Second national consultation on media, information literacy begins

Unesco, in collaboration with Qatar National Committee for Unesco, and Al Jazeera Media Institute organised the second two-day National Consultation in Qatar on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) that kicked off on Monday at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE).The second MIL is intended to build on the first national consultation organised in 2019, and for broadening the scope of discussion through a multi stakeholder approach.In the opening speech, Dr Ali al-Maarifi, secretary general of Qatar National Commission to Unesco, said: "This consultation is aiming at better understanding the MIL framework in the country, identify areas where support is needed, and build a plan of action to support MIL development and dissemination in Qatar.”The first panel discussion was an introduction to MIL and overview of MIL initiatives in Qatar. This was followed by a panel discussion titled 'The role of the media in promoting MIL', where Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka, Gulf Times Editor-in-Chief and Iman al-Kaabi, director, Qatar Media Center; Jaber al-Harami, Editor-in-Chief, Al Sharq Newspaper; and Kamel Hamidou, associate professor, Department of Media, Qatar University, focused on MIL in journalism and journalism education.Al-Mudahka said: "There are three stages, first making the news. If you are capable of making the news but you do not have a means of transmitting it. Today, the old media i.e. newspapers, radio, and even the current media, including social media, have a specific industry and know how, which is represented by algorithms. Do we know how to deal with it? Because if we don't know how to deal with it, we won't be able to disseminate the news. For this reason, new names (for journalists) are emerging, because they are using modern ways and media."Today, the recipient in the Middle East, Qatar, or the region in general is between 17 and 30 years old. Do we have professionals who address (speak) to this age group? Or has this class left the media which we deal with or produce?Then there is no issue of lack of trust but it is the lack of use of technology."In recent years, those working in the media in Qatar have become more confused and experienced at the same time. For example, the topic of the World Cup can be divided into three components: media literacy, because we faced many media campaigns and fake news. Did the public in the Middle East or in Qatar have media literacy? No, They looked at the big institutions, BBC, CNN, with no suspicion. How we dealt with them, whether the local press, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, or the Arab press, which has a national or patriotic feeling or support for Qatar or the World Cup? It was always defending Qatar."Here you find the official bearing all the burden, and he finds himself explaining why we hosted the World Cup, and explaining the goal or a specific policy that reduces the impact of attacks or electronic flies. Secondly, media literacy: Do our students or the age group targeted by the campaign have the idea that there is/are so-called electronic flies or algorithms used by parties that pay huge sums of money to spread this false news?"If we look at Covid-19, we still see this news on X. I am glad that we are discussing MIL because in Qatar we are located in an important geopolitical region, and in an active country. Among the news, the lie about Covid-19 is that you will recover if you drink bleach. Someone died because of this fake news, and it has become a political issue. Does the public know about this? We are not talking about the level of Qatar and whether I trust the press or not? There is a large media wave."We move to Qatari mediation and the war in Gaza. If we look at it as a case study, many people believe that you have a just cause and in which resolutions were taken by the United Nations, but sometimes we see the Israeli narrative winning because it has an electronic army, it has a program, it is proficient in algorithms, and it has an army of people against the Palestinian cause. But at the same time, we see that this narrative has changed, and there is awareness in universities because students understand, and the new generation understands and sees that this news is false. This narrative is no longer as true as its promoters want."I am happy to debate this important topic, which is the topic of the hour, even if we are late in bringing it up. MIL is an important and complex topic for understanding fake news, for instance how to verify images via GPS, and whether the demonstrations whose images have been disseminated are true or false, and the process of verifying them via Google and other techniques to verify the authenticity of the news are all very important.This is the fourth time in Qatar that we have been exposed to media campaigns and electronic flies because the state is active. If it were a normal state, we would not be exposed to such attacks, but we are always at the center of the decision and in an important geopolitical area,” al-Mudahka concluded.