Who will watch the watch dogs

They are sometimes called the fourth estate and under ideal circumstances ought to be the voice of the voiceless. Indeed they ought to be the watch dogs of the society helping to check the excesses of the government, corporations as well as individuals via ethical and investigative journalism. When they play their role as expected, the society is better for it. The entity being referred to is none other than the press irrespective of if information dissemination is via print or electronic media.

Unfortunately what we have these days are powerful media corporations whose allegiance is no longer to the truth but to their owners who are either wealthy individuals, groups or governments. The consequence of this is that the reporting is usually restricted to items that portray the owners in good light. Sometimes outright falsehood or manipulation of the truth is carried out to suit the agenda of the ones calling the shots behind the scenes who are usually the pay masters.

At other times in a bid to trend or attract traffic we have seen cases of media outlets even some reputable ones picking up stories which I would rather refer to as gossip on the internet and running with them without attempting an independent investigation to ascertain the credibility of such stories. Sadly more often than not such irresponsible media outlets often get away with such misdemeanours by retracting the false stories with belated apologies to those falsely portrayed in negative light by such publications.

Worse still is the scenario where the press and indeed the media becomes a tool for spreading malicious propaganda, hate or stereotyping a particular race or religion. The consequences of such callous action are usually borne by innocent men, women and children. I do not know if members of the press do not realise that the enormous powers they weild also comes with an attendant responsibility.

"Indeed with great power comes great responsibility".

I remember haven shed tears when I watched the movie, Hotel Rwanda where the happenings around the 1994 genocide in Rwanda were chronicled. The role of the chilling broadcasts by one of the local radio channels in fueling the conflict will forever remain in history. According to Wikipedia, 10 % of all the violence during the genocide can be linked to the hate laden broadcasts by Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM).

RTLM provided a platform for extremist Hutu leaders to spread their message of hate and heat up the populace in the build up to the commencement of the genocide after the downing of the plane of the Rwandan president. Their sinster role during the genocide of broadcasting the locations where Tutsis had sought refuge in order for them to be slaughtered is even more appalling. The broadcasts may be likened to issuing kill orders. Little wonder, Felicien Kabuga the funder and co-founder of RTLM was indicted for genocide and other criminal charges. The survivors of the Rwandan genocide will never forget the role played by RTLM before and during the genocide.

A few days ago a prominent broadcaster in Nigeria , Kadaria Ahmed sounded the alarm that the Nigerian media space was fast becoming a hotbed for the propagation of hate speeches and incitement to violence. She warned her colleagues not to sacrifice ethical and responsible journalism in order to drive traffic to their platforms or gain more viewership. She also advised her colleagues to be wary of their employers who were urging them down the dangerous path of stoking hate in the country. She cautioned that the reality was that if the country were to be embroiled in violence, those urging them on had the means to leave the country alongside their families without any difficulty and it is the journalists and the ordinary citizens who would bear the brunt of any conflict. She reminded her colleagues that their actions in spreading hate speech would not be forgotten and make them culpable in the future.

Let all those in the media who are churning out content which are either false or aimed at stoking religious or ethnic violence remember this:

"the internet never forgets"

Surely there will be consequences before the law for publications or broadcasts aimed at inciting acts of violence against any group of people.

Shukran

Danke

Merci

Gracias

ขอบคุณ

ধন্যবাদ

Спасибо

for reading.