UAE media stands guard against fake news

Dubai - The Emirati media has played a role as a shield against harmful and malicious phenomena that appeared recently in the region.

 The Emirati media has managed to stand immune and impregnable against fabricated and false news that were circulated recently due to political wars and the spread of numerous social media platforms that have been misused in different ways.
Perhaps, social media may have played a crucial role in changing the media landscape by tackling news and evoking sympathy. Yet, when verifying and investigating the information circulated in social media, it turns out to be fabricated. This helped the press restore its stature to a great manner in view of the unclear news being posted in cyberspace.

Mustafa Al Zarooni is the UAE Editor of Khaleej Times
Today, a reader has become more mature than when social media platforms came to light. Readers now resort to formal "classical" media such as newspapers, news agencies and TVs to get the right news, which are circulated on social media handles to a big extent.
This helped change the tone of those speaking on social media platforms, who said that the formal press will stay and grow, but they have to keep on tracking technological updates and be available on digital platforms and social media to a greater extent. The formal press ought to benefit from such a change physically if they need to survive and keep their facilities strong. It has been noticed that advertisers began reverting to 'classical media', although I'm against such a term, since classical or traditional media is more credible and close to the influencers either politically or economically.
The Emirati media rose to the occasion while facing the fluctuations the region faced over the past years, and its effect has been felt locally and across the region. It has played a role as a shield against harmful and malicious phenomena that appeared recently in the region, including 'media wars'. They use malicious methods that serve private agendas, especially in view of the tense situations the region is passing through. 
This comes at a time when the government of the UAE invests all its powers to build the generation for the future and erect economic, scientific and civilised domiciles, which, in fact, will bring good not only to the Emirati people, but also to the people of the adjacent countries across the region.
To those who are monitoring what is happening around us, they can see that there are lots of groups that live on trying to fail successful models in the region and batter their national unity by setting up media stands in their countries. In the West, they take advantage of freedom of speech and then concoct news and circulate them through its media arms. This makes the receiver of the news believe it, because he receives from numerous sources.
However, one later discovers that this news was false and fabricated due to the strong stand by the classical media in the face of such instigating media outlets. That's when the one pursuing the right news may take a stand on how malicious those media are.
This media war between the good and evil came to maintain the national unity and the successful model the UAE is moulding, which is deemed a minaret in the region in terms of tolerance and respecting one another, and aimed to build a robust economy. 
The great efforts exerted by those working in the formal media sector to face the evil media was in line with the journalism code of ethics that all editors of local media signed in 2007, and about which many symposiums were held to enlighten the media persons in the country of what is happening in the region and to try to ward off the dark extremist ideas.
Professionals are well aware of the credibility of news that is circulated on social media and other malicious media outlets, since parts of the report is incomplete. So, the UAE media, especially Khaleej Times, believes that publishing mature and credible news is better than publishing wrong information, which may mislead public opinion.
This is a big challenge that has made Khaleej Times work as a united team, follow up news in a greater manner, and publish a complete and mature story to readers.
Khaleej Times also indulges extensively in social media, which put us at the forefront as a reliable news and information source that big companies and world media count on, especially when they need information about the region.