Naseej Academy, a not for profit initiative that tackles challenges in digital technology in the Arab world, organised a webinar recently to discuss how higher education can confront misinformation. The academy, which has its headquarters in Saudi Arabia, called its webinar “Higher Education and the Impact of Disinformation: From Resisting Algorithms to Building Critical Awareness”. The discussion was one of a series on education, culture, knowledge management, and information technology in the Arab region.
Abdallah Hussein Metwally, the academy’s general supervisor, said higher education was no longer just about creating knowledge, it now had to safeguard its credibility amid the overwhelming flow of information across digital platforms and artificial intelligence applications.
Many of the platforms are driven by customisable algorithms shaped by the agendas of their creators affecting their nature and credibility. because technology is ultimately controlled by those who design it. The webinar examined how the Arab world has gone from information scarcity to information overload with knowledge circulating at a rate that exceeds individuals’ ability to verify or fully understand it, dominated by algorithms that determine what is published, when, and how.
Superficial Content and ‘Brain Rot’
Mohammad El-Hawary, executive director and editor-in-chief of Al-Fanar Media, who led the webinar, said no one had a monopoly over knowledge production because practically anybody can now create and publish content, a development that raises pressing questions for universities.
El-Hawary, who is also a representative for the Arab States on the Global Board of Unesco’s Media and Information Literacy Alliance, said there was a clear difference between universities that have set quality standards rather than those that accept the content circulating on digital platforms.
He also warned of the phenomenon of “brain rot” from excessive consumption of superficial material, which contributes to declining concentration and weakening critical thinking. International reports, including the World Economic Forum’s “Global Risks” reports for 2024 and 2025, have ranked media disinformation and misinformation among the most serious challenges facing the world, particularly in periods of conflict, El-Hawary said.
As an example, he referred to the violent incidents that took place in Britain in August 2024, triggered by a false report on an obscure website which blamed the murders of children on an immigrant, when they were in fact carried out by someone born in Britain. The episode illustrated how misinformation can have dangerous real-life consequences, El-Hawary said.
The Role of the Attention Economy
The webinar participants also discussed the “attention economy,” in which digital platforms compete to hold users’ attention for as long as possible. These efforts might involve amplifying certain emotions or promoting content that drives engagement, even at the expense of accuracy. Such methods can place users in so called “filter bubbles”, where algorithms screen out material users may dislike, limiting their perspective and exposure to diverse viewpoints.
Deepfakes and the Challenge for Universities
Participants also brought up deepfakes, which include forged images, audio or video files created by artificial intelligence. These creations can seem remarkably authentic, making it increasingly difficult to spot fabricated content. Students are not all passive recipients of information; some are content producers who may use misleading material to increase reach and engagement with influence, now measured largely by views and interaction. Several participants thought this development highlighted a gap in universities’ readiness to confront such challenges, particularly the lack of compulsory courses about media manipulation and fact checking. They wanted media and information literacy courses to be included in academic curricula to strengthen analytical and critical thinking.
Collaboration Needed to Tackle Misinformation
The webinar concluded that addressing misinformation means cooperation between educational institutions and society at large so individuals can verify information and engage with it in a world where the boundaries between truth and misleading content are often blurred.
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Further Reading:
- Saudi Arabia Opens School Performance Data to Parents in Landmark Move
- Saudi Arabia’s Human Capability Agenda and the African Opportunity Ahead