Ethical guidelines for online journalism

1. As a general principle, online journalism must respect all professional ethics and core values of journalism, irrespective of the forum or format it uses.In particular, information published by online media must be
   • Accurate and fact-based;
   • Verified and published without sensationalism;
   • Published without intent to do harm to others;
   • Inclusive of all relevant points of view and impartial;
   • Transparent in origin of content and methods of journalism used.Online journalists and media should always be aware that the systematic republication of third-party content, without verifying its veracity, mayseriously undermine the integrity and credibility of online media and journalism, and can lead to infringements of intellectual property rights.
2. The specifics and special sensitivities of online publication and use ofthe Internet and technological tools such as mobile devices requiresonline media and journalists to take into account the following norms and guidelines.

PRINCIPLES RELATED TO THE SPECIFICS OF ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

3. Journalists and media should always respect the dignity, reputation and privacy of individuals. This cardinal principle assumes added importance in online publications due to serious harm that the latter may cause to the legitimate interests of third parties
4. The editors or operators of websites should not publish any material online, written or visual, that incites hatred or violence, or causes director indirect discrimination on the basis of gender, age, marital status, language, physical or mental disabilities, sexual orientation, political conviction, religion, or ethnic or social status.
5. Forums dedicated primarily to children and young adults should bemonitored with special care and attention, including for the purpose of preventing cyber bullying and the publication of malicious content withintention to do harm to others.
6. There should be a clear distinction between editorial content and forums reserved for user generated content. Editors should be aware that they areethically and, potentially, also legally liable for content generated by third parties published on their website.
7. Care should be exercised to ensure that hyperlinks used in website content do not direct users to other sites that contain deliberately harmful and false information or that do not respect the Journalism Code of Ethics.

USER-GENERATED CONTENT

8. Editors or website operators should monitor their websites (and theirrespective social media pages) and take measures to prevent or stoppublication of content that is unlawful, or violates human dignity or privacy, or constitutes hate speech. Where possible such monitoring should be prior to publication.
9. Hate speech is understood as speech intended to generate intense hatred or is incitement to actual violence or discrimination against individuals or groups, especially minorities of all kinds. Staff responsible for moderation of comments should be properly trained in the basics of relevant national legislation and international standards on protection of vulnerable groups.
10. Editors and website operators should adopt and prominently publish on their websites their third-party content management policies, and the rules that users must follow to add comments or other content to their pages. These rules should clearly define permissible third-party content, treatment of anonymous comments, and complaint/notification procedures for violations of website policies or the law.
11. Content management policies should clearly indicate what kind of monitoring of user generated content the website applies (prior, ex post etc) and what technologies are used for this purpose. The editors or operators should use, whenever possible, available filters or other technologies to prevent the publication of insulting language or other easily identifiable and inappropriate content.
12. Editors or website operators should make available to users a simple mechanism to report third-party content that users consider unlawful or in violation of website policies.
13. With respect to comments that constitute hate speech, endanger the safety or physical integrity of individuals, or may cause other serious violations of human rights, editors and website operators must make use of effectivemechanisms to identify and disable such content as expediently as possible.
14. Editors and website operators shall act immediately to investigate and remove unacceptable content as soon as they become aware of it. They shall act on their own volition (even in the absence of a complaint by affected persons or other parties) and shall respond immediately upon receipt of a legitimate complaint.
15. In cases when editors or website operators do not engage in prior, generalmoderation of third-party content, they may nevertheless considerestablishing a system of prior or expedited moderation for specific topics that may generate a significant amount of extreme or inappropriatecommentary. In appropriate cases they may block third-party content and comments altogether.
16. Editors and operators should have in place special policies and mechanisms for the identification and expeditious takedown of sexual content or non-consensual intimate images (photographs, video, etc.) in view of their especially serious impact on the privacy and dignity of the affected persons.
17. The above guidelines are also valid, to the extent they may be applicable, for the media outlets’ social media pages, taking special account of thepotential impact of those publications. In addition, media should be aware of and comply with the policies and mechanisms set up by social networks to prevent or stop unlawful publications on their respective platforms.

ON USE OF THIRD-PARTY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM SOCIAL MEDIA OR PROVIDED BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC

23. Personal photographs, videos or written material published on social media are also considered to be in the public domain, and their use by the mass media exposes them to a potentially wider audience. Media shouldtake into consideration the impact of using of such personal material and information, especially in relation to tragic events. Copyright-related implications should also be considered.
24. Photographs and video taken from social media should be carefullyscrutinized and verified to establish their authenticity.
25. The facility of obtaining images from social networks or personal pages does not exempt media from their duty of care. The public interest in publication of such information should be weighed against privacy rightsand protection of minors. The publication of images on social media should not lead to an assumption of consent of the original source for republication in other platforms or by the mass media.
26. Media should always be alert to the dangers of publishing images showing unlawful or anti-social behavior. Media should exercise caution to ensure that they do not become a vehicle for the promotion or justification of illegality in general, and organized crime in particular.

ONLINE ARCHIVES, REPUBLICATION OF THIRD-PARTY CONTENT

27. Online media should, to the fullest extent possible, maintain online archives of their published content. Permanent archive materials contribute to thepreservation of the historical record and should be redacted or taken down only in exceptional circumstances, such as when ordered to do so by a court, or when ongoing publication may seriously endanger the wellbeing of children or the physical and psychological integrity of vulnerableindividuals, or if the original publication was inaccurate or suffered fromserious ethical lapses. As a rule, every redaction should be accompanied by an explanation on the same page. Editors may opt for anonymizationof sources instead of takedown of the relevant content where this isappropriate.

28. The principles of the Code of Ethics on compliance with copyright (article 15) apply fully to online publications. The repeated republication of content and other material produced by other media, without their permission orappropriate attribution is a violation of copyright and considered a seriousinfringement of journalistic ethics. Furthermore, any quotation (fair use) of third-party content should clearly indicate the source/author of the material and comply with other requirements of copyright law.

Publisher:

Ethical Guidelines for Online Journalism were drafted by a group of expertscomposed of:

Darian Pavli, media expert
Blendi Sala, journalist, Media Council

International consultant:

Aidan White, Director, Ethical Journalism Initiative

The drafting of the Ethical Guidelines for Online Journalism was enabled by the support of a joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe.