Students from Umm Al Qaiwain University’s College of Mass Communication organised a dialogue session on Saturday, 7 November 2026, to examine how smart technologies can detect and counter misinformation during crises. The meeting, a key component of a graduation project titled “Truth in Times of Crisis: From Rumor to Smart Response,” brought together experts in cybersecurity, policing, artificial intelligence and media to discuss the challenges posed by rapid‑spread fake content.
The session was organised by the university’s students and featured officials and specialists from UAE Government cybersecurity, the Ras Al Khaimah Police, media and research. Participants named in the report included Mohamed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government; Brigadier‑General Abdullah bin Salman Al Nuaimi, Deputy Director of Operations at Ras Al Khaimah Police General Command; Saeed Rashid Al Shehhi; media professional Mohammed Al Ahmad; and Isa Al Manaei, a TRENDS researcher specialising in AI.
Al Manaei reviewed the evolution of intelligent systems and their expanding capabilities, noting that these tools now can search multiple sources, generate text, images and video, and perform complex tasks with a degree of autonomy. He said such capabilities offer significant opportunities to accelerate work, improve analytical efficiency and support decision‑makers, journalists and researchers, while also enlarging information‑related challenges by making realistic digital content easier and less costly to produce. He added that the danger of misleading content lies not only in the ease of creating it but also in the speed at which it can spread through social media, reaching large audiences within minutes before authorities or media organisations have time to verify or correct it.
Al Manaei warned that crises intensify the challenge, as the demand for information increases while the time people spend verifying content declines. He stressed the importance of building a verification culture and strengthening trust in reliable sources during periods of heightened uncertainty.
The dialogue underscored the joint responsibility of institutions and individuals to protect the information environment and highlighted the potential for smart technologies, under human oversight, to support rapid response efforts in future emergencies.
