Society between Fake News and WhatsApp knowledge

Donald Trump’s inauguration brought with it the term most used by this president and his office yet. The term ‘Fake News’ has been used by Trump and his team to oppose, debunk or slam any question they do not wish to answer. For the sake of clarification, this term means the spreading of false information that is manipulated to look like credible journalism mostly made possible and aided by social media. We have witnessed the leader of the Free World accuse prominent news agencies of falsifying information yet while viewers gawked at Trump’s administration the truth remains that most people around the world cannot distinguish between what is real news and what is fake. 

Recent studies have shown that people tend to deem a piece of news false if its content stands in opposition to their ideological views and beliefs. Today the line between what is real and what is fake in the world of news has been well and truly blurred. The rapidity with which great quantities of information are dumped on people has created a silent infectious disease of mass confusion. This bombardment has left consumers of information exhausted, no longer having the energy to sift through the murk to discover the truth in a world of falsity and this is where the ailment of our society lies. People worldwide are receiving millions of fragmented stories, headlines and manipulated images on an hourly basis ranging from politics to health and even religion. 

Message applications such as WhatsApp allow for the circulation of such information to the masses relying on a snowball effect starting from a single person’s contact list. The forwarding hysteria knows no time constraints for one could receive said message at any time of the day or night as if the fate of humanity depended on it. These ‘news/informative’ pieces whose origins are unknown and writers almost always anonymous are taken as truths thereby making their way into day to day conversations and even used as advice for self-medication remedies. The result is a culture that is guided by questionable information offering a shallow and debatable knowledge of the world.  

As a direct consequence of this ‘surface-scratching’ culture we are witnessing the professional journalistic, scientific and educational institutions suffer for if readers no longer care about fact-checking, credibility or references where does that leave the entities that dedicate their entire resources towards their procurement? 

It is indeed a sorrowful state that even in highly educated societies this affliction seems to be taking hold, a state that demands the valuing and aiding of credible sources. People must refuse to be a cog in the ‘Fake News’ churning machine by putting a halt to their instinctive forwarding habits for it is one thing to learn something false and another thing entirely to aid in teaching it as truth. 

If a topic intrigues you, learn more about it, if a news piece moves you then find out the details and when approaching a conversation please do not make WhatsApp knowledge your only point of reference. 

A society is but a sum of its parts and if its most crucial one, its knowledge, is although not lacking but has become tainted then a society’s future will be too. The stream of information that cuts through a society is ever-flowing; at times even flooding the world, much of it needs to be filtered because just like the rest of our planet we have managed to dump our waste in that too.

This article was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 26 Feb, 2017  http://bit.ly/2mqGcX7

Arabic version of this article was published in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/2mj0ogS

 

Generation ‘Share’ knows nothing about privacy

It used to be that when one wanted to keep a conversation private all they had to do was shut the door, when one felt strong enough about a memory it was locked in a drawer and when moments were utterly precious they were appreciated instead of being documented for future enjoyment.

Those days are long gone, for the private generation is dwindling to make way for generation ‘share’. It is evolutionary I suppose, but with all the moments, memories and conversations being streamed, beamed and uploaded into clouds has the idea of privacy been mutilated? Slashed at and cut through by the hands of all the Tweeters, Instagramers and Snapchatters out there?

Having to explain to a child of today, who has learned to swipe before they can speak, that certain aspects of a person’s life must remain private for the preservation of one’s sanity is almost frivolous. At one point in time privacy was so sacred that the world agreed to make it a fundamental human right, we agreed then we forgot. The need for privacy is a universal human condition that is essential to the growth process of a human being yet somehow our obsession with sharing has blinded us to the most human of behaviours.

It used to be that the world had to come up with ingenious ploys to pry information out of our clenched hands. Privacy pirates even resorted to reverse psychology deploying efforts to convince us that having access to our information is in fact for our own safety. No schemes needed now for we divulge all without a care in the world, without a moment’s thought, because life is not lived if it’s not being shared.

Steve Jobs’ Apple Inc. was recently under fire for refusing to unlock and extract data from an iPhone at the request of the FBI. While the debate raged on whether or not Apple should adhere to the FBI request most people did not really care whether or not a company could hack into their personal devices and retrieve any information they wanted and more of them believed it was being done already! Let’s face it, nobody ever reads those lengthy privacy agreements and none of us really know what we are accepting when we eagerly click the ‘I Agree’ option on any of these products. We do that not because we are incapable of reading but rather because the lure of technology is such that it has made us indifferent about our once revered privacy.

