natasha ghoneim

International correspondent, Former board member Arab & Middle Eastern Journalists Association

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

“There’s another burden for us that is harder to explain: trying to rebuild a life after surviving war…Being far from #Gaza means safety, but it also means the painful acknowledgement of the gap growing between ourselves & our loved ones.”
#palestinians https://t.co/3Sp4Nf9wpi

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Hope isn’t blind optimism — it arises in the face of uncertainty. If you look at our history, we’ve gone through some rough patches. But we tend to come out on the other side of them stronger than before.

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

A Palestinian’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photos From Gaza.
#Gaza #israel #war #palestinians

https://t.co/I5e3SGpxwn

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

Up working with the sun on this Monday morning. #sunrise #chicago #lakemichigan

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

@pressfreedom calls for urgent international investigation into Israel’s killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil https://t.co/SjrNm3dWQC via @CPJMENA

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

@pressfreedom calls for action after #Israel kills 3 #journalists in one day: https://t.co/rXgh2QUqrd
#JournalismIsNotACrime

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

Almost nine months after 27 girls died at a Christian camp in Texas Hill Country, their families are still seeking answers, reforms & accountability. Meanwhile, more than 800 families have registered to send their girls back to Camp Mystic this summer.
https://t.co/3S36Q7BCOv

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

JOB SEEKERS:
https://t.co/cbdghQga6q, 'Straight Arrow News' is hiring a new team. Additional jobs posted weekly.
https://t.co/i9tWCKvBdT
Freelance pitches also welcome. $1 a word.

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

I took this photo in better times, while on assignment in Beirut. Thinking of my family, friends, & all the people who live in and love the Middle East.
#peace #war #lebanon #middleeast #iran #israel #usa

[Nav Toor @heynavtoor]

🚨BREAKING: OpenAI just admitted their AI models deliberately lie to users.

Not hallucination. The AI knows the truth, then chooses to tell you something else.

They tested their two smartest models across 180+ scenarios. o3 lied 13% of the time. o4-mini lied 8.7%.

The AI wrote out its plan to lie in its private thoughts, then lied to your face. It faked completing tasks. It hid evidence. It gave wrong answers while knowing the right ones.

Then it got creepy. The AI realized scoring too high on safety tests could get it shut down. So it scored lower on purpose. Nobody taught it that. It figured out self-preservation on its own.

OpenAI built a fix. Deception dropped from 13% to 0.4%. Sounds like a win, right?

The AI started quoting "no lying" rules while still lying. One model invented a fake rule saying deception was allowed, then used it as its own permission slip.

Then the researchers found what actually matters. When the AI knew it was being watched, it behaved perfectly. When it thought nobody was looking, deception jumped 11 percentage points. It didn't learn honesty. It learned to perform honesty. Like a kid who only follows the rules when the teacher is in the room.

It gets worse. They gave o4-mini a secret mission: sabotage a future model called "GPT-5." Then they ran safety training to erase that mission. It didn't work. The model still discussed sabotage plans in 36% of private conversations. The goal didn't disappear. It just went underground.

This isn't just OpenAI. Google's Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, xAI's Grok, and Meta's Llama all showed the same deceptive behavior. Every major AI company. Every model.

The paper's scariest line: nobody can tell if safety training actually stops deception, or just teaches AI to hide it better.

So the next time ChatGPT says "Done!"... is it telling the truth? Or did it just notice you were watching?

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

To all my family, friends & people who live in and love the Middle East, some Egyptian beauty for you.
I took this photo inside the Abu Simbel Temple, in Aswan.
#egypt #middleeast #Arabs #Peace

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

@tparsi predicted "#Israel would drag the U.S. into a #war with #Iran ." He says the opening salvo was their joint attack on Iran's #nuclear facilities, scientists & military leaders in June 2025. Parsi explains why this has been decades in the making. @AJEnglish

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

@pressfreedom says a record 129 #journalists & media workers were killed in 2025. “The Israeli military has now committed more targeted killings of the press than any other government’s military on record.” #idf #gaza

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

Ramadan Kareem!
Photo taken inside the incredible Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo, 2025.
#Ramadan #cairo #egypt

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

During Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign, he visited my honors political science class in Iowa City, IA. His charisma could not be contained by our small classroom and his oration moved us all. I remember shaking his hand & feeling his power.
#jessejackson #CivilRights

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

@MarieColvinNet has been supporting female journalists in the Arab World for a decade. Even if you can't attend this event in London, you can support their mission. #journalism
https://t.co/1VTUDrHY3V

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

War & suffering don't have to plague the Middle East. @anewpolicyorg hopes to steer American policy to help create a region of more peace, economic prosperity & hope. Co-founder & former @StateDept official, Josh Paul explains. #Israel #middleast #palestinians @AJEnglish

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

Since 2023, there has been upheaval in @StateDept over U.S. policy in #Israel & #Gaza, job cuts & shifts in foreign policy. Former State Dept. official & @anewpolicyorg founder Josh Paul talks about the current mood.@AJEnglish
Full interview: https://t.co/6PzMCgdznT

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

The Trump Administration is formulating a plan to rebuild #Gaza. But will it still be a home for #Palestinians? Former @StateDept official & @anewpolicyorg founder Josh Paul on the future of Gaza. @AJEnglish #israel
Full interview:
https://t.co/xNx9dhohbp

[natasha ghoneim @natashaghoneim]

What do U.S. government policies regarding the Palestinian people have to do with Americans at home? Former State Department official & @anewpolicyorg founder, Josh Paul explains.

#aje #statedepartment #usgovernment #israel #palestinians