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Zimfact Bulletin 5: Elections - Chamisa at crossroads? - ZimFact Ngoni Mhuruyengwe September 11, 2023 FEATURED

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2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

September 11, 2023

Zimfact Bulletin Volume 2 - ZimFact Ngoni Mhuruyengwe July 3, 2023 FEATUREDTRENDING

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2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

July 3, 2023

ZimFact Editorial Charter - ZimFact Sunday, 26 May 2024 ZimFact is an non-partisan news and information fact-checking platform founded on the principles of impartiality and independence. The platform is dedicated to providing accurate, fair and balanced information for the benefit of the public. In pursuit of promoting the dissemination of accurate news and information in Zimbabwe, ZimFact subscribes to international best practices in fact-checking and is committed to operating principles of impartiality and transparency. Our editorial charter is based on universal guidelines recognised by fact-checking platforms around the world. How we approach our work: While ZimFact provides a facility for readers to give suggestions and ideas, under the principle of editorial independence, the editorial team will decide on the story or information to fact-check, basing the selection on topical importance and strong public interest, on whether the information is presented as fact or opinion and on fact-checking all sides of a debate. In cases of contested claims and statements, we go out of the way to establish the exact words, the context in which they were given and how they were reported. After establishing contradicting facts, we always seek confirmation from the original source. We do our utmost to contact the source of the disputed information to provide evidence for their claims. We check information published or broadcast against information in our own and other archives. We cast our net widely and will record evidence from other sources both supporting and contradicting a given claim. We cross check and, where necessary, discuss the same information with established experts. We will strive to avoid anonymous sources in fact-checking. We do not use a single source as the basis of fact-checking claims. We use a minimum of two sources, and will strive for more, depending with the information in dispute. We produce a fact-checked report by setting out the original claim and the context in which it was delivered, provide evidence and end with a balanced conclusion. All reports are subjected to reviews by researchers and members of the editorial team to cross-check for accuracy before publication or broadcasting. We publish our reports on our website, for free access by the media and public. We update and correct any mistakes with full transparency. Editorial code of conduct We subscribe to the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe www.vmcz.co.zw code of conduct.

news-zimfact

2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

Sunday, 26 May 2024

ZimFact - Fact-checking Zimbabwe 2023 elections - ZimFact Ngoni Mhuruyengwe December 11, 2022 Join the fight against misinformation and disinformation ZimFact is tracking media coverage, statements by public officials and issues related to Zimbabwe’s next general elections as part of a drive to promote the dissemination of factual and verifiable information around the elections, due by August 2023. While the world is generally battling with serious problems of misinformation and disinformation, the challenge that has come to be known as “fake news” is particularly severe during elections. What can you do? You can play a part. Flag and share this information with ZimFact in our inboxes or on our social media platforms. Twitter: @ZimFact Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZimFact YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVzACoSLG-yDs1c7EK4Fy5 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zimfact/ FEATUREDTRENDING

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2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

December 11, 2022

ZIMFACT: Initiatives against COVID-19 - ZimFact Ngoni Mhuruyengwe April 3, 2020 Zimbabweans inside the country and around the world have started  initiatives to help the country to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been complemented by corporate organisations, religious bodies as well as multilateral and non-governmental organisations. ZimFact would like to collect and share information about the various public assistance initiatives, programmes and projects  in your community, or targeted at your community as part of the broad fight against COVID-19. We are interested in: In the interest of transparency, public accountability and disseminating credible information, ZimFact would like you to share with us verifiable details, including of the source of information, location of the initiative or project that you are assisting. Share your COVID-19 Community Initiatives to: [email protected], [email protected] or @zimfact on Twitter and https://www.facebook.com/ZimFact/ CORONAVIRUSCOVID-19FEATUREDZIMFACT

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2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

April 3, 2020

ZimFact launches #KnowTheFactsGetTheVax campaign against misinformation - ZimFact Ngoni Mhuruyengwe June 3, 2022 ZimFact is launching the #KnowTheFactsGetTheVax campaign to disseminate credible information on COVID-19 vaccines. The #KnowTheFactsGetTheVax campaign is an initiative of Africa’s oldest fact checking service, Africa Check. The campaign is running in several African countries, and ZimFact is running the campaign in Zimbabwe with the support of our partners the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). This is a literary campaign aimed at fighting against the harm that is caused by health misinformation by making available credible information and sources around COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. The campaign will run until November 2022. ZimFact’s broadcast and civil society partners will work with partners through their own various platforms. This includes broadcast services and social media pages. This will ensure that this critical message reaches as many people as possible. The languages will be run in English, Shona and Ndebele. To follow the campaign, be on the lookout for the campaign hashtag … #KnowTheFactsGetTheVax

news-zimfact

2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

June 3, 2022

ZimFact Promise Checker - ZimFact Sunday, 26 May 2024 [zimfact-factlist2]

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2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

