11-17, 11:30–12:30 (Asia/Beirut), 4th Dimension
Participants will have a stronger understanding of how harmful speech on social media manifests and how it fuels conflict regardless of context.
Participants will gain insight into the limitations of AI content moderation and current practices
Panellists will discuss solutions (policy, advocacy, capacity building, awareness raising) and how these could contribute to improving conflict situations.
This panel will address the failures of AI content moderation that contribute to escalations in conflict, regardless of context.
While the impact of social media has been documented most prominently in Ethiopia and Myanmar, platforms need to be proactive in applying lessons learned to other regions that are still undergoing conflict and witnessing the long-term impacts of online harmful speech on the conflicts’ longevity and on the possibility of reconciliation.
Speakers will highlight the most prominent failures in Myanmar and Ethiopia and reflect on how these have manifested in the MENA region with examples from Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Palestine.
"تنطوي الجلسة على مناقشة ميسّرة حول إخفاقات إدارة المحتوى بواسطة الذكاء الاصطناعي، ما يساهم في تصعيد النزاع بغض النظر عن السياق.
في حين جرى توثيق تأثير وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي بشكل بارز في إثيوبيا وميانمار، تحتاج المنصات إلى أن تكون استباقية في تطبيق الدروس المستفادة في المناطق الأخرى التي لا تزال تشهد نزاعات وتعاني من الآثار الطويلة المدى للخطاب الضار عبر الإنترنت في امتداد مدّة النزاعات وتراجع فرص المصالحة.
يسلّط المتحدّثون الضوء على أبرز الإخفاقات في ميانمار وإثيوبيا ويعطون آراءهم في كيفيّة ظهورها في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا مستندين إلى أمثلة من سوريا والعراق وليبيا واليمن وفلسطين.
Marwa Fatafta leads Access Now’s work on digital rights in the Middle East and North Africa region as the MENA Policy and Advocacy Manager. She has written extensively on the intersection of technology and human rights including content moderation, freedom of expression, data protection, and surveillance tech. Marwa is a member of Bread&Net's Advisory Committee. She is also a Policy Analyst at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. Before joining Access Now, Marwa worked as the MENA Regional Advisor at Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin and coordinated regional and global efforts to mainstream gender into anti-corruption policies and norms. Marwa was a Fulbright scholar to the US, and holds an MA in International Relations from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She holds a second MA in Development and Governance from University of Duisburg-Essen.
Amira Galal is a specialist in online harmful speech and its various manifestations. She works at Internews on digital rights projects covering the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and Latin America. Amira is a former BBC journalist that transitioned to working in the humanitarian sector in Iraq, Syria, and Greece. She has brought these experiences together to adopt a holistic approach to multiregional digital rights and media development programming at Internews. She holds a Master's degree in Modern Middle East Studies from the University of Oxford and a second in International Journalism from City University, London.
Ribal Azzin is the Business Development Manager at Verify Media Platform, a grants consultant, and a board member of Shaml CSOs Coalition. Ribal holds a BA in Business Administration and a diploma in Network Engineering.
Michael Atsbeha is social media specialist with a focus on hate speech and disinformation. A journalist with expertise in East and the Horn of Africa region, Michael has over 15 years of reporting experience with international news outlets and broadcasters. He specializes in social media data analytics as well as advanced factchecking and verification. Michael is passionate about freedom of expression that respects individual’s right to exercise all forms of speech without fear or unlawful restrictions. Furthermore, he strongly believes these rights should come with individual and collective responsibilities to protect communities from hate speech, incitement and violence.