Bouran Warns of Media Crimes Involving 'News Laundry'

Nart Bouran, director of Sky News Arabia, has warned of media crimes involving &quot;news laundry&quot; with the aim of offending some states or personalities by publishing false &quot;fabricated&quot; news, which gets circulated on a large scale through social media networks until it reaches reliable media establishments and consequently gains legitimacy and credibility.<br /> <br /> In a lecture he delivered at the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) today, Wednesday, on &quot;Media in the Middle East: Challenges and Lessons,&quot; moderated by JMI Dean Dr. Basim Tweissi,&nbsp; Bouran said that one of the challenges facing the Arab public at present is that some parties that have private agendas would publish false news about some countries, personalities, or issues. This news will spread on social media networks, introduced by the words &quot;a reliable or informed exclusive source said.&quot; The news will start spreading afterwards between small and unimportant media establishments and then continues to spread until it reaches some media establishments that have good status and reputation with the public. Then, the news will gain legitimacy and credibility.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> He said that one of the challenges facing traditional media outlets is the proliferation of social media platforms, especially WhatsApp and Facebook, which quickly publish news worldwide in different formats. We notice the low credibility and quality mostly on the news scene because the source of the news is not verified. &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> He added that some people take news from sites run by terrorists and extremists. This has a lot of pitfalls and ascribes legitimacy to these sites. Sky News Arabia avoids such sites and does not rely on them in its news.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> He called on young media persons to take advantage of the opportunities given to them and demonstrate creative and forward-looking thinking, while enjoying various training and knowledge skills that make them advance in the developing and changing media profession. He referred to the different challenges and the strong competition in light of the shortage of opportunities because there is a large number of media persons exceeding the need of media establishments. Bouran said that a successful media person is the one who does not think of himself as an employee putting in specific working hours.<br /> <br /> JMI Dean Dr. Basim Tweissi, who moderated the lecture, lauded Bouran, who has been working for 25 years in conflict zones in the Middle East and around the world, thus becoming an influential media figure.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;