What responsibilities does the media have in the right to freedom of expression?
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What responsibilities does the media have in the right to freedom of expression?
Freedom of expression gives special rights and duties to the media. The media inform society on matters of public interest and create an important platform for public debate, scrutiny and reflection. Therefore, independent media and quality journalism are considered to be the “watchdog” of a democratic society.
Does freedom of speech apply to media?
Current legal precedent conclusively establishes that social media users do not have a right to free speech on private social media platforms. Social media platforms are allowed to remove offending content when done in accordance with their stated policies as permitted by Sec.
What roles and responsibilities do the media have in reporting human rights in a responsible manner in a democratic society?
The media reports an incident and is supposed to make sure that incident has been reported as such as it happened without exaggerations and manipulations. Also, it is important to maintain the dignity of a person or a victim in case there has a been a violation being reported.
Although freedom of expression is a constitutional right, it is not an absolute right. If what you say, or publish via social media platforms, has a negative impact on the rights of another, then your right to freedom of expression may be limited.
What is the media’s role in society?
Advances in communication, largely through the internet, have improved community access to information. Therefore the media play an important role in society as a source of information, but also as a “watchdog” or scrutiniser. However, the media is free to select the stories they consider important or interesting.
What is the media’s responsibility in a democracy?
Media has given political parties the tools to reach large numbers of people and can inform them on key issues ranging from policies to elections. In theory, media should be seen as an enabler for democracy, having better-educated voters would lead to a more legitimate government.