(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Misinformation leads to disaster
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The comedians and youtubers making funny videos are frequently invited by educational institutions for entertainment purposes during college functions. The way some social media posts portrayed a social media influencer running a YouTube channel, Bandook029, was invited as Chief Guest, outraged socially conscious people active on social media platforms. They started speaking about it and thousands of videos were made without doing any research and or concern about the factual details.
They too fell prey to the WhatsApp University and a lot of posts were written criticizing the event. This author also was also not happy to see a Youtuber being invited as a Chief Guest in an educational institution especially when the programme was meant to create awareness on Drug Abuse.
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Some Facebook pages claimed that
it was a farewell function for final year students in GDC Shopian, still others said it was a cultural event as Qazi Towqeer (singer), Rabab player Noor Mohammad and many others had also been invited and another version was that this was an awareness programme to highlight the negative impact of Drug Abuse in Kashmir.
Being a Right to Information campaigner and activist, I always verify information.
Press Statement by GDC Shopian
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On Wednesday November 13th
2024
evening
I came across a press statement issued by the Principal GDC Shopian wherein the college distanced itself from the programme. The statement read:
“We would like to clarify that the recent program titled“Shopian Free of Drugs” held in our auditorium was organized by the District Administration in collaboration with an NGO“Cashmere Foundation”.
As an educational institution committed to social causes, we allowed the use of our auditorium as a goodwill gesture. Upon understanding that the District Administration did not involve the college in designing the program or discussing its content, and only requested space for organizing the event, we distanced ourselves from the program. The event was entirely under the control of the District Administration, and the college had no role in maintaining the discipline inside the hall. No college staff member attended the program. During this time, the college's routine affairs, including classes and exams, continued as usual without any disruption. We remain dedicated to maintaining the integrity and values of our institution and appreciate the community's understanding and support.”
The statement could have mentioned that the Youtuber who was invited was not the chief guest on the occasion. Next day, I went through an
article
also titled
“Pitfalls of Inviting Social Media Influencers as Chief Guests in Educational Institutions.” The article authored by Dr Khursheed Ahmad Dar and Dr Shariq Hussain Bhat was published in Srinagar based newspaper Kashmir Reader on November 14th
2024. Both authors had made sound arguments but had relied on unverified and wrong information about the said event. They too mistook the social media influencer as the chief guest. In reality, the influencer was invited by the NGO, Cashmere Foundation, to entertain students and had chosen GDC Shopian as their venue.
The Chief Guest on the occasion was Mr Shahid Saleem, Deputy Commissioner of Shopian, who came to the event and had left soon after due to other official engagements. This was revealed to me by DC Shopian himself when I shared the official statement of GDC Shopian with him. He too expressed dismay on the misinformation being spread around the event.
Handholding Social Media Influencers
I, along with my colleagues, have been discussing the need to build the capacities of social media influencers of Kashmir and use their talent for public good. Infact, DC Shopian also agreed on this proposition and felt the need for it. He too has been trying to rope in social media influencers, vloggers and Youtubers to use their talent for
creating awareness about different welfare schemes of the Government, environmental conservation, drug de addiction etc.
Social media influencers can either prove to be harmful to physical or mental health or they can create a positive impact in the society. The social media influencers who make meaningful content are trendsetters and role models for a large section of society, especially the youth. Through these people we can do a lot of work for society. Rather than ridiculing these people let us make sure we handhold them. The socially conscious people, religious scholars and social media influencers involved in creating informative content can play a great role. Let us get united and organise capacity building programmes for those social media influencers who have a great following on social media and try to use their skills for betterment of society.
Conclusion
Islamic teachings place a significant emphasis on truthfulness. The Holy Qur'an repeatedly calls for honesty and integrity in communication. Quran -Surah Al-Baqarah ( Chapter 2 Verse 42) reads:“And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].“ Islam prohibits the misinformation campaign, creation and the dissemination of lies or fake news where both are categorised as major sins and considered as the characteristics of hypocrites. Information is power , but the source of information has to be authentic and genuine. Misinformation causes confusion and we must always analyse things from different sources before sharing the same into the public domain through social media.
Views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer
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