NU-Q Dean joins panel on combatting fake news

Doha: At a webinar on how to stop fake news hosted by Foreign Policy magazine and Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, Northwestern Qatar Dean Marwan M. Kraidy noted that there are different ways fake news and disinformation have spread in the Middle East and the Global South explaining that emotions and negative content are key catalysts that drive the virality of fake news in the region.

“We need the social context, the emotional context, the emotional drivers of information to be understood,” Kraidy said. “We also need solutions that are broader than just the classroom or the seminar. If scale is a problem, localize it. If speed is a problem, slow it down. If systems are a problem, humanize the process.” Kraidy joined international experts on the panel – How to Stop Fake News – including the Buffett Institute’s executive director, Annelise Riles; Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová; head of misinformation at Facebook, Justine Isola; and co-founder of stopfake.org, Olga Yurkova.