ammonnews.net

By Mo'taz Fuqaha

The ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Sham) phenomenon that has started in the recent while during the Syrian conflict has started to lay some of its weight on the Jordanian society. A state of anxiety of this organization has lead a lot of people here to relate all the fanatic actions to it.

How did I notice that? Well, doesn’t everyone remember what happened lately in the University of Jordan? When students made an appreciated gesture in turning the mess caused by the Alexa snowstorm and the torn down trees into pieces of pure art, and suddenly, their efforts went down the drain, by subversive hands of filth. This was a huge disappointment to the students, and to every appreciator of hard work, as well as art.

After that happened, the news were all over the internet; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, everywhere. That news accused ISIS of committing the action. The only clue everyone depended on was a fake screenshot of a fake Facebook post from a fake Facebook page, named (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant - Emirate of the University of Jordan), which never existed.

As an expert in multimedia and social media, I unintentionally check the credibility of everything posted on Facebook and Twitter before believing it. For the story I mentioned, I saw the fake screenshot circulating all over the web, and monitored how everyone was hysterically reacting towards it.

I felt that something was wrong with the photo. It didn’t look quite normal. It was captured from a Smartphone Facebook application, the font that was used in the post is pixelated, and after searching for the page, it turned out that it did not exist.

So now we are blaming the ISIS (which I completely opposite), just because of a fake screenshot, and disregarding the fact that we have students groups in our universities, which ignite on campus battles on weekly basis? Are these group incapable of these actions? Or do they lack impudence? I don’t’ think so.

Yesterday, another photo was all over the web. It’s Marwan, the Syrian 4-year-old boy whom got the internet’s attention. The story spread on nearly on every account on Facebook and Twitter. The captions told that Marwan crossed the Jordanian border accompanied only by a plastic bag, which had only his toys in to find his family in Jordan. Is this a cartoon series? How could anybody believe such nonsense!

Andrew Harper, Head of Jordan’s UNHCR later tweeted disproving the lie that went vastly around the globe, declaring that the boy was in back of a crowd of Syrian asylum seekers.

It’s not your fault when you are not an expert to differentiate between a fact and a lie, but it’s your fault, when you are, but you don’t mind spreading a lie only to be exposed.