Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
Under the patronage of His Excellency the President of Qassim University, Professor Dr. Mohammed bin Fahd Al-Sharaikh, the Intellectual Awareness Unit at the university organized a meeting today, Monday, April 6, 2026, presented by Dr. Sulaiman Al-Ouda, a faculty member at Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, on the topic: «Digital Media and Extremism,» at the main campus.
The meeting discussed the differences between traditional and digital media, which include speed and ease of access and weak control in digital media, versus fixed distribution of information and strong control in traditional media. It also covered the difficulty of verifying credibility in digital media, versus various verification methods and greater responsibility in traditional media. The meeting also reviewed the most important challenges related to the spread of extremist content and the difficulty of monitoring it.
“Al-Aidi” spoke about the exploitation of digital media by extremist organizations, which poses a significant challenge and effectively contributes to the spread of their ideas and their influence on the public and societies. He also addressed the explanation of digital extremism behavior in light of cognitive behavioral theory, emphasizing that extremism is an abuse of the higher purposes of Sharia, which are based on five fundamental purposes, including the preservation of life, security, and safety, without which societies cannot thrive. He pointed out that extremism is a set of ideas, beliefs, and attitudes that individuals adhere to rigidly, exceeding what is customary, prevalent, or agreed upon.
Dr. Suleiman Al-Obeidi stated that extremism - intellectual, religious, political, and moral - along with the tremendous development in media, has led to a worrying phenomenon manifested in the rise of extremism, specifically digital extremism. He reviewed the causes and motives of digital extremism, ways to confront it, and efforts to combat and prevent it, emphasizing the importance of social responsibility for content producers. This includes conveying correct information, promoting diversity and inclusion, maintaining security and privacy, combating incitement and hate speech, respecting privacy rights, and engaging positively with society. Additionally, it involves enhancing awareness and education, confronting abuse and discrimination, and interacting with social challenges.
Dr. Suleiman Al-Idi presented a number of solutions to the problem of digital extremism, including: cooperation between digital platforms, promoting digital education, transparency, privacy rights, as well as strengthening international cooperation, and supporting research and innovation.
