Did UK universities pay to ‘spy’ on pro‑Palestine students?

About this episode

The episode discusses allegations against UK universities for surveilling pro-Palestine students through a private security firm.

Twelve elite British universities are accused of hiring a private security firm with military intelligence ties to track pro-Palestine student protests. Students were reportedly flagged through social media monitoring without their awareness, sparking debate over surveillance and free speech in UK higher education.  Learn more about the campus accountability mapping project.  In this episode:  Aaron Walawalkar ( @AaronWala ), Investigative Reporter, Liberty Investigations Episode credits: This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li and Sarí el-Khalili with Spencer Cline, Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker and Noor Wazwaz.  Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Rick Rush mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.  Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X , Instagram , Facebook , and YouTube

People in this episode

Host: Malika Bilal

Guest: Aaron Walawalkar

Topics covered

• surveillance
• free speech
• higher education
• pro-Palestine protests
• student activism
• privacy concerns

Keywords

• UK universities
• surveillance
• pro-Palestine
• student protests
• social media monitoring
• free speech
• military intelligence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Liberty Investigations, Al Jazeera, British universities, private security firm, campus accountability mapping project

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