Sunday, 26 May 2024

ZimFact – Zimbabwe struggle for media self-regulation - ZimFact Ngoni Mhuruyengwe February 20, 2023 Zimbabwean journalists are locked up in a spirited debate over the latest government proposals over co-regulation of the media — that is joint regulation by the statutory body Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) and the media players themselves. The major question in contention is whether the media should have one representative body or several bodies partnering the ZMC in the co-regulation framework. The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) — a network including the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum (ZINEF), Gender and Media Connect (GMC), Media Monitors, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe), Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) and the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) — are pushing for one professional representative body to administer one code of ethics alongside the ZMC. It believes choosing multiple bodies will fragment the media unnecessarily, fuelling polarisation and is not the best way of promoting professionalism. Officials and journalists championing the creation of many professional associations see it as a fairer and more representative way of recognising, and securing the participation of the various elements of the Zimbabwe media in the new co-regulation system. This Timeline and Analytical Factsheet tracing the struggle for media self-regulation in Zimbabwe was compiled by Tapfuma Machakaire, a veteran journalist and Board Member of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) and Chairperson of the VMCZ Ethics Committee. The Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services convened a write-workshop on August 11 and 12, 2022 in Kadoma which was attended by editors, journalists, media organisations and professional associations, academia, government officials, legislators and representatives of the ZMC. The workshop discussed the ZMC Amendment Bill, which seeks to expand the ZMC’s mandate to include functions that were in the now defunct Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). These include the registration of mass media services, accreditation of journalists and administration of a Media Fund. The contentious issue was the Media Practitioners Bill that seeks to provide parameters for media co-regulation through delegating the powers of the ZMC to a professional body or bodies. There was heated debate with the Ministry and ZMC insisting on delegation of regulatory powers to many media associations, while media representatives opted for one representative body that would encompass the said associations. The proposal was that each of the associations would be represented in the main body which they suggested could be termed MEDIA PRACTITIONERS COUNCIL. Consensus was eventually reached with on the position of the media stakeholders. The Ministry of Information was thus expected to derive Principles of the Media Practitioners Bill from the unanimous position taken at the Kadoma write workshop. In her post-Cabinet Meeting briefing on December 13, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced principles for the Media Practitioners Bill, which were at variance with the outcome of the Kadoma workshop. The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) response was “The gazetted principles are flawed in that instead of driving the industry towards standardizing the quality of journalism and professionalizing the sector, the principles further polarize and divide the sector.” Zimbabweans waged a protracted war of liberation to free themselves from the oppressive minority settler regime. One of the pillars of freedom sought after was freedom of the media and access to information. During the struggle, the regime had continued to intensify restrictions on the media. According to the Rhodesia Guild of Journalists, eighty journalists were expelled from Rhodesia between 1965 and 1979. The Rhodesia Herald often ran papers with some blank pages in protest over stringent media restrictions before a ban was imposed on the protests. Following the attainment of independence in 1980, the new government was lethargic in its media law reform agenda and did not seem to have a clear direction on the root to follow on media regulation.  The only law that was immediately repealed was the Powers, Privileges, and Immunities of Parliament Act, which had made it illegal for media to report on debates in parliament. In 1980 media industry was lean and dominated by public media, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and Zimbabwe Newspapers 1980 limited. Both had just been reconstituted. In January 1981, the government set up the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust (ZMMT) chaired by Dr Davison Sadza. This was part of a new media policy under which ZMMT would serve as an authority to oversee the transition of the media from white minority control to an independent Zimbabwe.  The government rhetoric then was that the media must be free, non-partisan, and mass-orientated and serve the national interest. The Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication then headed by the late Nathan Shamuyarira became the de facto media regulatory authority with the responsibility of issuing press cards to journalists. The ministry, then based at Liquenda House in Harare CBD, had sweeping powers that included clearing both local and foreign journalists for interviews with public officials. The Minister held regular briefings with editors updating them on programmes and policies. The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), the only organization that represented media workers was still trying to find its feet as the new players were taking over from the Rhodesia Guild of Journalists. The first attempt towards the establishment of a media self-regulatory body was in 1995 when the then Editor-in-Chief of Community Newspapers group Wilf Mbanga, representing the Willie Musarurwa Trust worked with leadership of ZUJ to set up the Media Council of Zimbabwe (MCZ). The ZUJ leadership got a greenlight for the project from the then Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Emmerson Mnangagwa (now the President of Zimbabwe) when he was a guest at a union meeting held in Harare. Joyce Mujuru, then Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications, subsequently approved the idea. MCZ was chaired by the late retired Justice John Manyarara and the board included the Director of Information under the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunications, Bornwell Chakaodza, ZUJ President Kindness Paradza (now Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services) ZUJ Secretary General Tapfuma Machakaire. Zimpapers and