As hate speech and stereotypes targeting migrants and refugees proliferate across Europe, balanced and fair media reporting is needed more than ever.
This statement was originally published on europeanjournalists.org on 21 December 2016.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has today launched together with partners ARTICLE 19, Media Diversity Institute (MDI), Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti (COSPE), Community Media Institute (COMMIT), Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE) a Europe-wide campaign Media Against Hate, to counter hate speech and discrimination in the media.
The media and journalists play a crucial role in influencing both policy-making and societal opinion on migration and refugees. As hate speech and stereotypes targeting migrants and refugees proliferate across Europe, balanced and fair media reporting is needed more than ever. Despite some good journalism practices and courageous journalists speaking out against hate, additional training and resources for media professionals and media organisations are needed in order for them to uphold ethical standards when reporting on sensitive subjects.
A website – www.mediaagainsthate.org – will gather the latest news related to ethical standards, freedom of expression, media diversity and resources for media professionals and civil society organisations (CSO) to fight against hate in the media.
A series of trainings and workshops will be organised for media professionals, representatives of CSOs and media regulators across Europe to exchange best practices and promote mutual learning and cooperation activities.
In addition, a video contest will be launched in January as part of the campaign to collect a diverse range of best practices with counter-narratives fighting stereotypes and discrimination in the media.
For more information and regular updates, please visit the website and use the hashtag #MediaAgainstHate on Twitter.
The project is financially supported by the European Commission (DG Justice).
