Editorial | Principles of a free press

They may be offended that we do so, insisting that the concerns raised therein are not a threat in Jamaica. Recent events, however, cause The Gleaner to differ.

We, therefore, bring to the attention of Jamaica’s political parties and key institutions of the State, including the island’s election overseers, the revised statement of principles on freedom of expression, issued by Commonwealth leaders at their summit in Samoa last week.

In the context of this discussion, paragraph seven of the statement is especially relevant. Among other things, it says: “The safety of journalists and media workers is essential to preserve the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Threats or acts of violence, abuse, harassment, or other forms of intimidation, including sexual and gender-based violence against women journalists and media workers, curtail freedom of expression and undermine public trust in, and the credibility of, journalism. Member states should put in place effective laws and measures to establish a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers to work without fear of violence, abuse, intimidation, discrimination, or interference, including online. Member states should take prompt measures to protect journalists and media workers when they face a serious threat of harm or are subject to violence … .”

Those observations are framed in the context of the foundational role of freedom of expression to democracy and the essential place of a free media in the ecosystem of democratic governance.

Or as the document put it, “The media play an essential role in the democratic process, especially during times of elections and referenda.”

Jamaica is constitutionally due for a general election in 11 months. It is likely that the ballot will be held before then.

Already, the island’s two major political parties, the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP), are in campaign mode. The trend of recent opinion polls has, for the first time in nearly a decade, been in favour of the opposition party.

It is against this backdrop that a video, the generation of which was, apparently, AI-assisted, appeared on social media this month, accusing this newspaper of being biased in favour of the PNP.

The ridiculousness of that statement might have been ignored – or at least been less worrisome – if the claim had been directed at The Gleaner as an institution.

SCURRILOUS ASSAULT

That was not the case. Instead, six of the newspaper’s senior journalists were specifically targeted, including having their photographs broadcast as part of the scurrilous assault.

That, on its face, is dangerous. It could be read as an indirect invitation for hotheads to do harm to the targeted journalists.

Happily, when asked, both the information minister, Dana Morris Dixon, and the JLP’s general secretary and national security minister, Horace Chang, respectively, disassociated the Government and the ruling party from the video and declared support for a free and independent press.

Similarly, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, without addressing the specific issue, has publicly declared his personal as well as his administration’s backing for independent media while making it clear that his party would also use forms other than traditional media to reach voters.

We hope we could have said that that was the death of the unfounded assault on The Gleaner and its reporters. Unfortunately, a second AI-supported video emerged, targeting the same journalists and extending the claim of bias to the broadcast arms of the RJRGLEANER Group, of which this newspaper is a member.

The perpetrator(s) of the slander promised more videos, including, they claimed, providing evidence to support their accusations, which, in these days of artificial intelligence, is relatively easy to manufacture.

ACCUSED

Additionally, Everald Warmington, a notoriously rude, unbridled, and volatile government parliamentarian with a penchant for attacking even the mildest critics of the administration, has accused this newspaper of attempting to “bring down” Mr Holness. He claims that The Gleaner achieved the same thing against the previous two JLP leaders: Edward Seaga, who served two terms as prime minister but was pushed out of the party’s leadership after several election losses between 1988 and 2002; and Bruce Golding, who resigned as prime minister in 2011 from the fallout of this Government’s decision to stall America’s extradition request for Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke to answer drug-trafficking charges.

Mr Warmington has also said that no one could “shut me up” for attacks on the media. No one in his party appears to have tried or has publicly said that they have done so.

In an increasingly politically febrile environment, the targeting of The Gleaner six and against the background of the Commonwealth’s statement of principles, we again appeal to the Election Commission of Jamaica, acting in its new role as the political ombudsman, to initiate a revision of the Political Code of Conduct so as to explicitly declare unwarranted and potentially threatening attacks on the press and journalists to be eschewed by political parties and their supporters.

That would not remove the right of political parties and politicians to raise legitimate criticisms of media and their reporters. No press in a free and democratic society asks for any such insulation or protection.

There is, however, a difference between reasonable and fact-based discourse and debate and behaviour that may lead to physical harm or may be intended to induce fear.