Dubai, Mar 27 (Emirates 247): The 18th edition of the Arab Media Forum, AMF, kicked off today at Dubai World Trade Centre, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Held under the theme ‘Arab Media: From Now to the Future’, the two-day forum features over 3,000 leaders of Arab and international media institutions, prominent writers, thinkers, intellectuals, academics, and those interested in the media industry within the largest annual gathering of its kind in the Arab region.

The high-profile event, which is organised by the Dubai Press Club, will explore a range of new trends that have contributed to the advancement of the industry, in addition to showcasing new technologies that will play a key role in the global development of the industry.

The forum will take an in-depth analysis on the current state of the media and the impact of regional and global events on the media discourse, especially with regard to professional media values like objectivity and impartiality.

Some of the panellists at the media forum will delve into topics that affect readers at large, such as the rise of fabricated news and Artificial Intelligence technologies that can create fabricated content such as fake images, audio and videos, in addition to examining whether the public has lost confidence in the media.

This year, the Media Forum will also feature a series of panel discussions, such as ‘Media Vs Politics’; ‘Combating Hate Speech’; ‘The Future of TV’; ‘The Future of Newspapers’; ‘The Podcast Revolution’; and ‘The State of Arab Media’.

This year’s AMF theme stems from the organising committee’s core mission to catalyse the advancement of media in the Arab world by enabling participants to explore the current state and future of the industry. It will tackle a wide range of issues facing the media industry in the region and the transformations that have shaped Arab media content.