On a Wednesday afternoon in Cairo, inside the Arab League headquarters, the 56th regular session of the Council of Arab Information Ministers brought together officials from across the region. Dr. Mohammad Al-Momani, Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication and Government Spokesperson, led the Jordanian delegation. His speech was not a routine diplomatic statement. It was a call to rethink media as a strategic and sovereign sector, closely linked to a country’s ability to strengthen its presence, protect public awareness, and shield citizens from disinformation and misinformation campaigns. He argued that in an age when information can be weaponized, media is critical infrastructure. Words like “fake news” and “deepfakes” are no longer abstract threats but everyday realities. Al-Momani spoke with conviction about the need to enhance Arab media cooperation and coordination to face these challenges. He expressed Jordan’s pride in the fraternal ties that bind Arab countries and reminded his audience that the region is passing through exceptional times that require unified efforts and shared positions. Political tensions, security crises, and humanitarian suffering do not respect borders, and neither should the response of Arab media. Jordan, he said, remains committed to supporting joint Arab media action and exchanging expertise with sisterly countries. The message was clear: if the Arab world does not tell its own stories, others will tell them in ways that damage its interests and undermine its identity. His speech was an invitation to look at media not as a luxury for the few, but as a shield for the many, and to treat it with the same seriousness reserved for defense and diplomacy.
Al-Momani went on to paint a realistic picture of the environment in which Arab media now operate. The region faces a complex set of political, security, and humanitarian challenges, and these are not separate problems. They are intertwined, and they have clear implications for how information is produced and consumed. At the same time, the global and Arab media landscape is being transformed at a dizzying pace by communication technologies and artificial intelligence. What once seemed like science fiction is now part of everyday life: algorithms that can generate lifelike videos, social media platforms that amplify division, and data-driven tools that target individuals with personalized propaganda. These developments bring serious challenges related to the accuracy and credibility of information. They also create opportunities for those who wish to manipulate facts and shape public perception for political or ideological ends. Al-Momani did not dismiss new technologies as inherently harmful. He insisted, rather, that Arab media institutions must be able to deal with them wisely. He warned that failing to adapt is not a neutral option; inaction leaves the field open to malicious actors who thrive on confusion and distrust. He stressed the importance of developing joint Arab media action plans, coordinating messages and positions, and strengthening the international presence of the Arab narrative. In his view, unity does not mean repeating the same words in the same way. It means having a shared understanding of what is at stake and a common set of principles to guide media professionals and policymakers. He also made a point that is often overlooked: credible media require credible institutions. This means investing in training, fact-checking, ethical standards, and the kind of journalism that can withstand political pressure and commercial temptation. The Arab world, he suggested, cannot afford to be a consumer of narratives shaped elsewhere. It must become an active participant in the global information space, with a distinct voice and a firm foothold in the digital age.
There was one issue that stood above the rest in Al-Momani’s address: the Palestinian cause. He spoke about it not as one item among many, but as a defining priority for joint Arab action. His words carried particular weight because Jordan has a long history with this issue, and because he was speaking for a country that has repeatedly supported peace and maintained a special role in Jerusalem. Al-Momani emphasized that the Palestinian cause remains at the forefront of the Arab conscience, and that unified Arab efforts must be sustained to defend the rights of the Palestinian people. He spoke of the need to convey their suffering to the world, to counter attempts to distort or conceal the facts, and to stand firmly against efforts that try to rewrite history or erase the human dimension of the occupation. He recalled, in clear terms, Jordan’s firm position under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II. This position, he explained, is based on support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to establish an independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is rooted in the two-state solution and in international legitimacy resolutions, which remain the only realistic path to a just and lasting peace. Al-Momani also reaffirmed Jordan’s continued historic role in safeguarding the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, a role flowing from the Hashemite Custodianship. That guardianship, he reminded the ministers, is not a political claim but a religious and historical trust carried with seriousness. For Arab media, he argued, this translates into a concrete mission: documenting the humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip, exposing violations and illegal unilateral measures in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and protecting the Palestinian narrative from disinformation and distortion. Cameras and keyboards should be instruments of justice, not passive recorders of falsehoods. He called on Arab media to tell stories that are often not told, to give voice to those who are silenced, and to make sure the world cannot claim ignorance while Palestinian families are uprooted and their hopes are erased.
