Focus of my talk was on Pakistan media system. 16th February 2022.
Other panelists included distinguished scholars Prof. Faizullah Jan, chair media school Peshawar University, & Mr Farooq Adil, ex-advisor President of Pakistan. 16th February 2022.
Panel was held at the Arts Auditorium at Karachi University. 16th February 2022.
ON February 16th I presented a paper on Pakistan’s Dual Media System in a panel on journalism practice comprising of the Ex-advisor to the President of Pakistan, Chair media school University of Peshawar, and other distinguished speakers at the International Media Conference 2022 convened by Karachi University in collaboration with Greenwich University Pakistan.
My talk was based on a chapter of my thesis that attempts to conceptualise changes in commercial, political and professional imperatives of Pakistan’s media system since 1988. The thesis is available Open Access at HKBU thesis repository on this link.
I have grown up listening to such scholars so when it was my turn to present I told the audience how I’m used to sitting on the other side of this table and that it was a honour to dialogue with more experienced scholars.
As the focal person from Greenwich University for this conference I led my team to, among other tasks, successfully host ALL online panels for scholars who couldn’t make it to Karachi. Our collaboration with Karachi University media school, the conference convener, helped turned this two day academic conference into a truly hybrid event.
Yes, last few months have been crazy busy as I entered into my first full-time academic appointment while juggling married life. More on that later.
But do stay tune for conference proceedings that we are preparing with the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad which is a conservative think tank in Pakistan. I will upload them when they are ready in a months time. Meanwhile, check out our media team’s event coverage on the Facebook handle @IMCKUGU and social media in general on #IMCKUGU.
I was invited for an hour long Zoom talk on dealing with misinformation on 10th December, 10pm PST. It was organised by Art Concepts which is a unique artisanal space based in Bahrain.
Key points I addressed: – What are some global challenges posed by misinformation? – What is a functional perspective on media? – When is media content functional and dysfunctional? – How can citizens consume everyday media and communication messages more critically?
Part 1 of the talk has been embedded in this post. Kindly visit Art Concept’s Youtube Page for the complete talk.
The coronavirus storm has hit many parts of the world and generated tremendous impacts on people’s lives. In crises like this, people seek information to assess the situation and to protect themselves and their loved ones. However, there are concerns about the credibility and neutrality of information circulated in the virtual space. The Center for Media & Communication Research at the Hong Kong Baptist University invited three speakers to share their observation with participants in a virtual format on April 3, 2020. Here I share excerpts and resources from the discussion useful for journalists, health professionals, fact checkers, educators, organisations engaged in civil/information literacy and interested public at large.
Moderator:
Leanne Chang, Director of the Centre for Media and Communication Research, Hong Kong Baptist University
Speakers:
Summer Chen, Chief Editor of Taiwan FactCheck Center
Masato Kajimoto, Director of Annie Lab; Assistant Professor of Practice, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong
Rose Luqiu, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism, Hong Kong Baptist University
Summer’s talk:
We are certified with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) for the second year now.
After covering the Taiwan Presidential Elections we are fighting against Coronavirus misinformation.
Last December we became an independent foundation. We cooperate with popular social media in Taiwan which includes, Facebook, Google Claim Review, Line, Yahoo.
We have a large database of fact checks on COVID 19. We have already debunked 110 myths.
Battleline in Taiwan:
1- interview experts, scientists & doctors, 2- support from Science Media Center Taiwan (Academic support is important to build our own knowledge gap on the virus), 3- fact-checking Central Epidemic Command Center (since we are independent from government we do not just report Taiwan government suggestions).
Battleline around the globe:
1- The IFCN comprises of 65 fact-checking organisations from 45 countries. They have collected more than 1500 fact checks under the umbrella of CoronaVirusAlliance. See their Poynter database below:
Misinformation timeline in Taiwan (what we have debunked so far):
Jan (first case in Taiwan) – Remedies, Cures, Measures, Virus character.
Feb: Mostly news stories, conspiracies mixed with science papers.
March: Taiwan government is losing control (debunked almost 10 ‘facts’ about this topic). We did digital literacy campaign for the public to help identify this kind of information.
