"(Her name is) Fedha but she has blonde hair and blue eyes" "She does not have any features resembling a Kuwaiti woman" LONDON: Kuwait’s first virtual news anchor Fedha has been making the headlines for the wrong reasons among many Arab social media commentators. Despite having a popular Kuwaiti name, the artificial intelligence-powered presenter, who made her debut on Kuwait News’ Twitter account on Saturday, has blonde hair, a pale complexion, and what some online users described as European features. Sky News Arabia presenter, Mohannad Khatib, said: “Fedha looks Ukrainian and has a masculine voice. Nice try, try again.” Sultan Sarwar said: “She does not have any features resembling a Kuwaiti woman. She is blonde – maybe from Eastern Europe.” One Twitter user asked, “why blonde?” They then suggested, “she should have Arab features like us.” Another commentator said: “(Her name is) Fedha but she has blonde hair and blue eyes.” In a tweet, Mohammed Bin Essa said: “What is the point of having a blonde presenter with European features?” One Twitter user pointed out that giving Fedha “Arab features” would have created familiarity. “You do not know how to properly reach your audience,” they said. Other social media commentators thought Fedha, whose name is Arabic for silver, should at least have been wearing a Kuwaiti garment instead of a black blazer and white T-shirt. “At least dress her in traditional Kuwaiti clothing – her name is Fedha, but she is Janet,” a Twitter user said. Another said: “Since her name is traditional, it is best that she wears traditional (Kuwaiti) clothes.” Abdullah Boftain, deputy editor-in-chief of Kuwait News, an affiliate of the Kuwait Times, said that Fedha’s blonde hair and light-colored eyes reflected Kuwait’s diverse population, which included expatriates, the BBC reported. He added that the presenter had been named Fedha because, “we always imagine robots to be silver and metallic in color, so we combined the two.” There are 2.96 million expats from various backgrounds in Kuwait, making up 66 percent of the total population, according to figures published by the country’s Public Authority for Civil Information in mid-2022. The report showed that many of Kuwait’s expats were Indian and Egyptian, accounting for 19 percent and 14 percent, respectively, of the total population by the end of June.