Gossipers and Social Bots
Among the most
dangerous social maladies whose spread has been greatly fueled by social media
is people’s preoccupation with the affairs of others in a manner that contradicts the Shariah. The basic
principle for a Muslim is to be occupied with himself, assessing his own state
in relation to the Truth and in relation to people, on the basis that every son
of Adam is prone to error, and on the basis of the saying of the Prophet (peace
be upon him): “Whoever searches for the faults of the people, Allah will
search for his faults, and whoever Allah searches for his faults, He will
disgrace him even in his own house.”
But alas!
People have grown accustomed to delving into others’ lives through suspicions
and “he said, she said,” and social media came to turn this into an epidemic.
Platforms of social media have become like streets or public squares in which
some people exchange the practices of the foolish, the immature, and the
reckless toward ordinary individuals—either raising them to the highest heights
if they conform to their whims, or casting them down to the lowest depths if
they run counter to the prevailing public mood.
Woe betide
these ordinary individuals if they are among the famous, for people then deem
it permissible to pry into the secrets of their private lives, even though
privacy is safeguarded not only in our religion, but also in our social norms.
What makes this
easier is that these platforms allow people to hide behind screens, saying
whatever they wish while evading social or criminal responsibility for what
they say—whether it be insults, lies, or otherwise.
The Manufacture of the “Trend”
In the same
context, these platforms enable electronic flies—accounts affiliated with the
apparatuses of authoritarian regimes or with powers hostile to the Ummah—to
spread falsehoods, fabricate imaginary issues around trivial matters, or around
a behavior, statement, or controversial comment by a famous artistic or sports
figure, or by placing a magnifying lens on a social phenomenon. All of this
serves to distract people from larger and more important issues.
Among the most
significant tools used in this regard is the fabrication of images or videos
through modern technologies that make people believe the falsehoods they see,
prompting them to plunge into battles over what appears before them, without
verifying the credibility of what those media suggest.
One of the most
consequential effects of social media has been the creation of what are called
“trends,” which in many cases are nothing more than traps designed to occupy
people with what does not deserve their attention, or to ensnare them in a
collective spectacle of delving into people’s lives, in which they compete in
foolish and transgressive commentary as a display of electronic bravado.
Among the worst
tools widely used on social media is mockery, through “memes,” “reels,” and the
like. Anyone who reflects on the Book of Allah will find that mockery appears
in it only as a blameworthy behavior.
Equally
reprehensible is obscenity, as some people feel no shame in using vulgar words
or indecent gestures that offend modesty, flaunting their lack of manners and
coarseness, or expressing what they perceive as boldness and
virility—forgetting that the public sphere should not be polluted, for our
families are present in it. If one lacks modesty within himself, then the least
he should do is conceal that nakedness from his social surroundings—his father,
mother, and sisters—if there remains in his face even a little blood.
Marketing and Plagiarism
Another
striking phenomenon on social media that falls under the rubric of such
transgression is people’s handling of crimes that occur in society. They turn
into investigators and judges, scrutinizing the life of an accused person in a
given case and even passing judgment on him, despite the fact that the case may
still be at the stage of investigation or trial, in which the accused has the
right to defend himself. He is innocent by law until his guilt is proven and
until he is granted the right to defend himself. As for public arenas—including
social media platforms—turning into substitutes for adjudication consistent
with Shariah and law, this is a matter that requires serious pause and
correction.
Another
conspicuous behavior propagated by social media and tempting people into is the
phenomenon of some individuals positioning themselves as muftis in every matter
and every field of life, whether they are specialists in it or not, doing so
with the confidence of a strategic expert in all affairs.
Many do this
driven by a desire for fame, under a broad banner that has recently become
widespread: “personal branding,” which pushes some to ride every high wave on
social media, letting no trending issue pass without appearing in it and
voicing an opinion. This runs counter to the trustworthiness of speech and to
the humility of genuinely specialized scholars.
In recent
years, we have learned to what extent the internet and social media now allow
for the fabrication of false news, images, and videos. This obliges us to
verify the authenticity of all such content before hastening to share it with
others, comment on it, or build positions upon it—or at the very least to
refrain from all of that until its accuracy is confirmed and the precision of
what is being discussed or circulated is ascertained.
Unfortunately,
some people do not refrain from doing so, either because those falsehoods align
with their whims, opinions, political, religious, or social inclinations, thus
contributing—without realizing it—to the construction of bubbles through which
they take revenge on their opponents and mislead others.
Another ailment
facilitated by social media is plagiarism: attributing a post or a literary or
scholarly work falsely and unjustly to the plagiarist, when it in fact belongs
to someone else, without acknowledging the moral rights of the owner of the
text, image, video, or otherwise. This is done out of a love of fame, and it
is, by my life, a form of lying that every sound-minded person should desist
from committing.
May Allah grant
us and you well-being from all that has been mentioned, and from other forms of
reckless transgression that have neither restraint nor coherence, and that
accord neither with morals, nor with Shariah, nor with law. O Allah, Ameen.
Read Also:
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Trend-Seekers: Losing Dignity for Fame!
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Online Scandals: Exposing Corruption or Violating Human Dignity?
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Youth Awareness Trapped in the "Trend"!
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