Muhammad Ittefaq
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 335887 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Muhammad Ittefaq |
| NOMBRES | Muhammad |
| APELLIDO | Ittefaq |
| FIRMA | ITTEFAQ M |
| AFILIACIONES | James Madison University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5334-7567 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 29 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 37 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 29 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2019 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 4 |
Artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and wars
This study analyzes 308 news articles published by 19 newspapers across 19 countries to examine the actors behind deepfakes, the associated threats, and the proposed solutions. Using the Russia–Ukraine war as a case study, the authors examined how newspapers frame deepfake-related actors, threats, and solutions during the conflict. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, and framing theory to interpret the findings. Findings r…
College Students’ Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risks and Benefits in Pakistan
With the rapid advancements in technology over the past 2 decades, it has become crucial to understand people’s attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and its associated risks. Given the increasing access to the AI technologies, it is imperative to examine how young people in non-Western societies like Pakistan perceive AI risks and benefits. We conducted an online survey of college students who had used AI technology in the past …
Online-endorsed misinformation about climate change
When seeking climate change-related information online, social media users often rely on various heuristic cues to assess the credibility of the content. This study applied the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) to examine the intertwined role of three heuristic cues – perceived expertise, message style, and bandwagon effect – in influencing users’ evaluation of online-endorsed misinformation about climate change. Using a 2 (perceived expertise: ab…
Memorable Messages About Mental Health Among International Students in the United States
This study investigated the memorable messages about mental health that international students (N = 199) received from various sources since arriving on campus in the U.S. Utilizing the memorable messages framework, we examined the types of messages (normalizing, strategizing, minimizing) they received and their association with message satisfaction, mental health stigma, and attitude toward help-seeking. The most frequently recalled messages wer…
Framing a Global Pandemic
Using a computational approach, this study analyzes and compares news coverage of the novel coronavirus in six major newspapers (i.e. China Daily, The Korea Times, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, and The Times) from four countries (i.e. the U.S. the UK, South Korea, and China) that were severely affected in the beginning of the recent pandemic. Results show similarities and differences in how these elite newspapers used major f…
Global news media coverage of artificial intelligence (AI)
Digital disconnective practice
This Crosscurrent notes the rising phenomenon of online platform migration and technology non-use, fueled by the emergence of new social media platforms and increasing societal polarization. As platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Meta face backlash over issues such as misinformation, fact-checking, conspiracy theories, and toxic discourse, alternatives like BlueSky, Mastodon, and Threads are attracting users. Revisiting the concept of plat…
Highlighting Heroes and Ignoring Villains
Polio vaccine hesitancy remains high in Pakistan due to various socio-political, religious, and economic factors. To address this, the government of Pakistan and its international partners such as UNICEF have devised a multipronged communication strategy to counter resistance to polio vaccine in hard-to-reach areas of the country. In this strategy, mainstream news media has been identified as a key stakeholder, as they have the potential to reach…
Articulating a Loss and Damage Fund
The Global South (or Low-Income Countries, LICs) long has been advocating for the establishment of a Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund to address vulnerability and limited adaptation capacity in response to disasters exacerbated by climate injustices, which finally gained international recognition of late. This essay focuses on two key moments that led to this landmark agreement: at COP19, when Philippines climate delegate Naderev “Yeb” Saño advocated f…
Communities of Care for Air Pollution Policies in Pakistan
This commentary explores the critical issue of air pollution policies and public engagement in Pakistan, a nation consistently ranked among the world’s most polluted. Prolonged exposure to diverse pollution sources leads to severe health consequences, making public education and engagement pivotal for successful environmental policy implementation. By using the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP) as a case, we identified key barriers to public engag…
Advocacy journalism and climate justice in a Global Southern country
Being among the world’s most affected countries by climate change, Pakistan is facing a variety of cases of climate injustice committed by internal and external drivers. Waisbord’s referred “Advocate-journalist” model carries a good potential to advocate these injustices to stimulate democratic dialogue among the audience that eventually pushes leadership to make eco-friendly policies. This study critically analyses advocacy journalism coverage o…
Race/ethnicity, online information and Covid-19 vaccination
