BEIRUT: The president of the Journalists Union warned Thursday against what he said was the rising phenomenon of people impersonating members of the media.

“They are attending news conferences, professional conferences, and receptions that are staged by Arab and foreign diplomatic missions, which has caused and is causing problems; it is putting the media in a state of embarrassment and subjecting it to suspicion,” Elias Aoun said.

Aoun urged the organizers of such events to verify the identity of those claiming to be members of the media, by requiring that they display their press credentials. “This is necessary, especially due to the critical conditions the country is experiencing,” he said.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to safeguard the profession from interlopers and parasites who present themselves as journalists and members of the media, while they have absolutely no connection to the profession,” Aoun said.