On Thursday, December 30, 2019, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) in Herat, organized a roundtable discussion on “Media, their Mission and Herat society”, in which university lecturers, media, members of civil society, media and students participated.
This program was aimed at assessing media In Afghanistan, especially Herat media, and the effect of fake news.
The speakers at this program were Mr. Najibul Rahman Hadid, Head of Journalism and Mass Communication Faculty of University of Herat, and Mr. Faisal Karimi, Head of Afghanistan Institute for Research and Media Studies (AIRMS), with moderation by Aziz Nikyar.
Mr. Hadid spoke spoken about media regulations in Afghanistan in the past and present. In his remarks, he outlined the evolution of the Afghan media, particularly television media, and said that in the past, televisions were the broadcasting state propaganda, and the state (different political systems) have implemented authority over their management.
Mr. Hadid said that the current media in the country only have commercial approach and do not conform to the general media policies of the state and the state’s “National Development Policy”. He noted that media commercialization depends on two factors. 1. External factors (interfering factors in media privatization) 2. Internal factors (media policies). He pointed out that our current media has largely pursued economic and political policy, and this media approach has been shaped mainly by external factors.
Mr. Hadid also discussed media pluralism, and said that the constitution and in the media laws which was adopted in 1921-1923, free media was recognized, and then private media was formed.
The second speaker of this program was Mr. Faisal Karimi. His speech was about fake news and its effects on the future of democracy in Afghanistan. He said that in the post-truth era, the boundaries between truth and lie, honesty and falsehood, and illusion and reality, were blurred and people's information was heavily influenced by their emotions and personalities, which paved the way for spread of fake news.
Mr. Karimi also stated that fake news is one of the biggest threats against to democracy and public participation in politics. According to studies by major international organizations, fake news is one of the ten major challenges in contemporary world.
Mr. Karimi pointed to several strategies of spreading fake news, and how to prevent them from becomes threats to Afghan democracy. He noted that raising the level of literacy among media users and activists, bolstering professional journalism, and using new techniques and government-sponsored laws to prevent the production of fake news are strategies that can reduce the amount of fake news.
The program ended with Q/A engagement with the audience.