Arab countries update joint media strategy to counter terrorism

Arab countries are seeking to upgrade a joint media strategy to keep pace with the activities of terrorist groups and how they tend to exploit the media, especially digital media, to disseminate their extremist ideas.

In a March 12 meeting organised by Kuwait's Ministry of Communications on the sidelines of the 16th session of the Arab Information Ministers Council, a group of media experts explored new media strategies to combat extremism.

They discussed the "Joint Arab Media Strategy to Combat Terrorism" and how it can be updated amid media innovations.

The strategy was commissioned by the General Secretariat of the Arab League and developed by the Riyadh-based Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) in 2015.

The updates to the Arab media strategy focus on adopting policies that take into account the new technological developments on social media amid the attempts by terrorist groups, led by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), to use these means to disseminate their ideology and attract potential recruits.

The strategy proposes the development of "Arab cultural awareness" that rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in order to protect Arab countries against extremist content, fake news and misleading information on the internet.

Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, Arab League assistant secretary-general, said the meeting was dedicated to studying the role of the media in the fight against terrorism.

He highlighted Kuwait's role in supporting Arab countries in their unified effort to uplift the Arab world and connect to the issues they are facing, such as terrorism.

During its last meeting, held in Cairo in September, the Arab Information Ministers Council said it was important to reassess the Arab media strategy to strengthen the way the media deal with terrorism, the repercussions of which extend beyond terrorising innocent people and taking lives, Khattabi said.

Terrorism has also led to the depletion of economic resources and the disruption of development projects in the Arab world, he said.

"It has targeted our countries' safety and stability, and has destabilised civil peace," he added.

The March meeting in Kuwait came on the heels of a February 1 meeting hosted by NAUSS, in which representatives from 14 Arab countries participated.

During the February meeting, representatives discussed the development of an Arab strategy to combat terrorism.

NAUSS Vice President for External Relations Khaled al-Harfash said the university is keen to develop plans to combat terrorism using studied methods and scientific programmes and activities.

NAUSS has inaugurated a regional centre to counter terrorism and organised crime, he said, adding that he hopes this will contribute to Arab and international efforts in this regard.

ISIS's declining media power

Security analyst Safaa al-Aasam said ISIS has extensively exploited the media to influence audiences around the world.

Before the start of the war against ISIS in 2014, the group spent millions of dollars on intensive internet activity through skillful video production, he said.

"At the time, the terrorist content capitalised on sectarian tension and on provoking sectarian conflicts to win over supporters of the takfiri ideology."

"However, since the exposure of the truth about the terrorists as merely bloodthirsty people who cannot be trusted, and their defeat in battle, their media momentum and their ability to mislead have declined," al-Aasam said.

The media strategy recommends that there be close co-operation among relevant government agencies, and between the media and civil society institutions, to "produce proactive media content to combat terrorism and highlight the danger of extremist ideology".

It also recommends making efforts to prevent terrorist groups from delivering their messages or from attracting public attention, and to guide the media response to the coverage of terrorist attacks in order to ensure that they are not somehow glorified.

Another recommendation is that the media give more coverage to security services' efforts to combat terrorism.

The strategy emphasises the importance of training inmmedia security to strengthen the skills of journalists and analysts who monitor and track terrorist activities and their propaganda methods, and are interested in implementing ways to counter them.

It also proposes the establishment of an Arab fund to support training initiatives and plans.

"The media's fight against terrorists must continue with greater effectiveness through trained and qualified individuals who possess sufficient skills to keep up with and detect any terrorist activity," al-Aasam said.

ISIS has changed its tactics, and has shifted from exploiting sectarian tensions and media technologies to focusing on using money to recruit the poor, despite the severe lack of funding it suffers from today, he said.

In the fight against ISIS, it is important to "strip terrorists of their means to influence [audiences] by monitoring and exposing their religiously and morally unacceptable ideas and practices", he said.