Political Communication and Media Reporting – A Reflection of a Society’s Maturity
Harmful narratives in political communication create a toxic public sphere, deepen divisions, and incite intolerance. It is a democratic duty for politicians to work on depolarizing public discourse and to address complex issues important to society through dialogue rather than through populism, character attacks, and undermining trust in institutions.
On the other hand, the media have a responsibility to the public, which includes the obligation to avoid creating harmful narratives and to prevent the spread of such narratives produced by political actors. Responsible journalism must prioritize the public interest by countering manipulative practices with critical analysis and professional standards.
These are few of the recommendations provided in the publication The Gordian Knot of Harmful Narratives in Politics and the Media, which was presented at a panel discussion held today in Skopje.
The discussion gathered numerous political actors, journalists, and media experts who discussed the impact of toxic rhetoric on public discourse. The Vice President of the Parliament, Vesna Bendevska, who opened the event, emphasized that harmful narratives are not exclusive to the analysed nine-month period but have been a feature of political communication for years. She expressed concern particularly about ad hominem attacks used to completely discredit political opponents.
Harmful narratives aim to manipulate emotions, incite fear, and foster a sense of insecurity. They destroy hope and therefore it is of no surprise people are leaving the country. Citizens are asking: How long will we live in a completely divided society?
The guide is a finale of the major research project Determining Harmful Political Narratives (HARM-TIVE), conducted by the Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) in collaboration with numerous researchers and experts in communications and media, journalists, and media professionals. It focused on presenting and explaining harmful narratives in the Macedonian political discourse, using various case studies identified during the nine-month monitoring period. The publication analyses a total of sixteen harmful political narratives, summarizes the breaches of political communication and media reporting standards and principles, and offers recommendations for both political actors and journalists.
One of the authors of the publication, media analyst Mihajlo Lahtov, underlined that the guide aims to highlight the importance of transparent and responsible political communication, respect for political opponents and differing opinions, and fostering of a debate culture based on arguments.
‘On the one hand, the media should not be mere passive broadcasters of political statements, but active mediators who analyse and critically evaluate what political actors say. A non-critical approach leaves citizens without the necessary context and without understanding the complexity of the issues, which affects their level of being informed’, said Lahtov.
According to the president of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), Mladen Chadikovski, journalism should not react to political agendas but be a driving force for addressing real issues.
‘Freedom of speech must be protected, but it should not be a cover for hate speech and discrimination. The media must not be megaphones for political actors—their job is to verify, analyse, and provide context, Chadikovski stated.
Politicians attending the debate agreed that harmful narratives are most prevalent during election campaigns, though they were not optimistic that this would change before this year’s local elections.’
Nikola Micevski, coordinator of the parliamentary group of the “Your Macedonia” coalition and an MP from VMRO-DPMNE, noted that politicians use—and will continue to use—all available tools to achieve their goals.
‘It is the media’s responsibility to help minimize harmful narratives, and we must all work to improve this situation’, said Micevski.
Oliver Spasovski, coordinator of the parliamentary group of the “For European Macedonia” coalition and an MP from SDSM, said the research results should not be surprising, as harmful rhetoric is part of daily life.
‘Are politicians aware that they use such language? I believe yes—because most of them knowingly use harmful narratives and will continue to do so as long as they see a benefit. The research results shouldn’t be rebutted, but rather used to acknowledge reality and find a way to cut the Gordian knot’, he emphasized.
Halil Snopche, coordinator of the parliamentary group VREDI and an MP from the Alliance for Albanians, said politicians would continue using harmful narratives as long as it improves their political ratings. However, he appealed that ‘politicians act as political opponents, but not to be opponents as people’.
The conclusion of the debate was that responsibility for harmful narratives is shared—politicians, the media, and citizens collectively shape public discourse and can change it together.
To achieve this, cooperation is key—civil society, the media, and politicians must collaborate despite political differences. Respect and humanity should not become casualties of political battles.
The HARM-TIVE research and the guide The Gordian Knot of Harmful Narratives in Politics and the Media are part of the Use Facts project, supported by the British Embassy Skopje.
