In keeping with the professional and ethical responsibility of journalists’ organisations and trade unions to defend freedom of expression, uphold the ethics of media practice and help bring peoples closer together, the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union and the National Union of the Moroccan Press express concern about certain unrestrained practices on social media. These are accompanied by inflammatory rhetoric and offensive content seeking to inflame disagreements, fuel hostility and sow division between the brotherly Moroccan and Mauritanian peoples.
The two unions stress that Mauritanian–Moroccan relations are not based merely on geography or short-term interests. They consist of brotherly ties, a shared history and deeply rooted civilisational and human exchanges. Attempts to undermine or disrupt these relations through digital campaigns based on provocation, stigmatisation and disinformation run counter to the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples to build, develop and strengthen their historical bonds of fraternity, which extend over centuries.
In this context, the two unions note that some social media accounts and pages, and even some media organisations, disseminate content that goes beyond legitimate criticism and normal differences of opinion. Such content becomes a vehicle for incitement, abuse and generalisation, seeking to hold an entire people responsible for individual positions or comments, or presenting misleading stereotypes that may undermine mutual trust between citizens of the two countries.
They also warn against the suspicious use of certain accounts, including anonymous accounts or accounts whose backgrounds and content credibility are difficult to verify, when these are used to stir tensions between the two countries, exaggerate differences or manufacture virtual confrontations that do not necessarily reflect the two peoples’ true feelings or the depth of their relations. They emphasise that determining responsibility in such matters must be based on reliable information and verifiable evidence, rather than unsubstantiated accusations and baseless generalisations.
While stressing that freedom of expression is a fundamental right without which democratic life and media work cannot function properly, the two unions affirm that this freedom comes with responsibility. It must not be used as a pretext for spreading hate speech, inciting hostility or undermining the dignity of individuals and peoples. Differences of opinion, however sharp, must remain governed by dialogue and mutual respect, and must not become a means of inflaming conflicts or damaging the human and historical bonds between societies.
Accordingly, the two unions declare the following:
1. Their categorical rejection of any inflammatory and unrestrained use of social media intended to fuel conflicts and disagreements, spread hatred and stigmatisation, or call for division and hostility between the Moroccan and Mauritanian peoples, or between these two brotherly peoples and other peoples.
2. Their warning against the dangers of suspicious digital campaigns that exploit fake accounts or accounts of unknown origin, or use misleading news and content taken out of context, to stir tensions and harm Mauritanian–Moroccan relations, while stressing the need to distinguish established facts from interpretations and undocumented allegations.
3. Their call on journalists, media organisations and digital actors to follow the rules of information verification, respect professional ethics, avoid reproducing hostile rhetoric or giving it further reach, and work to debunk false news and misleading content through responsible professional methods.
4. Their appeal to digital platforms and the competent authorities, each within its own responsibilities, to counter content that incites hatred, discrimination or violence, in accordance with the laws in force, while guaranteeing respect for freedom of expression and ensuring that measures to combat such content are not used to restrict legitimate criticism or differing opinions.
5. Their call on citizens of both countries not to be drawn into rhetoric of incitement, stigmatisation and generalisation, not to redistribute provocative content or unverified news, and to exercise responsibility and wisdom when engaging with material circulating on digital platforms.
6. Their affirmation that individual accounts and offensive comments do not represent peoples, and that isolated behaviour or posts of unknown origin must not be used as a pretext for judging an entire society, questioning its intentions or disparaging its values, identity and dignity.
7. Their commitment to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two trade union organisations in media awareness, promoting a culture of information verification, opposing hate speech and incitement, and encouraging joint professional initiatives that strengthen communication between journalists and media professionals in the two brotherly countries.
8. Their call to establish responsible and constructive media discourse that makes media and communication tools a means of bringing peoples closer together, developing mutual understanding and exchanging experience, instead of turning them into platforms for settling scores, inflaming disagreements or harming the brotherly ties between the two peoples.
In issuing this joint statement, the two unions stress that protecting relations between the two countries is a collective responsibility requiring vigilance and sound judgement. Divisive rhetoric must not be answered with counter-rhetoric of abuse and incitement, but with awareness, dialogue, verification of facts and commitment to mutual respect.
They also affirm that differences, whatever their nature, must not become a justification for hostility between peoples. Handling them wisely requires responsible dialogue, reliance on facts, and avoidance of prejudgements and rhetoric that reduce societies to stereotypes or isolated individual positions.
Our two brotherly countries share a history of communication and civilisational interaction, deeply rooted social, cultural and human ties, and common interests that require mutual trust to be safeguarded and developed. Transient posts or digital campaigns, however widely circulated, cannot capture the reality of these bonds or replace the shared determination of the two brotherly peoples to preserve their deeply rooted fraternity.
The brotherhood of our two peoples is greater than campaigns aimed at disrupting it, more enduring than inflammatory rhetoric, and worthy of being protected with wisdom and responsibility. At the heart of their mission, the media are a bridge of communication between peoples, not a tool for dividing them or inflaming hostility between them.