Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) issued its annual report on the media status index in Jordan for the year 2023, under the title “Standstill”.
CDFJ said that Jordan has achieved positive progress in the Media Status Index for the year 2023, as it obtained (91) degrees out of the index’s total score of (200) points, and according to the criteria adopted in calculating the index, this result falls into the “acceptable” classification, indicating that the media freedom section advanced by 9 degrees, achieving 42 degrees compared to 33 degrees last year, 2022, and this is a remarkable progress to move from the rating of “restricted” to “partially restricted,” which is the highest result recorded by the index since its implementation began in 2020.
The Center indicated that this progress coincided with a decline in the serious violations that occurred against journalists, as 83% of the journalists who responded to the index questionnaire confirmed that they were not subjected to any violations or harassment during the year 2023.
CDFJ added that the second section, “Developments and changes in the media work environment for the year 2023,” received a score of 20.7 out of 35 degrees, which was described as “good,” while the third section, “The impact of digital transformations and social media platforms on the media,” reached 16.5. A score out of 35, described as “acceptable”, and finally; The “Job Security for Journalists” section received a score of 11.7 out of 30, meaning it is “acceptable.”
The Center stated that the opinions of a large number of those interviewed, or who participated in the focused group discussions for the purposes of preparing the report, agree that media freedom is at a standstill as it did not advance, nor did it retreat, drawing attention to what a member of the Senate and former Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications, Mohammad AlMomani, said, “The status of media freedoms remained the same in 2023”, describing the reality of media freedom as being in a gray area, and this is also what MP Omar Ayasra stressed, saying, “The most accurate description of media freedoms, and even public freedoms in general, is that they are stagnating in the same place compared to previous years.”
CDFJ explained that despite the positive progress shown by the Media Status Index for 2023, there are still challenges and problems that cannot be ignored or overlooked, noting that the continuation of freedom-depriving penalties (arrest and imprisonment) is a major challenge to the media work environment as what journalists unanimously reject, and consider as a restriction on media freedom, are the penalties that deprive of freedom; 63.4% believe that they limit media freedom significantly, and 14.4% believe that they limit media freedom to a moderate extent.
The Index showed that exposure to violations is a source of concern for journalists, as 51.2% of journalists are concerned about being subjected to harassment, violations, or violations due to their practice of media work to a large extent, while 36.6% express that they feel this on a moderate level.
The Center said that the phenomenon of self-censorship does not end in the media community, as 96.8% of journalists admitted that they impose self-censorship on themselves while practicing their media work to a large or moderate extent, noting that the self-censorship section has remained relatively stable, since 2020, it has not dropped below 91.3%. In 2020, it recorded a rate of 93.6%, and in 2021 it reached 91.3%, then the percentage rose to 96.2% in 2022, achieving another increase in in 2023, to reach 96.8%.
CDFJ stressed that adding to the list of recurring challenges are the invisible violations that have expanded in recent years, most notably the growth of prior censorship and withholding of information, as 60.5% of journalists admitted that they were subjected to prior censorship by their organizations to a large extent, and 28.4% believe this moderately.
The Center indicates that prior censorship by the executive authority – according to the answers of journalists – recorded a lower percentage than oversight by editorial departments in media outlets, explaining that 44.1% of journalists believe that the media outlets are exposed to prior censorship, directly or indirectly, by the executive authority to a large extent.
CDFJ said that the interference of the executive authority is a reality that continues to persist in the belief of journalists as 82.7% of those polled believe that the executive authority interferes to a large extent or to a moderate extent in the work of the media, compared to only 17.3% who absolutely deny any interference by the executive authority in this regard. For his part, the Minister of Government Communications and official spokesman for the government, Muhannad Moubaideen, in an interview conducted with him for the purposes of the report, denies any government interference in the will and positions of journalists, adding that in some cases the government has the right to obtain clarification on topics or press coverage related to government work.
The Center noted that the Cybercrime Law of 2023 is the most prominent challenge facing journalists, as the percentage of those who believe that it imposes restrictions on media freedom to a large to moderate degree constitutes 86.3% of the total sample, pointing out that the government, represented by the Minister of Government Communications, Muhannad Moubaideen, said that the cybercrime law has not been tested yet, but His Majesty the King met with the National Center for Human Rights and directed to work on implementing training courses for judges regarding human rights and freedom of expression, adding that His Majesty the King requested a study of the legislative impact of the law, as it needs to build media policies that support it, indicating that prior disclosure of information and interaction with topics correctly limits the writing of misleading news and provides an urgent flow of news, and makes us not need to use the law in a way that affects freedoms.
