This appalling event on the streets of Paris will inevitably spark a new debate about free speech and religious intolerance and we can expect more hate-speech—particularly from the right of European politics—aiming to make political capital out of understandable public anger and outrage. But journalists must know better than to give voice to fresh acts of hatred and particularly Islamophobia. The story of the Paris atrocity and its origins as it unfolds over the coming days needs to be handled with sensitivity and care, and journalists must do everything they can to lower the temperature and avoid providing cover for abusive treatment or acts of discrimination against members of Muslim communities. This is a time for ‘slow’ journalism, when everyone in media—and even those would-be journalists outside the newsroom—needs to think carefully about the consequences of what they write and the images they show. Within minutes of the Paris shootings, a video was being circulated online showing the point-blank execution of a police officer. It should never have been shown and never shared.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 17:02:54 +0000
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