Combating the menace of hate speech

Experts in conflict journalism posit that such hate speeches should not be publicised because media publicity is the oxygen that fuels the insurgency. Offices of two newspapers in Abuja and Kaduna were bombed in the wake of the insurgency resulting in loss of lives and   destruction of production facilities.   The African Media Initiative AMI […]

Experts in conflict journalism posit that such hate speeches should not be publicised because media publicity is the oxygen that fuels the insurgency. Offices of two newspapers in Abuja and Kaduna were bombed in the wake of the insurgency resulting in loss of lives and   destruction of production facilities.
  The African Media Initiative AMI observes that this year -2014 marks the anniversaries of two momentous events in modern African history – 20 years since the end of apartheid in South Africa and 20 years since the Rwandan Genocide. – many African citizens continue to witness and live with a surge of intolerance and hate, growing levels of discrimination, and the rise in ethnic and religious fundamentalism.
As part of its contribution to a healthy media landscape the  AMI recently launched  a Pan African Campaign Against Hate Speech in Nairobi Kenya. The event began on August 20, 2014  with a well attended panel debate with the topic the “Limits of Press Freedom.”  The debate drew participants from leading figures in African media.
The #TurnthePageonHateSpeech campaign serves as a call to media leaders and operators in Africa to lend their full support to efforts to turn the tide against the rise of hate speech on the continent. Using the power of the web, it will also engage thought leaders, journalists, bloggers, writers, poets, cartoonists, and citizens in Africa and across the globe, with the aim of bringing the media and the public’s attention to the devastating effects of hate speech.
According to AMI CEO, Eric Chinje: “Journalists are often used as instruments of propaganda. Yet it is in part the media’s role to defend and promote people’s rights and ensure that women, children, minorities and other vulnerable groups in society are not unfairly and unduly targeted.”
The campaign was shaped through a consultation process organized by AMI in Kigali, Rwanda, in April this year. Media organisations and journalist unions, including the Ethical Journalism Network, the African Editors’ Forum, the Federation of African Journalists, and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, to name a few, joined forces to launch this continent-wide campaign.
Speaking in Kigali, the Director of the Ethical Journalism Network, Aidan White affirmed that, “We must promote ethical, tolerant and inclusive journalism. Journalist should not regurgitate hateful speech coming from politicians, or community and religious leaders. It is a journalist’s duty to put things in context and ensure that what they are saying does not incite more hate and violence.”
The campaign will culminate with three days conference of African media professionals  which will take place from November 12 – 14 2014  in Johannesburg, South Africa. The theme of the conference is: Turning the Page on Hate Speech in a Changing Media Environment. This will also be an opportunity for the African media fraternity to jointly seek new solutions to problems as old as investment, advertising and distribution; and also contribute to discussion around new challenges facing the media, including tech adaptation and digital migration, to name a few. Interested readers can join the campaign online – Tweet it, Facebook it, and participate via: www.africanmedialeadersforum.org