Cairo, May 2 (Petra) – The Arab League said on Saturday that journalism faces extremely complex challenges, particularly in light of social media, digital platforms, and the various applications of artificial intelligence.

While these technologies promote the democratization of the right to communication, enhance media performance, and promote innovation, they also raise serious concerns due to the spread of cyberviolence, discriminatory stereotypes, and fake news in the media landscape, it said.

In a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, Head of the Media and Communication Sector at the Arab League, stressed the need to implement a strategy adopted by the Council of Arab Information Ministers on the integration of media literacy into the educational curricula of member states.

"This International Day, adopted by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 at the initiative of UNESCO, is an opportunity to recognize the invaluable efforts of journalists, regardless of their positions or professional affiliations, and emphasize the importance of facilitating their work and their contributions to development and democratic practice, in accordance with the principles of relevant international conventions, starting with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," he said.

Khattabi said freedom of opinion is an inherent right, limited only by legal and ethical constraints and vital national interests.

He said the world commemorates the International Day this year under the theme "Building a World of Peace," highlighting the role of media in promoting a culture of peace within a highly turbulent international geopolitical context, fraught with tensions and devastating wars, particularly in the Middle East, where innocent civilians, including journalists striving to convey the truth under perilous circumstances, lose their lives.

//Petra//SS