The messaging service WhatsApp, which has been operating since 2010, has only last week assured its one billion users that their “private” conversations have now become “safe”. What that means for us users is that six years’ worth of private, intimate or critical information have been up for grabs to anyone, to WhatsApp’s defence they do mention that in their privacy agreement which of course none of us have read.

The question here is not whether or not companies are keeping our data secure once they have acquired it but rather do we really care if they are? Because in a world where one is identified and rewarded not by their productive input but rather for how much of their private lives they are willing to reveal, the more you share the more you become. And so it is inevitable that the day has come when we write about privacy with such nostalgia, analysing it as we would some unearthed fossil of a creature our human eyes had never fallen on. Our children might never understand why their parents’ conversations should not be broadcast and that their future selves would probably regret publishing every thought that ran through their young heads because privacy is a concept that must be relearned in an age where it has become a currency that cannot be cashed.

This article was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 17 April, 2016  http://bit.ly/1p8cWEb

Arabic version of this article appeared in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/1SmLQHl

Broken hearts inspire minds

The creative mind is in constant search of emotion, forever on an insatiable quest to feel. If not for joy, a painter’s brush would never stroke a canvas. If not for love, musical halls would echo only silence and if not for heartache, one’s pen would never run dry. 

Of all the emotions a soul might experience it is the most painful that creativity craves. It is only when one hears his heart shattering into a thousand pieces that the urge to create seizes control. Loss, betrayal, a love that never was, all have at one point fuelled the talented, the gifted among us to create masterpieces some of which adorn the world’s museums today.  

Sylvia Plath penned her most memorable poetry, the words her entire fame rests on, only after hearing the shattering of her heart upon learning of her husband’s affair. She spoke of a burst of inspiration of which the source could only be the agonising pain of betrayal. 

The most famous of those who wallow in despair, the artist Edward Munch, painted many self-portraits but none reached the height of morbidity until he came to the realisation that he could never commit to the only woman he loved. From this suffering Self-portrait in Hell was birthed. A painting depicting Munch surrounded by flames, burning in an eternal fire of grief. 

The French author Stendhal was tormented by his unrequited love for a woman who treated him cruelly, for her he wrote his book De L’Amour (On Love) in an attempt to find logic in the illogical spirits of love. His lover’s ruthless rejection of his passion compelled him to dissect the anatomy of love. Having tired of looking for reason behind loving one who carelessly tramples over your heart, he finally wrote: “A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.”

The world is strewed with monuments to loss, grief and guilt. The Taj Mahal is a wonder of our world, yet is it a wonder because it is unfathomable for us to imagine a love so great as to outlast life? Or is it so because we wish to believe that it could? Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built this magnificent tomb in memory of his wife so that she might be remembered till eternity, this monument took sixteen years to construct. The world believes it was built by love but reading Shah Jahan’s own words on the Taj, one could say it was grief that built the Taj Mahal and it was sorrow that saw it through sixteen years till completion.

Shah Jahan’s own words describe the mausoleum:

“The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs; and the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.” 

People flock to witness this monument to love yet all that is truly there is the physical manifestation of love being overshadowed by sadness, for it is the feeling of loss that raised the walls of this world wonder.

We have reached the age of denial, we have become happiness seekers, afraid to feel. We are told to think positive, to seek only joy. Stores overflow with books selling you ways to rid yourself of ‘negative’ feelings. Assuming you could package and sell happiness and that indeed you can be taught to rid yourself of unwanted feelings, what happens to the process of creation?

What happens when we willingly diffuse the power of other emotions? It is unfair, one could even say naïve, of us to deem all emotions that do not leave us relaxed, negative. We must continue to build, paint and scribe, channelling the intensity of our pain and sorrow instead of allowing them to consume us.

Not intending to seem dark, but I am a firm believer that only when engulfed by darkness can we appreciate any source of light no matter how minute. I do wish you a lifetime of happiness but should the inevitable happen and sadness rears its head, I wish for you the strength to gather the scattered pieces of your shattered heart and a burst of creativity that shall bring you true fulfilment, who knows maybe even enrich our world.

