Some Moldovan mass media employ manipulative techniques in selecting the events they present to the public and filter the information according to their editorial policies. This a conclusion of the quarterly monitoring report presented on Thursday, August 21, by the Association of Independent Press (API) at a press conference.
API monitored the online versions of newspapers Timpul, Ziarul National, Komsomolskaya Pravda v Moldove, and TV channels Moldova 1, Prime TV, Publika TV, Jurnal TV, Accent TV, Pro TV, TV 7 and the website Omg.md.
The report includes case studies about the coverage of some topics of public interest in May and July 2014. API director Petru Macovei told the press that the results of the monitoring show some mass media select the topics to cover according to their liking or disliking of certain political actors and filter the information to defend certain group interests.
Expert Nadine Gogu said the protest in the Gagauz Yeri autonomous region on the day when the EU Association Agreement was signed, was ignored by most mass media. Some filtered out the allegations that Vladimir Plahotniuc took over the Communists' Party in order to protect his reputation. The farmers' protests because of the Russian embargo remained outside the editorial policy of some mass media. Others didn't cover the Ministry of Justice's refusal to register the amendments to the status of the Republican People's Party.
Some press institutions often selected their sources in order to mimic pluralism of opinions, but in truth they selected only sources and opinions that voiced the thoughts and messages and defended the same cause.
API stressed that considering the legal and ethical obligation to inform the public opinion correctly and objectively, mass media are recommended to consider first the information's importance and relevance to public interest, instead of the preferences and agenda of their owners, to present objectively all the parties involved in controversies, to respect the principle of the plurality of sources, regardless of alternatives.
API also thinks that the Broadcasting Coordination Council, as guarantor of the public interest and regulatory authority in the broadcasting field, must react and penalize the mass media that violate the Moldovans' right to complete, objective and truthful information, the right to freedom of expression and opinions and the right to free communication of information.
The monitoring of mass media is part of the campaign “Manipulation fools us. Don't let anyone think for you!”. The quarterly monitoring report is available at www.api.md. It was conducted within the project “Promoting objective journalists and raising the level of mass media education of people in Moldova's regions”, financed by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
