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ISTANBUL – In the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad's ouster, Syria remains territorially fractured as the rebels who defeated Assad work to consolidate power. The country's uncertain future has raised questions about the fate of the U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This week, Syria's new leadership took steps to dissolve the different rebel factions and unite them under the new Syrian army. But the SDF did not join in. In a statement, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said the group wasn't opposed to joining the Syrian military in principle, but that the matter required negotiations with Damascus. The realities of the new Syria, however, have left the SDF with few options to maintain its status quo. The SDF controls a third of Syria's territory In 2014, the Islamic State extremist group began taking large pieces of territory in northeast Syria as the country was embroiled in a civil war. With the help of the United States, a coalition was formed of Kurdish militia groups to help fight ISIS and take back the territory. That's how the coalition came to control about a third of Syria, from the Euphrates River and eastward along the borders with Iraq and Turkey, according to Yerevan Saeed, director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University. "The Kurdish control of these areas really came in a time when there was a vacuum of power. All of these areas were taken over by ISIS, and the local population was very happy to have the SDF clear ISIS elements from all of these areas," Saeed says. After the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in the spring of 2019, the SDF continued to guard the prisons and camps holding thousands of ISIS fighters and their families, something it still does now. A majority of the population living under SDF control are Arabs The Kurds are one of the world's largest ethnic groups without their own state. They are a minority spread mainly across several Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. For a long time, some Kurds and their allies had hoped that the area the SDF carved out in northeastern Syria would eventually turn into an autonomous Kurdish zone, similar to the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq. But that goal was unrealistic, according to Denise Natali, the director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and expert on U.S.–Kurdish relations. "This was not in any part of the trajectory of Syrian history," Natali said. "And not sustainable from a perspective of local power dynamics, not from an economic perspective, not from a security perspective." Unlike in northern Iraq, a majority of the population in northeast Syria isn't Kurdish. They are Arabs. And while Kurds are living in the area, not all support the SDF, which follows a secular, libertarian socialist ideology that local Sunni Syrian Kurds do not share. The Kurdish towns and villages are also scattered and not contiguous, making it even more challenging to form a cohesive, autonomous region. Since the fall of Assad on Dec. 8, some Arab residents under SDF control in cities like Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa have been demonstrating and demanding to be governed by the rebels in Damascus instead. "With Assad out of the scene, local Arab communities in eastern Syria are uncomfortable with a sort of Kurdish militia group having ultimate authority in their areas," said Nicholas Heras, a senior director with New Lines Institute. "They have an alternative, another choice." NATO ally Turkey sees the Kurdish militia groups as a threat An even bigger challenge to the Kurdish coalition comes from Turkey – Syria's neighbor to the north. The rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who toppled Assad were supported by Turkey, giving the country significant influence over Syria and its new leaders. Turkey says the main militia force in the U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition is the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party – an insurgent group better known as the PKK which it has been fighting in Turkey for decades. Both Turkey and the U.S. designate the PKK as a terrorist organization. The U.S. decision to arm the Syrian branch of the PKK – which is known as the YPG – in the fight against ISIS has been a sticking point in U.S.