Bloggers mock government directives to support campaigns: an attempt to buy media votes

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[size=52]Bloggers mock government directives to support campaigns: an attempt to buy media votes[/size]

[size=45]Many Iraqi bloggers denounced documents that showed government directives to the media to support campaigns, which they considered this to be an attempt to buy the votes of the free media in the country.[/size]
[size=45]Documents received by Al-Mada showed copies of which were signed in the name of the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ali Razouki Al-Lami, in which he directed the media to carry out numerous campaigns to support the government and allocate sums from the budgets of these institutions to support these campaigns through channels, agencies, radio and newspapers by publishing several campaigns about the scourge of drugs, and encouraging To rationalize the use of energy and water, avoid bribery, support all types of security forces, support the Iraqi dinar, support health and social security, pay taxes, and other instructions.[/size]
[size=45]Egregious violation[/size]
[size=45]In a controversial scene, these documents sparked widespread criticism from journalists and observers alike, according to the leaked documents, indicating that exploiting influence to obtain media liabilities is a flagrant violation of media and journalistic ethics and general moral values, stressing that the media body must be Communications are an example of integrity and transparency, and they must work to restore the lost trust of the public, and it is necessary to take the necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of these actions in the future.[/size]
[size=45]On Friday, the Communications and Media Commission refuted the accusations against it, saying, “Last June, a directive was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office to the Media and Communications Commission to support publishing for the benefit of state institutions and provide the necessary allocations to support the media in its various sectors and media to educate society about the negative phenomena and negatives that threaten it as a scourge, such as Drugs, encouraging rationalization in the use of energy and water, avoiding the use of bribery, supporting all types of security forces, supporting the Iraqi dinar and other guidelines that contribute to the development of society,” adding, “Some have treated this matter as if it were buying receivables for political goals, and the attached books prove the goal of Media campaigns carried out by the Communications and Media Commission.[/size]
[size=45]scandal[/size]
[size=45]Member of the National Awareness Movement, Hamid Al-Sayyid, confirms, “This is one of the traditional methods followed by the authorities in Iraq. Every government follows the same method and mechanism in using indirect and non-governmental media to send direct government messages. If this indicates anything, it indicates that the government It realizes that its means of mobilizing and addressing the public are means that cannot be trusted by citizens, so it resorts to using the platforms of bloggers, bloggers, and celebrities on social media, as many documents show that this is traditional work carried out by government institutions, especially media offices.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sayyid adds in an exclusive interview with Al-Mada: “It seems that the media offices are not satisfied with the Iraqi media network, whose budget is comparable to MBC in London, and whose staff strength is more than 14 thousand employees. They were not satisfied with Al-Sabah newspaper, the official news agency, and the official radio, as well as the party channels that It is considered supportive and forms the governance equation in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]Illegal practices[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sayed continues, “This deficit generates this kind of dependence and indirect mobilization on non-governmental or non-affiliated media, as well as electronic platforms, and this also confirms that most of these platforms, or under pseudonyms, are platforms owned by parties, entities, and government institutions, and what the latest document revealed is It is a scandal, as allocating a budget from within institutions to carry out campaigns called promoting government activity.” Pointing out, “This matter falls within the scope of illegal practices, as you are resorting to institutions that are not registered, undocumented, and not classified as media institutions. In addition, they are accounts and pages that cannot be controlled from within Iraq, and even if they are controlled, they are armies.” This means that the government condemns itself for inciting this type of communication and digital means that are trying to direct the security institutions to pursue the owners of fake accounts, but on the other hand, it deals with them and legitimizes these accounts, whether on Facebook or the X platform (formerly Twitter).”[/size]
[size=45]While Iyad Al-Fatlawi, head of the Conscience Alliance, confirmed that “the government seeks to be a media government before it seeks to be a service government, the purpose of which is to buy media votes, in addition to the campaigns that are spreading on social media platforms and sites and others, which indicate that the government is more media than service.” Adding, “The government must turn to its ministerial program, which is essentially serving the citizen.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that in mid-October, it sparked widespread criticism from journalists and observers according to the documents that were leaked, as it became clear that the Communications and Media Authority was involved in deliberately wasting public money. Reports indicate that more than half a billion dinars were wasted on purchasing fake pages.[/size]
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