Following Iran's treacherous aggression against the United Arab Emirates — without any convincing justification, other than that the UAE represents a developmental and humanitarian model different from its own — a national awareness took shape around the importance of building a front to confront the wars of the future, which are no longer confined to military dimensions or the hard tools and weapons of conventional conflict.
The narrative — a term that has been so widely circulated that virtually everyone now speaks it and understands its meaning — is one of those wars that will be waged in an organised and professional manner in the future. We in the UAE have been subjected to it more than any other people in the world, through media campaigns mounted by those who resent the UAE's successful experience and by those who hold ideological agendas and destructive aims.
Despite the relatively low cost of such wars — requiring little equipment or preparation — their negative impact on the national cohesion of society's members is enormous, because they target convictions and ideas through the distortion of information and the falsification of facts.
This is one of the conclusions I drew from the UAE Media Forum in its 11th edition, organised last Monday by the Dubai Press Club. This year it carried a title befitting the role that UAE media played in facing the gravest challenge the country has confronted: "The UAE Is a Red Line."
In general, the UAE Media Forum is known for offering an annual reading and review of the most prominent trends dominating our media outlets' coverage, and the manner in which national issues have been addressed in an era that has seen media multiply across traditional and modern forms, witnessed a surge in the number of those working in this strategic sector, and consequently seen a diversification of objectives and purposes that has posed a challenge to stable states.
This year's assessment came with well-deserved praise for what our national media accomplished in bearing its responsibility during this war. That assessment was not diplomatic flattery so much as it was objective, being grounded in facts from the field. In truth, it needs no special praise, since what our media did was a national duty — it did what it was required to do, just as other national institutions did, foremost among them the security and military apparatuses.
What does merit recognition, however, is that our media succeeded in forming a powerful national media front comprising both citizens and residents, which worked to repel the assault. It handled the hostile campaigns with a responsibility that reflects the maturity of this media sector and the accumulated experience it has built in confronting challenges and crises — by nipping rumours in the bud through the dissemination of accurate information and through periodic media briefings, a practice known as proactive engagement. This approach is considered one of the most effective methods for dismantling malicious intent, because it works to reinforce public trust in the media outlet itself, and is among the most successful techniques for dismantling hostile narratives and counter-stories.
In this way, UAE media managed to win the trust of public opinion, and consequently to build awareness among members of society — which represents the first line of defence against any attempt to spread lies and distort information. The UAE thus proved impervious to social infiltration; indeed, the members of this society themselves became soldiers in protecting the state's achievements.
The point is that we live in an era in which wars are no longer merely bullets fired or armies on the move — they are ideas and stories propagated through social media platforms. The more compelling the details of the story and the manner in which it is told, the deeper the penetration. It is for this reason that the UAE's counter-weapon has been transparency in conveying information and candour in disclosing results — and this approach is precisely what has thwarted the designs of those who harbour ill will.
This work has reinforced the image of the UAE's developmental achievements — the story that has so captivated peoples around the world that the country has become their place of stability and the space in which they build their hopes.