AKEED, Wasfi Khushman

Press coverage of news about attacks on speed cameras in the governorates of the Kingdom has ranged from professional commitment in presenting news to legitimizing, and even urging, vandalism.

Newspapers and news websites circulated a story about attacks on speed cameras (radars) in Karak Governorate, two days after a similar attack had occurred in the district of Ramtha in Irbid.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) noticed that while some media outlets showed commitment to the ABCs of journalistic work in reporting news, other instances of press coverage were keen on justifying the attack, and even called for following this method and legitimized it by using expressions, such as "in a message showing their rejection of the collection policy," or "Mulki"s government has installed a large number of radars."

A debate erupted on social media pages over the vandalism of radars. One team viewed this as "savagery and a flagrant attack on public property," while another viewed it as "heroism, chivalry, and legitimate protest" against government policies.

Vandalization is a global, criminalized phenomenon, which is not limited to certain countries or peoples. It is defined as deliberate behavior that causes destruction or damage to public or private property. The word comes from the Germanic Vandals who wreaked havoc on Rome when King Genseric invaded it in 455.  

AKEED called Dr. Hilmi Sari, media and communication sociology professor at Philadelphia University, who said that the media handling of the vandalization of speed cameras (radars) had been interspersed with "sensationalism and incitement" against symbols of the state by "establishing a wrong connection between violation and collection."

Dr. Sari added that the media should have explained to citizens the necessity of installing these devices and their role in protecting them from speeding, which claims the lives of people every day, instead of portraying "this symbolic attack on the sovereignty of the state as an act of heroism."

The sociology professor criticized the justifications advanced by the media for attacking radars by suggesting that "the state does injustice to citizens through the use of these devices." Dr. Sari described the destruction of public property as "a means of protest that an individual resorts to when he loses belonging to his society. It is unbalanced and immature behavior."

AKEED has monitored a number of violations in media reports, key of which is not observing the standards of balance and neutrality. These outlets also violated ethical principles by justifying wrong actions and publishing content that instigates violence.