Catch.. "Fake"

A very important seminar was held last week by the Supreme Council for Media, headed by great journalist Karam Gabr, about the role of the media in confronting rumors.

This seminar came at the right time. Over the past period, we have seen many rumors that appear suddenly and without any justification, targeting our economy, security, and stability. The truth is that the Council is in a state of constant activity. The week before last, it held a seminar on human rights and how the media works to spread human rights awareness, and before that, there was a seminar on media regulation in addition to the cooperation protocols it signed with a number of Arab media institutions in the field of media. 

I liked the seminar on confronting rumors, which discussed spreading awareness among the public on how to act when discovering a rumor or fake news, and the role of the Supreme Council for Media in following up and taking measures in cooperation with the competent authorities... and maximizing the concept of social media security to protect society from the rumors that have become apparent and led to crimes that have affected our society. We all know that the role of the media is important to protect families and young people from rumors and fake news.

During the seminar, the Council announced that it will launch a new website called “Catch Fake,” to confront fake news and fake content that spreads online. It examines information and images and allows users to report rumors and false content with the aim of deleting them especially since the council has the authority to delete fake pages that promote this news as confronting rumors requires integrated efforts between the media and society, and the new website represents a major step in enhancing the credibility of information and achieving transparency, which contributes to protecting social security and reducing the impact of rumors on citizens, in addition to conducting training in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications for media professionals and official spokesmen on how to deal with rumors and fake news.

I listened to all the opinions during the seminar and called for the quick issuance of the Freedom of Information Law, since it enables us, with the correct information, to confront false and malicious rumours. I hope that we will issue the law so that it becomes the greatest tool to confront lying and malicious rumours, it represents national security that protects freedom of opinion and confronts those who want to harm the security and stability of the nation.