The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, has passed away at the age of 82 after a period of illness (Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’un).

According to official announcements, his funeral prayer will be held at Riyadh’s Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque after the Asr prayer. 

In addition, King Salman bin Abdulaziz has directed that absentee funeral prayers (Salat al-Gha’ib) be offered for the late Grand Mufti at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, and in all mosques across the Kingdom after Asr.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh served as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, head of the Council of Senior Scholars, and President of the General Presidency for Scholarly Research and Ifta. 

He was the third Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, following Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh and Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz.

Born on November 30, 1943, in Makkah, Sheikh Abdulaziz lost his father before the age of eight. Despite his early hardships, he memorised the Holy Qur’an at a young age and later lost his eyesight in his twenties. 

His dedication to religious learning led him to pursue higher studies in Shariah, and he went on to serve in various scholarly councils and as the imam and khateeb of Riyadh’s Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque. He also delivered important sermons at Masjid Namirah during Hajj.

Throughout his career, Sheikh Abdulaziz authored numerous scholarly works on Islamic jurisprudence, faith, and matters of halal and haram. 

His contributions included collections of fatwas, research writings, and guidance on key religious issues, which were widely followed across the Muslim world.

King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman extended their deepest condolences to the family of the late Grand Mufti, the Saudi people, and Muslims worldwide. 

WASHINGTON: “Disinformation” is fast becoming a dirty word in the United States — a label so contentious in a hyperpolarised political climate that some researchers who study the harmful effects of falsehoods are abandoning it altogether.

In an era of online deception and information manipulation, the study of disinformation seems more critical than ever, but researchers are battling federal funding cuts, a surge of abuse, and even death threats — fuelled in part by accusations from conservative advocates of a liberal bias.

Some researchers are now opting for more neutral language — words, and at times, technical jargon that are less likely to inflame or derail vital public discourse about falsehoods flooding the internet.

Earlier this year, the watchdog NewsGuard announced it was retiring the labels “misinformation” and “disinformation” — terms it said were “politicised beyond recognition and turned into partisan weapons by actors on the right and the left, and among anti-democratic foreign actors”.

It renamed its so-called “Misinformation Fingerprints” database to “False Claim Fingerprints,” opting for language that it said was “more precise” and “harder to hijack”.

“A simple phrase like ‘false claim’ is more powerful and precise than ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’,” said NewsGuard’s McKenzie Sadeghi.

“It names the problem plainly and directs attention to the content itself — without triggering partisan reflexes or rhetorical spin”.

‘Fractured information ecosystem’

Terms such as “fake news”, “misinformation” and “disinformation” pre-date the internet age, but they have never been more heavily weaponised by governments and vested interests to silence critics and thwart legitimate debate.

Peter Cunliffe-Jones, author of the book “Fake News — What’s the harm,” has advocated for using more specific alternatives ranging from false or unproven to mislabelled or fabricated.

Such labels “do not simply declare information false but explain the way in which information is untrue or misleading,” he said.

“That way, we hopefully create less room for cynical disputes and more for better understanding.”

States including Russia routinely dismiss credible Western media reports as disinformation.

Some governments have even co-opted fact-checking itself — launching state-sponsored “fact checks” to legitimise their own propaganda and spin.

“In today’s fractured information ecosystem, one person’s ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation’ is another’s truth,” said Sadeghi. 

“And in that ambiguity, bad actors win.”

‘Provocative and dangerous’

The debate comes as major tech platforms pull back key anti-misinformation guardrails — including scaling down content moderation and reducing their reliance on human fact-checkers, who reject accusations of liberal bias.

However, Emerson Brooking, from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), said the problem with abandoning the term disinformation was the lack of a clear replacement to describe the intention to deceive.

“This idea of intentionality is very important,” he told AFP.

“If we see thousands of fake accounts posting a false claim in unison, we can reasonably describe it as a disinformation campaign.”

The label, however, has become so heavily politicised that officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration have equated disinformation research with censorship.

Following Trump’s executive order on “ending federal censorship,” the National Science Foundation recently cancelled hundreds of grants, including projects that supported disinformation research.

In April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio shut down the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) hub — formerly known as the Global Engagement Centre (GEC) — which was responsible for tracking and countering disinformation from foreign actors.

Rubio justified its closure, saying that it was the government’s responsibility to “preserve and protect the freedom for Americans to exercise their free speech”.

“It’s true that the term (disinformation) has been politicised, and that using it can feel provocative — even dangerous,” Brooking said.

“But so long as it has descriptive value, it should still be used. My organisation fights authoritarian information manipulation around the world — if we start censoring our own language, we aren’t doing a good job.”

• Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday.
• Ragasa disrupts 700 flights, Hong Kong Observatory warns of sea surge.
• Macau, Shenzhen prepare for impact, evacuations and shelters activated.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong braced for Super Typhoon Ragasa on Tuesday, the world’s most powerful tropical typhoon this year, shutting schools and some businesses, while most passenger flights were scheduled to be suspended later in the day until early Thursday.

Ragasa, packing hurricane-force winds of up to 220km/h (137 mph), is edging closer to the coast of neighbouring southern Guangdong province in China, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

Authorities in the financial hub are set to raise the typhoon signal to 8, its third highest, by 2:20pm (0620 GMT), which will prompt most businesses and transport services to shut down. About 700 flights have been disrupted.

The observatory said it will assess if it needs to issue a higher warning late on Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Ragasa swept through the northern Philippines on Monday, prompting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to order the country’s disaster response agency to go on full alert and mobilise all government agencies.

The Hong Kong Observatory said hurricane-force winds offshore and on high ground were likely in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with heavy rain expected to lead to a significant storm and sea surge in the densely packed city.

It warned of rising sea levels, which it said would be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.

Water levels will rise about two metres (six feet) along Hong Kong’s coastal areas and maximum water levels could reach up to 4-5 metres (12-15 feet) in some areas, the observatory said, urging residents to take appropriate precautions.

Local authorities handed out sandbags on Monday for residents to bolster their homes in low-lying areas, while many people stockpiled daily necessities.

Long queues formed at supermarkets; milk and meat sold out and vegetable prices at fresh-produce markets tripled, according to Reuters witnesses on Monday.

Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange will remain open. It changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather. Chinese authorities have activated flood control measures in several southern provinces, warning of heavy rain from late on Tuesday.

Residents in the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau are also bracing for significant impact, with school closures and evacuation plans under way.

In China’s technology hub Shenzhen, authorities said they have prepared more than 800 emergency shelters.

Taiwan’s government has evacuated more than 7,600 people from mountainous southern and eastern areas, while transport disruption continued for a second day on Tuesday with 273 flights cancelled and some rail services suspended.