SECTOR 4 The media practise high levels of professional standards. 4.1 The standard of reporting follows the basic principles of accuracy and fairness. The new development of so-called ‘fake news’ in Botswana is an extremely serious situation. The spread of such misinformation is therefore not uncommon in the country. There have been several instances where newspapers, especially those privately owned, have not cross-checked information. Lack of verification was particularly evident in an incident where several media outlets picked up on a report strategically produced in Botswana that was meant to tarnish some of the opposition parties. Politicians and even journalists were involved in the compilation. The media that picked up the report did not check the veracity of its contents. ‘The standards have fallen quite dramatically – there is no substance and you cannot even trust that what you are reading is factual.’ Panellists across the board felt journalism standards, including the substance of the content, research and the depth of the stories, have declined. Additionally, ‘the style of the presentation is not appealing.’ A former media practitioner recalled how ‘they had a civic charter in newsrooms setting out clear guidelines and principles to be followed. Each story had to be checked against that set of principles to ensure quality. I look at stories now and oftentimes, you find that there are so many elements that are missing or incorrect.’ ‘We have to admit at the level of gatekeepers, that the problem begins with us’ stated an editor. ‘It is easy to blame reporters but it [mistakes] should be obvious to people at the level of gatekeepers because of the experience that they have.’ ‘Gatekeepers cannot avoid [the] responsibility of ensuring the factuality and quality of a story. A part of the problem is a tendency among reporters...and I don’t exclude gatekeepers, to invest far too much veracity in certain people without a thorough investigation of facts. This is also often neglected by journalists [who] in the name of fair play [are supposed to provide] the rightof-reply to individuals that are affected by a story, prior to breaking the news. In these cases, when it comes to the level of editors and sub-editors, the story passes, when it shouldn’t.’ ‘A lot of the times, unfortunately, editors are on a perpetual holiday and they hardly ever look at the content.’ 48 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER BOTSWANA 2018