Gov’t committed to empowering media to face rumours, fake news — Ghunaimat

AMMAN — The spread of rumours and fake news is among the major challenges facing the media, Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat said on Tuesday.

Inaugurating an international conference on the role of media outlets in addressing rumours and defending the truth, Ghunaimat, who is also the government spokesperson, said that media outlets face a "huge challenge" in obtaining information to be able to uncover the truth and counter fake news and rumours.

The minister voiced the government's keenness on empowering media outlets and strengthening their role in addressing the spread of rumours, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

She also said that the government is committed to improving laws governing the conduct of media outlets and has withdrawn the amendments to the Access to Information Law with the aim of protecting peoples' right to information, Petra said. 

The minister also said that Jordan has "advanced laws" that enhance the conduct of the press and facilitate journalists' access to information, reiterating that Jordanian laws prohibit the detention of journalists on charges related to their work.   

Ghunaimat stressed that Jordan, although “under pressure”, will be always committed to rejecting any "unjust" settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that does not guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.  

The two-day conference is organised by the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East and Jordan’s Catholic Centre for Studies and Media.