Social media, media freedom, and misinformation : Challenges faced by journalists in the Middle East and North Africa during early COVID-19

Elareshi, Mokhtar and Atanasova, Dimitrinka and Ziani, Abdulkarim (2024) Social media, media freedom, and misinformation : Challenges faced by journalists in the Middle East and North Africa during early COVID-19. Global Media and Communication. ISSN 1742-7665 (In Press)

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Abstract

The adoption of social media by Arab journalists during the early COVID-19 pandemic was examined through conducting (a) a large-scale online survey (n=1,443) representing 19 Arab countries and (b) structured interviews with journalists (n=19) representing 10 Arab countries. Results from both methods indicate that Arab journalists rely heavily on social media for information and topics during COVID-19. Facebook and WhatsApp which research indicates to have done comparatively better in dealing with COVID-19 misinformation are the most popular platforms checked daily by the interviewed journalists. Interviewees, further, highlight two key challenges when using social media during COVID-19, ‘media freedom’ and ‘misinformation on social media’. While the former theme contributes evidence to the vulnerable position of Arab journalists, the latter is consistent with the challenges reported by journalists based elsewhere.