The 2024 Esports World Cup (EWC) is heating up in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, as both players and enthusiasts are excited for the hotly anticipated finals of three games.
Running from July 3 to August 25, the multi-game tournament features 23 events across 22 video game titles. It attracts top gamers from around the world to Riyadh, all competing for a prize pool of 60 million U.S. dollars.
There are three events every week, each for a different game, with the finals held at the end of the week. In week six of the competition, which began on Aug 8 and concluded on Aug 11, teams were all out on efforts in three popular video games, namely "Fortnite", "Street Fighter 6", and "Teamfight Tactics".
Founded by a group of passionate gamers and visionaries, Al Ula Esports was one of the players of the Fortnite competition.
"We follow a professional mode of training. We train, develop and learn something new every day. We train for six to seven hours on a daily basis. In addition to training, players must be talented and have certain technical abilities. We have four Saudi players including player Hero (nickname), Adapter (nickname), Mansour and Fahad," said the coach of the team Meshal Howyeshil.
Esports World Cup in Riyadh heats up with three anticipated finals
The recent budget cut to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which funds the Voice of America (VOA), has shed light on its role as a political tool for ideological warfare, as experts noted people's dawning recognition of such propaganda machines aimed at undermining political and social orders of other countries.
Trump's executive order, issued last Friday, designated USAGM as part of "unnecessary" federal bureaucracy. The agency, which oversees VOA, employs around 3,500 staff members and had a budget of 886 million U.S. dollars for 2024, according to its latest report to Congress.
Founded in 1942, VOA has long served as a propaganda tool for the U.S. government, advancing ideological objectives. Funding for VOA and similar institutions has continued uninterrupted for over 80 years, regardless of which political party holds power.
Experts argue that VOA is not a genuine media organization. Many of its programs are not broadcast within the United States, but instead target specific countries abroad, functioning primarily as a propaganda outlet designed to influence foreign audiences.
"While it may appear to be a so-called media organization, in reality, its actions have never constituted true journalism. Therefore, terms like openness, transparency, or credibility cannot be used to assess VOA. From its inception, it has been a political tool for the United States to implement its foreign strategies and policies, essentially functioning as a strategic instrument," said Diao Daming, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University.
Alongside VOA, "Radio Free Asia" and "Radio Free Europe" also serve U.S. ideological needs, often targeting and attacking other countries. Many nations have recognized the damage caused by these outlets, regarding them as "unwelcome organizations".
"These so-called institutions have been recognized for causing significant disruptions to political, social, and even economic orders in other countries, often leading to events like 'color revolutions' and similar upheavals. As a result, most countries have adopted a clear stance of resistance, fully understanding the true nature of these so-called 'media' as tools of hegemonic influence," Diao added.
Coincidentally, last week, the Canberra-based Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank critical of China, announced halting its China-related research projects after the U.S. government froze its foreign funding.
Whether forced to shut down or exposed for their practices, these events highlight the vulnerability of these propaganda networks. Without funding, their operations struggle to continue. However, experts suggest that the United States is unlikely to halt its ideological campaigns and may rebrand these entities in new forms.
"I believe these institutions and individuals will likely use this opportunity to transform, employing more covert and subtle methods to carry out propaganda abroad, rather than simply halting or cutting off funding," said Yang Yujun, dean of the Academy of Media and Public Affairs at Communication University of China.
US budget cuts unveil Voice of America's role in ideological warfare: experts
