Taking into account the fact that political parties in North Macedonia traditionally use nationalist rhetoric to gain political points, hate speech, mainly on ethnic grounds, increases intensively in every pre-election period. This year too, nothing has changed from this practice, and the hatred has spread from social networks into the media. In an unofficial form, the campaign in the country began with the formation of the technical government. However, the campaign for the presidential elections should specifically start on April 4 and end on April 22, and the campaign for the parliamentary elections specifically should start on April 18 and last until May 6, writes Portalb.mk.
One of the most disturbing forms of party propaganda in the pre-election period in our country is the spread of hate speech on ethnic and even religious grounds. This whole situation becomes even more disturbing when such content receives media space. Since there is no law regulating the work of online media in North Macedonia, most online information platforms are plagued with disinformation, propaganda and unprofessional journalistic reporting. The phenomenon of the media becoming loudspeakers for nationalist propaganda is nothing new for the public in our country.
Sefer Tahiri, a journalist and university professor who has been following political and social developments since the country's independence, says that hate speech on ethnic grounds has always been present in our media.
"Hate speech has always been present in the media, especially on ethnic and religious grounds. It was present at the political gatherings of the right-wing ethno-nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE following the 90s and certainly wasn't absent from those of SDSM between 1993 and 1998. It intensified during the conflict in 2001, and again after the Ohrid agreement was reached. In the period from 2002 to 2006, inter-ethnic relations calmed down and hence a decrease in the level of use of hate speech. It intensified after 2010 when Gruevski and his party stimulated this sort of speech through their anti-Albanian propaganda loudspeakers. In 2017, a political and inter-ethnic relaxation is happening again, and the cases of use of this speech are rarer," says communications expert Sefer Tahiri.
A few examples of ethnically biased reporting by a politician
Considering the viewership and credibility of the media, their responsibility in providing information is extremely high. However, certain examples in our country show us that not every journalist performs their work in accordance with the rules and professional ethics.
A specific example of this is Alfa Television, a national media in the Macedonian language that constantly publishes media materials aimed at inciting inter-ethnic hatred. This trend seems to intensify in activity on this television channel during election campaigns.
On January 28, Talat Xhaferi from the ranks of the DUI became the head of the technical government, becoming the first Albanian in the RNM to hold the position of prime minister. Xhaferi has a long political career in the RNM, and though this is the only important element that the media should report on regarding the question of whether he is an adequate person to perform the function of technical prime minister, the interest of some media exceeds professional ethics and exploits the situation to spread hate speech to the public. A concrete example of that is this media material about Talat Xhaferi published on Alfa Television.
Example 1 of Alfa Television stoking inter-ethnic hatred before elections
Although tendentious headlines have no place in professional journalism, and professional standards are narrowed even more during election processes, this still presents no issue to this national television channel spreading hate speech on ethnic grounds through tendentious headlines. An example of a headline with a tendency to incite hatred towards Albanian politicians on the political scene in the country is the headline "May God help Macedonia: Zijadin Sela, Ali Ahmeti's last Trojan Horse".
Example 2 of Alfa Television stoking inter-ethnic hatred before elections
Besides the reporting of political issues, the spread of hate speech is also present in reports on culture. While culture should serve as a bridge between diverse people, when news in this field is broadcast outside of any professional standards, it can cause unnecessary conflicts. How hate speech spreads in culture reporting is illustrated by the example below.
Reporting by Alfa Television – hate speech and culture news
What follows these reports is an avalanche of comments where the citizens of our country vent a lot of anger and hatred towards their fellow citizens. Encouraged by such content, public comments on social networks where these materials are published range from the most banal insults and curses up to wishes for the death and extermination of an entire people.
According to Professor Sefer Tahiri, such propaganda is dangerous for our society, because in many cases it can also be an indicator of physical violence.
"Ethno-nationalist propaganda is dangerous because it incites ethnic hatred, but it also leads to physical violence with ethnic or religious motives. The media must beware of the use of speech containing prejudices and stereotypes, but also of hate speech, because the media can encourage ethnic and religious tensions with disastrous consequences for society," says Sefer Tahiri.
According to the data from the IRI research, Alfa Television ranks among the top five most watched television channels in our country. So, the number of those who are influenced by the content this media broadcasts is very large. In cases where media outlets lack mechanisms for self-regulation and have no knowledge of how to determine the boundaries of ethics and professionalism, it is necessary, above all, to develop media literacy in our society.
"Firstly, the regulatory and self-regulatory mechanisms must function, the concept of media literacy must be developed, the role of the public radio-television service must be strengthened, and there must be training for journalists and editors," Sefer Tahiri added.
According to the Code of Ethics of Journalists, "Freedom of the media is an inalienable right" is one of the fundamental principles of journalism, and every journalist should be fully aware that "The fundamental duty of journalists is to respect the truth and the right of the public to be informed”, as per Article 16 of our Constitution.
In the Code of Ethics of Journalists, a separate article outlines the obligations of journalists regarding reporting during election campaigns. Article 10 of the Code emphasizes the following: "Reporting on political processes, particularly elections, must be impartial, balanced and fair. Journalists are expected to maintain professional distance from the political subjects they cover."
Additionally, the Code of Ethics of Journalists defines professional reporting in regard to discriminatory elements. All of this is done keeping in mind the importance of the media in the formation of public opinion. Article 10 of the Code states:
The journalists shall not consciously create or process information that jeopardizes human rights and freedoms, shall not use hate speech and shall not encourage discrimination of any sort (nationality, religion, sex, social class, language, sexual orientation, political orientation…)
The presence of hate speech in the media is a global phenomenon with a very long history. The definition of "hate speech" was established by the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, in 1997. The term "hate speech" encompasses all forms of expression that "spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance. This includes intolerance expressed through aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism, discrimination and hostility towards minorities, migrants and people of immigrant origin", as outlined in the European Council's definition.