Restriction of foreign media content could contravene political criteria for obtaining macro-financial assistance, opinion

11.12.2017 05:33
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The swift amendment of the Code occurred amid the EU’s assessment of the fulfillment of the pre-conditions for obtaining the first tranche of macro-financial assistance, expert in political sciences Dionis Cenusa says in an analysis article for IPN Agency.

According to the author, even if it is an evident risk, the government nevertheless imposed restrictions on media content that threatens the information security of the state.

This zeal of the Democrats is due to a “perfect storm” for the geopolitical games of the Moldovan government in which the animosities towards Russia have a considerable political-electoral importance.

First of all, the regional and international context is favorable. The European institutions and leaders, as well as the American ones, recognized in public the toxic nature of the misinformation promoted by Russia. Besides interference in the elections in the U.S., there was also noted the influence of the Russian propaganda in the Brexit and in promoting Catalan separatism.

The concrete measures adopted by the EU to fight the misinformation acts of Russia are the second favorable moment. The EU budget adopted by the European Parliament at the end of November 2017 envisions a rise in EU costs for fighting misinformation. Also, a new strategy for managing the dissemination of false news is being worked out by the European Commission and is to be finished until next spring.

Last but not least, the fast adoption of changes to the Election Code is related to Vladimir Plahotniuc’s visit to the U.S. (December 7-8, 2017), during which the attention of U.S. politicians was to be attracted by resonant facts. In this regard, the coincidence of the legislative proposal to restrict particular foreign media products, including from Russia, and the active promotion of the PDM’s reaction to the criminal case started against Vladimir Plahotnic in Russia seems suspicious.

The real struggle against the Russian propaganda is a short- and long-term imperative. That’s why this should be depoliticized and turned into an objective necessity that should be assumed consciously and should be correctly communicated to the public so as to protect the national interests and ensure the security of information and of the state in general, concluded Dionis Cenusa.