As the country is gearing up for the November 20 elections, experts have called on journalists to stay away from spreading mis- and disinformation.
Inaugurating a workshop organized in Dhangadhi today on fair media coverage of elections, Chairperson of Media Action Nepal Laxman Datt Pant said, "Journalists must adhere to ethical practices, fairness and accuracy during the time of elections or normal circumstances. Failure to do so has ramifications for everyone."
The workshop was the third in a series ahead of the federal and provincial elections organized by Media Action Nepal with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiative (CFLI). Inclusive and independent media can promote democratic participation, voters' literacy and interaction between political parties and people, Pant noted.
Similarly, another facilitator of the workshop and Editor of The Himalayan Times Rajan Pokhrel said, "Media persons must provide election-related information to the public and write news stories reflecting pluralistic views of the society and distinguishing between facts and opinions."
Another session of the workshop was on gender-sensitive reporting. "Maintaining accuracy and impartiality while writing news stories of women politicians and highlighting under-representation of women as electoral candidates is the duty of every journalist during the elections," noted Editor of Health TV Online Kalpana Acharya.
Journalists act as defenders of human rights. They are gatekeepers of dis/misinformation. Thus it is essential to thoroughly check and verify information through fact-checking measures and disseminate accurate and verified news stories.
One of the participants of the workshop, Chadani Acharya who works for the state-run Gorkhapatra daily, said she was delighted to attend a workshop ahead of the elections. "The event helped me realize the critical role journalists play during the elections. During the time of election media persons are expected to side with a certain political party and rally for it. It was a wake-up call for journalists to distance from political campaigning and maintain a neutral role throughout the election."
A total of 25 journalists of Sudurpaschim Province attended the event. The CFLI-funded workshop is being held in all seven provinces with three already completed, with an aim at promoting ethical journalism and journalistic code of conduct as well as countering disinformation towards an inclusive and independent media, which is key in strengthening human rights and democracy.
