The COVID-19 crisis has jeopardized the stability and growth of several sectors, including cultural industries, and has impacted societal relations between people and across countries. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, we hear little about initiatives or policies pertaining to cultural relations. This paper reviews cultural relations …
Read More »Attitudes Toward the Role of Social Networks in Shaping Health Awareness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Actor-Network Theoretical Study of Egypt (Arabic)
Scroll down for Arabic abstract. Official statistics show that Egyptians, especially the youth, are increasingly using social networks. It is therefore important to examine the role these networks had in shaping the cognitions and attitudes of Egyptians towards the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study uses an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing both …
Read More »COVID-19 Crisis Communication: The Strategic Use of Instagram Messages by the Bahraini Ministry of Health in Light of the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Model (CERC)
Abstract While social media is being increasingly used for health crisis communication, few studies, especially in the Arab region, have examined how it can improve strategic communication during various phases of any health crisis. The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model is one of the frameworks that focus on …
Read More »The Impact of Social Media on Arab Health Risk Perception during COVID-19
Abstract During the pandemic, social media became a repository for information obtained through official pages of governments in charge. Official and unofficial news sources occasionally featured false or misleading news.This study focuses on Arab audiences from the MENA region, aiming to investigate their social media usage, reliance, and impact during …
Read More »Debunking COVID-19 Fake News on Arabic Fact-Checking Websites: An Analytical Study (Arabic)
Scroll down for Arabic abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed an information crisis, labeled an “Infodemic”. This study explores the methodology of debunking fake news related to the pandemic on independent Arabic fact-checking websites. The study’s results are derived from a textual and visual analysis of the content related to …
Read More »Pragmatics in Egyptian and Chinese Journalistic Discourse on Covid-19 Global Health Diplomacy: A Comparative Study and Proposed Preventive Geopolitics Perspective (Arabic)
Scroll down for Arabic abstract. This article attempts to use pragmatics for the analysis of opinion material on Youm7 and China Arabic websites. A sample survey from the period between January 1 and December 31, 2020 on global health diplomacy against COVID-19 has been conducted. The findings indicate that both …
Read More »An Analysis of Yemeni Online Journalism Discourse on the COVID-19 Pandemic (Arabic)
Scroll down for Arabic abstract. This study investigates how Yemeni online journalism has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analyzes four of online news websites that represent the various political actors in Yemen. These websites include Al-Thawra Net (Sana’a and Riyadh editions), Al-Sahwa Net, and Aden Today. The researchers …
Read More »“I’ll See You on Zoom!” International Educators’ Perceptions of Online Teaching Amid, and Beyond, Covid-19
Abstract When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world in 2020, it affected every aspect of life, including education. The spread of this pandemic compelled the world to shift from traditional classroom education to online learning. This exploratory qualitative research study investigates the critical and timely topic of the sudden transition …
Read More »COVID-19 Pandemic and Diffusion of Fake News through Social Media in the Arab World
Abstract Social media platforms are among the most widely used sources of information in the world. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the public needs access to timely and reliable information about the disease symptoms and their prevention. Thus, this study aims to determine the respondents’ perception of their trust level in …
Read More »Info-Deficiency in an Infodemic: The Gender Digital Gap, Arab Women and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: This article tackles the complex struggles faced by Arab women, including multiple layers of invisibility, marginalization and inequality,[1] all of which have significantly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This examination includes a special focus on how and why the “digital divide,” defined as the gap between the technological haves …
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