The regional network of journalistic self-regulatory organizations, which includes the press councils of eight countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Tajikistan), will examine the serious cases of propaganda in the mass media. The draft regulations concerning the constitution and functioning of an international group of experts that will deal with such cases were studied in a meeting of the Press Council of the Republic of Moldova.
“Together with other colleagues of the regional network of journalistic self-regulatory organizations, we decided to set up a group of experts that will examine the complaints about cases of propaganda at international level so as to offer a greater weight to the findings and recommendations that will be formulated. Thus, in the most serious cases of misinformation and propaganda disseminated by media outlets from other states, the press councils that form part of the regional network will be able to submit complaints to the international group of experts that will analyze the media products and will formulate decisions and conclusions in the name of all the press councils that are members of the network. Surely, the experts from the countries where the case occurred will not take part in decision-making,” said the head of the Press Council Ludmila Andronic.
The international group of experts will include by a representative of each of the eight press councils. The experts will examine the complaints within two months based on criteria for identifying propagandistic messages that are to be approved at the network’s meeting in Georgia’s Tbilisi this May. The members of the regional network will also work out a set of recommendations for journalists and media outlets concerning media propaganda fighting.