The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated existing challenges for racial/ethnic minority immigrants in the U.S. in obtaining health information and seeking health care. Based on in-depth interviews with 49 racial/ethnic minority immigrants in the U.S. Midwest, this study examines how they navigated online health information related to general health issues and in particular COVID-19, how they encounter online misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccination…
Covid-19 vaccine selfie
Drawing on the theory of normative conduct, which suggests that individuals get motivated by what most people do, this commentary argues that the COVID-19 vaccine selfies carry a reasonable potential to encourage the vaccine acceptance behavior among social media users. Despite having both its proponents and critics, the COVID-19 vaccine selfie could positively shape the public response to the vaccines by highlighting health, joy, and optimism. W…
The Covid-19 pandemic and international students
The COVID-19 pandemic has added significant stress to international students in the United States who already face myriad challenges in adjusting to their host country. We used a mixed-method approach combining survey and interview research to analyze how international students’ social media use and perceived social support/adjustment are associated with their sense of mental well-being when taking into account demographic and social psychologica…
A Coalition for Science Journalism as a Multi-Stakeholder Community of Practice
Science journalism in Global South is hindered by several factors, including the absence of local science stories, insufficiently trained science journalists, and a communication gap between communities of scientists and journalists. Drawing on observations from South Asian science journalism and employing the communities of practice framework, this essay proposes ideas for a multi-stakeholder collaboration that aims to bridge the gap between sci…
Ethnic Newspaper Industry in Pakistan and Impacts of Corporate Ownership
During the Indian independence movement, the Urdu-language ethnic newspapers played a significant role in instigating resistance against colonial authorities within local communities. However, later on, Urdu journalism underwent a transformation, shifting from the ‘advocate-journalist’ model to one dominated by corporate ownership in Pakistan. These commercial agents have faced criticism for using journalism as a shield for their other businesses…
A pandemic of hate
Since the COVID‐19 pandemic started, Asians, particularly those in Chinese communities, have faced increased discrimination and overt racism in addition to the virus itself. In this study, the authors examined social representations of COVID‐19 in mainstream newspapers. We evaluated 451 articles from three major publications representing three countries: China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. A qualitative thematic analysis, conducted …
Building a Media Literate Society
This mixed-method study investigates the state of media and information literacy education in Pakistan by underlining the availability of relevant courses and trained teaching and research faculty at both public and private universities. Using United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) framework, this study explores the perception of faculty members across six key areas of general education and teacher development…
Understanding public reactions to state security officials’ suicide cases in online news comments
Little is known about public reactions to state security officials' suicide in Muslim countries like Pakistan. To explore readers' reactions in online comments, we analyzed 1,765 comments related to 10 news stories about suicide published in five mainstream English newspapers. The findings revealed six themes: stress, depression, and mental health issues; controversial investigation reports and misinformation; need for stronger accountability to …
Journalistic routines as factors promoting Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has reportedly been rising in polio-stricken Pakistan. Prior research reports a variety of contributing factors including information sources, particularly the newspapers readers generally consult to stay abreast of vaccine roll-out developments. This viewpoint article argues that three commonly practised journalistic routines – as explicated by Tandoc and Duffy – are promoting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Urdu-lang…
“The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”
Drawing from the literature of the internet as a public sphere, the present study investigates online news comments related to sexual reproductive health of people with disabilities (PWDs) published in The New York Times and The Guardian . We analyzed 3,633 online comments published between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, using thematic analysis. The findings revealed eight major themes: economic consequences; gender; stereotypes; awarene…
Factors associated with the belief in Covid-19 related conspiracy theories in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic signifies not only a global health crisis but has also proven to be an infodemic characterised by many conspiracy theories. Prior research informs us that belief in health-related conspiracies can harm efforts to curtail the spread of a virus. Therefore, as the global efforts of mass inoculation are underway, it is crucial to understand which factors shape tendencies to believe in conspiracy theories. In the current study, w…
Discriminated in Society and Marginalized in Media
