Morocco's 21st Century Problem

Morocco’s most challenging task in the 21^st century is their lack of ability to stay on the same page with many different trends across the world, such as social media. Social media has impacted many areas of the world, including the United States for several years now. Social media has created an invisible web that entangles all of us together inside of it. Because of the constant development on this subject, it is becoming more than it has ever been; from a way for political parties to discuss issues and ideas, to a way for trends to populate and spread. Unfortunately, Morocco is just now developing and latching onto this trend. “As Moroccan citizens are just now describing newspapers and traditional newspapers as outdated, they are beginning to share their news online through social media sites. However the main challenge with social media in Morocco versus other countries is the tremendous risk if information shared is incorrect.” (Morocco Social Media, 3)

             

Social Media, (along with most other things) is still ruled by the government in Morocco. They, (the government,) has formulated a specific and strict list of rules applying to what can and cannot be discussed under any media platform in the area.

            “Morocco’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but the press law prohibits criticism of the monarchy and Islam, and effectively bars coverage of taboo subjects, including the royal family and the government’s position on the status of Western Sahara. Libel remains a criminal offense that carries potentially exorbitant fines or prison terms, and legal cases are a primary method of repressing critical reporting.” (FreedomHouse)

            Journalists continue to heavily practice the art of self-censorship. If they chose not to, they face large fines, prison time, or even as much as physical violence for telling their stories. Sensitive subjects such as the military, national security, religion, and sexuality, still seem to taunt journalists as matter that they are forbidden to touch. The strict laws and heavy punishments aren’t always enough to keep the journalists away though, as many times we can see the reporters dabbling in touchy subject matter.

 “According to the constitution, the press in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara is free, but this is not the case in practice. There is little in the way of independent Sahrawi media. Moroccan authorities are sensitive to any reporting that is not in line with the state’s official position on Western Sahara, and they continue to expel or detain Sahrawi, Moroccan, and foreign reporters who write critically on the issue.” (FreedomHouse)

Any resources mentioning or linked to alternative viewpoints are not easily accessible to the people of Morocco.

Morocco has a long way to come to be even and globally connected with many larger and more developed countries in the world. The movement towards reporter freedom and social media growth could be a huge start for the region.

Sources

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/morocco#.VIaL0r5AbjQ
http://sites.psu.edu/northafricacomm410/2013/12/11/social-media-is-reshaping-news-in-morocco/

https://subsaharanafricanorthandwest.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/week-25/