"By the time readers arrive at the end of Jones’s astonishing examination of social media in the Middle East, they will be completely persuaded that it is now impossible to tell whether anything they read online is true. Replete with bots and sock puppets, trolls and dupes, this online world is bo
...
th profoundly silly and deeply scary. Accordingly, the book is by turns funny and terrifying as it details efforts by governments, notably Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to shape what people say, think, and do. Jones acknowledges that governments have always used public relations and propaganda to influence audiences at home and abroad. But he shows that the new information and communication technologies, which were once thought destined to free civil society and strengthen the public sphere, are also tremendously effective tools of deception and tyranny. Armies of bots and trolls motivated by money, power, and, sometimes, it seems, sheer perversity, spew out tweets and posts, fake news articles, fake news outlets, and even fake journalists; as Jones puts it, “You are being lied to by people who do not even exist.” This deception pollutes public discourse across the Middle East and, more important, inhibits the critical thinking of the citizenry." (Review by Lisa Anderson in Foreign Affairs, January/February 2023)
more
"In terms of quality of media coverage, there are various outcomes: In Asia, for example, small and independent outlets, able to provide reliable information, gained momentum, whereas citizens in the MENA-region turned to social media in search of trustworthy facts on the coronavirus. In South-Easte
...
rn Europe, pseudo-journalism and fake news spread mainly via the Internet, while in sub-Saharan Africa innovative formats emerged, which also enhanced the quality of reporting. In many regions and countries, not least in Germany, demand for factbased, reliable reporting increased, offering an opportunity for quality-oriented media to regain audiences’ trust. The economic situation is difficult for almost all media outlets worldwide, although there are some differences. In Central and Eastern Europe, for example, pro-government media continued to benefit from state-sponsored advertising, while other media suffered even more acute drops in revenue. In many regions, media outlets expanded their online presence to partly compensate these losses by introducing additional paywalls, as was the case in the US, for example. In Latin America, many news outlets had to reduce their staff shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19 due to a shortfall in revenues. Small, independent outlets in Asia and Central Eastern Europe could raise their income through an increase in memberships or subscriptions. In Central Eastern Europe, especially younger generations acknowledged that quality journalism requires financing, while in Southeast Europe, it is still uncommon to pay for online media consumption, which is a setback for independent online journalism." (At a glance, page 2-3)
more
"The pandemic marks a new technological milestone in audiences’ media usage and habits, one that has thus far been both positive – through the interconnectedness and agency – and negative – because of a lack of access for some – for cultural diversity and intercultural relations. The adopt
...
ion of mobile internet skyrocketed in the region, and some countries, particularly Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have ranked among the countries with the highest penetration rates globally for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube." (Page 1)
more
"1. Social Media Users in MEA (Middle East and Africa) spend the most time on social networks, averaging over 3.5 hours per day. Internet users in the MEA have an average of 8.4 social media accounts, research reveals. UAE, with an average of 10.5 accounts, has “the highest number of social media
...
accounts per person globally. 2. Top TikTok influencers grew their fanbase by an average of 65%, between February and August 2020, with the highest engagement rates in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Few influencers have successfully crossed over from other platforms. 3. Egypt is the 9th largest national market for Facebook in the world, with 44 million users, by October 2020. Turkey is the only other MENA country in the Top 20, with 37 million users. 4. Four MENA Countries, Saudi Arabia (17.9 million users), Turkey (9.7m), Iraq (9.6m) and Egypt (8.9m) are in the 13 largest national markets for Snapchat worldwide. Audiences are continuing to grow, highlighting the importance of the app. 5. 79% of Arab Youth say they get their news from social media. That’s up from 25% in 2015 [...]" (Executive summary)
more
"This work highlights ten years of support for media development in the Arab world, telling the story through photos, eye-witness accounts, journalist profiles and personal experiences. Ten years spent alongside men and women playing an active role in civil society, committed to citizen-centred, div
...
erse news content, driving democratic debate in their country." (Foreword)
more
"This book provides an original contribution to current social and cultural theory on Arab social movements by giving a fuller historical and critical treatment of contemporary artistic and cultural production from the region and beyond. Thematically structured and covering culture, media, politics,
...
and literary studies, the book uses a range of theoretical material that engages readers in three key ways. First, it adopts a critical standpoint with respect to the term "Arab Spring," recognizing the multiple interpretations and varied geographical, historical, and political realities of the term. Second, its focus on carefully selected case studies - namely, Egypt, Tunis, Syria, and Yemen - adds depth to analysis of the cultural, literary and artistic dimensions that operate fluidly across the Arab world. Third, it presents a methodological case study for the growing community of researchers involved in interdisciplinary education." (Publisher description)
more
"This article examines the relationship between fake news and social media as increasingly important sources of news, at a time when mainstream media no longer have exclusive control over news production and dissemination. It has been evident that few media outlets and professionals tend to draw con
...
