Shboul inaugurates Arab media meetings in Amman

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs Faisal Shboul on Tuesday inaugurated the Arab media meetings, being held in Amman by the Media and Communications Sector at the Arab League in cooperation with the Arab Commission for Satellite Broadcasting (ACSB). 

Shboul, who is also the government spokesperson, said that the three subjects to be discussed in the three-day meetings are: The role of Arab media in combating extremism and terrorism, e-media, and protecting children from some e-games, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He expressed his hope to also discuss a fourth matter related to supporting Arab media in the face of social media, which has recently monopolised the global advertisement market, leaving less space for traditional media outlets.

The minister also referred to several threats on media, particularly some media outlets’ adoption of a discourse, influenced by public opinion on social media, which “contradicts with all laws and codes of media ethics”. 

He also stressed the importance of combating the “dangerous trilogy” — hate speech, privacy violations and false or fabricated news — which are fed by the misuse of social media.

Arab League Deputy Secretary General and Head of the Media and Communication Sector Ahmed Rachid Khattabi said that the Arab League aspires to reach recommendations that can prevent attempts to use social media to spread hate and extremism and can prevent the “suspicious use” of the digital space to interfere in citizens’ security.

ACSB President Mohammed Adaileh said that terrorism and extremism is a “source of worry” for decision makers in the Arab world.

Adaileh noted that the commission, upon calls by the Arab League, has hosted a second discussion panel on the role of media in combating terrorism in a bid to shed light on the top features of addressing terrorism.