On 12 portals monitored during the campaign prior to the presidential elections 2020, independent candidate Igor Dodon, who is supported by the Party of Socialists, had the greatest visibility and the largest number of appearances in a positive context. The Party of Action and Solidarity’s candidate Maia Sandu continued to be presented most often in a negative light and this rather disfavored her, shows the fifth report on the monitoring of the online media during the campaign prior to the presidential elections for October 25 – 31 that was produced by the Association of Independent Press (API) as part of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections.
In a news conference at IPN, API executive director Petru Macovei said the 12 portals published a total of 962 articles that referred directly or indirectly to the presidential campaign and the candidates, with about 95% being news items, while 4% being comments, editorials and other opinion articles. There were also interviews, vox populi or debates.
Noi.md a published the largest number of media products that were political and electoral in character. Gagauzinfo.md published the lowest number. The number of journalistic products accompanied by videos and audio recordings increased considerably in the period. The monitored portals wrote about politics, the electoral process, the economy, social problems, the LPAs, foreign relations, etc. Four editorial offices were more active in covering the electoral process and this is welcome. These are Newsmaker.md, Unimedia.md, Sputnik.md and Gagauzinfo.
The eight candidates for President appeared as protagonists. Igor Dodon was the protagonist of the largest number of articles, being followed by Maia Sandu, which appeared twice less often, Renato Usatyi, Andrei Năstase, Dorin Chirtoacă, Octavian Țîcu, and Tudor Deliu. Igor Dodon appeared almost five times more often than Tudor Deliu.
Agora.md ensured the best balance in presenting the candidates in terms of quantity. Igor Dodon appeared most often as a source of information, against Violeta Ivanov, which appeared most seldom, while Tudor Deliu never appeared as a source. Newsmaker.md ensured the most balanced presentation of the sources from the gender perspective, even if not perfectly. Timpul.md didn’t quote any woman as a source.
According to Petru Macovei, November 1 will enter the next monitoring report that will be presented next Wednesday. The monitored portals covered the election day selectively. A very large number of articles referred to the electoral campaign and this is welcome. The population was informed about the statements of candidates, observers, etc. Some of the portals presented only the favorite candidate, especially those that are editorially affiliated to the Party of Socialists. The incident in Varnița was covered without presenting the opinion of people who blocked the bridge and of the MP who was present there, accusing those people of aiming to prevent the citizens residing in Transnistria from voting, which is a biased opinion.
