[Review: Live teenage sex: They recorded the hot action and went live on Facebook (VIDEO +18)]

Author: Zoran Bojarovski

Numerous principles of domestic and international Codes of journalists are violated by this media content we are reviewing. And that’s not all – multiple provisions from international Declarations on the rights of the child are violated, that, by the way, have been ratified by the Republic of Macedonia, which means that not only it should protect them, but it should sentence the ones violating them.

Laws are also violated, such as our Law on Audio and Audiovisual Services, which in the Article 50 (Protection of Minors), precisely states:

Audiovisual media service givers are not allowed to broadcast content that could seriously harm the physical, mental or moral development of minors, especially content that includes pornography or unnecessary violence.

Now, let’s explain to those who need explanation, what does “harming the physical, mental or moral development of minors” mean.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says that social abuse, which includes media, political, economic and cultural environment that actively encourages (or stealthily approves) abuse of law-determined underage children, covers commercial misuse of child prostitution and pornography.

One of the principles of the International Federation of Journalists states that treatment of news and information as “merchandise sold on market” must not overmaster, nor even to interfere with the journalist’s obligation to inform the public, and also that the media must adhere to the highest of standards. One of those highest of standards is – protection of the rights of the child.

Link to the original article: Тинејџерски секс во живо: Ја снимале жестоката акција и ја пренесувале на Фејсбук (ВИДЕО +18)

Date and time of publishing: 13.09.2016, 8:39 PM

Date of review: 14.09.2016

Reviewer: Zoran Bojarovski

VIDEO AS MERCHANDISE FOR “PROFIT”

Instead, this controversial media content, which violates these standards in any possible manner, was turned into “merchandise” for profit.

And if this is not enough to picture the extreme non-professionalism and low level of responsibility for the rights of the child, let us move forward: the Code of Journalists, in the Article 7, states:

The journalist shall respect the privacy of every person, except in cases when that is on the contrary with the public interest.

I beg your pardon, what’s the public interest from this media content?

The Code covers this topic in the Article 10 too, which says:

The journalists shall not consciously create or process information that jeopardize the human rights and freedoms, shall not use hate speech and shall not encourage discrimination of any sort (nationality, religion, sex, social class, language, sexual orientation, political orientation…)

“Of any sort”, is said, including the protection of children from content which can harm them in many ways.

MEANINGLESS WARNING IN THE TITLE

The recommendations in Children’s Rights and Journalism Practice – A Rights-Based Perspective by UNICEF, points out to the burdens arising from EU’s recommendations:

The EU points out to the necessity to protect children in media from violence and abuse, such as child trafficking or child misuse via Internet (child pornography).

The (Video +18) warning in the title is vain, because that video, should have not been published by this medium in the first place at all, and I mean at all.

Once again, we go back to our Law on Audio and Audiovisual Services, which in the Article 50, Paragraph 5 is even more precise, because it is related to broadcasting and re-broadcasting of child pornography:

The operators of public electronic communication networks can broadcast or re-broadcast encoded pornographic content only. Broadcasting or re-broadcasting of child pornography is prohibited.

At the end of this review, the understatement of the media legislative that does not classify the websites as media comes at us with full throttle. This is only one reason, of course serious, for such exceptionally dramatic media violations of the rights of the child.

UPDATE: After this review was published, and shared by the citizens, the Republika weekly website removed the article that violated the journalistic standards by showcasing child pornography. At the moment, the web address of the original article, which is always embedded in the review itself, is showing only a blank page.