In a session on the reality of media legislation implemented by the Center, the head of the Parliament’s Legal Committee, MP Ghazi Al-Thunaibat, said: “From a legislative standpoint, I am satisfied with what has been accomplished, and I do not find any ambiguity in saying – despite all the uproar and all the talk that has been raised about some laws and some legislation, it has achieved tangible results on the ground in the field of reducing crime, and in the field of controlling the digital space from quarrels, insults, cursing, and blackmail, there are now some controls to limit it with the Cybercrime Law.”
The former Director General of the Jordanian Media Authority and the expert lawyer in media issues, Mohammed Al Qutaishat, said, “The cybercrime law will not have an impact in the near term on freedom of expression and media,” anticipating an increase in the number of cases that will be referred to the judiciary according to the law; due to the presence of new crimes, formulated using flexible verbal templates, and inconsistent with the rules of legislation, indicating that the far-reaching impact of the law is represented by an excessive increase in the phenomena of prior and subjective censorship.
Lawyer and expert in media issues, Khaled Khalifat, explains to the Center that anything related to the Internet is subject to the Cybercrime Law, and it is the only outlet, or the only escape for a journalist who is afraid of publishing journalistic material in the digital space is to keep it on paper until it is subject to the Press and Publications Law, and avoids the Cybercrime Law.
The Center pointed out that in light of the challenges, success stories and positives stand out on the list of the Media Status Index, and these positives take precedence; a wide sector of media professionals is convinced that the government supports the media, 50% of respondents to the index questionnaire believe that the government supports the media to a moderate extent, and 24% of them believe that the government supports the media in a way that greatly enhances their freedom.
Positives also include the respondents’ belief that the government guarantees diversity and pluralism of the media, 87% of journalists believe this to a great or moderate extent, compared to only 13% who do not believe this at all.
Further, the Index indicated that freedom of media via the Internet and social media platforms is protected to an acceptable extent, 35.9% believe that it is maintained to a moderate degree, compared to 18.1% who believe that it is maintained to a great extent, stressing that one of the remarkable positive results was also the confirmation by journalists that social media platforms have contributed to enhancing freedom of expression and media, as 58.2% of journalists believe that social media platforms have greatly contributed to enhancing freedom of expression in Jordan, and 35.5% believe that they have contributed to enhancing freedom of expression in Jordan to a moderate extent.
CDFJ explained that its review of developments in the 2023 index confirms that journalists consider that the media exercised its freedom to the greatest extent during its coverage of events and positions related to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and that the local media was a reliable source of information about the genocide war waged by the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian people in Gaza since October 7, 2023, detailing that 73.6% of journalists believe that local media worked to cover the aggression against Gaza freely and largely without restrictions, 18.6% see the same matter on an average basis, and 65.8% of journalists believe that the local media constitute a reliable source for the public to obtain information on an average basis, and 26.8% see the same matter on an average level.
The journalist and program presenter, Omar Kallab, in an interview conducted with him by the Center, confirmed this by saying, “Historically, foreign affairs in Jordan are less sensitive than internal affairs, and historically Palestinian affairs have the highest ceiling in foreign affairs. Therefore, the events of October 7th necessarily raised the ceiling for freedom of expression and media.”
CDFJ warned that journalists no longer feel job security, as 46% admit that they feel that there is no longer job security at work to a great extent, and 40.1% feel that there is no longer job security at work on a moderate basis, compared to 13.8% that do not feel job insecurity at work at all.
The Center believes that journalists’ feeling of loss of job security has affected media freedom in one way or another, 39% of journalists believe that the loss and/or weakness of job security for journalists has contributed to a significant decline in media freedom, and 48.4% believe that it contributed to its moderate decline. Representative Omar Ayasra confirms this by saying, “The status of freedoms is not isolated from the status of institutions, the media industry, the reality of job security for journalists, the professional situation, and technological developments, especially the livelihood security of media professionals.” The editor-in-chief of Al-Ghad newspaper, Makram Tarawneh, agrees with him, as he believes that “no “Media freedom can be separated from job security once and for all.”
The index showed that “physical and verbal” sexual harassment is not a phenomenon in the work environment, and this was confirmed by 65.2% of journalists, denying the existence of harassment at all, while 23.7% believe that it exists on a moderate basis, compared to only 11.1% who admit that it exists to a large extent.
