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Jaafar Abdul Karim

Host of DW JaafarTalk, Abdul Karim's work focuses on human rights, intercultural dialogue, as well as the intersection of innovative journalism, artificial intelligence and multimedia storytelling.

Global Media Forum 2026 | Between innovation and dependence: Journalism’s love-hate relationship with Big Tech | Jaafar Abdul Karim
Image: Stephanie Englert/DW

Jaafar Abdul Karim is an internationally acclaimed journalist, head and host of DW's interactive multimedia format JaafarTalk, and a member of the DW Editor-in-Chief's Council. With more than nine million followers across social media, JaafarTalk is one of the most widely followed journalistic multimedia formats of its kind. 

A recognized expert on the Middle East, Abdul Karim has received numerous awards and distinctions for his journalism, including the international AIB Award for "Innovative Factual Video," Medium Magazin's "Reporter of the Year," the Shorty Awards and the European CIVIS Media Prize for Integration and Cultural Diversity. His work has also been featured by The New York Times.

Abdul Karim has worked for Spiegel Online, ZDF, RBB and Zeit Online, among others, and has appeared as an expert on international television programs including CNN's Amanpour. He regularly moderates major international conferences and forums, most recently the Global Media Forum in Bonn and re:publica in Berlin (2026). Other engagements include the Egypt Media Forum in Cairo, Web Summit in Portugal and the Anna Lindh Forum in Tirana (2025), the EU Brussels Conference on Syria (2024), the Munich Security Conference (2023) and the UN Global Refugee Forum in Geneva (2019).

Leading a Global Media Forum debate on journalism’s uneasy relationship with Big Tech

Interviewing then-chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz (German) 

Abdul Karimholds a Master's degree in Communication and Leadership from Quadriga University of Applied Sciences Berlin. His book Fremde oder Freunde? ("Strangers or Friends?") was published in 2018. He speaks German, English and Arabic.