AKEED, Husam Assal

It turned out that a viral video clip of children in a kindergarten being trained on the method of fertilization of the ovum was shot in the city of Tayibe in 1948-occupied Palestine, and not in Jordan. Several websites had claimed that the video was shot in Jordan.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) examined the video from a technical aspect to find its source. It discovered that the source was the Palestinian city of Tayibe. AKEED called Waleed Jallad, press spokesman of the Ministry of Education, who confirmed to us that the clip was not shot in Jordan, but at a kindergarten in the Palestinian city of Tayibe.

Social media users in Palestine and Palestinian websites circulated a letter signed by "the parent committee of the kindergarten" stating the acceptance by the parents of this training and that they were aware of it. They added that they would "take legal action against anyone who publishes pictures of our children without our approval."

A website had published the video under the headline "Shocking Video…Educational Scandal in Amman: Kindergarten Teaches Children How Sperm Fertilizes Egg." It claimed that the training was in Jordan without verifying this information.  

When the claim was refuted and the Ministry of Education denied it, the same website published a story headlined "Was Offensive Video Shot at Kindergarten in Jordan?" It reported Jallad"s denial that the training was in Jordan. However, the website bragged that it was the first to publish the video and attribute it to Jordan by saying "Saraya was the first to raise this issue a few days ago under the headline "Shocking Video…Educational Scandal in Amman: Kindergarten Teaches Children How Sperm Fertilizes Egg." "

The publishing of the clip generated reactions on social media platforms that expressed anger at having this training in Jordan. The same applies to websites, which took it for granted that the video was shot in Jordan without verifying this information. They used the following headlines:

Jordan: Kindergarten Teaches Children Fertilization Between Man and Woman...Video

Shocking Video: "Educational Scandal" at Kindergarten in Amman!

Investigation Opened Into "Educational Scandal" at Kindergarten in Amman…Video

On the other hand, some media outlets tried to seek accuracy in handling the video clip, such as Al Ghad daily and the Jordan News Agency "Petra," which contacted the press spokesman of the Ministry of Education, who confirmed that the clip was not in Jordan. Several other media outlets published the clarification of the Ministry of Education.

It was observed that many media outlets published the video clip and pictures from it without blurring the faces of the children and hiding their features, which is a professional and ethical violation. Pictures of children may not be published without the approval of their parents. This was clear in their statement, which threatened legal action against those who published the pictures of their children.

According to the AKEED Monitor, a website raised the story by publishing the video clip and claiming that it was in Jordan in a bid to publish sensational news and get a scoop at the expense of accuracy and credibility. This practice provoked public opinion based on an untrue claim, especially after other websites followed suit.

This practice violates the Press Code of Honor, which stresses that "the mission of journalism requires accuracy and objectivity, and its practice requires confirming the accuracy of information and news before publishing it." In addition, journalists must not publish unconfirmed, misleading, or distorted information.

This is also a violation of Article 14 of the Code, which states that journalists "shall refrain from interviewing children or taking pictures of them without the approval of their parents or guardians. Besides, they shall not publish anything that offends them or their families."