From the question of Palestine, Al-Momani turned to the future and to the rapid developments in artificial intelligence and digital media. He was not interested in listing new technologies; he was interested in what they mean for Arab societies. He highlighted the importance of improving the performance of Arab media institutions and strengthening their capabilities so they can keep pace with change and benefit from modern tools. At the same time, he warned about the darker side of the digital revolution. The same artificial intelligence that helps journalists translate, analyze, and deliver news can also be used to create convincing deepfakes, spread rumors, and manipulate public opinion on a massive scale. He stressed the need to address challenges related to information credibility and content reliability. For ordinary citizens, this means developing the ability to distinguish between facts and disinformation, a skill as basic as reading and writing. For media institutions, it means investing in verification, transparency, and editorial standards that make trust possible. Al-Momani then shared what Jordan has been doing at the national level. As part of its efforts to develop the government communication system, Jordan has worked to leverage modern technologies and artificial intelligence, improving its communication tools with citizens and media outlets. The goal is simple to state but difficult to achieve: to ensure that official information is delivered more quickly, clearly, and credibly. He described an ongoing process, not a finished project, one requiring constant adjustment as technology evolves and citizens’ expectations change. There was no arrogance in his tone. He did not present Jordan as a model to be copied without thought. Instead, he suggested that Jordan, like its sisterly Arab countries, is learning by doing, and that shared lessons are far more valuable when they are shared openly. The digital gap between the Arab world and the most advanced countries is not fixed; it can be closed with investment and partnership. But closing it requires seriousness and a willingness to learn from one another. Arab media cannot afford to be reactive. It must be creative, experimental, and unafraid to ask difficult questions about its own future.
One of the most forward-looking parts of Al-Momani’s speech was his call to move Arab media cooperation to a new level. He said, more or less, that the old way of doing things is not enough. For decades, Arab media meetings have produced recommendations about exchanging experiences and enhancing coordination, but too often the outcomes have remained abstract. Al-Momani wanted to push beyond that. He stressed the importance of moving Arab media cooperation beyond the exchange of expertise and experiences towards establishing practical partnerships and joint initiatives. He was not asking for vague declarations. He was asking for projects that would strengthen the capabilities of Arab media institutions, support the presence of Arabic-language content, and align with the requirements of sustainable development and digital transformation. This means creating regional networks for fact-checking, producing shared Arabic content that can compete with global platforms, training young journalists in data journalism and artificial intelligence, and establishing standards that protect the profession from online harassment and false accounts. Al-Momani reaffirmed Jordan’s readiness to continue sharing its expertise with fellow Arab countries through the Ministry of Government Communication and the Kingdom’s Permanent Delegation to the Arab League. He also pointed to Jordan’s active participation in the Council’s committees and working groups, suggesting that this is where real work gets done. For him, the Council is not merely a stage for speeches; it is a mechanism for continuous cooperation. He seemed to be encouraging his counterparts to look at Jordan not as a competitor but as a partner, a country that has faced many of the same pressures and is willing to open up its playbook. Practical partnerships were not a throwaway line. They were an invitation to sit at the same table and design concrete programs with clear goals and timelines. Institutions in different Arab countries are at different stages of development, and each country must find its own path. But the overall direction should be one of integration and mutual support. If one Arab country develops a good tool to spot fake videos, why should another reinvent it? If one ministry discovers a better way to communicate during a crisis, that experience should be shared. In a world where global platforms dominate information flows, Arab media face a common challenge, and meeting it requires resources, political will, and a sense of shared destiny.
Before closing, Al-Momani took care to acknowledge the institutional efforts that make the Arab League’s media work possible. He congratulated Abdulfatah Qasim Mahmoud, Somalia’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, on his country’s assumption of the Council’s presidency for the current session. It was a gesture of solidarity with a brotherly country working to rebuild its institutions and take its rightful place in the region. Al-Momani also commended the efforts of the Syrian Arab Republic during its presidency of the previous session, as well as the work of the Arab League General Secretariat, the Media and Communication Sector, and the Council’s Technical Secretariat. These expressions of appreciation are often dismissed as diplomatic formalities, but in his delivery they felt sincere, because he had just described media as a serious enterprise that depends on many hands and many roles. He expressed hope that the current session would produce actionable decisions and recommendations, not just texts to be filed away and forgotten. He spoke of building a more influential Arab media system, one capable of defending Arab causes and interests, and one that can communicate with the world using the language and tools of the modern age. Al-Momani was not suggesting that Arab media abandon their authenticity or principles. He was suggesting that they learn to speak in ways that resonate beyond the region. The Arab narrative deserves to be heard in every language and on every platform, but it will earn that place only through professionalism, courage, and command of modern technique. In the end, his address was not a lecture or a list of demands. It was an invitation to view media as a shared Arab project, a space where the region’s complexity, creativity, and resilience can be reflected honestly and powerfully. He concluded by reaffirming Jordan’s commitment to supporting joint Arab media efforts and strengthening cooperation with fellow Arab countries. He left the podium with a sense that the conversation was only beginning. In a region often defined by upheaval, he argued, media can be a source of clarity and connection if Arab countries choose to build it together. Jordan, he made clear, intends to be a reliable partner in that effort. And with that, a familiar diplomatic message was transformed into a hopeful vision for a more truthful and united future.