Lithuania: Media Monitoring and Education Programme

Media4Change is an international programme that systematically monitors media reporting on migrants and other stigmatized groups in society, using collected data, sharing tendencies and reporting detected cases of human rights violations. The analysis puts a particular focus on negative terminology, such as the term “illegal migrants”, as well as on the contexts in which migrants are being reported on. 

The aim of the project is to encourage journalists to work to improve public attitudes towards migrants, thereby contributing to successful integration. Based on its research results, Media4change works with the public and media actors to increase media literacy required to produce and evaluate information in compliance with standards of neutrality and respect for human rights. Through dedicated classes and training materials, the project strengthens ethical reporting skills. Presentations to journalists and media professionals are joined by human rights experts and members of migrant communities, allowing members of the media to better understand the living realities and concerns of those affected by their portrayal.

The results of the analysis are shared on social media channels as well as on the Media4Change website, and meetings with different newsrooms are organised to discuss how the portrayal of socially vulnerable groups can be improved. Since the project start, the Media4Change team analysed more than 115 000 media articles. In 2021, the results of this analysis were shared and discussed with representatives from 20 newsrooms.