Sanitary workers are globally marginalized both in media and society. Such discrimination is often amplified when such essential workers belong to a religious minority in Muslim majority societies such as Pakistan. Drawing from the frameworks of social representation and social identity theories, this study uses the qualitative method of in-depth interviews with 30 Christian sanitary workers to shed light on the perception of representation of Ch…
Understanding Influences, Misinformation, and Fact-Checking Concerning Climate-Change Journalism in Pakistan
Scholars agree on the role of media and communication in mitigating climate change. However, the complex and scientific nature of climate change, particularly within a contemporary media setting that includes growing misinformation, has challenged environmental journalists. To better understand these challenges the present study uses the hierarchy of influences model to explore different levels of influence that shape climate content in an under-…
We always report under pressure
This study explores how regional journalists in Pakistan conceptualize journalistic professionalism, how they perceive their journalistic identities, and how local socio-political and economic realities shape their professional identification. Analysis of interviews with 33 journalists working in Pakistan’s Pakhtunkhwa province indicated a tension between striving for professionalism as defined by Western journalistic standards and meeting the de…
The Use of Social Media on Political Participation Among University Students
Over the last decade, extensive literature has been published regarding social media effects on real-life political participation. Many argue that social media stimulates online and offline political participation. This study investigates how online political activities impact political efficacy and real-life political participation among university students in rural Pakistan. In addition, this study also sheds light on the relationship between p…
Converged journalism
Based on the hierarchy of influences model, we explored journalists' understanding and perceptions about media convergence in Pakistan's media industry and its influence on journalistic practices and routines. In-depth interviews with Pakistani news practitioners revealed several challenges hindering the successful implementation of media convergence in Pakistan. These challenges included the lack of resources for incorporating digital technologi…
We always report under pressure
This study explores how regional journalists in Pakistan conceptualize journalistic professionalism, how they perceive their journalistic identities, and how local socio-political and economic realities shape their professional identification. Analysis of interviews with 33 journalists working in Pakistan’s Pakhtunkhwa province indicated a tension between striving for professionalism as defined by Western journalistic standards and meeting the de…
Understanding Influences, Misinformation, and Fact-Checking Concerning Climate-Change Journalism in Pakistan
Scholars agree on the role of media and communication in mitigating climate change. However, the complex and scientific nature of climate change, particularly within a contemporary media setting that includes growing misinformation, has challenged environmental journalists. To better understand these challenges the present study uses the hierarchy of influences model to explore different levels of influence that shape climate content in an under-…
Journalistic routines as factors promoting Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has reportedly been rising in polio-stricken Pakistan. Prior research reports a variety of contributing factors including information sources, particularly the newspapers readers generally consult to stay abreast of vaccine roll-out developments. This viewpoint article argues that three commonly practised journalistic routines – as explicated by Tandoc and Duffy – are promoting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Urdu-lang…
Digital disconnective practice
This Crosscurrent notes the rising phenomenon of online platform migration and technology non-use, fueled by the emergence of new social media platforms and increasing societal polarization. As platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Meta face backlash over issues such as misinformation, fact-checking, conspiracy theories, and toxic discourse, alternatives like BlueSky, Mastodon, and Threads are attracting users. Revisiting the concept of plat…
Discriminated in Society and Marginalized in Media
Sanitary workers are globally marginalized both in media and society. Such discrimination is often amplified when such essential workers belong to a religious minority in Muslim majority societies such as Pakistan. Drawing from the frameworks of social representation and social identity theories, this study uses the qualitative method of in-depth interviews with 30 Christian sanitary workers to shed light on the perception of representation of Ch…
The Use of Social Media on Political Participation Among University Students
Over the last decade, extensive literature has been published regarding social media effects on real-life political participation. Many argue that social media stimulates online and offline political participation. This study investigates how online political activities impact political efficacy and real-life political participation among university students in rural Pakistan. In addition, this study also sheds light on the relationship between p…
Covid-19 and social-politics of medical misinformation on social media in Pakistan
The COVID-19 outbreak, emerging from China, continues to pose serious threats to the world’s social, economic, and health systems. Globally, confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 22.7 million, incl
Media reporting of suicide in Muslim countries
Suicide is a major problem in public health around the world (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014). To devise the suicide prevention programme, the analysis of suicide causes has always been the
