Approved at the meeting of the representatives of organisations producing and spreading public information, as well as of members of the Public Information Ethics Association, held on 29 February 2016

• We – journalists, producers and communicators of public information – who have gathered at a meeting of the representatives of organisations producing and spreading public information,

• acknowledging that fair and honest journalism is possible only when a journalist uses the freedom of self-expression ensured by international and national law;

• perceiving the role of public information media in modern society and of responsibility for our work;

• stating that the biggest asset of any public information media is the trust in it that is created not only by the current journalists, producers and communicators of public information, but also by the former generations thereof which have spread the principle of free speech;

• understanding that the basis for such trust is independence, fairness, impartiality and professionality;

• perceiving that respect for correct information and the public right to access such information is the most important duty of a journalist;

• aiming to strengthen the reputation of the journalist’s profession and distancing ourselves from those producers and communicators of public information who tolerate unfair journalism or the principles of unfair competition;

• protecting our professional honour and independence, while strengthening the self-management of public information media;

• feeling professional duty and responsibility for freedom of speech and information as one of the most important institutes of democratic society,

• we hereby approve this Code of Ethics in Providing Information to the Public of Lithuania and undertake to adhere to it.

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
The possibility to obtain and spread information, as one of the fundamental human rights, must be respected; however, all other human rights and freedoms must be ensured while implementing that right. Taking the interaction of these human rights into account, the correct balance thereof must be constantly sought after.

Article 2
The producers and communicators of public information must not consider information to be their property or a commodity. Freedom of information is incompatible with buying public information for monetary gains or for another kind of remuneration. A consumer must be clearly informed if a promotion is being published.

Article 3
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must respect human right to obtain the correct information, and must publish accurate and correct news and various opinions. In conveying various opinions, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information may not spread any opinions which could violate laws or ethics. The opinions must be expressed in an ethical manner.

Article 4
News and opinions must be clearly set apart and distinguished. Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must ensure that an opinion is expressed honestly and ethically, without deliberately distorting the facts or data.

Article 5
To show respect to a variety of opinions, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must present the opinions of at least two different persons who are not related in any way, when the information is contradictory, unclear or concerns conflicting issues.

Article 6
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must assess their information sources critically, check the facts attentively and carefully, and also use at least two sources. If checking the authenticity and sources of the information published is impossible, journalists, producers and the communicators of public information may publish such information only in the case where a delay in its publish is harmful to the society, and if it is specifically stated in the information published that it has not been verified.

Article 7
Information must be collected and published in an ethical and legitimate manner only.

Article 8
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must make sure that the headlines, trailer material, photos, graphics, audios and videos and the quotes published do not distort the work or mislead the user of the information.

Article 9
When asking for information, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must introduce themselves by their first and last name, as well as stating which mass media they represent and warning the person that their words may be published in the mass media. A journalist must inform the interlocutor if the conversation is being recorded.

Article 10
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information are not obliged to coordinate the final variation of their work with the person who has provided the information.

Article 11
In order to obtain information, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must not pressure the source of information, nor shall they offer to pay for it or abuse their public status and professional capacities.

Article 12
When publishing any information provided by a person affected by shock or who is in a helpless position, journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must make sure that the publication thereof shall not violate the said person’s rights, and must try to foresee any potential adverse consequences for that person. 

Article 13
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must take care of the protection of minors from any adverse effects of the public information, and not cause any grief or fear to minors by the information that they publish.

Article 14
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information should state who has provided the information to them. Therefore, they must obtain the permission from the person who has provided information to use their name. If the source of information issues a request to keep his name secret, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information have no right to disclose it. In such a case, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information assume legal and moral liability for the information published.  

Article 15
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not publish any information which directly or indirectly promotes crimes, violations of the public order or the imitation of aggressive behaviour. Information promoting or attractively depicting the acts of smoking, heavy drinking, abuse of drugs or other intoxicating substances and gambling must also not be published.

