‘Hello, my name is Bisan, and I am still alive’: Palestinian counter-news-storying as survivance

Palestinian journalists are crucial as the ongoing genocide in Gaza continues. Since October 2023, the globe turned to Palestinian journalists like Bisan Owda, Plestia Alaqad, Wael Al-Dahdouh, Hind Khoudary, Motaz Aziza, Mohammed Zaanoun and many others to document the unfolding Zionist settler colonial violence in besieged Gaza. In this article, we theorize Palestinian counter-news-storying to understand how Bisan Owda communicates with global audiences about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Palestinian counter-news-storying ties critical race theory to journalism in order to create language that describes what the world is witnessing and learning about Gaza. Palestinian counter-news-storying humanizes our people in the face of relentless dehumanizing by hegemonic states and media institutions. Bisan’s journalistic work of counter-news-storying faces direct targeting by the Zionist settler state, demonstrating how Palestinian narratives are survivance rhetorics that keep us alive. Palestinian counter-news-storying illustrates the importance not only of writing and telling our stories but also of protecting our storytellers. We analyse Bisan’s Instagram video updates and YouTube Tellers series to illustrate how Bisan contests western traditional media by using digital survivance to invite audiences to bear witness and contest colonial histories through Palestinian feminist survivance rhetorics. By defining Palestinian counter-news-storying, we unveil how Palestinian journalists combat Zionist settler colonial ideologies inherent in western journalism so as to uplift Palestinian perspectives and experiences. We conclude by recognizing how pedagogy plays a crucial role in communicating about genocide with global, digital audiences through Bisan’s dual role as a hakawatiyeh and counter-news-storyteller.