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 8 Dec., 2013 http://bit.ly/J1LO5H 
Arabic version of this article was published in Al Khaleej newspaper  http://bit.ly/1borBg7 

UAE, always united, always ahead

Here is the United Arab Emirates today celebrating its 42nd year of unity. Continuing to prove to the world its founders’ vision, that a union does not only bring power, it reinforces harmony. 42 years later the UAE’s political experiment has become one to be emulated. The 2nd of December is not just a day celebrating the passing of time, for the people of UAE it is a celebration of monumental achievements taking place year after year. A young nation it may be, only by years, certainly not by accomplishments.

The UAE’s visionary founder, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, foresaw a boundless future for this nation. He was a man of the people and a firm believer in the betterment of all nations. This we continue to witness today through charitable work the UAE has done all over the world since its inception.

History has proven that a true leader never dies if he secures a future for his nation through a coming generation who shall carry the torch further.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Ruler of the UAE, continues paving the path laid by our founders. Along with his brothers the Rulers of the Emirates they have formed a leadership entity that has empowered the people of UAE to seek new heights in whatever they choose to do, all the while reminding them that coming to the aid of nations in need is not only the government’s prerogative but that of the people as well.

The unity has flourished, propelled by inspiring leadership and bound stronger by the belief of the people in its effectiveness and importance. It has indeed created harmony because this union has extended its arms beyond its seven Emirates. The UAE today is not only home for the people of the Emirates but is also home to some 200 different nationalities. People from different countries and faiths have come to live in unison under the UAE’s skies. The UAE’s embrace of different cultures has made it the country it is today. This openness made way for the intermingling of ideas and the creation of a diverse society fuelling the UAE’s movement forward.

It is heartwarming to witness the residents of the UAE who hail from different countries across the globe celebrate its achievements, realising that they too are a part of them. 

Just a few days before the UAE’s National Day the people of UAE celebrated an unprecedented feat in the Middle East, Dubai winning the Expo 2020 hosting bid. UAE nationals were ecstatic and so were its residents, we saw images of hundreds of people waving the UAE flag high and congratulating themselves on the win. The coming together in support of the Dubai Expo 2020 bid has shown us the true harmony that the UAE leadership has spread across its land.

In 42 years the unique Emirati political model and its leadership’s humane qualities have set the UAE apart from nations around the world. It has turned the world’s eyes towards the Emirates and as the world watches on it will continue to move forward.

One has to believe that had the late Sheikh Zayed been among us today he would have been proud of what his nation has achieved and that his vision never faltered. For this humble writer, this belief is motivation enough to keep driving this nation forward, always united, always ahead.

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 2nd Dec.,2013  http://bit.ly/19cKXoG

Arabic version of the article was published in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/1irttOZ 

                              

Feminist before her time

We knew her as a mother of men, a mother to all but back when she was younger she was a girl who would not conform to what she believed was unfair, to what she saw as unjust. She was a girl who possessed the courage to put an end to what was in her eyes, even then, demeaning. It was a time when this country was nothing more than a gathering of tribes. She grew up in it not as we know it today, she lived in a UAE that was tight-knit, sheltered and unexposed. 

It was a time when child marriages were the norm, a place where a sign of a man's wealth was revealed by the number of wives he had, and women’s rights were those that were given to them by men. Even then, she stood tall, resisted an early marriage and refused to be treated like a possession. It was her choice to raise her two boys as a single mother, two boys who grew up to be men who played a pivotal role in shaping the country we know today. 

Everyone has heard of her two sons but not many have heard of the great woman behind these great men.

My grandmother was the first feminist I have ever known. She spoke of a woman's right and the preservation of her pride and dignity at a time when such ideas seemed taboo. She believed that a woman's education was her most prized possession and that her independence is a right not a luxury bestowed upon her. As a child I grew up listening to her stories of the harsh yet innocent times of her youth, of her struggles in raising her boys with the help of only her mother. I heard many times of her heartbreak at sending her boys off to Kuwait to get an education that she could never have. And about the many years she longed to see them at a time when communications were confined to letters that she could not read. 

She was a woman who loved life and the people in it. She recited poetry, loved music and had a sense of humour that remained with her to the very end. She was the woman who taught me that speaking one's mind and standing up for one's rights should be done gracefully and without disrespect for opposing views. She was a mother to all who knew her and to this day fondly call her "Mama Sheikha". 

