Ahmed Atef (Cairo)
Cancer of social media platforms, a description given by digital media experts to explain the dangers of electronic flies or electronic committees, which are exploited by many parties to manipulate public opinion and incite it by spreading misleading information in great numbers in exchange for paying money to those in charge of those committees.
The electronic flies use the hashtag to spread rumors, taking advantage of programming techniques to make the hashtag in the most viewed list, which facilitates the process of spreading false information and opinions.
Fadi Ramzi, a digital media expert at the American University, says that the term “electronic flies” refers to a group of fake and automated accounts on various social media platforms. It first appeared on the “X” platform, but the idea quickly spread to most other platforms.
Ramzi added in statements to Al-Ittihad that the idea is based on programming an artificial robot that creates tens of thousands of fake accounts, and publishes a lot of content through them so that they spread and are promoted in a short period for political, commercial or fraudulent purposes and an attempt to create a false public opinion about a certain issue.
The digital media expert explains that the use of electronic flies has recently become common in creating confusion among peoples or among societal groups within countries, and spreading false information to stir up opinions through fake accounts and popular hashtags to ignite sedition despite the fact that there is no reality to them.
Khaled Barmawi, a digital media expert, says that it is an old phenomenon, but it has increased with the spread of social media, the difficulty of stopping it by platforms, and the lack of a real desire by platforms to govern their space.
He added that it is often backed by companies from hostile parties that seek to create discord between peoples, and exploit any sporting, artistic or political matters.
Regarding solutions, he explains that there are technical solutions and systems that monitor and track harmful content in order to confront it, and there are legal solutions to criminalize these practices, although most of those responsible for electronic flies are from outside the country they attack, which makes the issue of legal criminalization difficult.
He added: “Awareness and understanding are the most powerful and important weapons through media and digital awareness and on the part of cultural and educational bodies to qualify youth and adults to confront the falsification of awareness.”
For his part, Amjad Taha, a strategic researcher, points out the danger of believing the rumors of electronic flies on social media, describing them as not just futile attempts to spread discord or distort facts, but rather seeking to transform the arenas of intellectual dialogue into intellectual chaos and to provoke social battles between Arab peoples.
Taha added in statements to Al-Ittihad that this phenomenon is like a cancer running through the veins of the platforms, and carries hostility towards every model that seeks to build a cohesive and strong society, and seeks to undermine the foundations of coexistence and societal cohesion.
The strategic researcher believes that despite the spread of these flies like rising smoke, they lack any moral basis or solid principle, which makes them merely a fleeting phenomenon in the face of the authentic strength of the Gulf society, which is based on high morals and good values.
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