Moroccan News Channel Faces Backlash Over Misidentification of King Mohammed VI’s Title

It all started with the live broadcast of one of Medi 1 TV’s news bulletins on Sunday. In a text displayed on the news ticker, the channel used the expression "Princess of the Believers" instead of "Commander of the Believers". This serious error has provoked the anger and discontent of Moroccans. They consider this error as an insult to King Mohammed VI. And this is not the only error. Apparently, there are many things to reproach Medi1 TV for. On Thursday, one of the evening news bulletins on the channel broadcast a story about the royal activity related to religious lectures without any accompanying images, even though images were available. A few months ago, it broadcast information accusing the United Arab Emirates of contributing to the financing of terrorism in Libya. After realizing the mistake, the channel issued an apology.

A source told Al3omk that the central director of information, of Algerian origin, is directly responsible for the broadcast of the text on the news ticker considered offensive to King Mohammed VI. Some observers fear that this Algerian serves Algerian political agendas in Morocco. According to the source, his appointment represents a lack of consideration for Moroccan media competencies, who deserve to occupy the position of central director of information of the channel. The appointment of a foreign director for a national channel constitutes a violation of national sovereignty, especially since the channel is a public institution considered one of the symbols of the State, he insists.