THE journalist Mehdi Hasan has interviewed many global leaders as well as celebrities but when he told his friends and family that he was going to interview Ms Rachel, everyone was giddy with excitement. They asked if they could come watch or meet her. He repeated this to Rachel Accurso, known as Ms Rachel to her legion of fans, as it turns out, children and adults.

I admit I didn’t know who she was until I read about the controversy she’s embroiled in. The popular children’s presenter whose toddler learning videos channel has 14.2 million subscribers on YouTube has been facing a backlash since speaking about the suffering of children in Gaza. She says speaking out isn’t wrong [but] “staying silent is”. To clarify, she uses her social media platforms to address these issues and not her YouTube channel which is geared for children.

You already know by now what kind of consequences people have faced for speaking out for Palestinians. It seems like Donald Trump’s pro-Israel policies are shaping the future of higher education — the censure of university professors, international students, even American students who have been outed for their social media posts face discrimination in job searches. The media’s........

© Dawn