Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research - Current Issue

This study focused on the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) election in South Sumatra, Indonesia, and examined the creation of hyper-reality in the social media campaigns of female legislative candidates (caleg). Furthermore, it specifically concentrated on the use of social media platforms. A mixed-methodology approach was used, which combined content analysis of social media posts with semi-structured interviews involving twelve informants. This study also aimed to determine how female DPD candidates project their image on social media and the effect on voters. The results showed that female DPD candidates presented themselves on social media in a manner consistent with sociocultural expectations of the role women are expected to play in politics. They portrayed themselves as individuals who can maintain a healthy balance between professional and personal lives, who are educated, devout and have connections with influential people and the general public. It was also shown that voters are still influenced by hyper-realistic depictions of political candidates shared on social media, even though they can differentiate between photographs shared on social media and actual reality. This demonstrated the significant impact of social media on shaping public opinion and the conduct of political actors. This result will contribute to the expanding academic literature on hyper-reality, politics and social media. It will also shed light on the creation of hyper-reality in the political campaigns of women seeking legislative office. This study emphasized the importance of social media as a strategic tool in contemporary politics and how hyper-reality constructions may influence voters’ perceptions and behaviour in the context of DPD elections in South Sumatra.

This study explores the impact of online identity on individuals’ perception of self and communication codes. Specifically, the study investigates the relationship between the presentation and construction of identity and gender identity. The research methodology involves conducting in-depth interviews with eight Turkish university students aged 19–23, hailing from various cities across Turkey. Through these interviews and subsequent evaluations, the study identifies significant differences between social and digital identities, which can be attributed to various demographic factors, including gender. Furthermore, the study argues that the digital realm provides favourable opportunities for individuals to express their identities while serving as a platform for mobilization, opposition and alternative modes of communication that challenge existing societal norms. Moreover, results show that young people sometimes experience fears about their social media posts and anxiety that society and the government will punish them.

This exploratory meta-analysis aims to investigate the current trends in Arab communication research by studying a sample of media and communication articles published in Arab academic journals between 2000 and 2021. The results reveal an increase in the number of published articles after 2011, with a more significant surge after 2016. Egyptian journals exhibited the highest publication rate among all journals. Arab researchers predominantly focused on journalism, followed by mass communication and media studies. Most of the articles analysed lacked a theoretical foundation, and quantitative methods and surveys were frequently employed for data analysis while qualitative methods, particularly personal interviews, were less common. Traditional media, such as television and newspapers, were the most discussed media platforms, followed by social media networks such as Facebook. Geographically, African Arab countries, notably Egypt and Algeria, dominated in terms of published articles and discussions related to these countries, surpassing Asian Arabic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

This article explores the social and form-related similarities and differences between the film Capernaum and Italian neorealism, focusing on the portrayal of refugee children. The Syrian Civil War has displaced millions of people, and children who have sought refuge in Syria’s neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon and Turkey, have become victims of poverty and moral degeneration. Similarly, the Second World War left children orphaned and many harsh realities emerged, such as child labour, delinquency, abuse and neglect. The Italian neorealism movement highlighted post-war issues such as these in cinema. Capernaum reflects the new realities of the Syrian Civil War as sociological concepts, such as forced migration due to war, extreme poverty and the victimization of children. This film is important because of its power to generate empathy and (pro-)activism. With an analysis of the mise en scène and contents of Capernaum, we show that the film bears significant traces of neorealism and that nothing has changed for Syrian refugee children. In a spatial sense, the phenomenon of migration brings a new reality to Capernaum, and neorealist films give a voice to victims via actors who express their experiences. Children in both countries have been victims of extreme poverty and moral degeneration due to war.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise of TikTok video usage and sharing worldwide. Meanwhile, the 2018 Cyber Crime Law has been activated against the so-called women TikTokers in Egypt who were accused and arrested for violating ‘family values’ and ‘inflaming debauchery’. Public opinion expressed that media control is a grey area that includes ambiguous description of these violations. Social scrutiny became viral on social media platforms, inciting a debate over the prosecution of those women. This article is a case study that explores the play behaviour of women TikTok users in Egypt. Through employing a content analysis method, it seeks to find out whether users resist or adapt to the strict media control. Findings revealed that women TikTok users have several motives for their adopted behaviours, such as the fear of missing out (FoMO) and self-expression. Audiences who interpreted the behaviours TikTok women adopted as immoral used hashtags for social activism and generated content to oppress women based on gender rather than fairly evaluating their play behaviours. The research highlights key practices that women TikTok users are currently using in order to adapt to the vague ‘Egyptian family values and morals’. Whether mimicking a meme, performing and/or singing, women TikTok users have been considering their conservative cultural context carefully to avoid the severe consequences that pervious women TikTokers have faced. Furthermore, women TikTok users are reluctant to boldly resist the strict media control in Egypt. Instead of using controversial sex appeal, they resort to using humour for garnering views and utilizing the platform’s entertainment nature.

The dissemination of rumours and fabricated information via social media has the potential to adversely impact social cohesiveness and contribute to political polarization, which may lead to political divisions by casting doubt on the effectiveness of government and politicians. In light of the global economic crisis caused by the Russian–Ukrainian War, this study aims to identify economic rumours that were circulating in Egyptian society via social media. Machine learning was employed as a means of analysing the sentiment of user comments on various posts, thus providing an effective method for debunking fake news. In order to identify the most salient features of misleading information, the study qualitatively assessed the visual and linguistic elements of the postings. A total of 10,031 comments were analysed after being categorized into main groups. The study’s results revealed key features pertaining to the sentiments expressed in the comments as well as identifying common textual traits of rumours and specific visual sentiments depicted in accompanying photos. This research sheds light on the importance of identifying and debunking rumours and fabricated information in order to mitigate their potentially negative effects on social cohesiveness and political polarization. Additionally, it highlights the utility of employing machine learning as a tool for analysing sentiment in user-generated content on social media platforms.