1 week Ago By Qatar Tribune
Qatar tribune QNA Doha The 10th Social Sciences and Humanities Conference, organised by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, commenced on Saturday and will run for four days, researching in social media platforms and the dialectics of information flow, freedom of expression, surveillance, and control. On this occasion, Researcher at the Arab Center and Chair of the conference committee Mohamed Hemchi stated that the selection of social media platforms as the theme of this edition reflects the centre’s focus on studies related to these mediums and the digital space. He expressed hope that Arab researcherswould use this opportunity for knowledge exchange and work collectively towards establishing a valuable and credible Arab contribution to the field.
In his speech, Hemchi highlighted the backdrop of the brutal war waged by Israel against Gaza, which he described as an ongoing genocide with no clear end in sight. He noted that social media platforms have played a role in this conflict by being used to disseminate fabricated and misleading content that support the Israeli narrative. The conference’s first session, chaired by President of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies Dr Abdelwahab Al Effendi, explored surveillance studies and their trends.
The second session examined social media studies, focusing on the paradox of freedom and control, the public space in Gulf countries, and the impact of structure and agency on the contraction of Arab network activism. The third session addressed topics like ethics and politics on social media, AI challenges, and the surveillance and control mechanisms of these platforms. The conference will continue until Tuesday, featuring presentations from 41 researchers, culminating in the distribution of the ‘Arab Award for the Encouragement of Research in the Social and Human Sciences’ at the closing ceremony.
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