The Complaints Committee in the Ethical Charter for Syrian Media (ECSM) issued its periodic report documenting the complaints received by the Committee during the first quarter of 2024.

The committee received 4 complaints against media content published on Syrian media outlets or content related to Syrian affairs published on a non-Syrian media outlet, of which 3 complaints were received in February, while the last complaint was received at the end of March. The committee addressed the complaints in accordance with regulations and mechanisms in place in the complaints system.

The report aims to consolidate ethical journalism concept in Syria and achieve the thirteen standards adopted by the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct and the Executive Instructions of the Complaints Committee in ECSM. The primary purpose and importance of the report is not limited only to showing the numbers of complaints received by the committee and the mechanisms for dealing with them, but also stems from the urgent need required by media practices to advance towards purer media free of professional violations, in addition to striving to achieve a state of partnership between the audience and the media, and thus achieving the most important goals of the complaints system in supporting media institutions to advance media practices for the better, not defamation or incitement against media outlets and creating sensitivities.

The report presented most prominent achievements of the Committee during the first quarter of the current year, as the first three months of 2024 witnessed important steps in the work of the Complaints Committee, which was characterized by expanding the scope of its work, developing its internal system, and strengthening its efforts in promoting the complaint system.

The work of the committee was expanded to include all Syrian media outlets, regardless of whether they signed the text of the Charter or not. Also, the complaints system was developed in line with current developments, in addition to developing the visual identity for reports.

The report analyzed the results of complaints received to the committee during the first quarter of 2024, in terms of number and type of violation, and compares them to the results of previous years’ reports. Most of the 4 complaints received, in terms of type of content, focused on visual content, as 3 complaints were received against visual materials, while the last complaint was against written content in one of the Syrian media outlets, in contrast to what was the case with the complaints received during 2023, which focused on written content.

The report indicated that all of the media outlets complained of had their main headquarters outside Syria, in addition to the fact that 3 of them were Syrian media outlets, contrary to what was the case during 2023, as most of the complaints received were against non-Syrian media outlets, and the complaints were based on content related to Syrian affairs.

The report showed that the standards of privacy, stereotyping, accuracy, validity and clarity were among the most violated standards compared to the rest of the standards contained in the Code of Professional Conduct and the Complaints System. Regarding the gender of the complainants, the report indicated that the four complaints were received equally by males and females (2 males – 2 females).

According to the report, the geographical scope of the complaints received has expanded within Syria, as complaints were received from new geographical areas within Syria, unlike what was the case during 2022 and 2023.

The report compared the results and numbers of complaints received during the first quarter of this year with complaints received during 2022 and 2023, bringing the number of complaints received to the committee to 20 complaints, from the start of its work until the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Based on the recommendations and results of the annual report for 2023, the committee carried out the following actions:

• Discussing the plan to develop and expand the committee’s work.
• The executive instructions for the complaints system provide the possibility of amending the complaints system to keep pace with media developments.
• Approval of the full expansion of the work of the Complaints Committee for a pilot period for six months, starting from April 2024, provided that the expansion includes addressing all complaints received by the committee, whether the media outlet has signed the text of the charter or not, and those complaints related to the content related to the Syrian affairs and published on non-Syrian media outlets.
• Issuing the committee’s reports periodically, every three months (quarterly reports) and an annual report, and publishing them on the official charter platforms.
• Developing a visual identity and complaint form for ease of access, use and browsing.

To read the full report (click here)