March – now: Virus is from US, or Italy not Wuhan (probably China propaganda).
March middle: Italy thanks China (also propaganda by China).
March middle-end: Lockdown policies. US is losing control (misinformation regarding this subject, 9 fact checks).
Current misinformation: #Malicious message “go stock pile supplies”, #Remedies #Cures.
Interesting academic ideas/topics she recommends for research/stories:
Study on health misinformation about COVID-19. Specially, reports claiming to quote celebrities, relatives, other influencers.
China’s propaganda; corona virus is not from Wuhan but US or Italy. Italians appreciate China; research on how these misinformation networks are built, how they spread etc.
If we compare misinformation about Hong Kong protest and COVID-19 we can find similar patterns of misinformation, conducted by China. One pattern: Spokesman + state-backed media + other materials spread on social media.
Comparison of misinformation on COVID 19, specially on social media, to examine how some is debunked while other is not.
Researching on misinformation about COVID 19 being spread also from other political actors such as Falun Gong (a movement banned in China).
Masato’s talk:
I have some observations based on my experience but not based on specific research:
Knowledge gap amoung us (ordinary citizens, the news media, media experts). We all have some knowledge but the gap means misinformation spreads rapidly.
Relatedly, “legit” traditional media not just “bad media organisations” that are amplifying fears and misleading claims. Something not discussed enough.
Misinformation is a problem, fact-checking helps but this is as much a public health communication problem where we must address the larger information ecosystem on COVID 19.
Knowledge gap
– Experts and journalist often ignore misinformation. They do not see news value in digging through it, since they are able to see through it quickly dismiss it. In other words, experts that are normally critical thinkers, may not see how the ordinary audience is reacting and sharing misinformation.
For instance; warm water can kill coronavirus. Has become a huge international phenomenon. A popular remedy being reported on social media in Canada, Philippines, India, Cambodia, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, Venezuela.
A small claim that has universal appeal with potentially dangerous consequences for management of COVID 19.
Journalist think this misinformation is harmless. But if you are in fact-checking field, you realize how many people actually believe in it do not take other precautions. They don’t wash hands. They go out freely. Then they are telling their friends on social media how things are all ok.
We are in talks with Google as well to take into account our database. Hopefully you would not have to visit our database and can identify information organically.
Role of journalists
This map was going strong in many parts of the world. It came from a university in the UK. I forgot the name. It was used along with a research paper to illustrate how people travel around the world by airplane.
But many people interpreted it as how people have travelled the world from Wuhan before the city got shut down in January. News organizations in many countries carried the story.
– There are five types of COVID-19 misinformation in my view. I think many fact-checkers would agree:
Government responses (stats manipulation, lockdown, etc.)
– Fact-checking ‘future’ is not possible; example, a story on how China will close down its factories that make toilet paper.
– If you are a journalist reporting a story, not fact-checking, but reporting, an instance of people panic buying toilet paper is now a story.
We detected early on Annie Lab that this rumour on toilet paper is going viral in Hong Kong. I work from home now with my students since university is closed so when my students initially pointed this out, I ignored them thinking who will believe such a rumour. But people were posting videos of empty shelf, people queing, etc. These were reshared online and covered by traditional media.
As one result, news organisations report on toilet paper shortage actually pushed people into panic buying since they believed in the shortage. The huge spike in demand obviously effected the supply side in Hong Kong. The story that was rather groundless became true. News organisations are partly to blame.
COVID 19 episode tells us that news presentation style is important. It operates at a psychological level.
Misinformation
What to do about it?
Time to think about responsible pandemic news coverage. We have an industry guideline for suicide reporting in many countries already. Why not a similar guidline for health communication/pandemic reporting? Currently, this is a wild west.
Finally, reporting, fact-checking on epidemic is not easy when even experts sometimes disagree on subjects. For example, should we encourage or discourage aircon use? Fact checking can be misleading too.
I recommend these must read articles for journalists:
Useful comments during Q&A:
Masato says that’s there is no way to fight misinformation through fact-checking. Purpose of fact-checking is not to correct everyone who has read misinformation. People move on from one rumor to another. Many rumors are created all the time.
