The media bears the responsibility of refuting rumors in cooperation with state institutions that seek, through their official pages, to clarify the truth of matters. However, despite all these efforts, rumors spread like wildfire in a fertile environment that helps them multiply through social networking sites.
In light of the tense atmosphere prevailing in the region, some are trying to fish in troubled waters by spreading rumours, but conscious citizens have an important role to play in eliminating this fake news by quickly circulating the truth in order to cut off efforts to confuse and ignite strife, and to stand united in the face of challenges.
Media experts and sociologists have confirmed that rumors lead to the disintegration of social relations, and weaken the state’s relationship with its citizens, and between individuals in general.
The spread of rumors also contributes to increasing tension, destabilization, and loss of… Trust in the state, which leads to distorting the achievements achieved on the ground.
Activating the law
In this context, Dr. Najwa Kamel, Professor, confirmed Journalism at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, stressed the need to firmly enforce the law against those spreading rumors, after a law was issued specifically for rumors in the recent period. It is limited to rumors about celebrities, but there are rumors that affect national security, whether politically or socially.
The journalism professor added that there are now specialized committees in making these rumours, and through artificial intelligence and technology, they are given a degree of credibility.
Information War
For his part, Dr. Mahmoud Khalil, Professor of Media at the Faculty of Information, Cairo University, said that rumors are fought with real and correct information, and this is the only alternative to resisting them, as rumors flourish if a situation prevails. From the media blackout and information disappeared. . Pointing out that he does not see valuable rumors on the scene related to the currently emerging regional conflict between Israel and the axis of resistance.
He added that the rumor spreads among people like wildfire, and that social media has contributed to the spread of rumors, and this is normal. In all countries of the world, not only in Egypt, as social networking sites play a major role in spreading false and false rumors and news.
He explained: The economic rumor such as “gold prices will rise in the coming period” It results in an abnormal demand from the public to buy gold before its price rises, and these rumors constitute a real tool of sabotage in society and the economic reality, because they complicate economic problems.
Official pages
For his part, he sees Dr. Taha Negm, Head of the Media Department at the Faculty of Arts at Alexandria University, said that the best way to confront rumors is to have official state pages to confront these rumours, respond to them and correct them. He continued: Rumors must be confronted in the same manner and source from which they originate, as they are often from social networking sites. Social.
He added: I like very much what some sister countries in the Gulf are doing, where any rumor that comes out is responded to through the country’s official page via Twitter, that is, the response is done by the same means from which the rumor came out, and even if It was a simple rumor, and this is the best response to rumors in light of the decline in viewership of channels compared to social media, which has become a reality we live in.
He pointed out that there are many rumors that spread quickly, and require a quick response from reliable sources, and therefore, The government must allocate official pages to all parties in the various sectors in the country to respond to rumours, because we are a large society and we live in the midst of crises in the region surrounding us. . He pointed out that it is true that the Cabinet page responds to rumours, but not all the time, and not to every rumour.
He continued that these pages would eliminate any rumor at its inception before it spreads, stressing that rumors should not be ignored. Whatever they are, whether small or large, because of the danger they represent, all problems start from simple rumors and then grow.
Types of rumors
On the other hand, Dr. Hala Mansour, professor of science, explained The meeting at Benha University revealed that there are two types of rumours: the first type is random rumours, which are followed by a state of chatter and lack of understanding of some matters, and are the result of speculation and the promotion of a specific idea.
The second type is organized rumours, which It is led by a group of brigades and tries to spread certain ideas for political and social purposes, and both types are considered harmful to society.
Mansour drew attention to the fact that there are types of environments, some of which are supportive of rumors and an environment that resists them. The supportive environment is the one that There is no trust, as citizens believe anything due to weak sources of information and the absence of ways to access them.
While the resistance environment depends on the presence of official sources to verify the truthfulness of the information, in addition to transparency and spreading religious, social, and cultural awareness.
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Dr. Hala Mansour focused on the importance of community participation and taking responsibility, calling for legalizing the use of media and following up on electronic brigades that spread rumours.
She pointed out that rumors affect countries’ economies, as they can cause declines. Sharp in the stock markets.
Serious effects
Dr. Azza Fathi, professor of sociology at Ain Shams University, explained that rumors are sometimes based on facts, even by 20%, which requires transparency. And clarity to confront crises.. Dr. Azza also set specifications to confront the phenomenon of rumors, starting with education at a young age, where education is considered like engraving on stone, and students must be taught how to think critically and enable them to distinguish between facts and rumours.
Fathi called for the necessity of Teaching digital citizenship, and codifying the use of technology wisely and responsibly, to ensure the ability to effectively confront rumors.
