Our Directorate hosted the “Panel on Accuracy in Journalism during Extraordinary Times in the Context of Media Ethics."
Yusuf Özhan, Deputy Director General and Editor-in-Chief of Anadolu Agency (AA), spoke at the first panel session on "Media and Ethics: Disinformation, Privacy, and Fictional Reality."
Özhan stated that the reader, listener, and viewer have all become news producers at the same time, which poses certain issues.
Özhan emphasised that fake news is a global challenge in journalism, as it is a collection of content created from rumours that are intentionally disseminated to provoke action and reaction but do not provide the full picture.
"Of course, the news must reflect the truth and adhere to its own set of rules," said Özhan, adding that AA Fact Check was introduced approximately a year ago, with the agency countering false news on an institutional level.
Özhan noted that the struggle is not just about putting out the fire's flames, but also about preventing fires, and that these efforts must be expanded.
Özhan offered examples of social media usage, stating, "We are bombarded with content from social media. We only look at the specifics of 10% of everything we come across."
Further noting that a post is judged based on its title or shared based on the feedback of trusted individuals without reading its content, Özhan said, “Although the AA Fact Check is an initiative that is spot-on, it is only the first step in resolving or addressing issues in social media or communication platforms more efficiently."
"The profession has begun to lose its prestige again and erode"
Assoc Prof İsmail Çağlar, AA Board Member and faculty member of Istanbul University Faculty of Communication emphasised that journalists should be distinguished from content creators or those who report in some way due to their occupation, institution, or connections.
Çağlar stressed the importance of media ethics, stating that journalists have the primary responsibility for its execution.
Citing the fact digital content creators claim to be journalists and that some journalists embrace this claim under the misguided notion of professional solidarity poses a tremendous problem, Çağlar said, “Individuals can produce content, but if they lack the journalistic code, ethics, and morals, they are not journalists; they are content creators.”
Çağlar stated, "The picture we see today is that the profession has begun to lose its prestige again and erode," referring to the fact that some individuals report news on the battlefield in a state of emergency without receiving any training, violating media ethics.
TRT News Anchor Cengizhan Cevahiroğlu stated at the session chaired by Ankara University Faculty of Communications Faculty Member Prof Fatih Keskin that social media is preferred because it is creative and that even though events are viewed from a different perspective on television and in newspapers, there is mediocrity.
Cevahiroğlu, who also criticised the constant delivery of negative news, stated that the country's human stories about positive events or war news were not created with ratings in mind.
Cevahiroğlu, who praised the Anadolu Agency's New York reporter for using a drone to shoot the images, stated that the images were used to create a fluent news story without expressing an opinion.
Mustafa Kartoğlu, Editor-in-Chief of Akşam Newspaper, stated that digital media is gradually affecting journalists, saying, "It is ingrained in the business culture that 'bad news is good news.' Bad news always sells. If there is nothing bad enough for a headline, let us break the news on a negative note this time. ‘We are going into space is good news; there is nothing bad about it. Then let us report the news as 'we are going into space, but there is a pothole on our street.' Are they comparable to one another? No, they are not."
Pointing out that when conducting a search on the internet to check for false information, if the quotations do not appear as expected, they are once again exposed to false information, Kartoğlu said, “This is a problem we face as well. Journalists and television broadcasters continue to make similar errors in their presentations.”
Referring to the popularity of fictitious news, Kartoğlu stated, "No matter how many fictitious news stories you correct, it will not be as valuable and will not be viewed as much as the fictitious news." Kartoğlu emphasised that whoever knows the truth about a false news story should act swiftly, correct it, and monitor its prevalence.
The panel then continued with a discussion on News Ethics in New Generation Media.