Experts and media figures specializing in information verification and content production stressed the importance of enhancing responsible media discourse to counter misinformation and rumors, emphasizing the need to verify information and avoid publishing content that incites hatred and violence, thereby protecting social cohesion and enhancing trust in the media.
Media Misinformation and Its Impact on Society
Ahmed Bremou, director of the "Takkad" platform specializing in information verification, clarified that the danger of misinformation is not limited to spreading false news, but affects people's attitudes towards each other. Bremou said that publishing unverified claims about security incidents or violations can exacerbate community tensions and deepen divisions, and may even incite violence, especially when this information is used to target certain segments of society.
Bremou stressed that the responsibility to mitigate these risks lies with multiple parties, starting with individuals who should verify before sharing information, through media institutions that bear professional responsibility for verifying what they publish, to digital platforms that must take effective measures to limit the spread of misleading and inciting content, without infringing on freedom of expression. Bremou pointed out that the process of verifying information begins by identifying its original source, assessing its reliability, and then looking for independent evidence supporting the circulating claims, emphasizing that verification does not mean merely finding sources that repeat the same narrative, but rather searching for independent evidence that proves its validity.
Enhancing Professional Responsibility Among Journalists
Bremou continued by saying: Based on our work, we see that one of the most important principles that journalists should adhere to is not exceeding the limits of what they know and what they can prove, and clearly distinguishing between confirmed information and claims that are still under verification. He stressed that journalists' adherence to these principles contributes to providing a more reliable information environment. He added that the success of the "The Word Builds" campaign and other similar campaigns requires moving beyond slogans to provide practical tools that help the public verify information, understand the risks of incitement and generalization based on religious or sectarian identity, alongside enhancing the professional responsibility of journalists and content creators.
Awareness or the Pursuit of Trends?
For his part, content production trainer Majd Maghrabiya emphasized the need for an individual to ask themselves a fundamental question before proceeding to publish any news, concerning the purpose of publication and the positive or negative ripple effects that may result from it, explaining that the process of copying and pasting without verification constitutes a major problem, particularly in political and religious affairs. Maghrabiya pointed out that content creators must define their goal, whether they are chasing trends or if their true aim is to raise awareness and convey knowledge to people, warning that when the pursuit of trends is the primary driver, content creators will not care about professionalism or accuracy, but will focus all their attention on manufacturing events and spreading on social media to be the first, and nothing more.
Freedom of Expression is Coupled with Responsibility
Maghrabiya added that freedom of expression has become an open door for everyone, and hasty publishing without verification can cause injustice to an innocent person or bring division and fitna upon society, the consequences of which exceed the penalty imposed by the competent judicial authorities, calling for full responsibility when sharing any post. According to Maghrabiya, content creators and the public must avoid hate speech and incitement, and control emotions before sharing, stressing the need to enhance awareness and legal legislation to protect social cohesion and limit misinformation.
The Syrian Academy for Media launched, in partnership with the Ministry of Media and the United Nations Development Programme, on the sixth of this month, the "The Word Builds" campaign, to raise awareness about the dangers of hate speech, incitement, and misinformation, and to enhance responsible practices in the circulation and publication of content across Syrian governorates.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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