–Turkish relations for years, according to James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for the mission to defeat ISIS. "Because of the huge role the PKK has played since I was first in Turkey in 1984, the Turks can never formally accept what the U.S. is doing with the SDF," Jeffrey says, referring to Washington's support of the Syrian Kurdish coalition. Turkish officials made it clear soon after the fall of Assad that one of their strategic priorities in Syria is to see the YPG dismantled, either by the new Syrian leaders in Damascus taking control of all of Syria and uniting it, or by a major Turkish military offensive targeted on areas controlled by the YPG in Syria's northeast. In a speech to the Turkish parliament this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the Kurdish militia groups "will either lay down their arms or will be buried with their arms in the lands of Syria." U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, have threatened sanctions against Turkey in case of a military offensive against the Kurdish fighters in Syria. Syria's new administration seeks to unite the country Last Sunday, during a press conference in Damascus with the Turkish foreign minister, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said he would not allow any existing weapons in Syria to be outside state control, "whether from the revolutionary factions or from the factions present in the SDF region." As the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition is already due to be disbanded in Iraq , Turkish officials have been encouraging Syria's new leadership also to eventually take control of ISIS prisons and camps in Syria from the SDF. "The Syrian administration told us it is ready to take the necessary initiative to take over these prisoners," Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said in the press conference with Sharaa. Analysts expect a diplomatic agreement will eventually be reached between Damascus and the SDF, without a Turkish military offensive into SDF areas. "I think a more realistic prospect is some form of decentralized administration in which the Kurdish cities have local self-administration," Natali said. U.S. officials are concerned about ISIS resurgence, but Syria is not a strategic priority Natali, who served as assistant secretary of state for conflict and stabilization operations during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, says the United States' yearslong arrangement in Syria with the Kurdish coalition is no longer strategically viable, due to changes both in Syria and in Washington. "We are in a different situation," she says. "We have a new administration that has clearly identified what their priorities are, and Syria is not a priority." Instead, she says Trump's priorities are ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza . "And these types of priorities are going to need strategic partners, such as Turkey," Natali says. In his first term, Trump pushed but failed to bring back home the 900 U.S. troops on the ground in Syria. During his campaign this year, he made ending wars and not getting involved in other conflicts a big part of his message, and he is expected to want to withdraw troops from Syria again. But given the scale of destruction during Assad's violent reign on Syria's physical infrastructure and the fraying of social dynamics, many experts remain skeptical that Syria won't end up a fractured state. And U.S. officials are concerned about ISIS taking advantage of a vacuum and reemerging, making it all the more challenging for a full U.S. withdrawal from Syria. In an interview on Sunday with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, Trump's pick for National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that while the U.S. did not need to have troops on the ground in Syria, it won't be able to turn away from what's going on there. "Tens of thousands of fighters and families that are sitting in prison camps guarded by our friends the Kurds, supported by us, and we can't have that unleash again," Waltz said.PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — Quintell Quinn ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns to lead Texas Southern to a 31-23 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday. Quinn scored on a 32-yard run to open the scoring midway through the first quarter, and his 75-yard touchdown run gave Texas Southern a 17-13 lead with 6:59 remaining in the third. A little more than three minutes later, Jace Wilson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Trenton Leary that stretched the Tigers' lead to 24-13.
The Gophers football program has added a second receiver commitment in two days via the NCAA transfer portal. Nebraska transfer Malachi Coleman pledged to Minnesota on Tuesday and will have three years of eligibility at the U. “Let’s rock,” he posted on social media. Coleman was a top 70 recruit in the nation out of Lincoln (Neb.) East in the class of 2023, but didn’t play much in 2024. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Coleman played in only one game in 2024, using his redshirt season. As a true freshman in 2023, Coleman had eight receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown. In 2023, he received an average grade out 58.0 by Pro Football Focus and was primarily a split receiver for 332 out of 335 total offensive snaps. Coleman follows two other wideouts to Minnesota: Logan Loya (UCLA) on Monday and Jaovn Tracy (Miami of Ohio) on Dec. 15.
Instagram’s new AI video tools: a boon for brands & creators or Meta’s AI testing grounds?
