Objective reporting needed more than ever to counter fake news
Journalist organizations from around the world need a be tter means of cooperation for repor ting on the corona virus and helping societies deal with the consequences brought by the pandemic, professionals from a range of countries said.
Even as thousands of journalists put themselves at risk as the y record people ’s bat tles against the virus, the y also ha ve to contend with the proliferation of fake news — of ten accompanied by absurd remarks — that is aimed at diver ting the public’s attention.
In this en vironment, journalist organizations should continue to promote prac tical cooperation in order to spread the truth and give people more confidence in the fight against the pandemic, said Xu Lin, deputy head of the P ublicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and minister of the State Council Information Office.
It is hoped that the Belt and Road Journalists Network, a platform for exchanges and cooperation, can become a bridge for connec tions and communication, X u said during an online forum on Thursday.
Participants in the 2020 Belt and Road J ournalists F orum discussed how media from the countries involved can strengthen their unity and cooperation amid the pandemic to build a shared future.
The online e vent dre w opinions from people in countries including China, Argentina, I ndonesia and Pakistan.
Lidia I rma F agale, president of the Union of Journalists of Buenos Aires, said media should continue to streng then and de velop media tools and share among themselves their reporting experiences.
Multiple angles
“We need to ha ve more exchanges,” she said. “The network has been encouraging colleagues from dif ferent countries to exchange e xperiences through the platform and improve themselves from multiple angles.”
Fagale, also the first chairwoman of the ne twork, appealed to media organizations to join the bat tle against the practice by many of distorting fac ts, manipulating information, and slandering.
Atal Sembiring Depari, general chairperson of the I ndonesian Journalists A ssociation, said he hoped that member states of the network could suppor t each other and expand coverage on how to scientifically pre vent and control the pandemic, so as to a void the impacts of inaccurate news.
“The ne twork should also publish more positive stories to help generate an optimistic at titude, and give people confidence that we are capable of eliminating the pandemic,” he said.
Timur Shafir, head of the International Depar t ment of the Union of J ournalists of R ussia, called for more joint training and reporting activities for journalists to streng then cooperation and dialogue.
“Each of our countries has its own unique e xperience, which can be shared with other colleagues for the prosperity of our profession and our common interests,” he said.
Bulbul Ahsan, chairman of Bangladesh’s M edia W atch, said colleagues from the par ticipating countries need to de termine common development goals and to unite together to fight the common enemy of rumors, discrimination, fake news, and false condemnations.