Four Arab information ministers gathered at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai to debate how official media can maintain public trust during crises, with false reports spread during recent Iranian attacks on the region cited as a warning of what happens when credible sources are absent.
Bahrain’s Minister of Information Dr. Ramzan bin Abdulla Al Noaimi, speaking at a ministers’ roundtable on the changing role of media, said people who lived through those attacks saw first-hand how many false reports emerged. He said institutions that were present and prepared to provide information were able to strengthen public trust, while a credibility gap opened between official media and international platforms audiences had previously relied on.
Coordinated response before the summit
The Iranian attacks had already prompted regional coordination before ministers met in Dubai. Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication Mohamed Hussein Al Momani held calls with Arab media officials on 19 March, including the Saudi Minister of Media, the Omani Minister of Information, and the chairmen of the UAE National Media Authority and Qatar Media Corporation, according to the Jordan News Agency (Petra). Those calls followed a statement by the Arab Information Ministers Council on regional developments.
At the Dubai roundtable, Al Momani warned of growing ‘information chaos’ and what he described as wars over narratives. He said media organisations need to present their own narratives in convincing ways and through formats suited to different audiences, adding that traditional official statements alone were no longer enough to reach people.
Al Momani’s position on misinformation is consistent with remarks he made at the fifth edition of the Saudi Media Forum in February, where he said targeted misinformation in the Arab region aims to ‘incite discord, distort facts, and destabilise societies,’ and called digital sovereignty essential, according to Petra. He also said media institutions need sufficient space to operate independently and make editorial decisions themselves.
Arab media crisis coverage: trust, speed, and context
Egypt’s Minister of State for Information Diaa Rashwan said the weakness of traditional media in some Arab countries had allowed social media pages to take on a larger role in producing and circulating news. He said this had contributed to the spread of material ranging from partially accurate reports to outright false information.
The Syrian minister who attended the roundtable was named in reports as Khaled Al-Shaar. Syria’s information ministry portfolio changed during 2026: President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 100 appointing Khaled Fawaz Zaarour as Minister of Information on 9 May 2026, according to SANA, and the name given in summit reports does not correspond to either the incoming or outgoing minister on record. The identity of Syria’s representative at the summit has not been independently confirmed.
The minister identified as representing Syria said the country was working to strengthen trust in its media sector, including by developing legislation protecting media freedom. He said speed alone cannot determine whether information is trusted, and that official media has a responsibility to explain information in its proper context rather than simply issue statements. He also said Syria was working to address longstanding perceptions about the country and its media, with SANA separately reporting what it described as a historic improvement in Syria’s position in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index.
On the sidelines of the summit, Dr. Al Noaimi met with Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of the UAE National Media Office, to discuss cooperation between media institutions in Bahrain and the UAE.
The roundtable concluded without a formal communiqué. Whether the Arab Information Ministers Council will formalise recommendations on crisis media standards is a question the council’s next scheduled meeting will need to answer.