I know that my words will never do her justice for she was the greatest part of my life. The void she left can never be filled no matter how many words I throw into it. She was my link to a life I never lived but, through her eyes, grew to love.

Loss is the absence of a part of you, you hold dear. In life, death is the absolute loss. We are taught that death is inevitable yet that never makes it any less cruel. Death is always sudden no matter how prepared you are for it. Death is always sudden, death is always cruel. 

My grandmother lost a son eleven years ago, his absence broke her spirit and she was never the same again. Eleven years later and only one week before her son's death anniversary she chose to leave us. And just like in life, in death she left gracefully and quietly. She was by my side since the day I came into this world and when she left it I was by hers.

She was my father's mother, she was my mother, she was and still is the strongest woman I have ever met. 

May she rest in eternal peace knowing that she will forever remain in our hearts.

This article was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 12 May, 2013. Arabic version was published in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/10P6vT3

  

One-way ticket to Mars

There was a time when people looked up at the sky in bewilderment, felt humbled by its vastness and intrigued by its unattainable wonders. It was the one place that allowed a human being the courtesy of a boundless imagination. But that was then, and this is now.

This month, a Dutch company named Mars One has made the dreamers of us an offer they cannot refuse. It is to send people on a one-way trip to Mars to start a human colony on the red planet. With no way for return, setting foot on this elusive planet means they are eternally on their own. Left to their own devices and vulnerable to whatever dangers lie ahead, they are to fend for themselves. So who would be brave enough or mad enough to take this trip of no return you may ask?

According to Mars One there have been 10,000 applicants so far. Ten thousand people found this idea alluring enough to venture into a place of no return. Fearlessly accepting to take this one-way journey, leaving behind everything and everyone they have ever known and bidding farewell to their mother, Earth. They are expected to fly, four at a time, living on limited supplies of canned food and to drink water made of their recycled urine. Even if there was an atom of a chance that these people could return, Mars One explains that once their bodies have adjusted to the mere 38% gravity level on Mars they would be physically incapable to tolerate Earth's much stronger gravity.

According to Mars One, this project is to be financed through media sponsorship. The company aims to create a reality-TV show around this mission, transmitting the daily lives of these Martian converts who have willingly left us behind to live the rest of their lives on a planet far, far away. These real-life Jetsons will instantaneously become the celebrities no one on Earth could ever get to meet. The fact that this endeavour is to be a media spectacle somehow diminishes its integrity and gives off a dark aura of blatant exploitation of cosmic proportions.

Bizarre as I might think this journey is, the more I ponder it the more logic I see.

We have succeeded in destroying earth, infecting it with disease, abusing its resources and are now counting down to its slow but sure demise. The idea of being able to escape all the devastation we have created and start anew could be compelling enough to propel people into the darkness of the virgin skies in a tiny pod fuelled by their sheer hope and naïve optimism. 

Yet to think that this expedition is a mere escape would be looking at the subject from a one-dimensional perspective. The egotistical compound of the human psyche shines another light on this endeavour, man as conqueror of Earth is not enough, man must conquer the heavens as well.  Our narcissistic nature keeps us forever ready to plant a flag on foreign territory, our pens anxious to draw boundaries sectioning any place we choose to inhabit. After all, this might not be about the journey but about the spoils.

For the romantics of us, this journey could be about man the explorer, man the adventurous. It could be the culmination of the ultimate dream that started as a sketch in Leonardo da Vinci's notebook. It could restore our faith in human determination and achievements after we have come to believe that all man can achieve is death and destruction.

Whatever the reasons for the journey may be and setting aside the physical and psychological damage that can occur, if these Martian pioneers were to actually carry out this mission successfully, would they do it differently? Would they learn from their earthly mistakes and strive to build something better?

Will they be able to set aside religious disparities, will they erase racism, eradicate hatred, and will they shed the ruthless skin of greed? Or will the weaknesses of mankind prevail and they would end up starting a journey similar to the one we have taken? A journey that ends in a bruised and battered world.

I wonder if these 'chosen ones' have thought about the responsibility they shoulder, I wonder if they even care.

This title was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 28 April, 2013. Arabic version published in Al Khaleej Newspaper http://bit.ly/188wGbY