The Center monitored and documented violations committed against journalists and media outlets during the year 2023, and what the Violations Monitoring and Documentation Unit “Ain” was able to reach resulted in 7 cases, including 9 forms of violations and abuses.
In the details of the violations, The Center monitored that the media was prevented from covering the discussions of the parliamentary committees for the 2023 budget. Al-Ghad newspaper’s photojournalist “Amir Khalifa” was beaten, the office of the “Wast Al-Balad” channel was stormed, the Media Authority blocked the satirical website “Al-Hodood Network,” in addition to the Public Security personnel preventing the access of journalists to cover one of the demonstrations at the American embassy, and the “Al-Mamlaka” channel website was subjected to a cyber-attack, and finally, an attack of defamation and abuse against cartoonist Imad Hajjaj via social media platforms.
The Center also monitored 3 other cases, which included one arrest case and two prison sentences. After reviewing, monitoring and documenting the three cases, the Center found that they were not related to publishing through professional media outlets, but rather closely linked to freedom of expression and publishing on social media platforms. The journalists are: the journalist Heba Abu Taha, the publisher of the Kul Al-Urdun website, Khaled Al-Majali, and the publisher of the Sawalif journalistic website, Ahmed Hassan Al-Zoubi.
CDFJ believes that after 25 years of the Center’s work, it was necessary for it to stop to review, evaluate the report, study its suitability to the developments that occurred in the media, and consider whether the measurement tools and methodologies it developed needed scrutiny and reconsideration, pointing out that the media that we knew 25 years ago has changed to a great degree. The written press that dominated the scene is facing a state of decline, and all traditional media in all its forms are facing unprecedented challenges to survive and continue with their previous patterns.
The Center stated that the transformations in the media landscape imposed a view of freedoms as a single entity within the state of the media as the broader umbrella, and every detail affects and is affected, and what job security creates may be more influential than many serious and non-serious violations.
Accordingly; CDFJ based its index methodology on 4 research tools: The first is collecting information related to the media environment in Jordan, and monitoring and documenting violations of media freedom. The second tool is the conduction of in-depth interviews with government officials, parliamentarians, media figures, jurists, and experts, in addition to the third tool, which is conducting 4 focused dialogue sessions with workers in the media sector, relevant parties, and finally the fourth tool, which is the media status index, which measures the opinions, impressions, and satisfaction of journalists.
Regarding the details of the methodology, the Center carried out 26 interviews that discussed and examined the topics of the report in its finest details, in addition to four focus group discussion sessions titled: “The legislative environment for the media,” “The professional situation and the effects of technology and digital platforms on freedom of expression and media,” “Journalists and the challenges of job and livelihood security,” and “The reality of media freedoms for the year 2023,” at which 30 participants attended.
The Center developed its indicator to measure and evaluate the status of the media in Jordan for the year 2023, by preparing a questionnaire that was answered by a random stratified sample of 254 journalists, representing 21.7% out of 1,169 on the list of workers in the media whose information the Center was able to collect.
CDFJ concluded a set of recommendations. In terms of legislation, the Center called for amending the Cybercrime Law of 2023, and eliminating custodial penalties and excessive financial fines, including reviewing Legal Articles No. (15, 16, 17, 20, 24, 25, 31, 32, and 37), which are considered a restriction on freedom of expression and the media.
Moreover, the Center called for the abolition of mandatory membership in the Journalists Syndicate. The principle of compulsory membership in unions contradicts Article (22) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the principle is that membership in unions is voluntary and diverse, calling on the government to harmonize legislation with the international treaties and agreements it has ratified.
As for policies, CDFJ recommended that the government adopt a strategy and plans that support freedom of expression and media linked to measurement indicators and a time frame, and enforce the law guaranteeing the right to access information within public institutions, and the necessity of having bodies charged with monitoring law enforcement and accountability mechanisms, in addition to establishing a national fund to support the media, and adopt a protocol that protects the right of journalists to independent coverage in areas of tension and crises, and base its principles on the Code of Conduct for law enforcement officials adopted by the United Nations, and assisting the media in training and qualifying to engage in the era of digital media.
Finally, on the level of practices, the Center said that it is necessary to establish an observatory for violations of freedom of media and expression, especially those that occur on social media platforms, and to increase interest in providing assistance and legal aid to journalists who are victims of violations, in addition to providing these services to activists on social media platforms, and defenders of freedom of media and expression.
- To view and read the full Media Status Index Report in Jordan for the year 2023, please visit the following link: