Metamorphosis Foundation is part of the long process which on 30 January 2019 led to the formation of the national Network for fight against hate speech. Network’s primary aim is to prevent dissemination of hate speech in the public sphere, strengthen the professional and ethical practicing of journalism and raise awareness of the wider population regarding hate speech’s negative consequences.

Фото: Борче Поповски

Photo: Borche Popovski

“Today is the pinnacle of the pledges against hate speech in media. In 2018, the European Commission underlined that Macedonia’s legal framework as regards this issue is adequate but it’s not being implemented on the Internet and especially in the media, where journalistic ethics is not respected. OSCE’s mission is to support the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which aims at equality. I am certain that this network will reduce hate speech, analyze the reasons for creating hate speech and hate crime”, said Ambassador Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The director of Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM), Marina Tuneva, said that the idea for forming such network has come as a result of the received complaints for non-compliance with the journalistic ethics on the part of the media.

The president of CMEM’s Press Complaint Commission, Mirche Adamchevski, said that the complaints for hate speech and discrimination in the media they have received can lead to the conclusion that politics plays an important role in the spreading of hate speech.

The president of CMEM’s Managing Board, Katarina Sinadinovska, said that besides recognizing it, hate speech should be punished but above all we have to learn how to prevent it.

Фото: Борче Поповски

Photo: Borche Popovski

Signees of the Declaration against hate speech in the media: Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Information Society and Administration, the Cabinet of the Minister without portfolio responsible for communications, accountability and transparency, the Ombudsman, Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, Association of Journalists of Macedonia, Independent Trade Union of Journalists of Macedonia, Metamorphosis Foundation, Institute of Communication Studies, Macedonian Institute for Media, Media Development Center, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Coalition Margins, Institute for Researching the Social Development and Center for Intercultural Dialogue. The Network remains open for all interested party that wish to join.

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