The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
Whether in the time of war or peace, media, considered the ‘Fourth Authority’, must struggle to present the truth to the public, making no concession to any kind of authority. This paper gives a brief account of the 2011 Arab popular revolts with reference to media’s significant role in war. Then, i...
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2019
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/74298/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/74298/7/74298%20Programme%20schedule.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/74298/8/74298%20The%20Ethical%20Crisis%20of%20the%20Post-2011%20Arab%20Media.pdf |
| Summary: | Whether in the time of war or peace, media, considered the ‘Fourth Authority’, must struggle to present the truth to the public, making no concession to any kind of authority. This paper gives a brief account of the 2011 Arab popular revolts with reference to media’s significant role in war. Then, it investigates the unethical role of the official and semi-official visual media during the first six months of the Syrian Revolution. As a tool in the hand of the regime, media outlets worked on propagating regime’s adopted narrative. And that narrative depicts the non-violent protestors as terrorist gangs, and conspirators supported by foreign imperial powers. The media’s manipulative role in the presentation of events and dissemination of information comes under the following categories: misrepresenting reports; a global conspiracy; defaming the opponent; manipulating religious discourse; and polishing the image of the regime. Examples will be furnished for each category. Finally, the paper calls for the core values of ethical media from the Islamic perspective, which provide a blueprint for those who aspire to engage themselves into the public information sphere and to create reliability and credibility in their profession. |
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