AKEED -- The government leaked instructions and information to media outlets and social media platforms to counter the strike that was called by the Jordanian professional associations on Wednesday, 30 May 2018, in protest against the new income tax law. The leaks aimed at dissuading many sectors from taking part in the strike. Key of these leaks is a report published by a daily newspaper on its website, which contained a list of the names of 25 engineers who represent the engineers' pension fund and who "received 1,237,716 million dinars in transportation allowance and bonuses."

Under the headline "Tax Department Reveals 4-Year-Old Correspondence Ignored by Associations," a website published a story, which stated the following: "The Tax Department has revealed official documents asking professional associations for name lists for tax purposes. However, the associations have ignored them. An informed source said that the Tax Department sent letters in 2014 to several associations, including the Bar Association, Engineers Association, and Medical Association, asking for the full names of the members of these associations and their national numbers."

AKEED has monitored incitement on some social media platforms against association members who call for a strike by noting that their actions "have personal aims due to their high income and their unwillingness to pay more taxes" and that "they do not feel with citizens as they receive high wages."

Some media outlets published a comment by Noufan Ajarmeh, head of the Opinion and Legislation Bureau at the Prime Ministry, on his Facebook page, in which he said that striking by civil servants is legally prohibited. He warned of penal measures against any civil servant who takes part in the planned strike.

Since the Bar Association is one of the associations taking part in the strike, a story was published on some websites under headlines, including "Judicial Council Refuses 'Pressure' on Courts Through Lawyers' Strike," and "Courts To Continue To Examine Pending Cases Wednesday." The story said: "Judge Ali Masri, secretary general of the Judicial Council, said that the judiciary is one of the authorities of the state and will handle cases being considered by courts tomorrow, Wednesday, normally, based on the provisions of the law." The story quoted Masri as saying that "according to the Civil Procedure Law and the Criminal Procedure Law, if the defendant or complainee appears and the plaintiff or complainant fails to appear, the court may, if the defendant or complainee does not have a counterclaim, decide, at his request, to dismiss the case or issue a ruling on it."

AKEED stresses that media outlets must confirm leaked information before publishing it so that they will not be a tool for promoting such information. This could result in media outlets adopting positions that they should steer clear of. This is in response to the principles that govern the profession of journalism and that stipulate the need for maintaining neutrality and fairness.