Focus on media development to benefit the State and people

JOURNALISTS have to emphasize freedom of the press, the right to reveal the truth, and everyone’s right to access information. They also highlighted the essential ethics of journalism that all journalists should uphold: accuracy, fairness, speed, impartiality, and prioritizing public and national interests. The right to information, through journalism, serves the common good among people and nations. Currently, it is evident that some journalists are disregarding these ethical standards, instead com­mitting harm that affects both the country and the public.

During the last week of October, events for the Global Media and Information Literacy Week were celebrated in most countries around the world. These events are held annually in various nations. This year’s theme is “The new digital frontiers of information: Media and Information Literacy for public-interest information.” The focus is on raising aware­ness about both the opportuni­ties and challenges that have arisen with the emergence of new digital environments, enhancing people’s access to information and their under­standing of it.

For the 2024 Global Me­dia and Information Litera­cy Week, the first key point highlights the need to address challenges and threats that people face, such as fake news, misinformation, disinforma­tion, accusations, hate speech, online resources, and breach­es of personal privacy, among other online challenges. There is a point to reveal the difficul­ties that people are facing due to various threats.

In this rapidly advancing technological era, the majority of the public consumes news online to know most of the oc­currences in a short period, but they cannot really analyze whether these news items are correct or not. Moreover, as some media outlets violate journalistic ethics, the news they present is becoming increasingly toxic.

Due to the spread of misinformation and fake news, nations and their people are experiencing harm. Some major countries use media as a weapon and dominate media channels, continuously disseminating biased or false news to serve their interests. These practices have led to challenges from media manipulation, ignor­ing the ethical standards long established for journalists. Many nations are now collectively striving to counteract and eliminate the threats posed by such toxic information.

The original code of ethics for journalists is highly principled and moral. However, due to increasing political influences, jour­nalistic ethics are being compromised, leading to the spread of fake news, misinformation, biased reporting, and sensationalism that harm the interests of the country and its people. Therefore, all media communities committed to the public good should strive to prevent harmful journalism and work towards building a peaceful and harmonious society.