GPA flags govt’s obsession with social media commentators

May 06, 2022 News

– says politicians must cease degrading noble journalism profession

“If politicians across the divide claim to have any modicum of interest in improving the standard of journalism, then they ought to immediately cease utilising social media influencers in the place of journalists.” In fact, “To continue doing so is to contribute to the degradation of journalism at the altar of expediency of reach, likes and shares.”
These were the words of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) on Thursday, as the two day conference for media workers, to commemorate World Press Freedom day concluded. The conference was hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, from May 3 to 4.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during an interview with popular social media influencer, Mikhail Rodrigues, better known as the “Guyanese Critic”

Yesterday, the media association issued a statement where it, among other things, called on government to stop using social media influencers to do the work of journalists. GPA contended, “Does this mean that anyone with a few followers, limited language competence, no regard for fact-checking etc. can be regarded by himself or herself and the public as a journalist because a politician uses him or her as an information conduit?” The body pointed out that the use of such personalities lead the public to believe that such social media content is in keeping with globally accepted standards of journalism.
So far, Mikhail Rodrigues, a social media personality that calls himself the “Guyanese Critic” has been conducting interviews with the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, while media professionals are sidelined, allowing the well-known social media character to field questions, down a specific line.
It was noted too that, “Much of the debates and disagreements at the conference appeared to stem from the decision by the organisers to conflate journalism, public relations practice and social media influence. Whether or not this was the intent, it was a grave error as each category of communication has its own role.”
The Guyana Press Association was keen to note that social media influencers, though they command some following, cannot and will not be regarded as journalists and they should in fact never contemplate seeing themselves as such.
While still listing its concerns on the media conference, the GPA reminded that the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in Guyana’s Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It reasoned, “Based on utterances from a number of government officials including its panelists, the undertone appeared to be engaged in self-censorship under the guise of “responsibility” and “good”. In this regard, we commend the globally recognised Journalism Ethics, Principles and Codes of Conduct.”
The GPA even suggested that the next World Press Freedom Conference be jointly organized by the Government and the association, to focus specifically on journalism.
On another note, the Press Association urged that journalism cannot be confused with specialised content on specific topics or projects. As such, it said that media houses and government may wish to consider discussing how information on specific projects and issues can be broadcast or published with the appropriate disclaimer so there is no confusion between paid content and journalism.

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