The Zimbabwean media on Friday were urged to resist negative external influence and avoid inflaming the electoral environment by promoting hate speech and biased reporting.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa made the call, suggesting the media should play a significant role in ensuring the harmonized elections set for later this year are held in a peaceful environment.
“The media should not inflame the electoral environment by promoting hate speech, biased reporting and allowing itself to be used by external forces bent on tarnishing the country,” Mutsvangwa said in a speech read on her behalf at the launch of a manual on election reporting and peace journalism produced by the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC).
The minister said the media are expected to be plural and diverse, providing various platforms for candidates and political parties to explain their policies to the electorate to enable them to make informed decisions.
“The ability of voters to make informed choices is one of the key aspects of a democratic electoral process,” she said.
The media are not expected to behave as party activists and sensationalize issues but to inform voters on how to exercise their rights, she stressed. “The media is expected to conduct its business in a fair, objective and balanced manner.”
Mutsvangwa urged tertiary institutions that offer media and journalism training to embrace the manual as part of their training.
The ZMC produced the manual with financial assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to equip media practitioners with skills to report on elections and assist in creating an environment for holding free and credible elections. Enditem
