* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation workshop shed new light on the various aspects of using social media to cover the Arab uprisings, a task that would be difficult without input from various parties on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media outlets.
Updates from social media outlets are becoming one of, if not the, major source of news for stories we as journalists cover events in countries closed to independent media such as Syria. Using these mediums, however, poses ethical questions about the ability to trust the eyewitness reports from parties which may have biased view to the events occurring on the ground. In Syria, this is certainly a dilemma we face every day as we try to ascertain whether the news reported by activists and eyewitnesses matches the reality on the ground.
All social media played a role in galvanizing the masses, starting in Tunisia, where activists and protestors used these platforms to congregate and communicate when normal mediums were under censorship. In Egypt, the authorities severed internet connection to halt the populace from protesting. The expansion of social media usage comes in parallel to technological advances in the region and cheaper usage rates, which has allowed more people to connect than ever before and channel their thoughts on freedom.
This online freedom has however led to the arrest of bloggers in various Arab countries, even in those that haven’t seen mass protests, as the authorities realize the power of free speech of the internet. The accuracy and transparency in which the information on the internet is transmitted whether by activists or officials in power.
Such widespread usage of these tools poses one question: Are all people equipped with the knowledge or the skills to properly use, participate and evaluate social media? Can journalists sift through what is false statements and actual facts or events?
The simple truth is that it is difficult to exercise judgment, when news has to be instantaneous, leaving little time to evaluate the accuracy of the source and information, especially when covering such an important story.
Nouriddine al Yazid, a reporter from Morocco said anyone working in traditional media should have the opportunity to undertake this social networking training because after all its a journalist's job to keep pace with technology.
There's no doubt that the revolution in the Arab World has given all journalists a push to delve into social media, a platform that was not as widespread as in the Western media prior the unrest in the region.
However, in the Arab world new media methods are not being taught broadly like in the West, where journalists are trained and encouraged to use and participate in these new outlets.
Dina Abou al Maaref from Egypt said that learning about the technical side of social media was very useful to her and revealed a world of unknown. She noted that the most important thing she took away from the course was how to get quotes and use twitter.
Awat Ali from Kurdistan said the main benefit from the training was on using the online networking intensively, to stay up-to-date with the news from around the world, learn technical tips on creating a blog, having an account on YouTube and WordPress.
