Public, media should exercise caution in times of crisis — experts

AMMAN — With social media users and even news websites circulating rumours during the security operation against terrorists in Irbid, experts on Wednesday said media outlets and the public should be educated on how to act during times of crisis.

As the security operation was ongoing in Irbid, some 80km north of Amman on Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday, many citizens flocked to nearby streets, taking videos, pictures and posting them on social media, a practice that media experts warned could jeopardise security operations.

“When citizens, whether unintentionally or unwittingly, take pictures and videos of ongoing security raids, they may jeopardise the whole operation. They actually turn into tools in the hands of terrorists and indirectly spread the message of terrorists," Basim Tweissi, dean of the Jordan Media Institute, told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

"They may cause panic or reveal what should not be revealed to the terrorists, who might be monitoring media and social media outlets,” Tweissi warned. 

Security forces and government entities need to have quick response strategies at times of crisis, for in the absence of information, rumours and speculations prevail, he noted.

Media outlets in Jordan also need proper training on how to exercise their jobs at times of crisis, Tweissi added.

“Media outlets keep repeating the same mistakes unfortunately at times of crisis. The major mistake is focusing on speed at the expense of accuracy and not relying on authorised sources to obtain information, which opens the door for speculations and the spread of rumours.”

During the security operation, some local websites and social media users published news with the full name of an officer from Karak indicating that he was killed during the operation. But a few hours afterwards, it turned out that the news was false, as another officer had been killed.

“This is unbelievable and media outlets that published the news should be held accountable, for causing panic for the entire family of the officer who turned out to be alive,” Nabil Ghishan, a media expert and political analyst, told The Jordan Times.

"Many social media users posted pictures and videos of the operations and of the security personnel. People were watching as if it were their job to report from the field, which is unacceptable," Ghishan added. 

"These posts could benefit terrorists and alert them to the size of the security force or other details of the operation,” he noted, adding that the presence of civilians near an ongoing security operation also jeopardises their lives.

According to Tweissi, enhancing media literacy at schools and universities plays an important role in educating the public on how to behave at times of crisis.

“Citizens can mistakenly become a tool for spreading terrorist propaganda through social media at a time when social networks are faster and sometimes more influential than mainstream media,” said Ghishan.