Military Media Workshop Recommends Comprehensive Reforms for Media Content and a “Code of Honor” to Limit Hate Speech and Racism
Omdurman – Sudanhorizon
The second strategic media forum recommended comprehensive reforms for media content and called on content creators and influencers of Sudanese public opinion to formulate a media “code of honor” that limits the spread of hate speech and racism and works to build a culture of peace and tolerance.
The closing statement of the workshop organized by the forum entitled “The role of the media in strengthening the national sense of belonging and consolidating the pillars of peaceful coexistence”, which was reviewed by the Sudanhorizon news website, stressed the establishment of a specialized media observatory to protect Sudanese identity and national belonging from falsification, distortion and targeting, by spreading awareness, strengthening investigative media and obligating the media to play a responsible role in addressing issues related to national belonging and avoiding broadcasting hate speech or belittling any social component.
The General Administration of Moral Guidance in the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Arab Experts Center for Press Services held an academic and professional workshop in Omdurman on Thursday, which discussed the issue in detail, and was attended by a distinguished group of university professors, media and press professionals, experts, researchers, community stars and active leaders.
The closing statement of the workshop expressed deep concern about the negative role played by many activists through social media and digital media in igniting the roots of discord and building walls of estrangement between the people of the same country and spreading the spirit of racism and disseminating the culture of hatred.
The statement recommended that the judicial authorities, law enforcement agencies and the Sudanese public opinion authority condemn racist acts and statements and hate speech, and work to prosecute those who incite them judicially in a way that achieves justice and ensures the protection of the security and safety of society.
The recommendations stressed the need to establish a higher authority to combat hate speech and build social peace under the auspices of senior government levels to work on deepening national belonging, strengthening the social fabric, combating hate speech and racism, formulating strategic and interim plans, proposing draft laws and following up with ministries of education, higher education institutions and intellectual education incubators to formulate methodological vocabulary and learning tools in schools, universities, khalwas and mosques.
According to the closing statement, the workshop participants called for including media education principles in educational curricula, specifically colleges of media and communication, to enable students, scholars and members of society in general to distinguish between true and fake news, and to analyze media messages critically.
The closing statement stressed the support of research and study centers and independent media outlets that adhere to professional ethics and seek to promote dialogue and tolerance, deepen identity and increase the sense of national belonging, provide care for them, open opportunities for them and overcome difficulties in their face so that they can contribute to building national issues and address the effects of creating negative public opinion.
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