Abu Dhabi

Source: Mufakiru Alemarat

Dr. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri

Today’s media platforms represent an important aspect of our daily life experiences. It shapes our personal understanding of the world around us, and the mechanism that influences our individual and collective knowledge and behaviour, as well as the formation of our convictions about cultural, political, social and economic events. Such platforms have special weight and importance in the Arab region, as virtual and emerging digital environments capable of producing digital content that can reprogram societal values ​​that may not be identical with our true, authentic values. To be republished on modern social media networks, which also lead to the emergence of a new, dynamic social and political scene, which inherently calls for concern about the future of the region, in light of the great potential of these platforms to spread and expand, penetrate minds, and form public opinion.

The dual role of digital social platforms

It is clear that social media platforms have begun to play dual roles, as a catalyst for change and the building of codified and directed ideological beliefs. We have enough evidence and evidence in the Arab Spring and global events. Digital platforms still represent a source of unrest, insecurity, and disruption of existing social and political structures.

The global media industry today seems to aim to transform the Arab individual into a “material and economic entity” devoid of cultural belonging and specificity. This systematic erasure of cultural identity may lead to a contradiction in the values ​​on which Arab societies are based, whether through information dumping, or establishing false concepts, turning them into axioms that settle in public consciousness, giving false images of reality, and creating a conceptually homogeneous society consisting of simple, similar models. Automatically responds to media requirements.

Amidst all this dumping, we find that the missing role is the optimal use of these platforms in the Arab region, using them to preserve the system of common values, and affirming Arab identity in a world that is becoming more globalized every day. It has become necessary to deal with this dual role of these platforms responsibly. To prevent cultural damage and distortion, and to maintain social and political stability.

Global dominance of the media

Dominant Western powers use media platforms as strategic tools to influence public opinion, perpetuate stereotypes that serve their goals, extend their influence, and control social and political outcomes. Given the extended, cross-cultural and cross-community influence of these platforms; Its ability to destabilize cultural structures and incite conflicts of values ​​has become clear in a way that warns of the imminent dangers that, in their simplest forms, seem very frightening.

The design of media platforms, especially social media, depends on controlling individuals’ brain cognitive maps and shaping the collective understanding of society according to established strategies. Also, the promotion of diverse narratives, regardless of whether the narrated content is real or not, is mainly aimed at changing the perceptual reality and awareness of peoples; This leads to the formation of a distorted understanding of events, or as the game controller wants to portray it.

National plans

Addressing the shifting media landscape requires concerted efforts at the national level in its various institutions. The focus here should be on raising public awareness, encouraging constructive dialogue, ensuring the circulation of accurate information, and preventing the spread of misleading information. The measures taken must take into account the integration of modern and traditional media to produce content that better represents the values ​​and concepts of authentic Arab societies, and to counter the negative influences of Western media platforms.

Here, the United Arab Emirates provides a unique model through its effective use of a balanced national media strategy that protects its cultural identity, and its adoption of policies that emphasize national unity and open global participation based on tolerance and peace. The UAE has also invested in its media platforms to address social issues, facilitate dialogue and communication between its institutions and society, and in educating and disseminating knowledge and education. This model in media discourse calls for emulation and benefit from it at the level of the Arab region.

On the other hand, the key to successfully confronting challenges lies in a deep understanding of the dynamics of the realistic ecological structure of these media platforms, and then following a comprehensive approach that deals with this structure rationally. This indicates the importance of improving the level of educational systems, supporting media institutions, and empowering civil society organizations. These are all essential measures to strengthen Arab cultural identity and reduce the influence of Western media.

Here we should pay attention to the prevailing belief regarding modern platforms, and their main and systematic targeting of the family building, which constitutes the basic building block for building all societies and nations, by extension. This requires focusing on preserving and protecting family values. Because it is the impenetrable wall and the first line of defense against values ​​that contradict it.

Unified media language

Establishing a unified media language – at the national or regional level – may help confront the prevailing negative images of the Arab region and its religious and cultural identity in Western media. This initiative must be linked to the production of alternative media that resist reductionism, presenting the Arab person in a positive light as an active and productive individual, not an object of consumption, and moving him from the position of a submissive recipient to a positive influencer in the interactions that occur in his region and the world.

In this context, it is necessary to overcome the challenges faced by news outlets in adapting to the preferences of segments of society that increasingly rely on the Internet to obtain information and interact with news and information content and satellite programs from Western countries. The first step here may be to conduct an analysis of the general content in social media that can provide realistic insights into its emotional impact on the Arab public, and help to more accurately understand the risks and effects of the spread of Western and informal media platforms in the region, and then adapt appropriate communication strategies.

In conclusion, it must be noted that modern media platforms will continue to represent gigantic challenges, and at the same time will provide opportunities for constructive participation and positive change. It is important for the Arab world to harness the power of the media responsibly. To maintain intellectual security in its societies and its rich cultural heritage, actively contribute to global dialogue, confront negative stereotypes, promote a more accurate understanding of its cultures and societies, and create a solid and decent space in the global media landscape.