Communication Ethics and SDG 16: Ensuring Peaceful and Inclusive Information Ecosystems the role of truthful and responsible messaging in social cohesion

Abstract

The advancement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 focuses on the need to build peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and to get accountable institutions. In the digital world nowadays, the ethics of communication is an important part of defining these goals since it affects the flow of information through a society. Fitting and responsible messaging forms a base to create trust, minimize misinformation, and create social cohesion. To understand how communication ethics are related to SDG 16, this paper explores some aspects of how the ethical principles of journalism, social media and institutional communication can assist in building inclusive information ecosystems. A detailed review of the literature further indicates the issues of disinformation, hate speech and algorithmic biases that spoil peace and justice. Methodologically, qualitative evaluation of case studies and discourse analysis has been employed in the study to highlight the effects of ethical and unethical communication on social harmony. The results indicate that observing ethics in communications boosts the level of public trust, reduces the level of conflict and facilitates participation in collaborative planning in governance. The research however does not accept the limitations that include the use of case-based information and the dynamics of online platforms that limit the knowledge to be generalized. Cross-cultural comparative studies and quantitative measures should be included in future studies to comprehensively understand the ways in which communication ethics could be institutionally embraced in ensuring long term peacebuilding.