Academicians, journalists and activists called for ascertaining the news published on the social media, confirming on the danger coming from publishing fake news and information.
As well as, they stressed on the importance of fighting this phenomenon by official bodies and prosecuting the publishers of ‘rumors’, through a seminar organized by the House of Wisdom Institute in collaboration with the Media Department at the University College of Applied Sciences – UCAS in Gaza, the seminar was entitled ‘Shortage of News Sources in the Social Media’. The Director of Al-Ray Agency, Ismael Thawabtah, said in his speech that the technological evolution contributed rapidly to the quick transfer of news without assuring their resources in many times, he also mentioned that there are millions of social media users who see and share the news in seconds without caring about the sources of information. He indicated that all governmental commissions have official pages on the social media so that the publishers can make sure of what they publish.
Eng. Ashraf Mushtaha, computer and information security expert in the Ministry of Interior warned about the serious consequences result from the wrongful use of social media. In addition, he explained how to recognize the real photos and videos and added that the publishers should never think that they publish original materials, which might be fake or manipulated for own purposes.
On his part, the social media trainer, Khalid Safi, called for the importance of raising awareness on rumors from Islam’s perspective. He categorized rumors into two types: first, intentionally published rumors, in many times, by the Zionists, for certain purposes within the frame of psychological warfare against Palestinian people; second, unintentionally published rumors due to lack of knowledge and experience, this type is widespread as a result of not verifying the original media source, partitioning texts or mistaken quoting.
The lecturer in the Media Depratment at UCAS, Sami Akkila, said that any unreliable information is rapidly circulated in the current age of acceleration, which causes problems to the social fabric and creates confusions never end well. On the other hand, he called on everybody to support Jerusalem uprising, emulating the martyr Ibrahim Abu Thoraya, who represents a symbol of resistance despite his weakness and disability.
Moreover, the social media activist, Saed Al Taweel, confirmed on vigilance in publishing news without referring to the original sources to prevent rumors from wide spreading and creating mess in society. In addition, he recommended journalists and activists to carefully handle the information, and asked the concerned bodies to prosecute the defamatory rumors and bring the publishers on trial to save the security and stability of community. The seminar included a short video prepared by the “Promising Youth Future” Team, which belongs to UCAS, about publishing rumors and fake news without ensuring their sources .