flicting news about COVID-19 from social media feeds, which are largely produced by common citizens with mostly no journalism training. This pervasive use makes social media key sources to scores of media outlets for news, whether it is related to COVID-19 or public affairs issues, even though it is susceptible to torrents of credibility and accuracy issues. As a result, of the overwhelming spread of fake news on coronavirus, which is contributing to framing events from several angles, media professionals are now obliged to track and vet information circulating on social media. Due to the scale of disinformation spreading on the Web, it has become imperative that the credibility and accuracy of news is thoroughly verified. Media organizations have already been putting in place various mechanisms to monitor false news. This article will attempt to identify and assess these monitoring efforts in the Arab world. For this purpose, I have put together a list of Arab observatories launched on the internet in order to monitor fake news circulating in relation to COVID-19, and to discuss their methods of monitoring work, in the context of mobilization carried out by governments and many organizations such as the World Health Organization. This article is pinned down on social responsibility approach which helps pave the way the differentpropositions to combat fake news and avoid abuses in social media uses. This article proposes an evaluation of the monitoring initiative viaa- vis fake news and proposes a set of guidelines for improving the work of such monitoring bodies. Hence, this research reveals that social media outlets have diversified their goals to match the power of the conventional media in disseminating information and bringing up issues for debate. However, in the light of the framework of social responsibility, social media actors have to constantly develop a set of ethical practices to be observed by users, establish codes of conduct regulating content production, and lay down a code of integrity to assure accuracy in news and information transmission." (Abstract).
more
"[This book] provides an overview of the key issues in global journalism today and traces how media systems have evolved over time in different world regions. Taking into account local context as well as technological change across media industries, the book offers an up-to-date, thorough overview o
...
f media developments in all world regions embedded in their unique political, cultural and economic context. Covering theoretical foundations of global journalism, from the classic Four Theories of the Press to more nuanced media models, this text proposes a framework for studying world media systems. Contributed chapters cover a wide range of topics, including media freedom, global news cultures, professional ethics and responsibilities, and education of global journalists, as well as the role of technology and issues such as fake news, soft power and public diplomacy, foreign news reporting and international news flow." (Publisher description)
more
"DW Akademie commissioned field studies in the following six Middle Eastern and Northern African countries in 2019/20: Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. The initiative to carry out these studies stems from DW Akademie’s long-standing experience in the MENA region and the identi
...
fied need to understand the singularities regarding the communication challenges posed by migration and displacement. The following research questions underpinned the study: 1. How does the national media represent the topics of migration and displacement? Are the voices of migrants and refugees heard in mainstream media? 2. What are the communication tools and strategies of important stakeholders in the field of migration and displacement in each of the six countries? 3. How do migrants and refugees access information and how do they communicate within their communities and the host societies? 4. Are migrant and refugee communities able to access information necessary to making informed decisions? What information do they seek? 5. What are the existing media development initiatives in each country?" (Introduction, page 7)
more
"DW Akademie commissioned field studies in the following six Middle Eastern and Northern African countries in 2019/20: Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. The initiative to carry out these studies stems from DW Akademie’s long-standing experience in the MENA region and the identi
...
fied need to understand the singularities regarding the communication challenges posed by migration and displacement. The following research questions underpinned the study: 1. How does the national media represent the topics of migration and displacement? Are the voices of migrants and refugees heard in mainstream media? 2. What are the communication tools and strategies of important stakeholders in the field of migration and displacement in each of the six countries? 3. How do migrants and refugees access information and how do they communicate within their communities and the host societies? 4. Are migrant and refugee communities able to access information necessary to making informed decisions? What information do they seek? 5. What are the existing media development initiatives in each country?" (Introduction, page 7)
more
"Comprising 39 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six general themes: Gendered identities; Visualizing gender; The politics of gender; Gendered contexts and strategies; Gendered violence and communication; Gendered advocacy in action These sections examine
...
central issues, debates, and problems including: the ethics and politics of gender as identity, impacts of media and technology, legal and legislative battlegrounds over gender inequality and LGBTQ+ human rights, changing institutional contexts, and recent research into communication and gendered violence. The final section links academic research on communication and gender to activism and advocacy beyond the academy." (Publisher description)
more
"In Moldova, a series of hackathons led to the development of tech-based solutions to misinformation. In Ecuador, indigenous groups wrote their own stories on Wikipedia to strengthen their culture's representation and publicly correct misinformation. In Uganda, citizen journalists established a netw
...