Fact checking does help to straighten the historical record.
But it is better understood as a digital literacy program. By fact-checking we are showing the public how to handle information. If news consumers are doing fact-checks on the demand side, then this problem can be improved.
While it’s news media’s responsibility it’s the public’s responsibility also.
Summer says that many of the claims that are received at the Taiwan Fact-Check Center are by the general public. So it’s important to bring the public into confidence. When we fact check, we are not focused on conclusion. Our articles are detailed with interviews, counterclaims etc. We want to show the public the process of reading our articles and the content itself. This will also help ordinary people to learn fact-checking.
We want people to see fact checking as a social program. A social movement.
How can we separate fact from opinion?
Masato says I give my students statements to verify. For instance, Japanese Food is better than Chinese Food – is it an opinion or fact? If this is a fact than based on what data? Is it the medical literature, scientific literature, what is the definition of Japanese Food? Is fried rice Chinese or Japanese. I give my students such exercises.
Summer says fact checking can also backfire when people upon learning about a false information may still choose to believe it. They may think for instance a fact checked story is against values of Taiwan.
Summer also says that news reports on the pandemic may also make more sense in one context compared to another. Such as the limited use of face mask in Texas, United States. Perhaps open spaces mean people are not wearing masks. But in Taiwan such advise would be nonsense. These reports have more to do with field of journalism rather than fact-checking.
This six-week course developed by the University of Hong Kong and State University of New York will help learners develop their critical thinking skills to enable them to better identify reliable information in news reports: https://www.coursera.org/learn/news-literacy
Links to the cloud files on the original discussion:
An editor of an Urdu newspaper once told me how the discourse in Pakistan’s English press is detached from the needs of the ‘common man’.
The gentleman justified the paper’s pro-establishment editorial policy saying, “it is impossible to explain the nuances of Pakistani politics to a fruit hawker.”
Implicit in the remarks (hypocrisy aside) was the assumption that Pakistanis are irrational people which means, they must be told what is right.
Are Pakistanis really so irrational?
I can see why one can be inclined to believe so.
What else explains why they continue to skive off due share in tax? More taxes mean more funds for development.
Online campaigns questioning the ‘patriotism’ of some Pakistanis are common. Often, those who reside in Pakistan are considered more loyal as they have an innate (read irrational) love for the motherland. And those commenting from overseas are considered traitors as they have an irrational prejudice towards it.
However, the assumption that Pakistani citizens are incapable of reason reeks of elitism.
A collective action problem
A key concept of governance is the ‘collective action problem’. Such problems occur because of common goods in a society that everyone benefits from regardless of the effort society members put in to attain those goods.
An example of such goods is water. It is available for everyone residing in Pakistan where there is infrastructure. Rational Pakistanis freeride – they aim to have others pay the costs of providing water from which they then benefit. The cost can be borne by others by paying a water tax, reducing consumption of water even as others maximise it, having no water supply and so on.
The consequence of this problem is that if everyone thinks rationally and nobody works to provide the good, it is not attained. This leads to water scarcity.
Therefore, the outcome of our rational attitude is wholly irrational.
We can also bring this problem to bear on the on-going revenue drive. In theory, all Pakistanis residing in Pakistan will benefit from a higher development budget if everyone pay their due share of tax.
However, rational Pakistanis would aim to freeride – get away with as much undeclared wealth as possible, minimise the effort and cost of regulating their businesses, avoid the perceived risk at present of investing surplus revenue, etc.
The outcome of a rational response to the tax drive is that the government’s revenue targets will not be achieved.
A matter of perception
Dealing with collective action problems is also a matter of perception.
The contribution of any individual Pakistani to the overall benefits of everyone paying taxes is statistically rather low; the amount of benefits each Pakistani reaps are almost wholly unaffected by whether or not they pay their due share.
For instance, an opposition politician paid an agricultural income tax of Rs 3.83 million in 2017, according to the documents she submitted to the Election Commission. While the amount may appear substantial, it is peanuts (0.000383%) compared to the overall budget of roughly Rs 1 trillion allocated for development projects by the then Pakistan Muslim League (N) government for 2017-2018.