Article 16
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not promote any supernatural, unreal characteristics or people or groups, or paranormal phenomena, excluding cases when such information is presented as entertainment or as an object of research which is not prohibited by law. The impression that astrologists, palmists, parapsychologists, psychics or bioenergy specialists can give reliable advice on the future, health and other fields must not be made.

Article 17
Should it turn out that the information provided in mass media is inaccurate or wrong, the inaccurate facts must be corrected and wrong facts must be denied immediately in an adequate location of the same mass media, without any further comments. When mistakes are corrected online, it must be stated that the contents of the work have been changed and/or supplemented.

Article 18
While collecting and presenting information on any criminal offences, accidents or other cases where material or immaterial damage was caused to persons, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must try not to cause any additional worries or suffering to the victim or to an innocent person.

Article 19
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must follow the rule that the limits of criticism with respect to a private person are much narrower than with respect to a public one; therefore, they must prioritise the protection of a private life when providing information about a private person, while public interest is the priority in the case of a public person. 

Article 20

The person who is criticised in a negative manner must always be given the opportunity to explain, correct or deny the information. If this is impossible, or if the person refuses to use such an opportunity, this must be stated in the same work.

Article 21

A journalist must have undergone professional training. Correct language and the language culture are one of the most important professional requirements applicable to a journalist. Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must avoid using indecent, hurtful words and sayings in their work.

II. INDEPENDENCE AND TRANSPARENCY OF THE ACTIVITIES OF JOURNALISTS, PRODUCERS AND THE COMMUNICATORS OF PUBLIC INFORMATION

Article 22
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must be free and independent. 
Journalists must reject a task given by a producer of public information, or its manager, if it contravenes the laws of the country, a journalist’s ethics or their own beliefs. 

Article 23

While pursuing their professional activities, journalists have no right to assume any other obligations, excluding the professional obligations that apply to a producer and communicator of public information.

A journalist’s professional activities are incompatible with work involving national or local authorities or participation in the activities of political parties. When taking part in public activities, journalists must avoid a conflict of interest, or must inform the audience about any connections to such activities while creating the work.

Article 24
A journalist has no right to accept any gifts, paid travel and vacations, or any other ingratiation which could harm their independence. A journalist must inform the society about any kind of support received in any case, excluding the salary that is paid or the support given by the producer or communicator of public information with which the journalist is in an employment or a creation relationship.

Article 25
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not use any professional information available to them for their own personal purposes or benefit.

Article 26
Advertising (including political promotions) must be clearly distinguished from the journalists’ work in mass media. A journalist has the right to refuse to prepare promotional materials.

Article 27
Presenting unmarked promotions as impartial information, or hiding these in any other way, is forbidden. 

Article 28
Journalists must not use their name, image and voice for the purpose of promotions, excluding the cases when such advertising is aimed at humanitarian goals or when the work created by the journalist or the mass media is being advertised.

Article 29
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information who prepare any information on companies and organisations must disclose their connections with them, and the circumstances which, if concealed, could reduce the objectivity of the information provided.

III. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL HONOUR, DIGNITY AND PRIVACY

Article 30
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not publish any information concerning a person’s private life without their consent, except if that information is related to a public person, or is important to the society or if violations of the law or criminal offences are recorded.

Article 31
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must respect the presumption of innocence. A person may only be found guilty by a valid ruling or the judgment of a court. 

Article 32
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not publish any unreasonable, unchecked accusations which are not substantiated by facts.

Article 33
Publishing any data collected during a pre-trial investigation is forbidden, excluding the cases where it is in the public interest to publish such information or when this public data is already publicly available/published.

Article 34
Publishing the personal data a person who is suspected of a crime, which could be used to identify that person, is forbidden. If publishing the surname of a person who is suspected of a crime, or is an accused or a defendant, is in the public interest but this fact of a crime is not proven later, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must immediately inform the society that the said person has been found to be not guilty.

Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not remind the public about the suspicions of a previous crime which were raised but were not confirmed, except if publishing such information is in the public interest. In such a case, it must be noted that the suspicions were not confirmed.

Article 35
Publishing any data about a person who is a victim of criminal offences without the said person’s consent, and in a case where that person dies – without the consent of the said person’s relatives, is forbidden. Such data may be published without the consent of the person or their relatives only in cases where a public person is the victim of criminal offences or when the publishing of such data is in the public interest.

Article 36
Publishing the personal data of a witness to any criminal offence which could be used to identify that person is forbidden.

Article 37
A producer of public information must not publish the personal data of debtors or any information on their solvency, in the absence of public interest. 

Article 38
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not remind the public about any previous criminal offences, which are not attributed to extremely grave or grave criminal offences, for which the person has already served the sentence and the conviction has been expunged. This rule is not applicable if the person has continued doing the job related to the criminal offences committed by them, or if the said person is a candidate for a significant position in the society.

Article 39

Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not abuse the images and stories about any catastrophes, accidents, death, attempts to commit suicide, injured persons, violence, aggression or animal cruelty which could hurt the feelings of the persons depicted or their relatives, as well as affecting the sensitivity of the users of information. Avoiding all unreasonable accusations, irony, sarcasm or elements of bullying is also necessary when informing the public about any events of such a nature, and warnings must be published and the information must be marked appropriately, thus enabling sensitive users of the information to avoid such information.

Article 40
Publishing information about a person who is in an affected state, as well as filmed or photographed images containing a person who is in affected state or who is dying, is forbidden.

To show respect to the privacy of a person and their relatives, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must not mention any surnames or other data which could help identify the said person (especially if they are a minor) related to a suicide or an attempt to commit suicide. Publishing video material containing a suicide process or a person who has committed suicide is forbidden.

Article 41

When publishing any information on suicides or attempts to commit suicide, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must be especially careful to state the motives for the suicide or the attempt to commit suicide, in order ensure the information published does not to promote suicidal behaviour in the society. Suicide must not be treated as a proper way to solve a certain problem; thus, any descriptions romanticising suicide must not be used.

Informing the public about the existing possibilities to receive emotional and psychological help, as well as self-help groups for the people who were close to the ones who have committed suicide, is required when publishing such information.

Article 42

The method of a suicide or an attempt to commit suicide must not be specified in the headlines (trailers), while the details about the method of a suicide or the attempt to commit suicide must not be published in any content. No photographs or filmed material containing any images of the method of the suicide or illustrating suicidal behaviour (e.g. a rope loop, medications, a gun, etc.) may be used.

Article 43

Publishing the surname or other data of a person who has suffered from sexual aggression, which could be used to identify them, is forbidden.

Article 44
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not publish the personal data of a minor person, which could be used to identify them, in connection to a criminal offence or any violations of law, excluding the cases when a minor person is hiding from the law enforcement authorities. 

Article 45
When letters of a personal nature are published, the consent of the author and the addressee of the letter must be obtained. Such consent may be given by the spouses, parents or children after the death of the said persons. 

Article 46

Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must always state the source of the information when using a citizen’s personal video, as well as when using the audio or text information found in social networks.

Article 47
Showing respect to the secrecy of a private life, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must not publish any information on a person’s state of health, treatment or forecasts, as well as any other health-related information, without the consent of the said person or their legal representatives. Such information may be published without the consent of the person’s relatives only in a case where the whole of the following conditions exists: when a public person is concerned, publishing such information is in the public interest, and when an official conclusion of a medical institution is available.

Article 48
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information are forbidden to demean or mock a person’s surname, race, nationality, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability and physical shortcomings, or their physical data even if that person has committed a crime. Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not associate the person who is suspected, accused or has committed a crime with belonging to a certain national, ethnic or social group, or suggest that their sexual orientation is associated with the crime committed by them, nor emphasise that fact.

Article 49 

Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not publish artificially deformed audio and video montages, photographs, or signatures on photographs which may distort the public impression or facts. This provision is not applicable when publishing caricatures, cartoons or comic stories.  

