So that no infected fly whiz in social media...

Ali Al Matani - ali.matani2@gmail.com - Many talk about humming of ‘electronic’ flies around us on social media platform. These flies generally do not have any positive role. When these flies jump into our cup, they result in trouble, a spat of abuse, humiliation and create many other troubles which disrespect individuals and societies. The question is, why do we allow these electronic flies to hover over our heads, cause problems, irritate us and add poison to the honey. Why should we keep the space open for these poisonous flies to achieve their nasty goals? These flies have become the latest tools for achieving political goals. Many societies and economies are being targeted and destroyed by these. The matter begins from just one or two tweets, then many start supporting it, till it appears as if it is a public opinion. Then the issue comes to the governments, their agencies and intelligence which sometime themselves patronise such flies from the beginning and commit themselves to take care of them. They spend money on this so that they grow and fly to a distance which a human mind cannot do. We must understand this. We should not keep space open for them to come into our affairs. In the Gulf crisis, we have good examples and bad examples. The trouble started with an electronic fly which was carefully trained. Its followers and supporters were developed. Then one day it became as if its is a public opinion. After that the governments and countries realised that this germ which was carried by the first fly till it reproduced, grew, spread and covered the skies of the region. Then came the second stage which was most the serious and dangerous. It had political dimension and became an issue of faith too. Do we need to enter into such derogatory verbal spat? I am sure none of us would like this. Today’s wars, conflicts and troubles start from this electronic fly, its whiz and humming. It carries poison and infects many. Whosoever, unleashes it is an enemy. It is not necessary that only Israel is an enemy. An enemy can be a friend or who hates us or who envies us and he has certain identity and objective. All of them come under the category of enemy. The social media platform is the only virtual space where such electronic flies grow and threaten societies. We, in the Sultanate, are not immune to this threat. We have seen a number of attempts to target us and create rift among us, even though we are one and as strong and stable as mountains of Oman. These electronic flies are used to create differences among citizens and the government to achieve certain dirty objectives. It is our duty to understand what is behind all these electronic flies and do not allow them to grow and pitch them against one another. We must be fully aware of these threats. We must equip ourselves with knowledge, understanding and sense of responsibility, love for the country when we deal with such whiz and humming. If we do so, this fly would remain as a mere meaningless humming of fly close to our ears. We hope that citizens would take heed of this new threat. This is necessary because it is the citizen which can given a final blow to such attempts and fail these malicious designs against us, our country, society and economy. For this much awareness is not required. It does not need knowledge of a scientist or a mind of a thinker. What it required is a sense of the issue and will to act as much as just spray an effective repellent to get rid of the fly, and not much.