ATHAR
A decade after Facebook played a role in toppling regimes in the Arab Spring, opportunistic tomb raiders have turned to the platform to sell antiquities stolen in the wake of those uprisings.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-01/tomb-raiders-loot-facebook-black-market/11167204
Technology is playing a pivotal role in the global ancient artifacts trade. Thieves are using the anonymity of the internet to sell stolen relics, while authorities are using cutting-edge tools to assess the damage to plundered sites and raise awareness of stolen works.https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/article...
While E-bay and other internet platforms have been advertising and selling stolen artefacts for years, Facebook has reached the top in cultural heritage commerce. Azm and Paul reported that Facebook has become “the most high profile of the social media platforms that have been used as vehicles for the sale of illicit a...
Ancient treasures pillaged from conflict zones in the Middle East are being offered for sale on Facebook, researchers say, including items that may have been looted by Islamic State militants.https://www.theverge.com/interface/2019/5/10/18563694/chris-hughes-facebook-op-ed-antitrust-consensus
Professor Amr Al-Azm’s Athar Project uncovers stolen Middle Eastern Antiquities which he says are now for sale on Facebook.https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-7014775/Ancient-treasures-looted-ISIS-offered-sale-Facebook.html
Ancient treasures pillaged from conflict zones in the Middle East are being offered for sale on Facebook, researchers say. Facebook groups advertising the items grew rapidly during the upheaval of the Arab Spring and the ensuing wars, which created unprecedented opportunities for traffickers.https://www.nytimes.com/201...
Artefacts from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries are being looted and then sold on social media, with many ending up in Europe. “In Iraq, Libya, Yemen … looting has become really endemic and systematic.”https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/03/revealed-thousands-of-looted-artefacts-from-middle-east-sold-in-europe-via...
Antiquities from Syria and Iraq are being traded on a large network of dedicated Facebook groups that often have as many as 120,000 members.https://www.thetimes.com/article/artefacts-looted-from-iraq-and-syria-sold-on-facebook-d3hx5h6hb