Amman:The Jordan Media Credibility Monitor, also known as Akeed, reported a significant rise in rumors circulating across domestic and digital platforms in October. The initiative, part of the Jordan Media Institute, documented 133 rumors during the month, marking a 41 percent increase from the 94 instances recorded in September.
According to Jordan News Agency, Akeed's monthly report highlighted that the October figure was approximately 27 percent above the 12-month trailing monthly average of 105 rumors. The surge was attributed to external accounts exploiting regional crises to spread targeted disinformation.
The report identified security and political rumors as the most prevalent in October, with each category accounting for 34 cases or 26 percent of the total. Together, they represented 51 percent of all tracked misinformation. Social rumors followed with 29 cases (22 percent), with general public affairs at 19 cases (14 percent), economic topics at 13 cases (10 percent), and healthcare-related claims at four cases (3 percent).
The source tracking revealed that 38 rumors, or 29 percent, originated exclusively from foreign accounts. The remaining 95 rumors were amplified by a mix of domestic, foreign, and unverified digital sources, highlighting vulnerabilities in public data sharing on unauthenticated social media channels.
Political and security sectors were the main targets of external disinformation campaigns, accounting for 21 of the 34 political rumors and 16 of the 34 security rumors. In contrast, economic, public affairs, and health-related rumors were entirely domestic in origin.
Social media platforms were identified as the principal channels for rumor dissemination, hosting 83 rumors (62 percent). Traditional news outlets were involved in 50 cases (38 percent). Security and social claims were the most shared on social media, while political rumors dominated press-driven misinformation.
Official state bodies addressed 49 of the tracked cases with formal denials or clarifications, while 84 rumors remained uncountered during the monitoring period. Akeed's methodology defines a rumor as a claim related to Jordanian public affairs or national interests, reaching at least 5,000 users via digital media channels, regardless of official refutations.