Rumours fly on social media amid news blackout on terror attack

AMMAN — Rumours and false information spread quickly when authorities do not update the public, media experts said on Wednesday following a news blackout on Monday’s terror attack. 

The government on Tuesday issued a gag order banning news outlets from reporting about the attack in which five intelligence personnel were killed in their office in Ain Al Basha, in north Amman. 

Social media and some news websites are filled with rumours about the attack, which the public has circulated, experts noted in interviews with The Jordan Times.  

"When it comes to issues related to security and crime, the public desperately and closely check any media outlets looking for details," Basim Tweissi, the dean of the Jordan Media Institute, told The Jordan Times.

When authorities do not provide detailed information, or they delay giving such information, they create a vacuum which increases the public's desire for information, and to believe anything they find, he added.  

"The lack of information from credible channels leads people to look for alternative sources and these days, social media is the alternative. Social media, unfortunately, is full of conspiracy theories and people are enthusiastic for mysterious details and scenarios," said Tweissi.

Authorities should provide details faster, he added, in light of the rising number of social media users and the speed with which rumours circulate online. 

Basel Okour, the chief editor of jo24.net news website, blamed authorities for not providing information to media outlets swiftly. 

"When there is no accurate and detailed information from authorities, rumours spread and many spread poisonous information on social networks to increase mystery, which negatively affects the credibility of any information authorities will later reveal," Okour told The Jordan Times.

If authorities want to remain credible and keep the public’s trust, they must act fast and provide detailed information, rather than general statements which leave room for rumours to fill in the gaps, he added. 

"Media outlets at the same time need to remain professional, especially at very sensitive times," he added.