ork to report on underrepresented issues and groups. And in the Middle East, innovative concepts in journalism training are helping the next generation of journalists to become fit for the challenges of the future. These four case studies illustrate the approaches that DW Akademie and its partners are pursuing worldwide to strengthen the public dialogue. The goal is to foster innovation and increase the visibility of underrepresented topics, and to bring together innovators and experts to pool their knowledge and skills." (Publisher description)
more
"Following the Arab Spring events in 2011, a number of important women's social movements as well as female figures and online communities emerged to create positive change and demand equality with men. In Women's Activism and New Media in the Arab World author Ahmed Al-Rawi discusses and maps out n
...
ew feminist movements, organizations, and trends, assessing the influence of new media technologies on them and the impact of both on the values and culture of the Middle East. Due to the participation of many women in the events of the Arab Spring, he argues, a new image of Middle Eastern women has emerged in the West. As a result of social media, women have generally become more effective in expressing their views and better connected with each other, yet at the same time some women have been inhibited since many conservative circles use these new technologies to maintain their power. Overall, however, Al-Rawi argues that social media and new mobile technologies are assisting in creating changes that are predominately positive. Often assisted by these new technologies, the real change makers are women who have clear agencies and high hopes and aspirations to create a better future for themselves." (Publisher description)
more
"Die DW Akademie sammelt und dokumentiert die Wirkungen ihrer Projekte auf verschiedenen Ebenen, mit verschiedenen Methoden. Dazu zählen zunächst drei Wege, die heute Standard in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit sind: erstens angewandte Studien, die neues Wissen über Wirkungen ermöglichen, zweiten
...
s das sogenannte wirkungsorientierte Monitoring, das im Verlauf der Projektarbeit mit den Partnerorganisationen vor Ort durchgeführt wird, und drittens Evaluationen, die von externen Gutachterinnen und Gutachtern erstellt werden. Der vorliegende Band konzentriert sich auf zusätzliche Methoden, um Wirkungen darzustellen: auf Reportagen aus 13 verschiedenen Ländern und auf quantitative Daten, die sogenannten aggregierten Wirkungsdaten, die regelmäßig gesammelt und gebündelt werden. Die aggregierten Wirkungszahlen geben einen numerischen Überblick der Menschen, die durch die Arbeit der DW Akademie erreicht wurden. Hierzu fragt die DW Akademie jedes Jahr bei ihren Partnerorganisationen vor Ort nach. So wurden beispielsweise im Jahr 2018 mit Unterstützung der DW Akademie 9,6 Mio. Menschen in ländlichen Gebieten mit für sie relevanten Informationen versorgt. 26,6 Mio. Menschen haben von den Umstrukturierungen ihrer Staatssender profitiert und erhalten eine vielfältigere und attraktivere Berichterstattung. In dieser Publikation lernen Sie einige Menschen kennen, die hinter den Zahlen der aggregierten Wirkungen stecken. Ihre Geschichten sind nicht repräsentativ für die Gesamtheit der unterstützten Zielgruppen. Sie zeigen aber, welche Ansätze und Lösungswege für einzelne Menschen funktioniert haben und warum." (Einleitung)
more
"This study examines the ways in which Arab citizens, as media users, could be enabled to influence news media conduct and thus enhance media practicioners’ commitment toward ethical journalistic practices and standards, particularly accuracy, balance and fairness. It aims to explore the possibili
...
ties of making pan-Arab news media accountable to their publics, refocusing their attention on citizens rather than sponsors and governments. The first section provides an overview of the current state of accountability of the pan-Arab news media with a focus on state-funded broadcasters. Section two looks at the current and emerging media practices and internet-based forms of professional and public accountability in Arab countries. Section three investigates the role of critical media literacy in bolstering the value and effect of current forms of public accountability. Arab media are facing new forms of professional and public accountability and, although in its infancy, critical media literacy is a central factor in fostering and shaping this." (Abstract)
more
"This report is the eighth in an annual series of publications, dating back to 2012, designed to share the latest stories, trends and research in social media usage from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a wide variety of academic, industry and media sources, this White Paper ide
...
ntifies important insights from social media’s development over the previous year. Of particular note in 2019 is the continued, growing, importance of social media in the lives of Arab Youth, outside of Saudi Arabia and Turkey the declining usage of Twitter (once the poster child social network for the Arab Spring,) as well as greater scrutiny of social media usage by platform owners and governments alike. Last year’s report highlighted the increasing weaponization of social networks, a trend which continued in 2019. Facebook, Twitter and Telegram each closed hundreds of accounts due to inappropriate use by state sponsored actors and terrorist groups. Social networks were also the target of governments across MENA, in the midst of protests in many countries throughout the region. Meanwhile, the importance of social video and visually-led social networks, continued to grow. Snapchat introduced new advertising formats to the region and other exclusive functionality, Google highlighted the importance of YouTube in supporting parents and parenting, and in major markets such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Twitter has emerged as a leading platform for online video consumption." (Introduction)
more