Government communications minister meets with Columbia University delegation

AMMAN — Minister of Government Communications Mohammad Momani on Monday met with a delegation from Columbia University’s School of Journalism and its Amman branch.

Discussions during the meeting, held at the Ministry of Government Communications, focused on collaboration between the ministry and Columbia University in the fields of media and communication, particularly in areas such as fact-checking, combating hate speech, addressing misleading content and providing training programmes.

Momani highlighted Jordan’s efforts in combating misinformation and rumours, as well as its ongoing commitment to promoting media and information literacy as an "effective" societal and educational tool, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He stressed how these efforts enhance the public's ability to deal with fake news and rumours while teaching younger generations to verify information and distinguish between accurate and false news.

The minister also noted that the Kingdom is a "regional pioneer" in advancing media and information literacy concepts, which have contributed to curbing the spread of rumours, especially on social media platforms.

Dean of Columbia University’s School of Journalism Jelani Cobb reviewed the university’s programmes aimed at educating students on fact-checking and combating hate speech.

Cobb also referred to a number of global challenges facing the media sector, including artificial intelligence tools, financial difficulties and the digital transformation.