AKEED, Anwar Ziadat

On Saturday-Sunday, 26-27 May, at least 20 news websites ran a story, saying that "Amman is the most expensive Arab city and has advanced ranking among world capitals" under slightly different headlines. This is a repeat of a story circulated by websites more than two months before.

A quick monitoring by the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) showed that what the news websites published over the past two days was a repeat of a story published last March with the same details under the headline "For Third Year in a Row…Amman Most Expensive Arab City Beating Dubai, Doha, and Riyadh." The only difference is in the way the information is presented.

The current story states that "the capital Amman ranked first in the Arab world and 28 globally as part of the most expensive 30 cities worldwide. Abu Dhabi came second in the Arab world and 62 globally, while Dubai came third and 66 globally."

The periodic annual survey was republished under the headline "Amman Most Expensive Arab City in Cost of Living and 28 Globally" based on a classification prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the Economist Group. The survey was issued at the end of the first quarter of this year and published last March. No new report has been issued since then.

The German Deutsche Welle (DW) satellite channel revived the report under the headline "High Cost of Living…Most Expensive Cities in Arab World and Globally" as one of the segments of the show Al Sultah Al Khamisah (Fifth Estate) with Yosri Fouda. It is a weekly show that seeks to provide coverage of the content of digital media and social media websites. The show includes a mix of material offered by viewers.

The presenter of the show, which was aired on Wednesday, 23 May, indicated that the survey was recent, but he did not say when it was released exactly. Meanwhile, the video report indicated that the survey was done in 2018 without indicating the date of its release.

The Economist classification compares more than 400 individual prices of 155 products. It previously included 160 products and services in 133 cities. The Group analyzes prices of food, fuel, household supplies, personal care items, clothing, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, recreational costs, and other factors that make up the final bill of consumers. The Group uses New York as the base city by giving it a score of 100 and then comparing it with the rest of the cities. Those that get a higher score than 100 are classified as among the most expensive cities, while those that get a lower score are classified as among the cheapest.

Republishing the survey on 26-27 May, despite the fact that it is issued in March every year, confirms that some media outlets do not seek to confirm information before publishing it. After Al Sultah Al Khamisah ran this report and a local website republished it, more than 20 news websites copied it, with the same information published more than two months earlier.

It is noticed that some local websites, which republished the story, noted that the source of the study was DW. They were accurate in referring to the secondary source. Meanwhile, other websites attributed the story to the original source, which is the Economist.

One observation concerning the coverage is that one story ranked Amman 29 although the chart attached with the story gives it the ranking 28. Another local website copied the story with the entire details and the chart and repeated the mistakes in numbers and had it as 29 instead of 28. Some well-known websites used the words "breaking news" to introduce the story posted on social media pages.

Esam Qadamani, managing editor of the economic section in Al Rai daily, told AKEED that "publishing old news like this has sensational aims. A journalist is supposed to seek accuracy when reporting a story, specifically the date of the study and its publication." He wondered about "the use of publishing an old story other than trying to appeal to readers. Are we going to publish news that Amman is the most expensive city in the Arab world every two months?"

He adds: "A journalist must also clarify the source of the information and whether it is reliable or not. Is the information correct or not? He must explain the circumstances of the study and whether the institution that conducted it is reliable or not."

Economic expert Husam Ayish told the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) that the Economist report measures the cost of living in many cities. The report is based on uniform standards that are applied to 155 products in 133 states. He says that this annual report is published at the end of the first quarter of the year. It was republished by the local media after a German station reported it. Local media liked and republished it.

He points out that such reports appeal to readers and point to the failure of government policies. This confirms that the government must heed social and living aspects, and not only those related to raising revenues. Republishing it is meant to highlight the hard economic conditions.

Ahmad Awad, director of Phoenix Center for Economic Studies, said in previous statements to AKEED that "the different results of studies are largely attributed to the methodology that is used, even if the studies are conducted around the same time." He stressed that when publishing any piece of information, media outlets must go back to the primary source and compare different studies so that readers can get an objective and accurate picture.

Previous reports by the Economist had generated local reactions that cast doubt on their credibility, including a report headlined "Experts: Report on 'Amman as Most Expensive Arab Capital' Applies to Some Areas of Capital" and another report headlined "Jordan: Economist Study on High Prices in Kingdom Damaging." A survey of media outlets that have most credibility with the public in the United States showed that the Economist and Reuters enjoyed the most credibility in the United States.

A previous AKEED report had concluded that the difference that emerges sometimes in classifying Amman among the most expensive cities had to do with the source and methodology of studies.