The number of unlicensed electronic newspapers in the Kingdom has increased dramatically. Most do not even follow the basic professional and moral standards of credibility and ethics when they report news. Electronic newspapers, free of any oversight, report rumors as if they are true and then circulate them on social media websites. According to a report in Al-Riyadh daily, authorities say the bigger problem they face in cracking down on such publications are the readers who share and post their stories without verifying their authenticity or claims. Lack of credibility Jafar Al-Sultan, the owner of a licensed online newspaper, says e-newspapers are free of oversight so they are less likely to care about journalism ethics but not all are out to spread rumors. "The majority of unlicensed e-newspapers do not have official sources and tend to make up their own stories. However, some of them have very professional staff with high qualifications who can report news more professionally and effectively than the staff of licensed e-newspapers," Al-Sultan said. "Many newspapers, both online and print, tend to publish rumors knowing very well that these rumors are baseless and there are no strong proofs to support them. Yet, the newspapers publish them because each newspaper is looking for a scoop that will attract readers and set the publication apart from the competition and increase the number of readers," Al-Sultan added while urging the concerned authorities to help unlicensed newspapers apply for and obtain proper licenses and offer journalism courses for reporters. Talking about his experience applying for a license, Al-Sultan said the procedures are simple in terms of requirements and conditions and can be completed in a short time. "If the owner of an online newspaper meets the requirements and has submitted all the necessary documents, he will probably get the license within 24 hours," he said. Cyber crime law Abdullatif Al-Nimer, an economist, said some online newspapers spread rumors about economy, the stock market, real estate deals and gold prices. Al-Nimer argued that such rumors can cause financial losses to businesses and that unlicensed online newspapers that spread rumors about companies should be subjected to punishment as stipulated in the cyber crime law. "The Ministry of Culture and Information has facilitated the procedures for applying for an online newspaper license. I believe that Saudi society is targeted by enemies who want to spread rumors that can be harmful to the country," Al-Nimer cautioned. Majed Al-Shabrakh, a social media reporter, said some unlicensed online newspapers take advantage of the lack of government oversight to spread malicious rumors. He also said the Ministry of Culture and Information should urge all unlicensed publications to get the necessary license so they can be held accountable for inaccurate stories they publish.
