Amman, May 4 - Senate President Faisal El-Fayez stressed the need to develop a media strategy for the Jordanian state aimed at unifying media discourse on various local issues, the nation's supreme interests, and Jordan's advanced and honorable national positions.
This came during his visit to the Jordan Journalists Syndicate on Sunday. El-Fayez congratulated the President of the Jordan Journalists Syndicate, Tariq Al-Momani, and the Council members on their election victory and gaining the confidence of their colleagues on the General Assembly.
El-Fayez stressed the Senate's commitment to fully cooperate with the Council on everything that serves the national media and enhances its role in advancing national issues and confronting the challenges it faces.
He added that the state of chaos and anarchy witnessed on social media and some news websites is no longer acceptable.
He stated that Jordan is being targeted by so-called electronic flies with the aim of sowing chaos within the country, tampering with its social fabric, and undermining its honorable and strong positions in serving just Arab causes, foremost among them the Palestinian cause.
El-Fayez explained that Jordanian citizens today are prey to directed and distorted media targeting our national security and our Arab stances due to the lack of openness and providing citizens with up-to-date, accurate, and timely information.
The Senate President called for providing the necessary support to the Journalists Syndicate, as the legal umbrella representing all Jordanian journalists, to enable it to protect the profession from violations and intrusions into the profession, and to enable it to promote responsible journalistic freedoms in accordance with the principles of professionalism, objectivity, and the journalistic code of honor.
He pointed out that supporting the media and working to provide job and livelihood security for its workers is an urgent necessity. Strong, professional, and objective media serves the nation and enables it to counter any abuse or targeting of our country. It also serves to convey the message of the Jordanian state in the best possible way and to counter the hate speech and smear campaigns to which Jordan is subjected. Therefore, dealing with our media institutions on the basis of profit and loss is not permissible.
El-Fayez stressed the importance of cooperation between all concerned parties with the Journalists Syndicate to enable it to fulfill its responsible role in protecting the profession and preventing the chaos prevailing on some news websites and social media platforms, preventing them from becoming tools that fuel rumors, division, incitement, treason, character assassination, hatred, and blackmail.
For his part, the President of the Journalists Syndicate, Tariq Al-Momani, said, "We highly appreciate this generous visit from a patriotic statesman who has always been as committed to his country and leadership as he is to the journalistic community." He recalled his tireless efforts in serving journalists and defending press freedom.
He commended the role of the Senate President in championing the defense of print journalism and the need to support it so it can continue to fulfill its national and professional mission.
Al-Momani expressed his hope that the Senate, headed by Al-Fayez, would support the Syndicate in promoting legislation regulating journalistic and media work and stand with both public and private media to improve their living conditions and work environment so they can continue to fulfill their mission, which will be reflected in improved performance.
He affirmed the union's commitment to defending the nation against attempts to target it, calling for greater attention to the issue of artificial intelligence, the outputs of which contribute to the dissemination of false and misleading information, thus increasing the level of media misinformation.