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COVID-19 and the Media: a Pandemic of Paradoxes

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COVID-19 and the Media: a Pandemic of Paradoxes IMS book series – 2021 Defending journalism COVID-19 and the media: A pandemic of paradoxes Human rights impacts of COVID-19 on public interest media Author: Hugh Macleod 2 IMS Defending Journalism book series Published in Denmark, April 2021 Publisher: IMS (International Media Support) IMS Nørregade 18 1165 Copenhagen K Denmark +45 88327000 [email protected] © 2021 IMS The content of this publications is copyright protected. International Media Support is happy to share the text in the publication with you under the Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a summary of this license, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-sa/4.0. ISBN: EAN 9788792209269 Join the global work for freedom of expression and stay up to date on media issues worldwide forfreemedia InternationalMediaSupport IMS is an NGO working for global press freedom supporting local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity, and political transition. www.mediasupport.org Editor: Colette Simonne Heefner Layout: Nanette Vabø IMS Defending Journalism book series / 3 4 List of acronyms 5 Acknowledgements 6 Foreword 8 Executive summary 11 Introduction 19 Methodology 21 Chapter 1: Freedom of information – Censorship, civil society, and the right to health 34 Chapter 2: The Infodemic – Misinformation, discrimination, and the threat to democracy 45 Chapter 3: Safety of journalists – Offline killers, online violence, and the prohibition of hate 61 Chapter 4: Business instability – Public interest media’s struggle to survive 72 Conclusion 74 Recommendations 80 Situation for press freedom: Colombia, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine 82 Meet our interviewees 84 Appendix (A): Human rights law and the media – The rights-based approach 90 Appendix (B): IMS report on the impact of COVID-19 on journalists – Questionnaire and results 97 Resources and bibliography 4 List of acronyms CEDAW Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CERD Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination CESCR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists ECHR European Convention on Human Rights FLIP Foundation for Press Freedom ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICFJ International Centre for Journalists IFJ International Federation of Journalists IHRL International Human Rights Law ILO International Labour Organisation INSI International News Safety Institute IPI International Press Institute IWMF International Women’s Media Foundation MIL Media and Information Literacy OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights RISJ Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism RSF Reporters Without Borders SoJ Safety of Journalists UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNGA United Nations General Assembly WHO World Health Organization IMS Defending Journalism book series / 5 Acknowledgements The author of this report is Hugh Macleod, an independent consultant, barrister, and jour- nalist who spent a decade reporting from the Middle East and now specialises in interna- tional human rights law. The report was commissioned by IMS and led by Global Safety Advisor Colette Heefner. Global Response Head of Department Gulnara Akhundova served as editor-in-chief and Global Response Gender Advisor Emma Lygnerud Boberg provided substantive input. We are indebted to our interviewees and each of the IMS Programme Managers and affiliates who shared their valuable knowledge of the varying contexts in which IMS operates. The IMS COVID-19 Task Force merits a special mention: its members convened in crisis to ensure that our local partners’ exceptional response to the pandemic would be documented, made visible, and evaluated as a learning experience from which to develop future ideas – the hallmark of our work at IMS. IMS is additionally grateful to all those who contributed their time, expertise, and patience to finalise this report, including our fall 2020 intern Agnes Von Unge, copy editor Mike Ormsby, and the IMS Communications Unit. Lastly, we are grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway for the financial support that made this research possible. 6 Foreword Foreword by Benazir Shah Features Editor at Geo Television and recipient of the 2013 United Nations Correspondents Association award in print media One day, when we look back at the coronavirus pandemic that paralyzed most of the world, I hope we remember all the lives we lost but could have saved. I hope we remember how our healthcare systems failed us. Financially crippled, over- burdened, and under-staffed, they collapsed under the weight of expectations. I hope too, that we remember the cost of telling the truth, especially when people’s lives depended on it. In the last three years, Pakistan’s media has been working under a climate of fear. Today, the country’s undeclared censorship is closing in, from all sides, on journalists. The red lines keep changing. What could have been said in 2018, could not be said in 2019. What could have been said yesterday, cannot be said today. Earlier, the forbidden themes were clear: religion, and Pakistan’s powerful mili- tary. But in 2018, when cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s political party rose to power, anything that did not fit with the ruling party’s narrative was deemed a red line. Those who did not toe the line were hounded by government officials on social media and by Twitter accounts claiming affiliation with the ruling party. I have been in the media industry for over a decade, yet the kind of online harass- ment I face today is unprecedented. I must admit, I am not a health reporter, but I became one in March 2020. How could I not? The coronavirus pandemic was the biggest story of our lifetime. For the next few months, I visited a coronavirus isolation ward and a testing center in Pakistan’s Punjab province. I spoke regularly to doctors and healthcare workers tending to the infected. Soon after the outbreak of the virus, medics and government healthcare officials agreed privately that the pandemic was raging in Pakistan and the government was not doing enough to stop it. The prime minister is also on record as calling the deadly virus “just a flu”. Then, there was the data. Statistics from Pakistan’s most-populous province did not add up. The fatality figures were modified overnight, without clarification. Districts and cities were reporting more recoveries than the total number of sick. Testing was another concern. In early June, senior government officials had promised to test 50,000 people per day in a country of over 207 million people. It never happened. Even today, in total, Pakistan has not exceeded the 50,000 mark. But government officials were not open to criticism. IMS Defending Journalism book series / 7 And this is where IMS’ support for good public interest journalism affirms our purpose – we need to maintain pressure and deliver reliable information that holds those in power to account. Last year, when I shared an article about a quarantine facility in Pakistan’s northwestern province that lacked basic hygiene and cleanliness, the provincial minister for health tweeted back. In his tweet, sent to over 100,000 followers, he questioned my credentials as a reporter. His query was retweeted by other senior government officials and ministers. For the next few weeks, my Twitter timeline was flooded with expletives and threats from ac- counts claiming to be affiliated with the ruling party’s social media wing. Attempts were also made to hack my account. When I highlighted how Pakistan’s coronavirus data suffered from inconsisten- cies and unexplained discrepancies, government officials accused me of peddling “fake news” and of getting “paid for lying”. As reporters, we have the right to question the government. It is also important to remember that public access to information is a fundamental right, especially during a health emergency. Yet, attempts were made to intimidate journalists asking legitimate questions on social media. The government insisted its response to the coronavirus was a success and was prepared to go after anyone who disagreed. To date (finalized February 2021), Pakistan has lost 11,000 people, while over half a million have been infected. Admittedly, the pandemic did not cause the kind of havoc one might have expected in a developing nation such as Pakistan, but when 11,000 people die on your watch, is this really a “success”? The toxic online environment created by government officials, ministers, and anonymous social media accounts have made it difficult for me to work. Sometimes, I have even hesitated to open my Twitter account. Other times, I have contemplated leaving media altogether. I should not be afraid to do my job. IMS has taken a clear stand on supporting journalism with the potential and intent to bring positive change and this report serves to illustrate IMS’ role as a bridge between local media partners and journalism that can further accountability and human rights. Public interest media became more important than ever during the pandemic and I was certainly not the only journalist under fire. 8 Executive summary Executive summary Following the COVID-19 pandemic, amid collapsing revenues and a rising torrent of on- line misinformation and gender-based hate speech, States
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