Amman, Jordan continues to wage a long war against misinformation and fake news, with 2,151 rumors circulating in the past five years, mostly on social media and news websites, according to latest statistics.
The rumors were spreading in Jordanian society, either through media outlets or social media platforms between August, 2018, and the end of December, 2022, of which 503 were published by local media outlets and 1,457 were posted on social media platforms, according to data by the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor, Akeed.
Detailed reports on rumors in the Kingdom obtained by Petra through Akeed, the Jordan Media Institute platform that tracked fake news’ origins, publishers and spread, found that they usually thrive in abnormal circumstances, such as times of crises, wars, natural disasters, etc.
However, they revealed that rumors do not disappear in ordinary circumstances, and spread more in certain social, political and cultural environments than others, and their spread depends on the degree of ambiguity and subject matter.
Specialists provided Petra with data on the circumstances of rumors spread, the extent of their impact on various walks of life, and ways of combating them, emphasizing citizens’ awareness and ability to verify the accuracy of information and taking it from reliable sources.
They noted the “joint, strategic” role of private and state institutions in countering rumors, underlining the need to differentiate between freedom of expression as per the law and disseminating misleading information that may be intended to offend a certain entity or personality.
Monitoring rumors in the Kingdom is a key focus at the heart of Akeed’s tasks the year round, as reports are compiled and posted monthly and annually on its website, said Akeed Director Hussein Abu Rumman.
The latest report showed that 362 rumors were recorded in 2022, at a rate of 30 per month, said Abu Rumman, adding that most of these were economic by 30 percent, followed by public affairs and then security, with these domains often rotating monthly in first place. He pointed out that the origins of rumors were mostly internal, with 95 percent coming from local sources.
Abu Rumman explained that the last Akeed report compared data from last year and the previous two years, with an average of 47 rumors a month recorded in 2020, which is normal, given their health nature as 2020 was the year of Covid-19 spread.
The virus climate’s impact persisted in 2021, with a rumor rate of 46 a month, reaching an average of 30 in 2022, which showed Jordanian society continued to be affected by gloom and conspiracy theories that existed during the pandemic, he said.
Source: Jordan News Agency