Introduction

HIV and AIDS is a story of critical importance, and all audiences deserve full, clear and intelligent coverage. Journalists should cover it with imagination and initiative, and commit themselves to the highest ethical standards.

This set of factsheets outlines some key principles to adhere to in striving to attain high ethical standards in reporting on HIV/AIDS. It is an adapted version of Franz Krüger's paper: "The ethics of reporting HIV and AIDS" for the UNAIDS/Saef/SADC Conference, 8 April 2005. For the full paper, click here.

An influential trio of principles was identified in a study by the Poynter Institute in the US in the early 1990s, on the basis of detailed interviews with hundreds of journalists and editors, and a close reading of many codes of conduct.¹ These are:

• Seek truth and report it as fully as possible
• Act independently
• Minimise harm

A fourth principle is sometimes added: accountability.

For a discussion of how these principles apply to the coverage of HIV and AIDS, select the relevant sheet from the boxed menu above or simply click on the listed principles.