In an era where scrolling replaces speaking and screens replace human touch, empathy is slowly fading beneath the noise of stereotypes.

Every post, headline, and comment thread has become a battlefield of assumptions.

The digital world, designed to connect us, now divides us and turns people into labels, communities into caricatures, and stories into spectacles.

To see through another’s eyes today requires more than sympathy, it demands awareness, reflection, and ethical storytelling, especially from journalists and communicators who shape public narratives.

When empathy gets lost in the algorithm

Social media has given everyone a voice, but it has also built echo chambers that reward anger over understanding.

However, algorithms feed us what we like, not what we need to learn. Over time, our online spaces reflect our biases rather than challenge them.

In Malaysia’s diverse society, this is visible. Discussions on race, religion, or gender often turn into hostility rather than dialogue.

Behind anonymous usernames, people reduce complex issues into oversimplified and viral arguments.

A 2024 Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) report revealed a 40 per cent increase in misinformation and stereotyping on Malaysian social media since 2020.

Much of it stems not from hatred, but from a lack of empathy education in how we consume and share content.

Media’s power: Breaking or reinforcing stereotypes

Media has long held the power to frame how society perceives others. The words, visuals, and tone used in a story can either humanise or dehumanise.

When individuals are described solely as refugees, addicts, or criminals, they are stripped of their humanity and reduced to categories.

Coverage of migrants, for instance, often portrays them as burdens rather than contributors.

Similarly, gender stereotypes persist, men as rational, women as emotional, and the elderly as dependent.

Efforts by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Malaysia have pushed for more ethical reporting. Still, in the race to publish fast and go viral, compassion is often the first casualty.

Ethical reporting: Restoring humanity to the story

Ethical reporting is not only about avoiding falsehoods, but it is about restoring dignity. It is built on three pillars which are accuracy, context, and compassion.

Accuracy means verifying facts, spelling names correctly, and avoiding sensational quotes.

Context means ensuring that stories go beyond the “what happened” to explain the “why” and “how”, and compassion asks the key question, how might this story affect those being reported on?

When reporting on issues like domestic violence or poverty, empathy doesn’t mean bias, it means responsibility.

Instead of amplifying suffering, ethical storytelling focuses on resilience, solutions, and shared humanity.

Media literacy: Teaching audiences to read with heart

While journalists must report ethically, audiences must learn to consume responsibly too. That’s where media literacy gets rooted in empathy and becomes essential.

It’s more than identifying fake news. It’s about asking whose voice is missing here? What assumptions am I making? How does this story make me feel, and why?

Embedding empathy-driven, media literacy in Malaysian classrooms and universities could reshape how young people interpret digital content.

It encourages critical thinking paired with emotional awareness and a blend that produces ethical readers, not just informed ones.

Empathy: The hidden strength of good journalism

Empathy does not weaken objectivity, but enriches it. A journalist who listens with empathy captures details that facts alone cannot convey – the pauses, the trembling hands, the unspoken fears.

In broadcast journalism, empathy is expressed through the way a story is visually and emotionally presented.

For example, filming a flood victim at eye level creates a sense of equality and respect, while shooting from above can unintentionally evoke sympathy.

Every element, from camera angle, tone of voice, and pacing, to background music can influence whether the audience truly connects with the story or simply observes it.

In this sense, ethical visuals are a form of empathy, turning technical choices into meaningful storytelling.

Rebuilding empathy in Malaysia’s media landscape

Malaysia’s multicultural character offers both challenge and opportunity. By adopting inclusive editorial policies, cross-cultural mentoring, and diverse newsroom representation, empathy can become a natural outcome of journalism, not an afterthought.

Initiatives like “Media for Unity” workshops and youth reporter programmes at universities are encouraging steps.

Partnerships between media organisations, NGOs, and educators can anchor empathy as a professional standard.

After all, empathy cannot be legislated, but it must be lived and practised through real human interaction.

Rebuilding empathy in the age of stereotypes means learning to look not through filters but through eyes.

Ethical journalism, compassionate storytelling, and empathetic media literacy are not separate goals, they are threads of one moral fabric.

When woven together, they transform communication from information sharing into human connection.

In a world overflowing with noise, empathy is the quiet revolution, reminding us that every click, headline, and image carries the power to divide or unite.

To rebuild empathy is to rebuild trust in media, society, and within ourselves. The future of communication belongs not to those who speak the loudest but to those who listen the deepest.

-- BERNAMA

Dr Miharaini Md Ghani is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Editor at the Media and Public Relations Centre (MPRC).