BBC Arabic launches Trending

BBC Arabic Trending will select the most popular and interesting stories on social media and dig deeper. The programme will feature interviews with experts and the individuals behind trending topics.

Presenters Rania Attar and Ahmad Fakhoury will illustrate stories with a large touch-screen and the latest graphics. Trending aims to bridge the gap between conventional news programmes and social media, presented in an innovative style which appeals to a younger generation.

Head of BBC Arabic Sam Farah says: “The way audiences have been consuming news is changing rapidly, and we have been gradually adapting our formats to continue to serve them. The new Trending programme is a brilliant way to deliver news to those who want something fresh and quick, but that retains the BBC's usual high standards for accurate and independent journalism.”

TV News Editor Edgard Jallad says: “This might be the future of TV news, the region has been waiting for programmes like this for a while and I am so pleased that we are able to offer younger audiences across the region a programme that talks about the key issues which are trending.”

BBC Arabic Trending is part of the biggest expansion of the BBC World Service since the 1940s, funded through £291 million from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The BBC World Service is currently launching in 12 new languages - Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Gujarati, Igbo, Korean, Marathi, Pidgin, Punjabi, Serbian, Telugu, Tigrinya, and Yoruba.

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