Meaning that in absolute terms, her share of tax hardly puts a dent on Pakistan’s development.
Thus, the rational strategy for the well-to-do like her could be to avoid taxes as they may not perceive their due share of tax as a significant contribution towards the exchequer.
What can Pakistani leadership do about it?
Collective action problems are difficult to resolve. Experts pose several solutions.
One is to limit the size of groups. Small groups are more homogenous (culturally for instance) and that increases the likelihood of cooperation.
Members of smaller groups are also likely to perceive the effect of their contribution and are therefore more willing to participate. Think about pitching in to fix your neighbourhood trash problem compared to that of your city.
In Pakistan’s’ case this is essentially a call for greater provincial autonomy. A formula more successfully implemented in India.
Another solution is to introduce a cost of group membership that individuals must pay if they are to benefit from the common goods.
This can be as ‘simple’ as introducing water pricing. Or more elaborate carrot and stick tactics that incentivise tax payers and punish non-payers. A proposal much written about in the media.
To be sure, collective action problems are difficult to quantify. They are based on assumptions that people everywhere act rationally in pursuit of their individual interests.
So, the more one observes society through this perspective, the more likely it is to debate possible solutions to them.
In other words, leaders must first think of citizens as rational individuals capable of independent decision making.
This may seem unfamiliar as many of us are used to a steady diet of derogatory stereotypes about each other’s identity – caste, sect, religion, nationality, etc. And, perhaps even physical and mental abilities.
So, we must observe closely.
Emotional appeals by Prime Minister Imran Khan might persuade some to file their returns. However, aware of rampant corruption and the failure of such drives in the past to bring meaningful change in the broken tax system incentivises many rational Pakistanis to not comply. Good intentions alone are not enough.
Online trolls who challenge the patriotism of Pakistani expats may appear to be speaking from genuine emotion. But their contempt for any criticism of state policies can also belie a calculation that such criticism poses a challenge to the status quo. With limited choice to find opportunities overseas, trolls in Pakistan may not have the luxury yet to offend or destabilise the status quo.
In the introduction my intention was not to compare the quality of the English and colloquial press. It was to emphasise the need to trust people with the truth however unsettling that may be.
Truth and reason go hand in hand.
The ultimate prize of speaking the truth, i.e. treating the population as rational and capable is a society that has learned to function independently, in practice.
A society on board with the policies of its leaders.
Convinced – not coerced or duped – that it is in their interest to do so.
Aerial view of a destroyed bridge in Upper Swat valley during floods in 2010. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Most of us have travelled by road to Northern Areas alongside the twists and turns that characterise the spectacular banks of the river Indus. The lush scenery was not so pleasant in the aftermath of flooding in Pakistan.
“When we visited Swat (a popular destination along the route) in 2010, most bridges connecting the valley were found destroyed,” says Arif Bilgaumi, a well-regarded architect and urban planner based in Karachi.
Arif was alluding to the risk of debris from illegal construction such as dhabas, hotels and restaurants, along the river banks which gets dislodged during natural calamities and destroys everything in its wake. He was talking to reporters from a wide array of news organisations across the country attending a workshop on humanitarian reporting recently organised by the Centre of Excellence in Journalism at IBA in Karachi.
I was auditing the workshop for a day and found it personally exciting for two reasons. It brought me back to the ‘roots’, or a professional teaching environment in Pakistan, since I haven’t stepped foot in a local classroom in nearly ten years. Secondly, the training program was well thought out between experts who kept the sessions engaging and informative. Mind you I was not appraising the workshop for which I’m neither qualified or inclined. Think of my role as a participating observer.
Workshop participants. Photo: author.
It was refreshing to interact with marginalised media workers; a reporter from Quetta, the capital city of the restive Balochistan province, for instance told me how their head office in Karachi is often not interested in anything but terrorism and crisis related stories. As if people in Balochistan have no other life. Pakistanis of all shades and colours complain about similar treatment by the Western media.
