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DUBAI: As part of a series of initiatives marking its 50th anniversary, Arab News hosted a special reception and talk in collaboration with Google on the opening day of the Arab Media Forum, reflecting on five decades of events that shaped the Middle East and exploring the future of the region’s media landscape.

During the reception, held at the Dubai Future Foundation under the theme “Reimagining the Future of Media,” Faisal J. Abbas, Editor-in-Chief of Arab News, addressed the challenges facing the media industry and how emerging technologies are reshaping its future.

“The future does not wait, the future is already here, and we should remember that the future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it and execute it, as Dubai Ruler H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid always says,” said Abbas.

“As an industry, we have suffered far too long from paralysis by analysis,” he added. “While artificial intelligence is evolving every day, we should simply just do it and remember that amateurs talk strategy, while professionals talk logistics, as the late World War II general, Omar Bradley, once said.”

For her part, Mona Al-Marri, director-general of Dubai Media Office, Government of Dubai, welcomed the attendees and congratulated Arab News on its 50th anniversary in her opening remarks.

“Congratulations to the entire Arab News team,” she said, noting the newspaper’s pivotal role in the regional media landscape and its long-standing contribution to the Arab Media Summit since its inception 23 years ago — “whether through participation, contribution, or by organizing events like this.”

Al-Marri praised the leadership of Abbas, saying that “having a young editor-in-chief running such a major platform makes” a real difference.

Let’s all agree that how we create and consume media is changing dramatically.

Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation

“How can we transform such a platform into digital? Today’s (event) actually marks the importance of having such collaboration, like with Google and the Dubai Future Foundation, where we feel this is the future of the Arab media. I hope that all media outlets in our region follow in the steps of Arab News, because this is when you set a good working model for the whole region.”

“Arab News is leading this transformation,” she added. In a region where over 50 percent of the population is young, “we should all follow this model.”

Speaking on the future of the industry in his keynote speech, Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, outlined seven key predictions for media over the next year.

“Let’s all agree that how we create and consume media is changing dramatically,” he said during his address at the Dubai Future Foundation Auditorium in Emirates Towers. “Look at the average attention span, which is eight seconds.”

He noted how sports consumption has dramatically changed beyond live games and consequently the demand for content has exploded. “For me, sport is all about pre-game, game, post-game interviews and conversations. And we need to adapt to that.”

Belhoul emphasized that this shift is forcing a transformation of media business models. “New media means new roles,” he said, listing predictions such as AI-generated news anchors, governments licensing content creators, and AI-powered productions by major streaming platforms. He also highlighted the rise of “slow media” as a cultural counterbalance to viral, unchecked content.

He said that the disruptive power of AI — from disinformation to audience mistrust — makes the “human touch” more vital than ever. “AI may be the hero of the next media chapter, but self-critique, adaptability and editorial responsibility will define its success,” he said.

Now in its 24th edition, the three-day Arab Media Forum in Dubai brings together senior government officials, media executives, thought leaders, and influential content creators from the Arab region and beyond. It is now held under a bigger event called the Arab Media Summit, which includes various other forums and award ceremonies.

The summit runs until May 28 and focuses on fostering collaboration among media platforms, senior officials, and governments to create a positive impact on shaping vital sectors of everyday life in the region.

In light of this connection, the summit features an impressive lineup of prominent personalities including Nawaf Salam, the prime minister of Lebanon, and Asaad Al-Shaibani, Syria’s foreign minister, among others.

A panel discussion featuring information ministers from several Arab countries explores the future of public media and strategies to strengthen collaboration with the private sector.

The best results come when an AI tool is put in the hands of journalists, creating magic for users.

Anthony Nakache, Managing director of Google MENA

Ghassan Salameh, Lebanon’s minister of culture, will share insights on the media’s role in shaping a path toward regional stability, while prominent media figure Piers Morgan is set to address the summit audience in a key session.

Addressing the pivotal role of AI in reshaping the media landscape, Anthony Nakache, managing director of Google MENA, highlighted Google’s initiatives and products aimed at enhancing user experience and supporting content creation in an era of rapid digital transformation.

He said: “Since Google was founded, our mission has been to organize the world information, make it universally accessible and useful for everyone. 26 years later, that vision has not changed, and we are actually more committed to it than ever.”

“We considered exploring new initiatives such as the AI Launch Lab with FT Strategies and the Google News initiative and FT Strategies AI design sprint in collaboration with The Saudi Ministry of Media and the UAE Media Council.”

He added: “By (choosing) to invest in innovation, to uphold the highest standards of quality information, and by empowering journalists to use AI tools and digital solutions, we can all together forge a very dynamic and successful future for journalism in the region. A great example of that is what we are going to showcase tonight, which is our partnership with Arab News that is now exploring the latest of our AI tools to create new ways to engage with their audience.”

