Rumours

The worst consequence of not having a free press, is not much the limitation of freedom of expression, rather the fact that individuals in the country, will rely on any kind of source .
And in a tribal environment, gossip is the main source of news .
Which of course is negative, because it gives to the citizen, a distorted view of the reality he/she is living in .
It is not uncommon, for those who live in Gulf countries, to hear about strange stories of witches, but also about more serious ones, like plots or murders .
As soon as the news run from a person to another, they are slightly modified, become bigger or different .
This is really fertile soil for a possible Twitter or Facebook revolution .

So what countries like Oman or UAE, have done recently, is to warn citizens against engaging in such discussions, like backbiting or rumours .
First reaction from people, was to understand that this is a way to tighten the grip on individual freedoms .
And it partly is .
But in reality governments in the M.E. are trying to promote a sort of dialogue with the public, by increasing the level of transparency .
This means that, not only they are forbidding gossips in order to stop speculations which may lead to anti-governmental revolts, but also they give out more news on what is really going on in the countries .
This should strengthen the bond between institutions and citizens .