During a conference held by the "Barlamane.com" news website under the theme "Defamation and just national causes, from constraint to opportunity", these speakers stressed that the fight against this phenomenon requires the adoption of a battery of legal and institutional measures, as this scourge seriously undermines individuals, institutions and just national causes.

At the opening of the meeting, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, pointed out that defamation has become a global problem, and that dealing with it is not just the responsibility of governments, but concerns societies as a whole, noting that many countries have taken a series of measures to handle it.

He underlined that some parties are now exploiting technological progress and existing freedoms for their own ends by spreading "fake news", stressing the need to strengthen the journalistic corps so that it can provide reliable, verified information and uphold the principles of objectivity and credibility.

The Minister also highlighted the importance of serious journalistic work and continuous training for media professionals in order to counter "fake news" aimed at harming individuals and national institutions, noting that the government is determined to work with all media players and institutions to overcome certain problems linked to defamation and extortion.

For his part, chairman of the provisional commission for the management of press and publishing affairs, pointed out that everyone is called upon to rise to the major challenges of "fake news" and untruths about just national causes, led by the issue of the Kingdom's territorial integrity.

He stressed the need for strong national media to deal with false propaganda, defamation and the manipulation of public opinion, as accelerated technological development and artificial intelligence threaten traditional media.

Moujahid underlined the importance of organized collective action to meet future challenges in this field, particularly for the press and media industry.

Lahcen Haddad, professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat, said that social networking platforms have contributed to major societal mutations and fostered the creation of a very open space of freedoms that has enabled the emergence of new players, adding that irresponsible use of these freedoms has undermined acquired rights.

He noted that one of the reasons for the spread of "fake news" is the emergence of social networks, which has led to the enshrining of an "instant" information culture and the flourishing of populist discourse offering easy solutions.

In this context, he called for the need to revitalize political debate, to monitor and follow up the phenomenon of "fake news" to better counteract it, while ensuring the moralization of journalistic work to restore confidence in the media and the adoption of the necessary laws to combat defamation and extortion.

In the same vein, Karima Sellam, a lawyer at the Casablanca Bar, pointed out that the phenomenon of defamation is of pressing topicality because it bothers the recipient due to its negative impact on citizens, noting that this issue has gained greater acuity in the wake of the digital revolution and the ease of "instant" access to the virtual world and information.

She stressed the importance of the media's role and the need to improve the media landscape in order to combat this phenomenon, which is flourishing on social networks, noting the role of political parties in providing guidance and training.

Sellam recalled the legal provisions set out in Moroccan legislation to enhance and improve the legal arsenal dedicated to protecting the privacy of individuals, in particular the provisions of the Penal Code which provide for sanctions against any infringement of individual freedom.

Other speakers noted that Moroccan institutions are working hard to curb this phenomenon, which undermines the values and very essence of society, stressing the need to develop the legal arsenal to combat this scourge.

They pointed out that the media, alongside political institutions and parties, play a central role in guiding citizens towards reliable and credible information, adding that defamation and extortion constitute a "new war" against people's conscience.

They also called for the diversification, via social networking platforms, of awareness-raising offerings to effectively combat "fake news" and maintain public order, and for the institutionalization of the fight against defamation and extortion to capitalize on institutional gains.

In their view, the fight against the complex system of defamation and extortion requires a more elaborate and structured system, stressing that, to be effective, this fight requires symmetry in terms of formats (one video against another, for example), as well as in terms of media, so that a defamatory act broadcast on Facebook, for example, is fought on the same platform.

The conference was marked by the announcement of the creation of the Moroccan Observatory to combat defamation and extortion, which will be responsible for dealing with issues relating to these two phenomena on a national scale, and for detecting practices aimed at undermining just national causes.