his security institutions excessively.
What is intriguing is that these foreign media outlets, who were late to the Azaitar brothers' issue, allowed themselves to release descriptions that were at least "biased, racist, and unprofessional"!
When these foreign media outlets rehashed and distorted Hespress' articles about the three brothers, they falsely attributed the practice of "investigative journalism" to themselves, despite relying solely on a pre-existing platform and engaging in excessive political targeting due to their sources, which they chose to color with their own biases.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that the newspaper "Economist" attacked Hespress indirectly, despite relying on it as a "source and reference for its article." This is a strange and openly hypocritical deviation from its standards and positions.
When Hespress creates a heated public debate about the wealth and excesses of the Azaitar brothers, it is labeled as being close to the side of power in a condescending manner, claims the "Economist". However, when the Economist itself published an article attacking the king and Moroccan institutions, it imagined that it was practicing investigative journalism.
It is important to recognize that Hespress is not here to engage in sterile dialogue or media disputes about the attribution of journalistic professionalism and evaluations.
Instead, we need to understand the hidden motives and underlying agendas of these foreign media outlets whenever they publish articles addressing Moroccan issues. Whenever British, French, or Spanish media publish an article about Morocco, we must carefully search within the depths of the article for the interests of those countries first, and for the ambitions and desires of those who deal with them internally.
National Discussion, Foreign Targeting
When Hespress devoted several articles to the issue of the Azaitar brothers, the goal was not to target the king or the political system in general, as is currently being done exclusively by the Spanish, French, and British press.
At that time, our intention was not to target Azaitar brothers themselves. Rather, the desired objective was to dispel the "artificial aura" that the three brothers were cloaking themselves with to jump over the law and undermine the symbols and slogans of the Kingdom.
Despite this general discussion that has been excessively consumed for more than two years in Morocco, the Economist, the Times, and other Spanish and French publications have decided to jump on this topic, even riding on the backs of the Azaitar brothers, to score "political and defamatory" goals against the country's king and security institutions.
Some who present themselves as "informed sources on Moroccan affairs" have found a golden opportunity to convey their political messages against the ruling system through the conduit of these foreign journalists.
And everyone imagines behind this "collaboration" that they have benefited and achieved their goals and objectives: these "unknown Moroccan sources" believe that they are discrediting the royal system and security institutions through the tactic of "undermining from under the jellaba", while foreign journalists are selling remotely controlled and manipulated articles to the West.
Just as Hespress requested from the Azaitar brothers about two years ago to draw lessons from the Rasputin story, Hespress warned Moroccans at the time about what we described as "time bombs."
Once again, Hespress calls on "guardians of the press and self-proclaimed human rights activists" to roll up their sleeves and show the required courage to speak about things in their timely context, instead of riding on them belatedly and imagining that they are in the midst of a "great journalistic breakthrough!"