Beyond the Screen... with Dr. Imran Al-Abri

Dr. Imran Al-Abri, Head of the Political Science Department at Sultan Qaboos University, delivered a lecture combining political and media dimensions titled "Beyond the Screen." In it, he discussed how algorithms reshape our thinking and their influence in fueling extremist opinions. He also reviewed how social media platforms and their diverse algorithms work today and how they can be employed in the political field.

The lecture witnessed an exciting interactive discussion, where many real-life examples were presented by students and some university staff, adding a practical nature to the topic. The lecture received great interaction between the students and the lecturer, especially given the audience's prior knowledge of media and its working mechanisms, making the discussion rich and deep.

At the end of the lecture, Dr. Imran Al-Abri emphasized the importance of critical awareness among social media users and the necessity of not following algorithms that might be specifically designed to enhance divisions or spread misinformation. He also pointed out that understanding the mechanism of these algorithms represents a basic step to protect public opinion from political and media manipulation, calling on students to employ their media knowledge in building a more aware and enlightened society.