Nakache said he was “very excited” about the upcoming powered by Google’s latest AI tool, NotebookLM 2, a smart note-taking solution that automatically generates podcasts. The tool was recently recognized as one of the most innovative AI solutions of 2024 by Time magazine.

“But the best (results come) when it is put in the hands of journalists, creating magic for users,” he added.

Monday evening concluded with the announcement of Arab News’ collaboration with Google for a special podcast series titled “Recounting the Moments that Changed the Middle East.”

The five-episode podcast series spans five decades, with each episode focusing on a pivotal decade in Middle East history — from 1975 to the present.

Produced using NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered research tool, the project employed artificial hosts and AI-generated voices to narrate major events that shaped the region, highlighting how emerging technology can support storytelling, research and historical reflection in modern journalism.

You can access the podcast by visiting

ISLAMABAD: As Indian and Pakistani guns fell silent after trading fire for days this month, the war over facts and fiction is far from over and fierce battle rages on social media as to who won, who distorted the truth, and which version of events should be trusted.

As both states continue to push competing narratives, experts warn that misinformation, censorship and AI-generated propaganda have turned digital platforms into battlegrounds, with real-world consequences for peace, truth and regional stability.

The four-day military standoff, which ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire, resulted from an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people last month. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, a charge Islamabad has consistently denied.

While the truce between the nuclear-armed archfoes has since held, digital rights experts have sounded alarm over the parallel information war, which continues based on disinformation, censorship and propaganda on both sides, threatening the ceasefire between both nations.

Asad Baig, who heads the Media Matters for Democracy not-for-profit that works on media literacy and digital democracy, noted that broadcast media played a central role in spreading falsehoods during the India-Pakistan standoff to cater to an online audience hungry for “sensational content.”

“Disinformation was overwhelmingly spread from the Indian side,” Baig told Arab News. “Media was playing to a polarized, online audience. Conflict became content, and content became currency in the monetization game.”

Several mainstream media outlets, mostly in India, flooded the public with fake news, doctored visuals and sensationalist coverage, fueling mass anxiety and misinformation, according to fact-checkers and experts, who say the role of media at this critical geopolitical juncture undermined journalistic integrity and misled citizens.

“I think this is a perfect example of the media becoming a tool of propaganda in the hands of a state,” said prominent digital rights activist Usama Khilji, calling on those at the helm of television and digital media outlets to independently verify state claims using tools like satellite imagery or on-ground sources.

In Pakistan, X, previously known as Twitter, had been banned since February 2024, with digital rights groups and global organizations calling the blockade a “blatant violation” of civic liberties and a threat to democratic freedoms.

But on May 7, as Pakistan’s responded to India’s missile strikes on its territory that began the conflict, the platform was suddenly restored, allowing users to access it without a VPN that allows them to bypass such restrictions by masking their location. The platform has remained accessible since.

“We were [previously] told that X is banned because of national security threats,” Khilji told Arab News, praising the government’s “strategic move” to let the world hear Pakistan’s side of the story during this month’s conflict.

“But when we actually got a major national security threat in terms of literal war, X was unblocked.”

Indian authorities meanwhile blocked more than 8,000 X, YouTube and Instagram accounts belonging to news outlets as well as Pakistani celebrities, journalists and influencers.

“When only one narrative is allowed to dominate, it creates echo chambers that breed confusion, fuel conflict, and dangerously suppress the truth,” Khilji explained.

VIRTUAL WAR

Minutes after India attacked Pakistan with missiles on May 7, Pakistan released a video to journalists via WhatsApp that showed multiple blasts hitting an unknown location purportedly in Pakistan. However, the video later turned out to be of Israeli bombardment of Gaza and was retracted.

On May 8, Indian news outlets played a video in which a Pakistani military spokesperson admitted to the downing of two of their Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets. X users later pointed out that the video was AI-generated.

Throughout the standoff both mainstream and digital media outlets found themselves in the eye of the storm, with many official and verified accounts sharing and then retracting false information. The use of AI-generated videos and even video game simulations misrepresented battlefield scenarios in real time and amplified confusion at a critical moment.

Insights from experts paint a disturbing picture of how information warfare is becoming inseparable from conventional conflict. From deliberate state narratives to irresponsible media and rampant misinformation on social platforms, the truth itself is becoming a casualty of war.

AFP Digital Verification Correspondent Rimal Farrukh describes how false information was often laced with hate speech, targeting vulnerable communities like Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan.

“We saw dehumanizing language, misleading visuals, and recycled war footage, often from unrelated conflicts like Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Gaza, used to stoke fear and deepen biases,” she told Arab News.