Khaberni - Bashir Al-Momani, the director of the Media Authority, said on Sunday that Jordanian laws have specified various forms of violations of collecting donations without the approval of the Ministry of Social Development, clarifying that these laws affirm the need to respect human dignity.
Al-Momani confirmed that the authority has legal procedures and frameworks to follow up on these violations, stressing that "there will be no leniency with any breach of law regarding the exploitation of humanitarian cases in donations," according to Al-Mamlaka.
He mentioned that the procedures followed by the Media Authority "may lead to referring the violators to the courts."
He said that the Media Authority has circulated to all licensed media outlets a prohibition on publishing or broadcasting any advertising materials or programs or media content that involves emotional appeal to humanitarian cases or exploiting children or persons with disabilities, or violating their dignity and privacy, at the request of the Ministry of Social Development and based on the provisions of applicable laws and regulations.
On his part, Khalifa Al-Shreideh, the director of the affairs of persons with disabilities at the Ministry of Social Development, rejected justifying this exploitation by claiming "it may have been done with the consent of persons with disabilities, children, or their guardians."
Al-Shreideh explained that Jordanian laws "reject any emotional appeal through exploiting the humanitarian needs of these groups."
He pointed out that many cases related to filming persons with disabilities and exploiting them offensively in fundraising will be referred to the judicial authorities and the Media Authority.
* Illegal Methods
The Ministry of Social Development confirmed in the circular that it has observed media practices that included collecting donations or showcasing humanitarian cases using illegal methods, necessitating an emphasis on full compliance with the legal and humanitarian norms governing this type of content.
The Ministry elaborated that these practices constitute explicit violations of the Social Development Law, representing an infringement of the rights of persons with disabilities, in addition to violating the Child Rights Law, the Cybercrimes Law No. (17) of 2023, the Penal Code No. (16) of 1960 and its amendments, as they involve violating human dignity, privacy, and exploiting humanitarian cases for media or advertising purposes.
The Ministry required obtaining prior written approval from it before broadcasting or publishing any advertisement, program, or media material related to fundraising, whether in terms of content or form, based on the provisions of the Fundraising Licensing System No. (24) of 2025, and in accordance with the Journalists' Union Press Honor Charter.
The Ministry assured that this commitment covers all media outlets and social media activists, warning that any violation of what is stated in the circular will hold the perpetrators full legal liability and expose them to accountability according to the laws in force.
The Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had sent a letter to the Ministry of Social Development about common media practices that constitute a violation of the rights of persons with disabilities to community integration, independent living, and inclusive education, also representing an overstep of the law and the national direction related to replacing the institutional care system for persons with disabilities with a community service system inclusive for all, in addition to violating the National Strategy for Inclusive Education that began implementation since 2020.
The Council added that a number of activists and journalists rushed via social media accounts, websites, and some satellite channels to spread misleading information, filming persons with disabilities and their families, aiming to promote false information and provoke fears of families and persons with disabilities from alternative shelters and the inclusive education system, and doubting the ongoing national efforts in this area since 2017.
It was noted that the latest of these negative media practices involved some activists and journalists publishing video clips of persons with disabilities and their families in pre-arranged situations, talking about the hell that families would live due to integration" in a presentation lacking professionalism and objectivity; moreover, the matter went further when one of the satellite channels on 2026/2/18, reignited an issue that had been institutionally dealt with and resolved more than three years ago, related to a decision taken by the Ministry of Education, based on a recommendation from the Council, to transfer a number of teachers from the Royal Academy for the Blind to schools close to their residences, after discovering severe administrative and educational laxity inside the academy, where the ratio of teachers exceeding the need was (60%), and it reached a point where some of them had not practiced teaching for more than ten years.
