During this address, the pope emphasized that the media’s mission of service to the public good is underscored by “seeking and promoting the truth.” Francis pointed to the imperative of combating the spread of viral misinformation, or “fake news,” and “the devious plans of those who seek to influence public opinion in an ideological manner, lying and disintegrating the social fabric.”
“It means serving the right of citizens to correct information, transmitted without prejudice, without rushing to conclusions but taking the necessary time to understand and to reflect, countering cognitive pollution, cognitive pollution, because information too must be ‘ecological,’ that is, human,” the pope continued.
For the pope this duty also requires broadcasters to let a plurality of voices be heard, to foster dialogue, and to be “an instrument for growth in knowledge, to cause people to reflect and not alienate.”
“The entire media system,” the pope continued, “at a global level, needs to be provoked and stimulated to come out of itself and to question itself, to look farther, beyond.”
The pope also made a general appeal to all public broadcasters, calling on them to not chase ratings but to create high-quality content that “may help each and every person to be uplifted, to reflect, to be moved, to smile and even to weep with emotion, to find meaning in life, a prospect of good, a meaning that is not that of yielding to the worst.”