Bahrain’s King Hamad advocated for pre-publication fact-checking and journalism ethics, the Gulf Daily News reported.

Hamad also “urged reporters to support tolerance and national unity over divisionism and hatred; portray true facts and comply with professional media ethics instead of reporting lies or falsehoods; and not downplay Bahrain’s reform progress,” according to Gulf Daily News.

He added that Bahrain’s “executive and legislate authorities” are to create “an overall advanced law” for the country’s media and a “Supreme Council for the Media,” which is supposed to help journalists be more independent, according to the Gulf Daily News.

We wrote earlier this year when the Bahrain Journalists Association published its ethics code and about the intended media council.