AKEED, Wasfi Khushman

Electronic news sites have adopted a story presented by a media person who works at a local TV channel, in which he said that he was beaten by the bodyguards of Prime Minister Hani Mulki while he was covering a meeting held at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The body of the news and the headlines were almost the same and quoted the media person himself without including an official reply or an opinion by an independent party. Also, at least one TV channel conducted an interview with the media person, in which he explained his story about the "assault" by the prime minister"s bodyguards against him.

The media person told his story in a series of pictures and video clips, which he broadcast live while he was in the emergency room of a hospital and in his car and home. The clips were watched around quarter of a million times and received more than 7000 comments.

The media person said that he was prevented from covering the meeting of the prime minister at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and that he was then beaten by the "escorts" of the prime minister, which led to his injury. He included photos of a medical report that shows that he sustained a fracture in the third phalanx of the left hand.

News sites quoted the media person as saying that he would press charges against the prime minister"s bodyguards, while other sites confirmed that he had indeed filed a complaint.

The media person said on his interactive platform, which is followed by more than 38000 people, including friends and others, that he had lodged a complaint with the Shmeisani police station. This could not be confirmed despite the fact that the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) contacted Lieutenant Colonel Amir Sartawi, media spokesman for the Public Security Directorate. The Monitor also tried to contact the media person who claimed that he was beaten, but to no avail.

Dr. Mansour Hiari, the emergency doctor who received the media person and wrote the preliminary medical report about his condition, said that the media person came to the emergency ward and said that he had been beaten. His condition was classified as "brawl." As the emergency doctor on duty, I conducted a full medical examination of him.

The emergency doctor added that the initial examination showed that there was "swelling and blue colored skin" in his left hand. The x-ray showed that there was a fracture in the third phalanx, which required referring him to an orthopedist.

Dr. Hiari said: Our role as emergency doctors ends after the stage of primary care. He said that "it is not the role of the doctor to know how the injury was sustained." He added: "The same injury could have several causes. This is the role of police investigators to know how the injury was sustained."

An official source said that the claim by the media person "had no truth whatsoever." He said that more than 40 persons could confirm this. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the meeting "was not open to the media, which is a normal procedure. There are meetings that are open, and others that are not."

Two eyewitnesses, whose testimonies the AKEED Monitor holds, described what happened at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. They both agreed that the media person was not beaten and that he attended part of the meeting of the prime minister at the ministry, but that he was not allowed to take pictures or record videos. He then left and waited for the prime minister and accompanied him as he was heading toward the elevator and spoke to him. He then returned to the meeting and had an argument with Dr. Mohammad Moumani, minister of state for media affairs and official spokesman for the government. 

A 15-second video posted on social media platforms and carried by news sites, taken from a surveillance camera at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, showed the media person standing with the prime minister in the elevator and kissing his head. Then, there was a break in the video. The next clip shows the media person emerging from the elevator without exhibiting signs that he was beaten and assaulted.

The media person had been previously detained on charges of not observing accuracy and violating the Press and Publications Law and the Cybercrime Law in the wake of posting videos on interactive platforms. Also, some news sites have been in the habit of publishing the opinions and news of the said media person.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) has identified a number of violations committed by news sites, key of which is the loss of the elements of balance and neutrality. The coverage lacked the other opinion, represented by the government, or a neutral opinion, represented by eyewitnesses. Besides, the coverage used assertive expressions and failed to use words that make the source responsible for the information, such as "allegations or claims."