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Do online media adhere to the responsible suicide reporting guidelines? A cross sectional study from India

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  • Sonika Raj
  • Abhishek Ghosh
  • Babita Sharma
  • Sonu Goel

Abstract

Background: The content and nature of media reports could influence suicide prevention measures. Aim: To evaluate contemporary online media reports’ compliance with guidelines for responsible reporting of suicidal acts from Indian resources. Methods: We included English and Hindi articles for reports concerning suicide, published by local and national media sources for 30 consecutive days from the day of death of a celebrity by alleged suicide. The search was performed in Google News with predefined search queries and selection criteria. Two independent investigators did data extraction. Subsequently, each news report was assessed against guidelines for the responsible reporting of suicide by the WHO and the Press Council of India. Results: We identified 295 articles (Hindi n  =   172, English n  =   123). Results showed more than 80% of the media reports deviated from at least one criterion of the recommendations. A maximum breach was seen in the news article’s headlines, sensational reportage and detailed suicide methods description. Significant differences were seen in the quality of English and Hindi reporting and reporting celebrity and noncelebrity suicide. Additional items revealed were reporting suicide pacts, linking multiple suicides in a single news report, allowing user-generated threads and linking Religion and suicide. Conclusion: Measures are required to implement reporting recommendations in the framework of a national suicide prevention strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonika Raj & Abhishek Ghosh & Babita Sharma & Sonu Goel, 2022. "Do online media adhere to the responsible suicide reporting guidelines? A cross sectional study from India," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(1), pages 44-54, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:68:y:2022:i:1:p:44-54
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764020975797
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven A. Sumner & Moira Burke & Farshad Kooti, 2020. "Adherence to suicide reporting guidelines by news shared on a social networking platform," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(28), pages 16267-16272, July.
    2. Andrew Wu & Jing-Yu Wang & Cun-Xian Jia, 2015. "Religion and Completed Suicide: a Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-14, June.
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    Keywords

    Suicide; media; guidelines;
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