The combination of expert knowledge and its professional delivery came in to stark focus on the issue of crisis reporting in areas where the state lacks infrastructure. A senior member of a development organisations talked about their role in creating national awareness. Aid is often the first organised collective response in such areas. Reporters of resource constrained media organisations often rely on ‘aid vehicles’ to reach effected areas.
Understandably, this part of the session was off record. Often these areas consists of non-state actors engaged in their own development efforts and agendas. The remaining session was on nurturing a ‘situational awareness’, safety, strategies to negotiate the demands of various stakeholders, traveling to and across the terrain and of course reporting in those conditions.
It was a welcome change to be in my country and talk constructively in Urdu on sensitive issues. It reminded me of a sharing session on the controversial Tiananmen Square Protest I attended in Hong Kong few years back.
The workshop program, classroom facilities and visiting experts wouldn’t be out of place in any of the conferences or universities outside Pakistan that I have had the pleasure of attending. Near the end instructors sneaked in an ‘anonymous questionnaire’ that was in fact a psychological well-being test presumably for reporters often working under stressful conditions.
By the end of the day I was nostalgic of my time as a sub-editor at The News. There is after all a charm and a sense of purpose when doing good old fashioned journalism; a powerful method of storytelling in the service of the public.
Some resources recommended by Arif Bilgaumi for reporting on natural disasters in Pakistan.
Two interesting events happened one fine morning right before Christmas that reminded me of home. The first one came in the form of a phone call from Mc Donald`s recruitment confirming my place as a crew member. Funny thing, I was left saying ‘hello, hello, can you hear me… hello?? courtesy of a poor connection. I actually found out about my selection via a text message which I received right after the darn call. It was a sharp reminder of our over burdened cellular networks back at home and yes this stuff does happen in UK. Quite frequently actually. Oh and I use an O2 sim in case you are wondering.
The second event was the sound of bells ringing outside my window from what seemed like … a cotton candy man!? Impossible I thought as I reached out the window. It wasn’t a cotton candy man but in fact a pickup truck with all sorta trinkets and used items in the back. The driver was sticking his arm out of the truck giving a go at a tiny bell in a manner that can only be described as an English teen dabey wala!
Perhaps the twisted hyper drive my mind is going at these days is fooling me to imagine things or maybe I am just missing the sunlight. Hard to tell, but what I do know for sure is that the creative writing business is not the easiest professions in the world.
When I was coming here I had expected this. Months of networking and pestering people, getting assignments, days of sitting in front of a blank screen trying to write a good story and struggling with a deadline. It all sounded very fascinating living a bohemian existence, something I have always wanted. But every dream has a moldy and an abrasive underbelly; the part of your journey where you put in all the shit you had to take from people, the hard work and sweat that went in, the uncertainty, always the bloody uncertainty!, living on a simple budget, time away from loved ones and the cold weather. You are always caught unawares trying to deal with this underbelly. It`s the acid test.
But that`s how it is here in UK. 90% underbelly and 10% recreation, which I daresay is not a healthy combination. And what really takes the piss out of you is that even the slightest distractions can have disastrous consequences. For instance lending money to a mate is always a risky affair which I learned the hard way. Then last month I got a bit carried away with the end of term celebrations and consequently fucked my food `n utilities budget for a horrendous two weeks. Imagine smoke coming out of your mouth with every breath, in your own bloody room!
I like here hair though
But what really prompted an emergency response happened couple of weeks ago. I woke up feeling extremely hungry and depressed as hell. It was snowing outside, the sky was pale grey as usual and my room reeked of cigarettes mixed in god knows what else. I made an effort to climb out of bed and glanced at the mirror. There were these menacing bags under my eyes and my belly was flat to the point of caving in. I looked like an anorexic chicks fantasy. This was so not on. Something had to change.
It has been two weeks sine then. I`m writing again for the first time in months, my body is in that familiar painful state you get the day after a heavy workout, my weight is getting on track and last week I gave my first proper job interview in UK. Although I didn`t get the job I am content with my recovery process.
It has been a testing few months, everything has taken its toll but I have learned a lot from these adversities. I`m quite proud of myself. There are good times ahead.
Ayaz Ahmed Siddiqui 