‘Tweet your name’ initiative urges Qatar residents to play nice online

For illustrative purposes only.
For illustrative purposes only.

In an effort to get people in Qatar to use social media more responsibly, Katara Cultural Village has launched a new initiative this week called, “Tweet your name.”

The campaign urges residents to use their real names, avoid creating fake accounts and refrain from bigotry such as attacking people’s religious beliefs or inciting violence.

The initiative also calls for not posting rumors or scandals online, and stressed the importance of circulating accurate information from trusted sources, according to tweets posted by Katara on Wednesday.

Translation: Not posting rumors or scandals are some of the main points of the initiative.

During a press conference this week, media personality Hassan Al Sai said:

”Unfortunately there has been a lot of libel, slander and cursing etc. on social media and that is unacceptable.”

Messages about the campaign will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to raise awareness about the issue, added Ahmed Al Sayed, Katara’s vice general manager of operations, according to Al Sharq.

Mixed reactions

On Twitter, the move is being discussed under the hashtag #غرد_معنا_باسمك or, tweet your name with us.

Many Qatar residents have expressed their support for the initiative by sharing what appear to be their real names:

Translation: (My name is) Abdel Rahman.

Translation: My name is Ahmed, my father’s name is Abdel Monem and my grandfather’s name is Salama. I hope God accepts our gratitude and blesses us and keeps us safe in this life and the hereafter.

https://twitter.com/alansariqr/status/689506870130786304

Translation: Get rid of the ghost of fear and show your true self. Your tweets are your history, why hide your identity?

However, many people in Qatar opt to post messages online anonymously for fear of reprisal from authorities.

Under the hashtag, some alluded to this issue, while others expressed confusion about the purpose of the initiative and downplayed the importance of mentioning their real names on social media:

Translation: I don’t understand or get this initiative. What’s more important, to tweet with your name or to tweet respectfully with any name you want? What’s more important, the personality or the name?

Translation: Those who support this hashtag prove that what’s important is not your thoughts, creativity or logic, but your name!

Thoughts?

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