Terrorism and hate speech: what role should the media play?

The conference began with a detailed examination of the traits of violent and radical rhetoric. The Franco-Moroccan Islamologist Rachid Benzine gave a presentation of the distinctive characteristics of extremist discourse, and underlined just how important it was for young people to develop a critical mindset in order not to be influenced by it.

The participants – a mixture of Tunisian journalists and representatives of institutions, government offices and human rights organisations – then discussed how to go about constructing and alternative dialogue and make it easier for media professionals to access information.

Mehdi Ben Gharbia – the Tunisian Minister of Relations with the Constitutional Bodies, Civil Society and Human Rights – spoke about the progress that the Tunisian media had made since 2011 in reporting on terrorist event, especially as regards self-regulation, even though an actual ethics code still did not exist for the profession.

By the end of the discussions, everyone had come to the same conclusion: to combat terrorism and extremism, it is absolutely vital to improve the relationship of trust between journalists and the institutions affected by these issues.

“The media play a crucial role in ensuring smooth transitions to democracy, reporting radical rhetoric and defending human rights.”
Abdelbasset Ben Hassen, Président of the Arab Institute for Human Rights