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Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Thursday teased new genAI video features. Could it represent the beginning of more advanced platform-integrated AI capabilities for creators and brands? Instagram is rolling out AI-generated video features enabling creators to change their appearance or background / Adobe Stock Instagram is preparing to roll out generative AI editing tools in the new year, offering creators the ability to transform the appearance of their videos using simple text prompts. Powered by Meta’s generative AI model Movie Gen, and unveiled in October, the new features are designed to simplify video editing by allowing users to seamlessly alter nearly any aspect of a clip – swapping out backgrounds, adding realistic-looking accessories and objects into the video or even animating a creator’s face. In a video shared Thursday, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri previewed the tools, demonstrating a smattering of backdrops and appearances generated on the fly. In one clip, Mosseri morphs into a puppet, while in another, he dons a sleek leather jacket. A post shared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) “A lot of you make amazing content that makes Instagram what it is, and we want to give you more tools to help realize your ideas,” Mosseri says in the clip. “And you should be able to do anything you want with your videos. You should be able to change your outfit, or change the context in which you’re sitting, or add a chain – whatever you can think of.” Responses from users have been mixed, evidenced by comments on Mosseri’s post. “With great power comes great responsibility. I will say though this does look like a lot of fun,” wrote an animator with over 225,000 followers who goes by the Instagram handle @jtmadness. Other users expressed outright disapproval. @secondnaturedesignsmv, a landscape design creator with nearly 77,000 followers, said: “So let me get this straight. You’re enabling us to be less authentic and use illusions to create a fake reality? This is wrong on so many levels.” The Movie Gen model was announced this fall, with Meta touting the tech’s ability to depict realistic human motion in AI-generated content. Today’s announcement comes just over a week after OpenAI announced the public debut of its highly anticipated video generation platform Sora . The launch came with much fanfare, and OpenAI was forced to restrict signups amid surging demand. But unlike OpenAI’s Sora and other rivals like Adobe’s Firefly, Meta’s approach appears focused on integrating AI directly into its social platforms, where the technology could easily reach millions of creators. It’s a potentially powerful differentiator. Advertisement Of course, questions remain about how well tools like Movie Gen and Sora perform once they’re widely available. Mosseri’s teaser clips look polished, but early previews of rival models have occasionally fallen short of expectations in real-world use. A common hiccup has been the accurate portrayal of human limbs and fingers. For Instagram’s vast user base of 2bn monthly active users, the arrival of AI-powered video editing could mark a significant leap in creative possibilities – and perhaps, a new frontier in content creation. Brands, too, may be eying the forthcoming features with eagerness. “We’ll definitely see creators using this to produce more cinematic and personalized content – and, if brands gain access, it will be an exciting opportunity to reintroduce how we consume user-generated content,” says Hillary Applegate, founder and CEO of Digital HQ, a digital marketing agency. Advertisement For brands, Movie Gen could enable “more interactive campaigns and contests that could allow brands to involve customers in the creative process,” she predicts. Furthermore, she highlights opportunities for more immersive product visualization and virtual try-ons,” establishing new ways for brands to showcase products and improve the customer experience. Lance Wolder, the head of strategy at digital advertising firm PadSquad, says that Movie Gen is “undeniably intriguing,” and says he’s excited by the possibility of “[enhancing] brand assets beyond just talking-head content. Can it make visuals more dynamic or intelligently replace unwanted backgrounds in a way that elevates production value?” Nonetheless, Wolder wonders how truly innovative the features will prove to be. At this stage, he says, “It feels like the next evolution of a filter – exciting but perhaps not groundbreaking.” To win with creators and brands, he suggests, Instagram would do well to go further and develop AI that can “address other pain points in content production, [as] many creators still rely on third-party apps like CapCut for editing features that should be native to the platform.” Catch up on the most important stories of the day, curated by our editorial team. Stay up to date with a curated digest of the most important marketing stories and expert insights from our global team. Learn how to pitch to our editors and get published on The Drum. But perhaps Meta’s objective isn’t to get creators and brands attached to these Movie Gen Instagram features, but rather to use these foundational tools as a springboard for developing more advanced capabilities. At least, that’s Yashin Manraj’s perspective. Manraj is the CEO of tech automation company Pvotal Technologies. “The end goal is not to make this a useful tool, but rather to limit the time users are spending on other AI enhancement tools and to collect data on what users are doing with so [Meta] can improve [its own offerings],” he says. Another goal in launching Movie Gen, Manraj suspects, is more blatantly commercial: to develop generative AI product placements or more organic branded messaging that will appeal to consumers who are turned off by explicit advertisements. Meta has yet to confirm an exact launch date for the new AI features.