Jordan Media Institute – Amman
The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) has launched an awareness campaign, organized through the hashtag #نقِّي_كلمتك, that includes a series of video and audio messages which have reached more than 50,000 followers on social media platforms and a number of local radio stations. This hashtag contains a double connotation and a call to action to the audience to filter their language and choose their words carefully. The campaign is part of a project to “improve the capacity of Jordanian media to counter violent extremism and terrorism through media literacy, quality of content, and media performance.” It is being carried out with the support of the Hedayah International Centre of Excellence for Combating Violent Extremism and with funding from the European Union.
Throughout November and December, JMI published 15 audio and video messages it had prepared for the platforms of its local media partners, both through social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and community radio stations. It is working to promote appropriate expressions and phrases that respect the differences between various segments of society to replace abusive content that is common in everyday speech. Such content has contributed to the propagation of hate speech and discrimination towards different social groups, ultimately promoting violent extremism.
In terms of media and information literacy, more refined and tolerant media discourse and online exchange is the goal of JMI and partners in the project who have helped to spread its messages; the latter include Voice of Aqaba Radio, Tafila Technical University, Radio Karak, Husna FM, and An-Najah FM. In pursuing this goal through the campaign, its unorthodox, straightforward, and relevant content has had a tangible impact—according to students in the College of Educational Sciences at Tafila University who listened to the broadcasts.
Some who commented on the social media pages of JMI and its partners found the content of the messaging campaign to be "shocking” and unexpected, but also realistic and useful given that the campaign is trying to address and correct such abusive language. They noted that the name of the campaign pushes them to consider their everyday speech carefully and reconsider what they say without thinking. It is for this reason that, through very short audio and video messages which are no longer than 30 seconds, the campaign calls for choosing words that are appropriate and decontaminating language of hurtful, abusive, or discriminatory content, so as to avoid hate speech.
JMI invites those interested to view the messages through the links below and share them with media professionals, journalists, and local community activists.
To share messages directly from JMI pages, you can use the hashtag "#نقي_كلمتك" on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Link for downloading the audio messages:
Link for downloading the video messages: