Journalistic Code of Ethics

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Freedom of opinion, expression, and the press are human rights protected by Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Press freedom is a means for the public to obtain information and communicate, in order to fulfill fundamental needs and improve the quality of human life. In realizing press freedom, Indonesian journalists also recognize the interests of the nation, social responsibility, societal diversity, and religious norms.

In carrying out its functions, rights, obligations, and role, the press respects the human rights of every person. Therefore, the press is required to be professional and open to public scrutiny.

To guarantee press freedom and fulfill the public's right to accurate information, Indonesian journalists require a moral foundation and professional ethics as operational guidelines in maintaining public trust and upholding integrity and professionalism. Based on this, Indonesian journalists establish and adhere to the Journalistic Code of Ethics:

article 1

Wartawan Indonesia bersikap independen, menghasilkan berita yang akurat, berimbang, dan tidak beritikad buruk.

Interpretation

1. Independence means reporting events or facts according to one's conscience without interference, coercion, or intervention from other parties, including the owners of press companies.
2. Accuracy means being believed to be true based on the objective circumstances at the time the event occurred.
3. Balanced means all parties are given equal opportunity.
4. Good faith means there is no deliberate and sole intention to cause harm to another party.

Article 2

Wartawan Indonesia menempuh cara-cara yang profesional dalam melaksanakan tugas jurnalistik.

Interpretation

Professional ways are:

1. Showing identity to sources;
2. respecting the right to privacy;
3. refraining from bribery;
4. producing factual news with clear sources;
5. engineering the capture and publication or broadcast of images, photos, and audio, accompanied by information about the source and presented in a balanced manner;
6. respecting the traumatic experiences of sources in presenting images, photos, and audio;
7. refraining from plagiarism, including claiming other journalists' coverage as one's own work;
8. using certain methods may be considered for investigative news reporting in the public interest.

Article 3

Indonesian journalists always verify information, report in a balanced manner, do not mix facts and judgmental opinions, and apply the principle of presumption of innocence.

Interpretation

1. Verifying information means checking and rechecking its accuracy.
2. Balanced reporting means giving each party proportional space or time in the news.
3. A judgmental opinion is the journalist's personal opinion. This differs from an interpretive opinion, which is the journalist's interpretation of the facts.
4. The presumption of innocence is the principle of non-judgment.

Article 4

Indonesian journalists do not create fake, slanderous, sadistic, or obscene news.

Interpretation

1. A lie means something the journalist knows beforehand to be inconsistent with the facts.
2. Slander means a baseless accusation made deliberately with malicious intent.
3. Sadistic means cruel and merciless.
4. Obscene means depicting erotic behavior through photographs, images, sound, graphics, or writing solely to arouse sexual desire.
5. When broadcasting images and sound from archives, journalists must include the time the images and sound were taken.

Article 5

Indonesian journalists do not mention or broadcast the identities of victims of sexual crimes and do not mention the identities of children who are perpetrators of crimes.

Interpretation

1. Identity is all data and information concerning a person that makes it easy for others to track them.
2. A child is a person under 16 years of age and unmarried.

Article 6

Indonesian journalists do not abuse their profession and do not accept bribes.

Interpretation

1. Abusing one's profession is any act of taking personal advantage of information obtained while on duty before it becomes public knowledge.
2. Bribery is any gift of money, goods, or facilities from another party that compromises independence.

Article 7

Indonesian journalists have the right to refuse to protect sources who do not want their identity or whereabouts to be known, respecting embargo provisions, background information, and off the record in accordance with the agreement.

Interpretation

1. The right to refuse is the right not to reveal the identity and whereabouts of a source for the safety of the source and their family.
2. An embargo is a postponement of the publication or broadcast of a news item at the source's request.
3. Background information is any information or data from a source that is broadcast or reported without identifying the source.
4. Off the record is any information or data from a source that may not be broadcast or reported.

Article 8

Indonesian journalists do not write or broadcast news based on prejudice or discrimination against someone on the basis of differences in ethnicity, race, skin color, religion, gender, and language and do not demean the dignity of the weak, poor, sick, mentally or physically disabled.

Interpretation

1. Prejudice is an unfavorable assumption about something before knowing it clearly.
2. Discrimination is differential treatment.

Article 9

Indonesian journalists respect the rights of sources regarding their private lives, except in the public interest.

Penafsiran

1. Respecting the rights of sources is an attitude of restraint and caution.
2. Private life is all aspects of a person's life and that of their family other than those related to the public interest.

Article 10

Indonesian journalists immediately retract, correct, and rectify erroneous and inaccurate news accompanied by an apology to readers, listeners, and/or viewers.

Interpretation

1. Immediate means taking action as quickly as possible, whether or not there is a warning from an external party.
2. An apology is offered if the error relates to the underlying substance.

Article 11

Indonesian journalists serve the right of reply and the right of correction proportionally.

Interpretation

1. The right of reply is the right of an individual or group to respond to or rebut news reports containing facts that are detrimental to their reputation.
2. The right of correction is the right of every person to correct erroneous information reported by the press, whether about themselves or others.
3. Proportional means equal to the portion of the news that needs to be corrected.

The Press Council makes the final assessment of violations of the journalistic code of ethics. Sanctions for violations of the journalistic code of ethics are imposed by journalist organizations and/or press companies.