The year 2023 stands out as a pivotal juncture for the news industry, defined by a cascade of globally significant events. Amidst the relentless 24/7 news cycles, Al Jazeera English's social media teams on platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok played a crucial role in delivering informative and easily digestible coverage to our audience. From the crackdown on Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan to the earthquakes that wrought devastation in Turkey and Syria, and from Israel's conflict with Gaza to myriad other developments, Al Jazeera English social accounts maintained a commitment to accuracy while covering these momentous events.
Recognizing the vital need for agility and responsiveness in the ever-evolving digital landscape, we underwent a comprehensive rebranding and expanded our staff to ensure swift and effective reporting of breaking news and current affairs in real time. Utilizing strategic visuals such as infographics, narrative
techniques and various video formats, we simplify complex topics and enhance understanding, striving to make information accessible to all.
Maintaining the integrity of our news coverage across our platforms is paramount. We uphold a steadfast commitment to reliability, honesty, and impartiality, ensuring that our audience can trust the information they receive. This dedication underscores the effectiveness of conveying significant news on the platform and reinforces our reputation as a credible source of information within the social media community
In response to the surging demand for real-time news coverage, Al Jazeera English's Instagram strategy underwent a meticulous transformation aimed at delivering impactful storytelling that ignites dialogue and fosters community engagement. At the heart of our strategy lay a deliberate expansion of our team, focused on reactive content and streamlined editorial processes by harnessing cutting- edge technologies and digital tools within the Al Jazeera Media Network's arsenal.
From a diverse array of talent-led video explainers and engaging reels to dynamic carousels, collaborations, and authentic field stories from our on-the-ground reporters, we curated a rich tapestry of content offerings. Complemented by thought-provoking op-eds, in-depth analysis, and feature stories, our content was enriched with captivating graphics to resonate across a wide spectrum of audiences
On TikTok, Al Jazeera English has excelled in executing its strategy that balances journalistic thoroughness with the nuances of digital trends. By doing so, they provide their audience with reliable, objective news in a format that resonates with the youth. Their adept use of TikTok to explain ongoing conflicts, like the war in Gaza, in a manner that is approachable yet profound, underscores their innovative spirit.
Understanding that their audience prefers visual and succinct content, Al Jazeera English has adeptly modified its storytelling techniques to thrive within the brevity-driven TikTok ecosystem. The content is crafted to maintain the integrity of the news while ensuring that the severity of global events is conveyed through short, potent stories, often complemented by infographics and animations. This ensures that the essence of the news is communicated quickly without sacrificing depth or context.
Leveraging X’s tools, we provided comprehensive updates, expert analyses, and insightful explainers. Our focus on breaking news included daily live threads and video analyses, supplemented by 24/7 coverage and global perspectives. We emphasised original content, particularly through impactful video series, which aimed to uncover the reporters on the ground, we highlighted personal stories and international reactions, combating misinformation with compelling social videos.
With the use of X threads, we curated a diverse range of content, including live on-field reporting through our broadcasting feature, in-depth articles, simplified infographics tailored for X, and native explainer videos. The focus was on providing real-time updates as the events unfolded, ensuring a diverse and comprehensive coverage of the situation to engage our audience. We spanned beyond the immediate event and captured its extended consequences consistently.
The outcomes, reflecting the implementation of strategies aligned with our editorial guidelines, were evident across all platforms.
Al Jazeera English's foray into TikTok has proven to be a resounding success, with the news channel now boasting a staggering 1.6 million followers and a remarkable 32 million likes. This milestone is a clear indication of the channel's deep understanding and effective engagement with the digital-first audience.
While Al Jazeera English's Instagram account journey has been remarkable with currently boasts 4.3 million followers. In 2023 alone, our follower count surged from 2.8 million to an impressive 4.19 million organic followers, representing an extraordinary growth of 1.9 million followers—a staggering relative change of +225.51%. Throughout this period, our content ignited an incredible 83.42 million interactions, demonstrating our profound understanding of and effective engagement with a digital-first audience.
Al Jazeera X grew its follower base by 7.7% in 2023 compared to last year, with the majority of the growth taking place in October (at 44%) and had the highest change in followers year-on-year compared to Sky News, BBC World, and CNN INT. We saw a significant 96% increase in total engagements during 2023 compared to the previous year with a 102% rise in total mentions of Al Jazeera on X throughout 2023, outperforming the previous year's statistics.
Compared to our average monthly mentions in 2023, Al Jazeera was mentioned 5 folds more in October and November during Gaza War coverage. Al Jazeera X doubled its video views in 2023 compared to the previous year.
