The social responsibility of Arab press in combating corruption

Abstract

First of all we all know that Corruption threatens the systems of states, morals, and societies in general. Corruption is the misuse of power in order to achieve personal gain, as stipulated in the definition of Transparency International, which is the largest non-governmental organization in the world to combat corruption.

The phenomenon of corruption in all its forms and patterns is present in most Arab and Iraqi societies, and its negative impact has become clear in all the main sectors of the state and society, which leads to an important role for the media, which is one of the means used in combating corruption in all its administrative, social, political and economic types.

It can be said that corruption is no longer limited to paying bribes, theft, intermediaries, and spending public money. Corruption is every violation of the system or transgression of the laws of the state.

It is difficult to limit the repercussions of corruption and its negative effects, as they affect various fields of public life, which leads to the weakening of the spirit of citizenship, its feeling and its practice, and which is reflected in public morals in general, in addition to the inequality between citizens before official bodies and institutions, as some receive special treatment and certain facilities due to their relationships and connections. Removing honest employees who constitute an obstacle to corruption and spoilers, and replacing them with bribers and those close to political parties and centers of influence, All of this undermines the spirit of citizenship and weakens the moral spirit in dealing with the public affairs of citizens in any country in the world. The matter is not limited to the Arab countries or Iraq in particular. From here, our scientific research begins by focusing on the moral responsibility that lies with us as specialists, academics, and media outlets. Confronting corruption and its system, which has now possessed octopus arms in every aspect of life, Therefore, our research has three scientific axes, the first of which is based on:

The methodological focus of the study: To know the causes of the problem, its objectives, the scientific research methodology on which the research was based, and the research questions, leading to attempts to develop proposals and solutions to the phenomenon of the research topic.

The Theoretical Focus: It is necessary to understand the types of corruption, its causes, ways of spreading it, and the role of the media in combating it, reaching the ethical principles that must be available in the Arab press to confront and combat corruption, and the role of media institutions, specifically journalism, in fighting corruption.

The third axis is the axis that focuses on the analytical aspect of scientific research, represented by our study of the website of the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, which is published from London, through an analytical survey of the site and the issues issued therein during the research period.

الكلمات المفتاحية : المسؤولية الا