Manipulations with the involvement of foreign experts and the Moldovan media are examined in a case study within a project implemented by IPN, whose goal is to expose politicians and opinion shapers when these lie and manipulate.
This time the case study examines an “inflammatory” story that was broadly disseminated by the Moldovan media outlets, and that was based on “irresponsible” and “less in-the-know” statements of a Lithuanian expert, who alleged that Moldova was “on the brink of a civil war”.
The authors of the case study follow the entire chain of transformations of an opinion by sociologist Rasa Alisauskiene into a call for action to “immediately” leave Moldova. Later, as the opinion is widely disseminated by the Moldovan media, this becomes a bugaboo. “The main argument of the Moldovan government against early parliamentary elections is repeated almost literally,” remark the authors of the project sic!.
Such opinions “must be sounding very credible when uttered by a European sociologist”, this is how sic! explains the employed manipulation technique. Moreover, the sources that republished the expert’s opinions failed, with one exception, to quote the original source: a broader interview in which “only two paragraphs” are devoted to Moldova.
Analyzing the interview, the case study goes on to identify the weak points of the expert’s opinions about Moldova. Below are some of them:
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Rasa Alisauskiene |
sic! |
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„ ...such close approaching by the whole society to the brink behind which a civil war starts.” |
Really? How exactly is that line after which the civil war starts determined? |
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“It seems that those citizens who can pack their bags should do it immediately.” |
The word 'seems' is telling. ‘It seems’ to the sociologist that the Moldovans should leave the country. Even without the inflammatory accent added by the Moldovan mass media, such statements are at least irresponsible. |
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“If the early elections demanded by the opposition from the pro-Western ruling coalition were held in the country, my prediction would be the following: almost 75% of the seats in the country’s Parliament would be occupied by the pro-Russian political forces. This is a constitutional majority.” |
True, but the author says only a part of the truth, leaving the reader to imagine the consequences. Instead, the main argument of the government of Moldova against early parliamentary elections is repeated almost literally. |
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“We don’t know for sure if such a construction meets the realities, but the perception is precisely this.” |
By this, the expert tries to disclaim any responsibility for her allegations, but this only confirms that Rasa Alisauskiene either is not fully in the know about the situation in Moldova (as she claims earlier in the interview) or uses intentionally manipulative assertions to induce a particular idea. |
The full article can be read on the project’s website sic.md.
Launched at the beginning of March, sic! is a project of IPN News Agency implemented with the financial support of Soros Foundation Moldova. The goal of sic! is to identify lies, inaccuracies and manipulation in public statements with an impact and to inform the people about them in a simple and accessible way. Ideally, the project’s effort will encourage the people to choose credible sources of news, and the opinion shapers to refrain from manipulation.