To whom it may concern,

Sensationalizing suicides by placing them as front-page material with graphic details is NOT helpful, especially to people at risk of committing suicide. Even if other Nigerian media houses choose not to adhere to responsible suicide reporting guidelines, Nairaland can choose to do better. The section moderators should review suicide stories please. More that a hundred scientific studies have shown that responsible reporting of suicide can reduce the risk of additional suicides.

Here are simple recommendations from WHO:

Recommendations for coverage include:

Avoid describing suicide as inexplicable or without warning; include suicide warning signs
Avoid glorifying or romanticizing the act of suicide or a person who died by suicide; try to present a balanced story on the person
Avoid relaying the method, location or details of the person who died by suicide; limit details to the facts the audience needs to know
Avoid portraying suicide as a common or acceptable response to life's adversities
Avoid sensationalizing headlines
Avoid using stigmatizing language
Avoid harmful graphics
Do not share the content of a suicide note
Avoid quoting police or first responders
Provide resources whenever possible
More information can be found at https://www.cpa-apc.org/wp-content/uploads/Media-Guidelines-Suicide-Reporting-EN-2018.pdf

https://www3.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13123:paho-trains-more-than-100-journalists-from-americas-on-responsible-coverage-suicide-prevent-suicide-contagion&Itemid=0&lang=fr#gsc.tab=0

CC: Seun, Dominique, Sissy3