‘ON SOCIAL MEDIA, SOME STILL THINK PANDEMIC IS A LIE’

“Many people still believe the pandemic is a lie,” a veteran journalist and author has pointed out in a virtual discussion that raised concerns about the “credibility crisis” affecting the literature and the news industry.

At a recent session on the SIBF’s Sharjah Reads virtual platform, journalist and author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said: “Truth has become very slippery today. Social media is a root cause of distortions that we no longer know what is true or false.”

Equally concerned about the rise of disinformation, Muhsin Al Ramli — an Iraqi writer, poet, academic and translator — joined the conversation.

“Before the advent of social media, we could rely on just a few newspapers for credible information. But today, there is so much disinformation as the sources of ‘news’ have increased, and we often do not know what the truth is,” said Al Ramli, whose novels Dates on My Fingers and The President’s Gardens were longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

He said it’s high time that “powerful journalism” rose to the challenge and re-established its reputation as the “real source of verified information”.

Alibhai-Brown, a print journalist for the past 35 years, said she is also worried about the emergence of “selfie media”. “The commercial exploitation of these young people who are turned into influencers on platforms that follow no rules is a disturbing development. Social media has given everyone a voice and extreme views are often amplified here.”

Al Ramli begged to differ, saying: “The positivity and negativity of social media stems from the way we use them. The strength of the individual comes from being part of the larger group, whether in a virtual or physical space.”