MEO Guidelines

Guidelines on Coverage of Forcibly Displaced Persons from Artsakh –  adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, January 12, 2024 (Արցախից բռնի տեղահանվածների վերաբերյալ լուսաբանումների ուղեցույց).

Practical Guide for Journalists Covering the Issues of Vulnerable Groups – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, June 25, 2023 (Գործնական ուղեցույց խոցելի խմբերի խնդիրները լուսաբանող լրագրողների համար).

Guidelines on Conduct of Journalists and Media during Wars, Armed Confrontations and Internal Conflicts (supplemented and edited) – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, July 12, 2021 (Պատերազմի, զինված բախումների և ներքին հակամարտությունների ժամանակ լրագրողների ու լրատվամիջոցների վարքի ուղեցույց [լրացված և խմբագրված]).

Guidelines on Regulation of the Information Sphere and Conduct of the Media in the Times of Pandemic – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, May 12, 2020 (Համավարակի պայմաններում տեղեկատվական ոլորտի կարգավորման և լրատվամիջոցների վարքի ուղեցույց).

Guidelines on the Coverage of Elections and Referendums – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, November 16, 2017.

Guidelines on Exclusion of Manifestations of Discrimination and Ensuring Tolerance in the Media – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, May 17, 2017 («Զանգվածային լրատվության միջոցներում խտրականության դրսևորումները բացառելու և հանդուրժողականություն ապահովելու վերաբերյալ» ուղեցույց).

Background of the Issue: At the February 23, 2017 session Media Ethics Observatory made a decision to develop three guidelines, the first of which was the current Guidelines. The document is based on the principles of the Code of Ethics of Armenian Media and Journalists, in particular Principle 5 “Respect for Representatives of Different Groups and for Universal Values”, which obliges editors and journalists: to avoid prejudice against people on the ground of their race, sex, age, religion, nationality, geographic origin, sexual orientation, physical handicap, external look or social status (P. 5.1); not to promote in any way ethnic or religious hatred and intolerance, or any discrimination on political, social, sexual, and language grounds, exclude hate speech (P. 5.2).

Guidelines on Conduct of Journalists and Media during Wars, Armed Confrontations and Internal Conflicts – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, January 30, 2017 («Պատերազմի, զինված բախումների և ներքին հակամարտությունների ժամանակ լրագրողների ու լրատվամիջոցների վարքի» ուղեցույց).

Background of the Issue: The necessity of these Guidelines was conditioned by the growing actuality of the security of Armenian journalists, working in  hotspots, as well as covering conflict situations within the country. The four-day war in April 2016, the events connected with the July 2016 capture of the RA Police Patrol-Guard Service Regiment by “Sasna Tsrer” armed group and confrontations occurred earlier during rallies and marches revealed certain gaps in the media coverage, demonstrating the urgency of developing such rules of conduct. The Guidelines are of purely recommendatory nature.

Guidelines on the Rules of Conduct of Editorial Staff on Social Networks – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, July 23, 2015.

Background of the Issue: At the May 16, 2015 meeting the representatives of media and journalistic associations that joined the self-regulation initiative proposed to  Media Ethics Observatory to develop a guidance document, based on which each media will set rules of conduct in social media for the editorial staff. The proposal was conditioned by point 3.5 of the Code of Ethics of Armenian Media and Journalists: “Set rules of conduct in social networks for the editorial staff and follow the compliance with thereof.”

Guidelines for Armenian Media, Developed Based on the Delfi AS v. Estonia European Court of Human Rights Judgment – adopted at the session of the Media Ethics Observatory, July 23, 2015.

Background of the Issue: On June 16, 2015, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights delivered the judgment on the case of Delfi AS v. Estonia. A number of legal positions of this precedent judgment can significantly change the boundaries of liability of the media in Internet. ECHR ordered that the media should be held liable for removing clearly unlawful comments such as hate speech or call for violence not upon notification but immediately after becoming aware of the existence of such comments. Based on the provisions of the ECHR judgment, Media Ethics Observatory developed recommendations for those Armenian media, which  provide to the users the opportunity of posting their comments under the publications.