Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — Sheikh Yasser Al-Dosari, imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, urged Muslims in his Friday sermon to verify news before sharing it and avoid spreading content from paid or fake social media accounts that fabricate statements and false fatwas.

Al-Dosari warned that many of these accounts deliberately spread misinformation to distort reputations and sow division in society.

He stressed that every person is accountable before God for what they publish and share online.

Highlighting the Kingdom’s pioneering role in harnessing technology to serve communities, he praised Saudi Arabia’s vision and steady steps in the digital field.

However, he cautioned against misuse, saying that smartphones have turned, for some, from tools of connection into means of isolation.

“People appear among others as bodies without hearts, senses without souls, scrolling endlessly through platforms, drowning in clips without purpose, reaping little benefit,” he said.

The imam noted that social media has often become “a theater of false lives and unfair comparisons,” breeding envy, grudges, and ingratitude.

He called out fake accounts that spread lies and attributed fabricated religious rulings to scholars as part of organized campaigns of distortion.

Al-Dosari emphasized the need to recognize these dangers early and restore balance.

He advised taking short breaks from devices to combat “digital addiction” and to realign life priorities.