Journalists from across the world gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a three days conference and celebrate the World Press Freedom Day.
At one of the panels this morning, Associated Press Correspondent in Ethiopia Elias Meseret, who is also known for exposing fake social media contents, stated the rise of hate speech on social media in Ethiopia. He stressed the need for journalists to play key role in exposing such contents whenever they come across one.
He also mentioned the affiliation of some journalists in Ethiopia with certain political groups as a threat for the fledgling press freedom of Ethiopia. The responsibility of the journalists should be to align themselves with the truth and the truth only. Not with certain political groups, Elias said.
Commenting on the draft hate speech law of Ethiopia, Elias noted that if the law is applied in a good manner it helps to contain the growing hate speech on social media and regional media, which some described as ethnic media.
Meanwhile some of the attendants of the panel raised their doubt if Ethiopia’s underdevelopment hate speech law can have an impact at all as most hate speech spreaders are based outside Ethiopia.
Applying professional standards in journalism will help tackle hate speeches, according Alistair King Smith UK Foreign Office’s Global Campaign for Media Freedom, who was also one of the panelists.
David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression on his part stated that governments and civil societies should also look into how they can stigmatize hate speech.
Commenting on contextualization of press freedom based on the country we practice in, the Former Deputy Director of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Getachew Engida stated his fear that such mindset of contextualization might move countries into dangerous territory of violating the universal human rights of freedom of expression.
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then every May 3 has been dedicated globally as the World Press Freedom Day.
“No democracy is complete without access to transparent and reliable information. It is the cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders accountable and speaking truth to power,” said António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, In his message a few days ahead of the World Press Freedom Day.
In Ethiopia the 26th celebration of World Press Freedom Day jointly organized by UNESCO, the African Union Commission and the Government of Ethiopia is expected to deal with disinformation and safety of journalists, among others. Last year globally 94 are killed while the number stood at 71 the previous year.