Rumours a threat to social stability Wednesday, 10 November 2010 03:22

During the past week, I followed what was published about the cheetah sighting in the north and I was expecting it to be just a rumour. Sure enough, it has already been confirmed as such by the Ministry of Interior in a statement published in newspapers. The Ministry states that this report was not true, pointing out that it received a tip off on seeing an animal from one of the types of panthers known as cheetah -- in the North Security Department’s area of jurisdiction. The Department initiated its procedures in dealing with any types of emergencies related to security within that region. The statement also noted that after receiving several calls from the public claiming to have sighted the animal in different areas, the Ministry of Interior’s departments in those respective jurisdictions moved swiftly but the police and various other agencies could not detect any such animal. Further, the Ministry revealed that some of the communications it received were malicious and it took the necessary measures to address them.

The ministry appealed to all citizens and residents not to pay any attention to rumours and gossip-driven conversations or contribute to transferring unreliable information which only serves to spread terror and drive fear into the hearts of people.

In fact, before I address the impact of such rumours on the community, I must first praise the efforts of the Ministry of Interior in dealing with the greater interest of the public in order to achieve security and safety for all who live in this country. For this I thank them as a Qatari citizen, and at the same time, I would like to say to the person/s who launched this campaign of terror to take up the responsibility; as rumors are far more dangerous than lethal weapons and are devastating to communities and people. Do not forget how many rumours have agonized innocent people, how much gossip has been the source of crimes, and how rumours have broken numerous relationships and friendships.

It is no secret that rumours are a social phenomenon that causes great damage to any society. This is ever true in light of the widespread use of modern means of communication, especially the Blackberry, which is the latest of all communication devices in the world and has managed to house various means of online communication in a single device. Within one device, it is possible to make a telephone call, employ all of the functions of e-mail service, access social networking and chatting programs, and access the Internet.

Through this article, I am calling on all institutions of society to work together on diagnosing this serious phenomenon and work together to find solutions and remedies to the problem. Through a unified approach, the problem of rumours can be eradicated, its offenders warned, and the causes and motives behind such behaviours can be diminished so that they do not threaten the security and stability of society. I also advice all individuals to verify fact from fiction before proceeding to spread information. There is not a day that goes by that rumors aren’t spread either intentionally or unintentionally but we must all bear our share of the responsibility in carefully disseminating information that can be harmful to society.

the peninsula

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