Democracy
and
Human
Rights
WEEK 3
The role of the media in a
democratic society:
To inform the public on what is going on: inform
democratic choices
through the clarification of complex issues, particularly
in an age when
information is the driving force of economic
advancement and international events impact on
people's daily lives as never before;
To provoke public debates leading to greater public
participation in
The role of the media in a
democratic society:
To uncover abuses and expose violations of
human rights
To inform citizens about their government, their
rights and freedom and
their health and safety.
To alert and mobilize public opinion to
humanitarian causes/injustices;
The role of the media in a
democratic society:
To allow political diversity to express itself by
advertising different views/
ideological approaches to certain issues;
To keep politicians attuned to public opinion while
offering politicians a
medium to explain policies/decisions to public opinion
and build the
necessary support.
The role of the media in a
democratic society:
To report on unlawful activities, the courts and
court cases
To expose corruption and mismanagement
To give political information that can inform
voters
To promote nation-building, by giving access to
diverse viewpoints and world views, as well as
sports cover.
To promote a culture of human rights, enable all
citizens to fully participate in economic growth
and speed up transformation and development.
To provide a window of transparency in
government and injects life to a country's
economy by publishing financial and market
information to citizens, allowing them to
participate freely and fruitfully in their country’s
Instances when the media do not
fulfil their roles responsibly include:
Most media make money from advertisements
and sponsors. The media therefore aim to
satisfy the interests of their advertisers. These
may not be the same as the interests of the
public. They may withhold information or give
biased reports, to satisfy their sponsors.
Instances when the media do not
fulfil their roles responsibly include
News entertains rather than informs. Some
media are filled with gossip, scandals, sex and
violence rather than facts.
Political news is often more about personalities,
than about politicians’ work and contributions.
Media publicise the scandalous private lives of
politicians and their families, which have
nothing to do with their work.
Instances when the media do not
fulfil their roles responsibly include
The lives of famous stars are made difficult by the
paparazzi who invade their privacy. The media are
like vultures when celebrities are in trouble; they
persecute rather than protect them.
The media sometimes exaggerate (overemphasised)
dangers and make people afraid for no reason.
Instances when the media do not
fulfil their roles responsibly include
News and interpretations of events may be biased, incomplete or
incorrect.
The information in the printed press, radio and TV has been
selected
from a large pool of information. Somebody, somewhere, made a
decision on what was necessary to tell the public and what not. What
is
not told may be just as important as what is told.
Types of Mass Media
Electronic media – are any media that need
electricity or batteries.
Examples : internet, emails, blogs, Facebook
Print media includes books, newspapers,
magazines, pamphlets.
Social media are interactive technologies that allow
the creation or sharing/exchange of information, ideas,
career interests, and other forms of expression via
virtual communities and networks.
Users usually access social media services via web-
based apps on desktops and laptops, or download
services that offer social media functionality to their
mobile devices.
Social media platforms
Social media foot print is the trail that you leave behind for others to
find
every time you upload a photo on Instagram, check in on Foursquare,
share
anything on Facebook, tweet on Twitter, pin on Pinterest boards, publish
videos of yourself on YouTube, get tagged in a Flickr photo, add jobs and
education info on LinkedIn, and so on.
Social media platforms
Dangers of use and abuse
The trail it leaves behind - your social
media footprint—isn’t always safe. A digital
footprint encompasses beyond your use of
social media accounts.
Instead, it’s the history of all the things
you’ve done on the Internet.
Social media platforms
- Catfishes reuse someone else images to lure (trap) you into
whatever
they need.
- They make things highly believable and could possibly be a
predator.
Predators - lure you beyond your screen using your vulnerability
and
what you have told them, they make you meet up with them.
Social media platforms
- These interactions often lead to human trafficking, sex trading or
even
worse, murder.
- Don’t let your activity put you in grave danger.
Social media platforms
Posting your location is hazardous since anyone could be watching.
Identity theft is a serious issue because someone actively has
access
to your personal information and uses it to access things such as
your
bank account and social media accounts.
Scams and spam are worrying issue since they seek your personal
information and constantly leave pop ups
Social media platforms
Cyber wellness refers to the positive well-being of
internet users.
- Cyber Wellness education aims to equip learners with an
understanding
of online behaviour and enable them to be responsible for their
own
well-being in cyberspace as digitally literate learners and
citizens.
Social Media Platforms
Cyber safety (internet safety/on line
safety/E-safety) is trying to be safe on the
internet.-It is the act of maximizing a user's
awareness of personal safety and security risks
to private information and property associated
with using the internet, and the self-protection
from computer crime.
Social Media Platforms
Cyber bullying is wilful and repeated harm inflicted through
the use of
computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
Elements of cyber bullying:
- Willful: the behaviour has to be deliberate, not accidental.
- Repeated: bullying reflects a pattern of behaviour, not just one
isolated
incident.
- Harm: the target must perceive that harm was inflicted
Social Media Platforms
How to Prevent Cyberbullying/protecting oneself
from cyberbullying
Keep all your passwords protected and secret.
Log out of all your social media accounts when they
are not in use.
Never open any messages from people you don’t
know, or from people you know regularly exhibit
bullying behaviour.
Social Media Platforms
Cyber savvy - is being technologically
knowledgeable on digital safety, including
effective digital decision-making, safe posting
of personal information.
ACTIVITY 1
Decide which of the following items could be freely communicated in
the media and
which cannot because it contains hate speech or unsuitable images.
Give reasons for
your decision.
(a) A senior government official at a nightclub.
(b) A cartoon showing the naked body parts of a male or female head of state
or public person.
ACTIVITY 1
(c) A learner tweets a racist jokes to her classmates.
(d) A blog on the Internet in which someone writes
abusive comments about
the opposite gender.
(e) A cartoon that is offensive and disrespectful to a
particular religion.
ACTIVITY 2
(a) Explain why newspaper headlines are
sometimes misleading.
(b) Which of the news headlines below you think
are factual and accurate or
untrue. Motivate your answers.
Youth obesity increases.
ACTIVITY 2
South Africa’s prison stand empty as crime rate
drops to low rate.
Three-headed boy seen in village near after
spaceship sighting
(spotting).
Road accident rate over holiday period
increases