“The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”
Drawing from the literature of the internet as a public sphere, the present study investigates online news comments related to sexual reproductive health of people with disabilities (PWDs) published in The New York Times and The Guardian . We analyzed 3,633 online comments published between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, using thematic analysis. The findings revealed eight major themes: economic consequences; gender; stereotypes; awarene…
Factors associated with the belief in Covid-19 related conspiracy theories in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic signifies not only a global health crisis but has also proven to be an infodemic characterised by many conspiracy theories. Prior research informs us that belief in health-related conspiracies can harm efforts to curtail the spread of a virus. Therefore, as the global efforts of mass inoculation are underway, it is crucial to understand which factors shape tendencies to believe in conspiracy theories. In the current study, w…
Discriminated in Society and Marginalized in Media
Sanitary workers are globally marginalized both in media and society. Such discrimination is often amplified when such essential workers belong to a religious minority in Muslim majority societies such as Pakistan. Drawing from the frameworks of social representation and social identity theories, this study uses the qualitative method of in-depth interviews with 30 Christian sanitary workers to shed light on the perception of representation of Ch…
Understanding Influences, Misinformation, and Fact-Checking Concerning Climate-Change Journalism in Pakistan
Scholars agree on the role of media and communication in mitigating climate change. However, the complex and scientific nature of climate change, particularly within a contemporary media setting that includes growing misinformation, has challenged environmental journalists. To better understand these challenges the present study uses the hierarchy of influences model to explore different levels of influence that shape climate content in an under-…
We always report under pressure
This study explores how regional journalists in Pakistan conceptualize journalistic professionalism, how they perceive their journalistic identities, and how local socio-political and economic realities shape their professional identification. Analysis of interviews with 33 journalists working in Pakistan’s Pakhtunkhwa province indicated a tension between striving for professionalism as defined by Western journalistic standards and meeting the de…
Converged journalism
Based on the hierarchy of influences model, we explored journalists' understanding and perceptions about media convergence in Pakistan's media industry and its influence on journalistic practices and routines. In-depth interviews with Pakistani news practitioners revealed several challenges hindering the successful implementation of media convergence in Pakistan. These challenges included the lack of resources for incorporating digital technologi…
A pandemic of hate
Since the COVID‐19 pandemic started, Asians, particularly those in Chinese communities, have faced increased discrimination and overt racism in addition to the virus itself. In this study, the authors examined social representations of COVID‐19 in mainstream newspapers. We evaluated 451 articles from three major publications representing three countries: China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. A qualitative thematic analysis, conducted …
Building a Media Literate Society
This mixed-method study investigates the state of media and information literacy education in Pakistan by underlining the availability of relevant courses and trained teaching and research faculty at both public and private universities. Using United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) framework, this study explores the perception of faculty members across six key areas of general education and teacher development…
Understanding public reactions to state security officials’ suicide cases in online news comments
Little is known about public reactions to state security officials' suicide in Muslim countries like Pakistan. To explore readers' reactions in online comments, we analyzed 1,765 comments related to 10 news stories about suicide published in five mainstream English newspapers. The findings revealed six themes: stress, depression, and mental health issues; controversial investigation reports and misinformation; need for stronger accountability to …
Journalistic routines as factors promoting Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has reportedly been rising in polio-stricken Pakistan. Prior research reports a variety of contributing factors including information sources, particularly the newspapers readers generally consult to stay abreast of vaccine roll-out developments. This viewpoint article argues that three commonly practised journalistic routines – as explicated by Tandoc and Duffy – are promoting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Urdu-lang…
Advocacy journalism and climate justice in a Global Southern country
Being among the world’s most affected countries by climate change, Pakistan is facing a variety of cases of climate injustice committed by internal and external drivers. Waisbord’s referred “Advocate-journalist” model carries a good potential to advocate these injustices to stimulate democratic dialogue among the audience that eventually pushes leadership to make eco-friendly policies. This study critically analyses advocacy journalism coverage o…
Race/ethnicity, online information and Covid-19 vaccination
The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated existing challenges for racial/ethnic minority immigrants in the U.S. in obtaining health information and seeking health care. Based on in-depth interviews with 49 racial/ethnic minority immigrants in the U.S. Midwest, this study examines how they navigated online health information related to general health issues and in particular COVID-19, how they encounter online misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccination…
Covid-19 vaccine selfie
Drawing on the theory of normative conduct, which suggests that individuals get motivated by what most people do, this commentary argues that the COVID-19 vaccine selfies carry a reasonable potential to encourage the vaccine acceptance behavior among social media users. Despite having both its proponents and critics, the COVID-19 vaccine selfie could positively shape the public response to the vaccines by highlighting health, joy, and optimism. W…
The Covid-19 pandemic and international students
The COVID-19 pandemic has added significant stress to international students in the United States who already face myriad challenges in adjusting to their host country. We used a mixed-method approach combining survey and interview research to analyze how international students’ social media use and perceived social support/adjustment are associated with their sense of mental well-being when taking into account demographic and social psychologica…
A Coalition for Science Journalism as a Multi-Stakeholder Community of Practice
Science journalism in Global South is hindered by several factors, including the absence of local science stories, insufficiently trained science journalists, and a communication gap between communities of scientists and journalists. Drawing on observations from South Asian science journalism and employing the communities of practice framework, this essay proposes ideas for a multi-stakeholder collaboration that aims to bridge the gap between sci…
Ethnic Newspaper Industry in Pakistan and Impacts of Corporate Ownership
During the Indian independence movement, the Urdu-language ethnic newspapers played a significant role in instigating resistance against colonial authorities within local communities. However, later on, Urdu journalism underwent a transformation, shifting from the ‘advocate-journalist’ model to one dominated by corporate ownership in Pakistan. These commercial agents have faced criticism for using journalism as a shield for their other businesses…
Highlighting Heroes and Ignoring Villains
Polio vaccine hesitancy remains high in Pakistan due to various socio-political, religious, and economic factors. To address this, the government of Pakistan and its international partners such as UNICEF have devised a multipronged communication strategy to counter resistance to polio vaccine in hard-to-reach areas of the country. In this strategy, mainstream news media has been identified as a key stakeholder, as they have the potential to reach…
Articulating a Loss and Damage Fund
The Global South (or Low-Income Countries, LICs) long has been advocating for the establishment of a Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund to address vulnerability and limited adaptation capacity in response to disasters exacerbated by climate injustices, which finally gained international recognition of late. This essay focuses on two key moments that led to this landmark agreement: at COP19, when Philippines climate delegate Naderev “Yeb” Saño advocated f…
Communities of Care for Air Pollution Policies in Pakistan
This commentary explores the critical issue of air pollution policies and public engagement in Pakistan, a nation consistently ranked among the world’s most polluted. Prolonged exposure to diverse pollution sources leads to severe health consequences, making public education and engagement pivotal for successful environmental policy implementation. By using the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP) as a case, we identified key barriers to public engag…
College Students’ Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risks and Benefits in Pakistan
With the rapid advancements in technology over the past 2 decades, it has become crucial to understand people’s attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and its associated risks. Given the increasing access to the AI technologies, it is imperative to examine how young people in non-Western societies like Pakistan perceive AI risks and benefits. We conducted an online survey of college students who had used AI technology in the past …
Online-endorsed misinformation about climate change
When seeking climate change-related information online, social media users often rely on various heuristic cues to assess the credibility of the content. This study applied the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) to examine the intertwined role of three heuristic cues – perceived expertise, message style, and bandwagon effect – in influencing users’ evaluation of online-endorsed misinformation about climate change. Using a 2 (perceived expertise: ab…
Memorable Messages About Mental Health Among International Students in the United States
This study investigated the memorable messages about mental health that international students (N = 199) received from various sources since arriving on campus in the U.S. Utilizing the memorable messages framework, we examined the types of messages (normalizing, strategizing, minimizing) they received and their association with message satisfaction, mental health stigma, and attitude toward help-seeking. The most frequently recalled messages wer…
Political science (24 obras) · Sociology (16 obras) · Public relations (15 obras) · Psychology (13 obras) · Law (12 obras) · Medicine (12 obras) · Misinformation and Its Impacts (12 obras) · Social media (10 obras) · Social Psychology (9 obras) · Newspaper (8 obras)