Officials warn against false news ‘igniting national fear’

AMMAN — In light of the recent terrorist attacks on Salt, media experts and government officials reflected on the media’s role in contributing or hindering the social turmoil among citizens.

“I have to admit that most journalists and reporters working in official and known newspapers handled the situation professionally, although some individuals and so-called activists had a huge role in magnifying the situation and making it into something that it is not,” said Rakan Saaydeh, President of the Jordan Press Association (JPA).

Saaydeh told The Jordan Times that, contrary to individuals publishing posts on social media, journalists have to "think twice" before writing or publishing something that they are unsure of, because of the legal sanctions and professional values that prevent them from doing so.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat said in a press conference that aired live on the Public Security Department’s official Facebook page on Monday “people who spread rumours or false information about the incident on social media are one of two: Either people who are supporters of the terrorist group or non-knowledgeable citizens who are unaware of the damages that social media can inflict on the situation. The first group is hopeless to deal with, while the second can be educated for the future.”

Ghunaimat spoke of a new strategy adopted by the government to keep citizens informed and provided with accurate facts, defining it as a new step towards the transparency manifested itself during the Salt incident. 

Bayan Tal, senior advisor at the Jordan Media Institute, told The Jordan Times that this approach is "indeed noticeable" in the new Razzaz government.

"There is a gap of trust between the government and the citizens when it comes to news. This is a result of the past governments’ way of dealing with the media and it is what leads citizens to often turn to rumours or unofficial news outlets for information, rather than the government's press release, as proven by studies,” Tal said.

For his part, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Sami Mahasneh told The Jordan Times over the phone that a meeting with the minister and heads of political parties had been concluded with "unanimous agreement upon the government’s media strategy".

He announced that a new platform dubbed “It’s Your Right to Know” is being developed by the government to issue around-the-clock news, which he said "will hopefully put an end to all false news and deal with sensitive ones in a delicate manner".

Out of all the news and rumours circulating on “unofficial” and “unprofessional” news agencies, a government official singled out the act of posting pictures and names of martyrs, calling it a “grossly inconsiderate” act that violates the privacy of the martyrs' families, in addition to putting ongoing investigations and operations at risk.

The JPA’s president expressed his discontent with the same point, reiterating that government officials have specifically asked for the names and photos of the martyrs to be kept private.

Tal concluded by stressing that the competition between news agencies should not push them to commit immoral and disgraceful acts just to get views, likes, and comments, as those are “not the values of a true journalist”.