The Legal Pursuit for Justice: HRF and PCHR Take Anas al-Sharif’s Killing to the ICC
August 12, 2025
Source: Al Jazeera Media Institute –
Avoiding Discrimination & Hate Speech in Media –
Some media outlets take a biased approach in their coverage of events. This presents a professional and moral dilemma, especially if this leads to negative framing of communities or individuals that may damage their public image. Often this bias becomes a form of discrimination or incitement to hatred, increasing the possibility that these communities
or individuals may be exposed to violence.1
This guidebook introduces professional practices and legal boundaries to help journalists avoid being discriminatory, inciting hatred, or promoting racial discrimination in their pieces by providing them with the necessary tools and encouraging them to ask appropriate questions to produce objective and unbiased material. At the same time, it equips readers to recognise discriminatory journalism or journalism promoting hatred.
The guidebook can be thought ofas a roadmap that will help journalists to isolate their pieces from their own personal beliefs and biases and provide them with tools to deal with the moral dilemmas that confront them during their work. It also aims to familiarise them with the boundaries between legally acceptable journalism and hate speech and discrimination as
prohibited by international law.