War Propaganda and Correspondents: Updating UN Covenant and Media Ethics Principles

This study is an examination of war propaganda and correspondents in concomitance with the 1948 Resolution 217A of the UN Covenant prohibiting war propaganda under the rubric of media ethics and the applicable principles and guidelines. The thematic internal contradictions of war propaganda and the intentional or unintentional disregard for ethical news analysis, coverage, reportage, and objectivity are examined. The United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits war propaganda. This qualitative study calls for the continuation of compelling scholarship to advance human rights to live in peace and constructive social change through serious ethical application and consideration in the coverage and reportage of war. Four of the objectives of this study are to (i) promote an update of the 1948 Resolution 217A of the UN Covenant prohibiting war propaganda; (ii) re-emphasize the necessity for media ethics in belligerent and non-aggressive theaters; (iii) address some of the internal conflicts in media ethics’ principles of universality; and (iv) contribute to the literature on war propaganda, human rights to live in peace, and media ethics. The study is significant because there is the need for a dispassionate, objective and scholarly examination of the phenomenon at a time of crises across the globe. Keywords: War propaganda, War correspondent, UN Covenant, Human Rights, Media Ethics