TV-Gagauzia, part of the regional public broadcaster Gagauziya Radio Televizionu, has been fined 85,000 lei for promoting the image of certain political actors, providing misleading information, and lacking balance and pluralism. The decision was approved by the Audiovisual Council based on the results of an inspection, IPN reports.

TV-Gagauzia allocated excessive airtime to topics related to the GagauziyaLand amusement park. According to current regulations, materials that constitute commercial communication must be properly labeled and presented in a way that prevents them from being mistaken for journalistic content - an obligation that was not met in the monitored news bulletins.

The overtly promotional nature was evident in the number and duration of segments dedicated to the amusement park in a single day. Additionally, the reports contained detailed descriptions of its advantages, subjective and enthusiastic wording by reporters, and other indicators of biased coverage.

Another issue was the coverage of the court case involving Governor Evghenia Gutul. While the station aired statements and accusations from Gutul and her supporters, it failed to present the perspectives of other involved parties. No official response was included to ensure balanced reporting. Furthermore, the report's tone and phrasing subtly suggested that state institutions were incompetent, repeatedly emphasizing alleged pressure and lack of objectivity in the judicial process.

The Audiovisual Council noted that the broadcaster limited its coverage of the court hearing to Gutul’s statements, without providing broader context on the trial. As a result, viewers were unable to fully grasp the essence of the charges, the positions of all parties, and previous developments.

TV-Gagauzia has yet to comment on the penalty imposed by the Audiovisual Council. In April 2024, the station was fined 60,000 lei for broadcasting disinformation and failing to protect the national audiovisual space.