Media literacy key in combating hate speech, misinformation — Shboul

AMMAN — Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul on Sunday highlighted the importance of media literacy in safeguarding society from the repercussions of hate speech, extremism, privacy violations and the spread of misinformation associated with certain social media platforms.

Shboul’s remarks came during a lecture, held as part of the Media Information Literacy Academy, organised by the Jordan Media Institute, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The event brought together 70 participants, including faculty members and students from colleges in 10 countries from the region and Europe.  He reviewed Jordan's experience in the field of media literacy, notably incorporating its concepts into school curricula, fostering critical thinking, responsible dialogue, privacy protection, news verification and reliance on official sources.

Shboul also highlighted Jordan's proposal for an Arab strategy based on the European Digital Services Act for the regulation of dealing with international media companies, including social media platforms. This strategy will be presented to the council of Arab Ministers of Information, which will convene in Morocco later this month.

The approval of this proposal will lead to the development of national legislation and an Arab regulatory agreement to govern social media platforms.