Untruths of Hespress.com: Several Services of MAP Agency Offered Free of Charge to Public Since Beginning of Health Crisis

10 avril 2020 Printable Version

Rabat - Contrary to the untruths published by the website hespress.com alleging that the Moroccan News Agency (MAP) continues to ask the Moroccan media to pay subscription fees for its services, MAP informs public opinion that, since the outbreak of the health crisis linked to the new coronavirus (Covid-19), the Agency has adopted a series of measures to provide the general public with a free, high-quality information service.

These measures are essentially aimed at providing secure, verified and sourced information in order to combat Fake news.
Here follows an exhaustive list of the measures adopted by MAP in this regard:

1. Creation of the website mapanticorona.ma dedicated exclusively to information about Covid-19, where all the news, in Arabic and French, dealing with the crisis both in Morocco and abroad, are included, i.e. almost all of MAP's daily production.

2. The general public website mapexpress.ma, which includes much of the information broadcast by MAP.

3. Maroc Le Jour (MLJ), MAP's digital daily newspaper, which offers the bulk of the news during this period free of charge. It can be consulted at www.mlj.ma.

4. Al Yaoum Al Maghribi, MAP's new digital daily newspaper in Arabic, sent free by e-mail to subscribers.

5. M24, an audiovisual service that broadcasts credible information on this health crisis on a daily basis. MAP has also mobilized its satellite transmission equipment to broadcast live the ministry of Health's daily press briefing on the epidemiological situation in Morocco, and provides the signal free of charge to national and international TV channels.

6. RIM Radio, the Agency's radio service provided free of charge.

7. Six newsletters, in addition to a seventh which will be launched, from this Friday, especially on Covid-19, and sent to 30,000 subscribers.

8. Electronic version of BAB Magazine, MAP's monthly magazine available free of charge at www.babmagazine.ma.

9. 12 regional websites with free access, containing information on COVID19.

10. MAP's social Networks offering fast and credible information targeting mainly a young and demanding audience.

11. Adoption, even before the declaration of the state of health emergency, of teleworking for the vast majority of journalists.

Finally, MAP would like to point out that press subscriptions are paid for within the framework of a contract with the FMEJ, and that all sites experiencing difficulties benefit from the Agency's services free of charge.
Contrary to what has been put forward by Hespress, the Spanish agency EFE, like MAP for that matter, publishes free of charge only information relating to COVID-19.