ZBC were represented by their corporate executives Lovejoy Charidza and Erica Ndewere. Other board members were Judith Todd (human rights activists), Professor Welshman Ncube (UZ Law lecturer), Lupie Mushayakarara (Journalist), Proffessor Geoff Feltoe (UZ Law lecturer), Ozias Tungwarara(Zimrights),Priscilla Matshe (NUST Information Director), Wilf Mbanga(Editor-in-Chief- Community Newspapers Group and Andy Moyce (Editor Parade Magazine). MCZ came up with the first draft code of ethics for media practitioners in Zimbabwe which was not finalized. A committee led by Professor Felton, a law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, worked on a media law reform project and managed to present its recommendations to the government. No action was taken before MCZ folded in 1997 due to viability challenges. Media in Zimbabwe had its worst experience during the tenure of Professor Jonathan Moyo as Minister of Information and Publicity in the President’s Office from year 2000. My own experience demonstrated that the Minister became the regulating authority and would issue instructions to even junior reporters in newsrooms. Moyo created polarization in the media and blocked journalists from the private media from accessing information from government and quasi government bodies. The period also saw a purge on hundreds of experienced journalists from the public media. In 2002, the Access to Information and protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) a repressive law that directly attacked the independence of the media was passed. The new law saw the creation of infamous Media and Information Commission (MIC) led by Dr Tafataona Mahoso. All its commissioners were appointed by government.  MIC was responsible for accrediting journalists and to register and deregister mass media service providers. New players introduced by Associated Newspapers Group  in 1999, the Daily News and Daily News on Sunday, were shut down on September 12, 2003. More publications, including The Tribute which was run by Kindness Paradza soon faced a similar predicament. Hundreds of journalists lost employment while others were arrested and detained. AIPPA gave the police powers to arrest and detain journalists under sections that criminalising the publication of falsehoods. Efforts to revive the media council around 2001 were thwarted by the Minister at a stakeholders meeting organized by Wilf Mbanga in Nyanga. In 2007, ZUJ and MISA revived efforts to set up another self-regulating body. The exercise saw then ZUJ President Matthew Takaona and MISA-Zimbabwe Programmes Officer Nyasha Nyakunu traverse the country on an outreach programme where they consulted media practitioners, the public and civic society. MISA-Zimbabwe is one of 11 chapters of the Media Institute of Southern Africa. It promotes and defends media freedom and freedom of expression. Its membership is comprised of journalists and other media professionals including media houses, online content creators, freedom of expression activists, bloggers and media students. The efforts culminated in the establishment of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) whose board is comprised of media representatives and representatives of the public. The council produced a code of conduct for media practitioners in Zimbabwe which is recognized by all media players. VMCZ runs a viable a complaints scheme which has received complaints from the public and from senior government officials and parliamentarians. VMCZ is thus a voluntary media self-regulatory body that has earned the respect of most media houses, including public media. Following the disputed results of the 2008 presidential elections, political parties went into negotiations mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki. This culminated in the signing of Global Political Agreement (GPA) on 15 September 2008. Article 19 of the GPA dealt with Freedom of Expression and communication. Chapter XB Part III provided for the establishment of the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) which would replace MIC. The commission chaired by the late veteran broadcaster Godfrey Majonga went into office in February 2010. Functions of ZMC as a statutory body are to uphold, promote and develop freedom of the media, to promote and enforce good practices and ethics in the media and to promote fair competition and diversity in the media. In 2012, media organizations that include the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Zimbabwe chapter), Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum (ZINEF), Gender and Media Connect (GMC), the Media Centre, the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS), the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) and the African Community Publishing Development Trust (ACPDT) MAZ is tasked with focusing on media policy and legislative review in line with the new constitution, promotion of media plurality and diversity, strengthening professionalism and ethics in the media, creation of safe, equitable and enabling working conditions in the media sector. MAZ has consistently stood with its position on the need for self-regulation as the best practice. In 2010 when the Zimbabwe government embarked on an outreach programme towards the drafting of a new constitution, media players and civic society lobbied for explicit clauses on media freedom and access to information. The provisions would be a springboard towards progressive regulatory framework for the media. As a result Section 61 of the 2013 national constitution guarantees freedom of expression, including media freedom and academic freedom. Section 62 guarantees citizens a right of access to information held by public bodies. The ZMC is among the Chapter 12 independent commissions that were established under the same constitution. The two pieces of legislation that have a direct bearing on media regulation are the Zimbabwe Media Commission Act and the proposed Media Practitioners Bill. The ZMC Act was gazetted on April 2, 2021.The Media Practitioners Bill is still pending. Author: Tapfuma Machakaire is a veteran journalist, who has worked in the media field since 1982. He worked at The Sunday News  newspaper and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), before venturing into private media production and consultancy work in 2003. He has been actively involved in leadership roles in Zimbabwe media organisations, including ZUJ, MISA-Zimbabwe and VMCZ. Media related content: Analysis: Does Freedom of Information Bill go far enough Opinion: Zimbabwe – Good journalism must rise now. A case for back-to-basics training and mentoring Opinion: The greatest victim of fake news is professional journalism FEATURED

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2024-05-27T18:41:47.087066

February 20, 2023