Kathmandu. The Press Council of Nepal has taken action after it was found that content contrary to the code of conduct related to the Bhotekoshi flood was being disseminated in various media and social networks. The council has alerted the relevant media with instructions to remove such content.
A total of 24 flood-related materials were monitored by the council. 14 of them were registered media and 10 unregistered social media. According to the council, 21 of the 24 monitored materials are against the journalistic code of conduct.
According to the council, instructions and attention have been drawn to the means of transmitting content that is against the code of conduct through phone, messenger and letter. Most of them have edited or removed such content after the council's instructions.
During the monitoring, it has been found that old videos and unrelated scenes from other countries have been presented as events that happened in Nepal, saying that they are related to flood and rescue.
In particular, it is mentioned in the details of the council that false videos and materials were broadcast on social media saying that the Nepalese army was rescuing people in the Rasuwa flood, the Chinese team was rescuing citizens trapped in the tunnel and the home minister was engaged in the rescue.
According to the monitoring of the council, the content published on onlinekhabar.com is also against the code of conduct. The council is of the opinion that the content that causes confusion, confusion and panic is being transmitted with the title "On the seventh day, the government said to the projects - we could not rescue them from the tunnel, do it yourself".
According to the council, it has been found that the "graphics" that have been edited after the title of the content, but not edited, are being shared elsewhere on social media.
In the monitoring, it is mentioned that content contrary to the code of conduct was also transmitted through Fewa Khabar, E-Madhes, Drishti Sanchar, Puleso TV, Ichchakamana FM Chitwan, Seto Khabar, State 7 Khabar, The RIM Online.
Some of them used videos from other countries saying that the Nepali Army was rescuing in the flood of Rasuwa. Some media said that a person was suffering from mental problems due to the flood, and linked the old 'demo' video shown by the Nepalese army with the recent incident of the flood.
Similarly, it is mentioned in the details of the council that Nepali army is rescuing inside the tunnel, the Chinese team has rescued the citizens trapped in the tunnel and the home minister is engaged in the rescue.
According to the council, a gruesome video related to the bodies and pieces of bodies of the people who died in the flood was also broadcast on social media.
It is mentioned in the monitoring report that media such as Puleso TV and Ichchakamana FM Chitwan broadcast gruesome scenes related to bodies swept away by the flood. As such content can create more mental pain and fear in the victim's family and ordinary citizens, the council has instructed the relevant media to remove the content or make necessary edits.
Such content has also been circulated from unregistered social media pages. In the monitoring of the Council, it has been found that unregistered media such as Smart Nepal, MO Nepal, Sudur Nepal, Shree Online HD, Chatura, Tufan News, The Bagmati Post, Top 10 News and Daily News NP have been transmitting content against the Code of Conduct.
Some of them had used videos from other countries saying that the Nepali Army had rescued them in the flood of Rasuwa, while some had transmitted videos from other countries saying that the Chinese team was rescuing them.
Similarly, it is mentioned in the details of the council that a gruesome video of a corpse washed away by the flood was posted on social media and the content of a person exaggerating against the flood victim and provoking social harmony, inciting and spreading hatred.
Although the Press Council has been cautioning to pay special attention to fact confirmation, reliability and sensitivity of sources while communicating information during a disaster, registered and mainstream media have also been communicating misleading and unverified content as news.
It seems that the use of unconfirmed information, old or unrelated videos and gruesome scenes in the content related to rescue, death, disappearance and victims can make the disaster situation more complicated. The Council's monitoring data also shows that the trend of using misleading titles, wrong videos and sensitive scenes to increase clicks and views during disasters is still a challenge.
National News Committee is the official news organization of Nepal.
