Despite a recent increase in citizen-generated content and wider spread internet access, there is the danger of a 'knowledge gap' in the
Middle East, the chairman of the NCF International Council for Press and Broadcasting has warned.
William Morris, an expert on Arab affairs, told an industry gathering that he feared parts of the
region were operating in an 'internet black hole,' which prevented the
population from accessing and sharing information.
"There are some seminal Iraqi bloggers, like Salam Pax. But the average
Iraqi uses [the internet on] a mobile phone. It is a vacuum for
conventional internet for the ordinary population.”
Morris
said the difficulties of digital engagement in the Middle East were
compounded by the fact that only 0.4 per cent of the web's content is
written in Arabic.
He added that social media, such as Twitter, can 'accelerate
misinformation' in countries that are not well represented by
traditional news organisations.
Blogger Potkin Azarmehr, who created his website because he was 'fed up
with the nonsense given to English speaking media about Iran', also
warned that blogs and online communities can become 'elitist' in parts
of the world where broadband access is restricted by the government.
"These are countries where people have to spend all their time going
about making a living to make ends meet," he said. "Only 20 per cent of
the population [in Iran] are internet users, so it is very hard to move
out of an elitist circle."
Azarmehr added, however, that he believed the number of bloggers in the
region had 'increased significantly' in the last year, despite the risk
of arrest.
"There are ways of overcoming the restrictions, like proxies and software, but these are not yet widespread," he said.