Article 50
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must respect human rights and freedoms, even in cases when a person is not aware of their rights or does not understand them. 
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not abuse a person’s weaknesses or immaturity, or a failure to understand their rights and freedoms, nor shall they induce any persons to perform humiliating actions or deeds, or depict them in situations that offend human dignity. 

IV. PROFESSIONAL SOLIDARITY AND FAIR COMPETITION

Article 51

The duty of a journalist or producer of public information is to defend the freedom of speech. The producers of public information should avoid unreasonable criticism with respect to their colleagues, especially if it is related to their direct activities involving journalism.

Article 52

The solidarity of journalists is a sign of professional maturity and honourability. When defending themselves from illegal prosecution, the journalists and producers of public information must keep solidary and take all possible legal and ethical measures.

Article 53

Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must not use mass media in order to tackle their private issues or to settle private accounts. 

Article 54

When using the Internet and other information sources, the journalists, producers and communicators of public information must check the reliability of the sources and refer to them properly.   

Article 55
Journalists and the producers of public information must not hinder their colleagues from collecting material, if the activities of the latter do not contravene the relevant laws and ethics.

Article 56
Journalists, producers and the communicators of public information must specify the primary source, if they have used the information produced or published by another journalist or a producer of public information in the public information produced by them. 

Article 57
Journalists and the producers of public information must not write on behalf of another person, nor use the name of another real person or sign the work that has been developed by another person.

Article 58
If the journalists and producers of public information offer the same copyright work to several producers and/or communicators of public information, they must warn the related parties about this.

Article 59

When expressing their opinion in a public space, the journalists and producers of public information must follow the provisions of the Code of Ethics of the Media.

V. MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS OF JOURNALISTS AND MANAGERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD (PRODUCERS AND COMMUNICATORS OF PUBLIC INFORMATION)

Article 60
The producers of public information must have their own internal rules of procedure and/or an internal code of ethics. The journalists’ rights, duties, liabilities and employment-related relationships, as well as the journalists’ protection from the potential restriction of their rights, must be established in at least one of the said documents. 

Article 61
A producer and communicator of public information should agree on using a journalist’s copyright work in his writing. If a producer or communicator of public information, in using a journalist’s copyright work, has not agreed on its use in writing, this does not exempt the producer or communicator of the public information from the obligation of receiving a fair payment for it. 

Article 62
A journalist has the right to waive the copyright and not to sign their work if its content has been essentially distorted while editing or remaking it in any other manner. 

VI. LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF ETHICS OF THE MEDIA

Article 63

The activities of journalists that have violated the provisions of the Code of Ethics are grounds:
1) for the administration of the producer of public information to apply disciplinary measures to such a journalist;
2) for a trade union of journalists to expel such a journalist from the union;
3) for any persons concerned to submit complaints regarding the activities of the producers and communicators of public information which have potentially violated the provisions of the Code;
4) to apply any other sanctions stipulated in the laws. 

Article 64

The activities of a producer and/or a communicator of public information that have violated the provisions of the Code of Ethics are grounds:
1) to attribute that producer and/or communicator to the category of a producer and/or communicators of public information who does not honour professional ethics in accordance with the procedure established by the Ethics Commission for Public Information;
2) for any persons concerned to submit complaints regarding the activities of the producers and/or communicators of public information which have potentially violated the provisions of the Code;
3) to apply any other sanctions stipulated in the laws.

Article 65
A journalist (in their social network profile or when they themselves are the owner), as well as a producer and communicator of public information who has violated the Code of Ethics must publish the respective decision of the Ethics Commission for Public Information in the same mass media.

VII. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS CODE AND OTHER CODES IN THE FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC INFORMATION

Article 66
This Code does not prohibit the following of other codes of professional ethics and activities in the case of public information activities in which more detailed and stricter professional obligations may be established. 

The Ethics Commission for Public Information shall follow this Code when making any decisions.