condemnation of hate speech, incitement by certain Arab media channels

The Free Media Union and the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate issued a joint statement condemning the alarming rise in hate speech and sectarian incitement practiced by certain Arab media institutions. The statement reads:

“In light of the dangerous escalation of hate speech and sectarian incitement, which has come to serve as a cover for systematic genocidal attacks against components of the Syrian people, the Free Media Union and the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate strongly condemn the inciting role played by certain Arab media institutions foremost among them Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, and Al Arabiya Al Hadath, alongside official media institutions and figures affiliated with the transitional authorities in Syria. These outlets disseminate sedition, falsehoods, and direct incitement to violence and massacres, distort public awareness, and deliberately undermine Syria’s pluralistic social fabric.

We consider these institutions complicit in falsifying reality, particularly with regard to the crimes currently being committed against Rojava – North and East Syria, after having abandoned the most basic professional standards, violated codes of journalistic ethics, and subordinated themselves to political agendas, thereby turning into tools of discord.

Accordingly, the Free Media Union and the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate demand an immediate halt to hate speech and incitement, and call for adherence to neutrality and objectivity. We also urge journalists, both men and women, to stand with truth and conscience, and not to become entangled in the Syrian bloodshed.

We further call on relevant local and international bodies, as well as human rights and legal institutions, to assume their responsibilities in documenting the crimes of incitement and hate speech committed by these channels, collecting evidence, and working to curb them.

We also hold the journalists working within these outlets accountable for their historical responsibility, and call on them to adhere to the ethics of the journalism profession and international conventions.”

ANHA