The democratic right to express oneself freely is not a license for defamation!

2025-07-16 14:53:00, Opinione Ardi Stefa

The time has come, and we are even overdue, for the media or journalists with their denigrating and fact-free writings to face the law.

Today it is very easy to be a "journalist". A good cell phone, a computer, lots of gossip, little imagination and a lot of hatred, a few social networks or portals, dying for clicks; finding a target to attack and denigrate at all costs and there you have it, a journalist...

In a democratic society, freedom of expression is one of the fundamental pillars of the proper functioning of the system. It is the foundation on which trust between the citizen and the state is built, and the means to seek the truth. It is the right of the citizen to express his opinion, the right of the journalist to investigate and bring the truth to light. But when this freedom turns into a weapon to kill characters, to destroy lives and careers, to throw mud at innocent people without any facts, then we are no longer dealing with freedom, but with its criminal abuse.

For years, various online portals and websites, often created without any professional standards and with dubious funding, have been publishing "news" that is nothing more than pure slander, unconfirmed, unverified, and often motivated by political, personal or financial interests. Names of ordinary or public people, careers built with decades of work and dedication, are destroyed in a few seconds by a bombastic headline that bears no responsibility and requires no proof. All this in the name of "clicks".

On many different online sites or portals, people are anonymously attacked, smeared, and insinuated; they are accused of corruption, but no facts are presented!
Only rumors or coffee shop gossip are abundantly amplified. No facts! No facts that the person being attacked is corrupt; no facts that they are paid with apartments in every building that is built, no facts that they even take money from street vendors.

The consequence? Moral damage, family and social trauma, public lynching, career damage! And meanwhile, the authors of the defamation, from behind the computer screen, continue their dangerous activity with a sense of total impunity.

This situation should no longer be tolerated!

If there is evidence that X person is corrupt, let them present it to the Prosecutor's Office!

But if they don't have facts and they slander, then all those who are being slandered should go to the Prosecutor's Office and demand the deserved punishment of the slanderers.

It is time for Justice to draw the line between free speech and defamation. All those who write, publish or distribute false information, with the intention of harming someone, must face legal consequences. Like any other profession, journalism requires ethics, responsibility and transparency. There can be no justification for unverified publications that have real consequences on people's lives.

I am a journalist myself, but the Criminal Code must be applied with determination! Courts must treat defamation issues seriously and efficiently. Meanwhile, the public itself must be more critical, more demanding of information sources and not allow dubious portals to influence public opinion.
In Albania, the Criminal Code clearly provides for the consequences of defamation and damage to reputation.
• Article 120/1 of the Criminal Code: "Defamation, the knowing dissemination of false information that violates the honor and dignity of another person, constitutes a criminal offense and is punishable by a fine."
• Article 121: "Insulting, expressing in words, gestures or actions that violate the honor and personality of another person, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to three months."
These provisions are clear and leave no room for interpretation: defamation is not an opinion. It is a criminal offense and must be treated as such by the justice system.

Protecting free speech is a civic and constitutional duty! But allowing defamation in the name of this freedom is a dangerous mistake. Whoever writes without facts, to harm, is not a journalist, he is a defamer! And defamers must be held accountable!

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Council of Europe define fundamental principles of media responsibility:
• The principle of verification of information: A journalist should not publish anything without verifying it.
• The principle of impartiality: Each party should have the right to reply before an accusation is published.
• The principle of avoiding unnecessary harm: Journalism should not harm personalities or violate private life, except in cases of clear and proven public interest.

All of these norms have one purpose: to protect the public from misinformation, deliberate disinformation, and individuals from defamation.

In a world where any fake headline can go viral in minutes, it is more important than ever for the media to be held accountable.

Only in this way can we protect truth, honor, and human dignity. And only in this way can we have a free and responsible media and officials who are proud in the performance of their duties.