Kuala lumpur: Journalists and content creators are urged to respect the dignity of victims and exercise greater editorial restraint when covering tragedies, including the use of visuals, to avoid re-traumatising and harassing grieving families. Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF) chief executive officer Mediha Mahmood emphasized this during a media briefing on content guidelines at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mediha Mahmood highlighted the need for the industry to distinguish between public interest and public attention. She noted that the demand for sensational visuals does not justify exploiting personal suffering. "The ultimate thing is public interest. If we want to release news or anything about current issues, public interest is number one. Public attention is not public interest," she stated. Mediha stressed that the core question in reporting should always be whether a visual is being used to inform or to inflame the audience.

Mediha further explained that the privacy and dignity of victims and their families should be respected. She advised newsrooms to consider if a picture respects the victim, the deceased, and the family. In line with global standards of ethical journalism, she urged newsrooms to acknowledge the potential harm to their staff from exposure to graphic content and implement proactive measures to safeguard their teams. She suggested best practices like limiting repeated exposure to distressing visuals, rotating assignments, and having a clear review and approval process.

She also pointed out that technical fixes, such as blurring images, are often insufficient. Family members might still recognize their loved ones through clothing, tattoos, or vehicle license plates. Mediha recommended cropping or full substitution of images as more effective alternatives. She noted, "When you blur, yes, you don't identify, but you don't necessarily remove the harm."

Mediha concluded by mentioning Malaysia's national Content Code, which outlines best practices and ethical standards for content creation and compilation. She emphasized that public trust is built not just on what is shown, but on what is chosen not to be shown, asserting that credibility holds more long-term value than short-term engagement.