ABSTRACT
After decades of authoritarian control, the Tunisian media witnessed a window of freedom and openness post the 14 January 2011 revolution that it had never experienced before. Despite this, the traditional media sector seems so far unable to keep pace with the changes that accompanied the democratic transition phase in Tunisia. This reality has contributed to the development of social media activism as a counter hegemonic form in light of the development of the flow of information on these media and the growing power of the public. This situation has led to various manifestations of falsehood, fabrication of news, plagiarism, false headlines, disguised advertising, contempt, defamation, violent rhetoric, and provoking regional strife. In light of the above, this chapter seeks to analyse media ethics during the democratic transition in Tunisia, after more than ten years since the revolution outbreak. It highlights the fragile media regulatory frameworks and the challenges of establishing a solid culture of journalism ethics given the transitional nature and sometimes instability of political frameworks in the country. The chapter attempts to signpost to the development of a solid foundation for professional ethics to protect the public and freedom in the public sphere.
