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Examples of the most common violations of journalistic standards during elections
Practice shows that reporting during an election period is one of the more difficult journalistic tasks, because it is precisely then that professional and ethical standards come under serious pressure. Fierce political messages, the speed at which work is carried out, and the role of online platforms often blur the line between professional integrity and political or commercial influence. And precisely during an election period, the role of journalists, as impartial and responsible reporters, is key to ensuring timely, accurate, and balanced information that will help citizens decide whom to give their vote to.
The experience of the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia, based on the complaints submitted to the Complaints Commission, during elections, but also in a broader time frame, shows that several articles of the Code of Journalists of Macedonia are most often violated, namely Articles 1, 10, 13, 8 and 3, which require journalists to report accurately from at least two verified sources, without hate speech, without sensationalism, with a clear distinction between news and comment, and with a correction if a wrong piece of information is published.
In the analysis “The most common violations of journalistic standards during elections”, we provide an overview of reviewed complaints submitted to the Complaints Commission within the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM) or to the Coordinative Body for Monitoring the Respect of the Code of Conduct in the Online Space during election processes and referendums, and related to media reporting on the recent 2025 local elections, with several specific examples of non-compliance with ethical norms in the content of domestic media.
The most common violations of journalistic standards during elections (in Macedonian)
This publication was prepared by the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM) and the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM) within the regional program “Our Media: Civil Society Action to Promote Media Literacy and Activism, Counter Polarization and Promote Dialogue,” with financial support from the European Union. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and the publisher and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
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