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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Main Author: Bakour Mohamad, Bachar
Format: Proceeding Paper
Language:English
English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
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
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author Bakour Mohamad, Bachar
author_facet Bakour Mohamad, Bachar
author_sort Bakour Mohamad, Bachar
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
description 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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spelling iium-742982019-09-23T07:39:56Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/74298/ The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution Bakour Mohamad, Bachar H61.8 Communication of information 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. 2019-08 Proceeding Paper NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/74298/7/74298%20Programme%20schedule.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/74298/8/74298%20The%20Ethical%20Crisis%20of%20the%20Post-2011%20Arab%20Media.pdf Bakour Mohamad, Bachar (2019) The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution. In: 1st International Conference on Media and Social Science 2019 (iCOMS 2019), 21st-22nd August, Shah Alam, Selangor. (Unpublished)
spellingShingle H61.8 Communication of information
Bakour Mohamad, Bachar
The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
title The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
title_full The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
title_fullStr The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
title_full_unstemmed The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
title_short The ethical crisis of the post-2011 Arab media: the case of the Syrian revolution
title_sort ethical crisis of the post-2011 arab media: the case of the syrian revolution
topic H61.8 Communication of information
url 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